I have to tell you, writing a review of Clara’s War: One Girl’s Story of Survival is no easy task. In fact, I’ve sat here in front of the computer screen for quite some time making a valiant attempt, yet, still, words elude me. To say it is a powerful story of survival against all odds seems a superficial understatement. Clara, a young Jewish teenager in Nazi occupied Poland tells her story of survival drawn from the diary she keeps during the twenty months she spent in hiding underground (literally) with her family and other Jews, 18 total.
This heart-stopping story of a young girl hiding from the Nazis is based on Clara Kramer’s diary of her years surviving in an underground bunker with seventeen other people.
Clara Kramer was a typical Polish-Jewish teenager from a small town at the outbreak of the Second World War. When the Germans invaded, Clara’s family was taken in by the Becks, a Volksdeutsche (ethnically German) family from their town. Mrs. Beck worked as Clara’s family’s housekeeper. Mr. Beck was known to be an alcoholic, a womanizer, and a vocal anti-Semite. But on hearing that Jewish families were being led into the woods and shot, Beck sheltered the Kramers and two other Jewish families.
Eighteen people in all lived in a bunker dug out of the Becks’ basement. Fifteen-year-old Clara kept a diary during the twenty terrifying months she spent in hiding, writing down details of their unpredictable life—from the house’s catching fire to Mr. Beck’s affair with Clara’s neighbor; from the nightly SS drinking sessions in the room above to the small pleasure of a shared Christmas carp.
Against all odds, Clara lived to tell her story, and her diary is now part of the permanent col-lection of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Amazing. Gripping. Honest. Shocking. Surreal. Horrific. Heartbreaking. Her account is all this, and more. It is a grief stricken lament over the death of her sister. It is a loving tribute to the man Beck and his wife Julia who risk their own lives to hide Clara and the other Jews in a bunker carved under their home. It is the day to day details of life in the small underground bunker, how they deal with their waste for example. It is a surprising cat and mouse game with several harrowing near misses. It is a scathing indictment of hatred and unimaginable depravity that seeks to annihilate, in a gruesome and gleeful fashion, a whole race of people. Clara’s War: One Girl’s Story of Survival is a story of unthinkable loss as well as a story of love and life.
I have often wondered what I would do if faced with similarly horrific circumstances. What if I were in Beck’s place? Would I risk my life and the lives of my family to save another? What if my situation mirrored Clara’s? Could I do what it took to survive? Sobering questions. And, if I’m honest, I hope I never have to find out.
Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes….
I’ve heard a lot about this book. Thanks for the review!
I’ve only been to the National Holocaust Museum once in my 12 years of living in the DC area. It was an indescribable experience– the emotions were overwhelming.
Thanks for this compelling review!
Great review. This one looks terrific.
Wow, I have to add this one to my list of books to read this year. I have a real fascination for these types of stories, its just amazing how cruel some humans can be and just how strong and resilient others can be.
Well, as I think you know, I have this one sitting on my shelf and I’m looking forward to getting around to it!
I know this post is over a month old, but I had to comment about this book. It is gripping, depressing, inspiring and makes me so incredibly thankful for the life in which we are all blessed to lead here in our country.
I am so appreciative of your recommendations here at 5 Min. for Books. I write down your selections and work my way through. Thank you!!!
i read this book for a high school enlish project and after reading this book it gives me hope and reminds me never to give up i relly related to this book becasue i am the age that she is in the book and i compare everything that she went through to my life and i am very gratful and thankful that i have never had to go through anything that she or any other people in the holocaust had to go through. clara has such a story to tell and i recomend this book to anyone who wants to hear her story. another great memoir is NIGHT by elie wiesel it tells of a jewish teenager and his survival in the concentration camp Auschwitz.
I finished this book last night–finishing it in just days. I tried to imagine even hiding in my own basement, but I couldn’t even picture going through Clara’s experience. She writes so vividly about the cold, the heat, the hunger, the worry. What a strong woman she is. The Becks are certainly sitting with God. Amazing story–please read.
I love the book too much not only because I am interested in History. I feel I am very blessed to read this book. It inspired me a lot to think more about my religion and how family and friends show love to each other while we always say, “I love you, dad, mum, sister and brother.” It draws me closer to what LOVE really means and what we can do the furthest to express love to those I claim I love them. A GREAT book! Tahnks Clara.
I have just finished reading this book. I have no words to describe it. I felt like that I was trapped inside that bunker. Their emotions felt like mine. Simply written yet so effective.