Fritz and Kurt

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Here is my first 'must buy, must read' title for 2023! There are so many books about the Holocaust but for me, Fritz and Kurt was instantly compelling. It's based on the true story of the Kleinmanns, a working class Jewish family from Vienna, that was told for adults as 'The Boy Who Followed his Father into Auschwitz'. Fritz And Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield is a powerful historical novel for children aged ten years and over. I felt strongly that it had to be a new book, written specially for children – not just an abridged or simplified edition of the original. Brothers Fritz and Kurt would be in the foreground, the story told from their viewpoints. And while some harrowing events would have to be either omitted or written in a way children could cope with, it mustn’t downplay the realities of the Holocaust. Writing Fritz and Kurt has been one of the greatest creative challenges I’ve ever faced. Discovering David Ziggy Greene’s art was a major step – his beautiful touch with stark, angular figures is perfect, with a charm and humour that help make the subject accessible for kids. It is not my place to give more importance to one historical event than another. There are those, however, that have caused more trauma, pain and suffering than anyone can possibly imagine. Talking about these in a classroom to young learners is a challenge. We need the combination of trust and due diligence more than ever. Fritz’s story was really interesting because in some ways if you didn’t know the source of the book them I don’t think it would be completely believable but because you know it’s based as much as possible on a boy’s true story it makes you wonder what else happened that we don’t know about. It was also interesting to hear about the different times of the war for him and how he managed to survive.

Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield (Puffin) Book Review: Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield (Puffin)

Fritz and Kurt has the best interests of the reader and the subject matter at its heart. It is a new version for younger readers of Jeremy Dronfield’s internationally bestselling The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz. What is incredible is that these are narrative nonfiction texts. I found out just how incredibly true they are, how much research went into them, and how education was at the forefront of their creation. My conversation with Jeremy Dronfield was fascinating, and sharing it here is a privilege. My conversation with Jeremy Dronfield made me think deeply on many things. For example, no one can argue that books aren’t tools for learning. Not every book, of course. And even those that we might think are, may not be suitable for your needs as an educator. Or the needs of a child’s as a learner. But, do we consider that some books might not be in the best interests of the topic you are teaching?My brother ended up with communist leanings and I was an American soldier, and my father was adamant, ‘No politics in the house!’ I didn’t get to hear all of these stories until years later. It would be remiss not to mention the illustrations by David Ziggy Greene. “David carefully researched using reference photos and film footage.” One particular illustration Jeremy had “planned right from the beginning… Because if you just use the word Stormtrooper, kids are going to think of the Star Wars version.” Meaning David had to research exactly what they looked like, and then refine the details through further discussion. In an introduction, the author sets the story of Fritz and Kurt in its historical context, explaining what the Holocaust was, how it came about and who was affected. There are also notes for parents, guardians and teachers who may wish to understand how the story is being presented. As well as simple words telling the story, the whole book is powerfully and yet simply illustrated by Ziggy Greene.

Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield - LoveReading4Kids Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield - LoveReading4Kids

