By Jeremy Dronfield
New York: Quill Tree Books, 2026. Informational. 356 pgs.
In 1930, the Friedel and Gina Rosenthal's family was a happy, successful Jewish family living in Dusseldorf, Germany. Their father was a successful businessman, owning three corner shops throughout the city and Friedel and Gina worked in the shops with their four siblings. When Hitler and the Nazi party came to power, the family was systematically stripped of their businesses, property and possessions. The twins, 13-years-old at the time, were even forced to leave school like many other Jewish children. One year later, the Rosenthal family was deported from Germany to Poland, forced into ghettos, and eventually sent to concentration camps. As the years of World War II grew long, Friedel and Gina found themselves alone–suffering one heartache after another. But remarkably, the twin sisters managed to survive, together.
This remarkable true story of the Holocaust is told with direct honesty, even through some of the most painful details. An author's note explains that Jeremy Dronfield learned this story after the publication of his book The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz. Relatives of Friedel and Gina wrote to the author with the story of their own family's survival during the horrors of the Holocaust. Like that book, the Rosenthal's story is heartbreaking and also full of the love and hope that family brings. For older tween readers who have expressed an interest in history, this book is a must read.
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