Overview

This absorbing and captivating nonfiction account (with never-before-published photographs) offers readers an in-depth anthropological and historical look into the lives of those who suffered and survived Breenkdonk concentration camp during the Holocaust of World War II. Fort Breendonk was built in the early 1900s to protect Antwerp, Belgium, from possible German invasion. Damaged at the start of World War I, it fell into disrepair . . . until the Nazis took it over after their invasion of Belgium in 1940, calling it a ""reception"" camp for prisoners in transit from one camp to another. It soon became one of most brutal and smallest concentration camps in World War II. About 3,500 prisoners were held there-only about half of them survived. As one prisoner put it, ""I would prefer to spend nineteen months at Buchenwald than nineteen days at Breendonk."" With access to the camp and its archives and with rare photos and artwork, James M Deem pieces together the story of the camp by telling the stories of its victims-Jews, communists, resistance fighters, and even common criminals-for the first time in an English language publication. AUTHOR: James M. Deem is the author of numerous books for young readers, including '3 NB of Julian Drew', 'Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers' and the Rediscovery of the Past', and 'Faces from the Past'. b/w photographs

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9780544096646

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Reviews

* Liberally illustrated with black-and-white photographs of the camp, its officials, and the prisoners, the book is well written and well organized. --School Library Journal, starred review * A sobering study of man's inhumanity to man, and an important book that demands serious consideration and discussion. --Booklist, starred review Breendonk does not share the infamy of such Nazi concentration camps as Buchenwald or Dachau, but in this insightful and revealing history, Deem rescues this Belgian prison from near obscurity and tells the stories of some of the thousands who suffered and died there. --Kirkus Deem tells a chronological history of Breendonk by weaving together dozens of personal histories...For many, Breendonk had been only the beginning, and by following a handful of prisoners to their various ends, Deem illustrates that each story had a unique trajectory. --Horn Book Magazine Deem's unflinching look at the prisoner experience at Breendonk...gives voice to Breendonk's victims...a thorough history. --VOYA --

* A sobering study of man's inhumanity to man, and an important book that demands serious consideration and discussion. -- Booklist, starred review This well-researched history is best suited for readers who already have solid background knowledge of the Holocaust and an interest in delving further into the subject. --Kirkus

* A sobering study of man's inhumanity to man, and an important book that demands serious consideration and discussion. Booklist, starred review Breendonk does not share the infamy of such Nazi concentration camps as Buchenwald or Dachau, but in this insightful and revealing history, Deem rescues this Belgian prison from near obscurity and tells the stories of some of the thousands who suffered and died there. Kirkus Deem tells a chronological history of Breendonk by weaving together dozens of personal histories...For many, Breendonk had been only the beginning, and by following a handful of prisoners to their various ends, Deem illustrates that each story had a unique trajectory. Horn Book Magazine Deem's unflinching look at the prisoner experience at Breendonk...gives voice to Breendonk's victims...a thorough history. VOYA

* Liberally illustrated with black-and-white photographs of the camp, its officials, and the prisoners, the book is well written and well organized. --School Library Journal, starred review * A sobering study of man's inhumanity to man, and an important book that demands serious consideration and discussion. --Booklist, starred review Breendonk does not share the infamy of such Nazi concentration camps as Buchenwald or Dachau, but in this insightful and revealing history, Deem rescues this Belgian prison from near obscurity and tells the stories of some of the thousands who suffered and died there. --Kirkus Deem tells a chronological history of Breendonk by weaving together dozens of personal histories...For many, Breendonk had been only the beginning, and by following a handful of prisoners to their various ends, Deem illustrates that each story had a unique trajectory. --Horn Book Magazine Deem's unflinching look at the prisoner experience at Breendonk...gives voice to Breendonk's victims...a thorough history. --VOYA

Author Information

James M. Deem is the author of numerous books of nonfiction and fiction for children, including Faces From The Past: Forgotten People of North America and the 2009 Sibert Honor Book, Bodies From The Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery Of The Past. A retired college professor, Deem and his wife live in Tucson, Arizona, where he writes full time.

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