Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield

This is a book that should be read, despite its sadness and melancholy. There is nothing nice or comfortable about hearing of the traumatic experiences of Jews from Germany, Austria and other European countries during the Second World War, but this story is also the story of real people, the Kleinmanns of Vienna who were devastated by the horrors of war, but for a few members it is also their story of survival and the miraculous resilience and love that they demonstrated. Consequently, this is an amazingly uplifting story despite the Holocaust circumstances, and it is a reminder that this part of our world history should never be forgotten in honour of their suffering. Fritz and his father, Gustav,  suffer within concentration camp horrors; Kurt is miraculously saved by being sent to America to live with strangers; one sister is able to emigrate to England; and the Kleinmann’s mother and another sister are transported into a certain death. Despite the terrible history that this book relates, the story of Fritz and his father and their resilience in awful circumstances is profoundly moving.

Fritz and Kurt is a child-friendly retelling of the book The Boy who followed his father into Auschwitz. ‘Child-friendly’ means that some of the horrors have been minimised in detail, but a child reader will still feel the burdens and the weight of the Jewish sufferers who were treated so appallingly in Hitler’s regime. The two young brothers give a human face to the history and this account is written in a narrative non-fiction style based on the first hand accounts of the two brothers, and the recorded notes smuggled by their father out of his concentration camp life. That anyone survived to tell their story is a miracle. For readers who have read The Boy in Striped Pyjamas or have been intrigued by World War II history this is a book to recommend. It is very accessible for young readers aged 11-15, but not easy to read because of the distressing story it shares. Older readers will still appreciate the historical revelations.

Themes: World War II, Holocaust, Jews, Survival, Resilience, Hope.

Carolyn Hull