"An incredible true story powerfully written and sensitively illustrated"
The story of the two Kleinmann brothers was first told in the best-selling The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz, but this edition has been especially written for younger readers more like the age of the boys themselves and also contains some additional material discovered since the first publication.
Fritz and Kurt lived in Vienna and as Jews they were in terrible danger when the Nazis came. Fritz, the older brother, and his father do indeed get taken to Buchenwald as the concentration camp is newly developed and we are left in no doubt about the conditions they suffered both there and in subsequent camps. The careful attention to detail certainly gives a real insight into the realities of how the Holocaust progressed.
Meanwhile the family is trying to get the other children to safety. One sister did escape to a job in England and eventually papers are procured for Kurt to travel to the United States. For Kurt the trauma of leaving all his family behind to travel halfway across the world to a country with a different language and customs is considerable but the main focus of the story is on the plight of Fritz and his father. As the title of the adult novel indicates Fritz did indeed choose to follow his father on the transport to Auschwitz and to almost certain death, rather than be separated. The strength of their relationship is deeply moving and beautifully conveyed. The story of how they survived until war ended is completely remarkable and so although harrowing the book ultimately has a very positive and inspirational message about human resilience and courage.
The impact of the illustrations certainly contributes to the effectiveness of the storytelling in what deserves to become as much of a classic as Ann Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl.
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When everything is taken away from you, love and courage are all you have left.
In 1938, the Nazis come to Vienna. They hate anyone who is different, especially Jewish people. Fritz and Kurt's family are Jewish, and that puts them in terrible danger. Fritz, along with his father, is taken to a Nazi prison camp, a terrible place, full of fear.
When his father is sent to a certain death, Fritz can't face losing his beloved Papa. He chooses to go with him and fight for survival. Meanwhile, Kurt must go on a frightening journey, all alone, to seek safety on the far side of the world. In this extraordinary true story, Fritz and Kurt must face unimaginable hardships, and the two brothers wonder if they will ever return home . . .
A retelling of the Sunday Times bestselling The Boy Who Followed his Father into Auschwitz, a Daily Mail and Sunday Express book of the year.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Fritz and Kurt and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
Fritz and Kurt features in the following genres: Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, History, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, People / Places, Featured Books for 9+ readers
Fritz and Kurt is available in Paperback
Fritz and Kurt was written by Jeremy Dronfield and published by Puffin an imprint of Penguin Random House Children's UK
Fritz and Kurt has 384 pages
£8.09
