Hana's Suitcase
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- 75,00 kr
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- 75,00 kr
Publisher Description
In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan from the Auschwitz museum in Germany. Fumiko Ishioka, the center's curator, was captivated by the writing on the outside that identified its owner: "Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, Waisenkind (the German word for orphan)." Children visiting the center asked: who was Hana Brady? What happened to her? Inspired by their curiosity and her own need to know, Fumiko began a year of detective work, scouring the world for clues. Her search led her from present-day Japan, Europe and North America back to 1938 Czechoslovakia to learn the story of Hana Brady, a fun-loving child with wonderful parents, a protective big brother, and a passion for ice skating, their happy life turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Levine expands on her radio documentary, produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, for this unique approach to learning about the Holocaust. The author alternates between two chronicles, the first set in contemporary Tokyo, where a dozen children between the ages of eight and 18 form a club at a center for Holocaust education run by Fumiko Ishioka, and the other in 1930s Czechoslovakia, where young Hana Brady is enjoying a happy childhood. Fumiko obtains for the club some children's artifacts from Auschwitz, including a suitcase marked with Hana's name. She then attempts to find out everything she can about Hana. Levine cross-cuts to the tragedies that befall Hana and her brother, but does not let readers anguish; she interposes exciting accounts of Fumiko's detective work and the sense of accomplishment it brings to the club. The engrossing account of Fumiko's research offsets the author's flat prose and occasionally questionable methodology (e.g., the construction of pivotal conversations between 13-year-old Hana and a friend who, like Hana, was killed upon arrival in Auschwitz). In an introduction, Levine promises that the suitcase contains "terrible sadness and great joy." That "joy" apparently the impact of Fumiko's research, which culminates in her discovery of Hana's brother in Toronto may strike some as disproportionate to the circumstances, but it also reflects the club members' commitment to "building peace." Their commitment lends credence to the optimistic message passed along to the audience that an awareness of the past can impact the future. Ages 10-13.
