Auschwitz: The Story of a Nazi Death Camp (Watts Nonfiction)
Grade 6-9-The organization, format, and style of this book are well suited to its audience. Two-page chapters consist of succinctly written summaries of topics; boxed statistics or survivors' accounts are often included, as are maps and captioned photographs, arranged in a collagelike fashion. The material is treated chronologically, from the identification of Oswiecim as a rather pleasant-looking, pre-war Polish town to its transformation by the Germans into the death camp Auschwitz. Chapters discuss Nazi anti-Semitism; the planning, building, and organization of the camp; prisoner transport; the selection process; disposal of bodies; slave labor; medical experiments; and more-a true "guided tour of Hell" to use Francine Prose's phrase. Final chapters cover liberation, Holocaust denial, and the controversies surrounding Auschwitz today. Color and graphic design are used to highlight and show contrast and, as importantly, to mute some of the more horrendous photographed scenes. Students who are not ready for longer or more in-depth books about the Holocaust will learn much about it from this excellent account.Linda R. Silver, Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, OHCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.