Mauthausen was the destination towards which father and son were going when Gustav persuaded his son to leap from a speeding train of starving men and corpses, out into a snowdrift. If there are moments when Dronfield’s extraordinary book sounds more like a peculiarly gruesome thriller, readers should remind themselves that none of this is fiction. These horrors happened. Witnesses such as Gustav and Fritz survived and told their tales to ensure that their past should never be repeated. The rest is up to us. I love how the characters evolve throughout and never lose hope of freedom. Illustrations peppered throughout the book bring the story to life. This story has been written for younger readers to help them understand what life was like for Jewish people during the holocaust. Due to its nature, this book would be better suited to upper KS2 and would support the teaching of WWII well. The author has exercised care and sensitivity in catering to a younger audience whilst instilling an awareness of the living nightmare that Jewish people suffered during the holocaust. My new book, Fritz and Kurt, tells the extraordinary true story of two Jewish brothers in the Holocaust. It’s been nearly ten years in the making. I first discovered the story in 2013, when I learned of the existence of a secret concentration camp diary written by Gustav Kleinmann, the father of Fritz and Kurt. I haven't read Dronfield's book about the Jewish family split by the second world war, but I was fascinated to hear that the author has retold it for a young audience. It wouldn't be the first book out there telling of Holocaust atrocities. While we try to protect our children from some of the worst of humanity, it is also important that they learn history, what intolerance and hatred can become, or how can we ever hope to stop it happening again?In 1946 the near unthinkable happened when Kurt was told, via telegram, that his brother and father were alive. By then an American soldier, he was able to visit them in Vienna when he was stationed in Europe. Still, it wasn't as smooth a reunion he might have hoped for. He had lost most of his German, while his family had little English. Fritz And Kurt is a read suitable for any age, not just children. You will be full of admiration for the bravery of the brothers who lived through a time of great evil. Meanwhile the family is trying to get the other children to safety. One sister did escape to a job in England and eventually papers are procured for Kurt to travel to the United States. For Kurt the trauma of leaving all his family behind to travel halfway across the world to a country with a different language and customs is considerable but the main focus of the story is on the plight of Fritz and his father. As the title of the adult novel indicates Fritz did indeed choose to follow his father on the transport to Auschwitz and to almost certain death, rather than be separated. The strength of their relationship is deeply moving and beautifully conveyed. The story of how they survived until war ended is completely remarkable and so although harrowing the book ultimately has a very positive and inspirational message about human resilience and courage. The ironies continue. Gustav’s new ally at Monowitz was an ex-soldier and co-worker who simply couldn’t credit that Hitler would imprison Jews without cause. But neither could Gustav credit the number of closed trains he saw carrying thousands of Hungarian Jews to their deaths. “And all this in the 20th century,” he wrote with disbelief. A year later, starving at Mauthausen, a camp in Upper Austria, Gustav barely escaped being massacred by ferociously antisemitic Hungarian guards. (The Russians, by contrast, treated all camp inmates with respect.) And so I started this with trepidation, knowing what was likely to be forthcoming. And yes. It was upsetting, especially to a parent with children not far from the ages of Fritz and Kurt. But yes, it was also well-told.

Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield (Paperback) Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield (Paperback)

For context, the family central to this story is the Kleinmanns. As a Jewish family in Austria, the 1930s was an unsettling time. Events lead to Fritz and his father, Gustav, being taken away. However, both father and son survived the war, as did Gustav’s secret diary. Kurt, the youngest child, was sent to the USA, while sister Edith was able to go to Britain. The eldest child, Herta, and the mother were taken away against their will at a later date. They never returned. When the Nazis take over Austria, four different paths await each of the family's four children. Kurt, the youngest, manages to travel all alone to a new life in America. Edith, the eldest, secures a position as a maid in England while her sister, Herta, stays in Vienna with her mother until both are transported to the Ostland. 14-year-old Fritz is sent to Buchenwald with his father. Fritz and Kurt lived in Vienna and as Jews they were in terrible danger when the Nazis came. Fritz, the older brother, and his father do indeed get taken to Buchenwald as the concentration camp is newly developed and we are left in no doubt about the conditions they suffered both there and in subsequent camps. The careful attention to detail certainly gives a real insight into the realities of how the Holocaust progressed.This book follows two brothers Fritz and Kurt who get separated during the early years of WW2, going in different direcetions. Fritz gets sent to a Nazi concentrarion camp and Kurt goes to America to live with extended family as a refugee. At the end of last year, I was invited by the Holocaust Education Trust to a series of seminars about the Holocaust, which included a trip to Auschwitz and Auschwitz- Birkenau. Following this educational experience and the visit, I made a promise to myself that I would continue to educate myself and those around me on the horrific events that happened during the Holocaust and inhumanly treatment of Jewish community. I feel like starting this book review with a review of me, if you don't mind. I have been to Auschwitz and Birkenau, and Dachau, and the Nazi camp in Poznan, Poland. I have a fairly wide reading history when it comes to the Holocaust – certainly greater than the average man you could point to on the generalised commuter bus. However, a few years ago I fell into the Heather Morris trap. For I thought The Tattooist of Auschwitz was a well-made book, which it is, and somehow multiple thousands of copies were printed with a quote from my review in them. They don't print like them like that these days, however, probably due to a regular refresh, and possibly because I tried the sequel and found it unreadable – the amount of barrels in Donkey Kong nothing like the risible amount of sharks jumped, and people knowing the reality behind the characters demanding legal settlement over it all for it being errant fiction. This, and the fact The x of Auschwitz has been one of the most common publishing formats over the last years, has put me off reading much Holocaust literature. Hence my ability to read this junior retelling of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz in full ignorance of the original, adult version.

Fritz and Kurt (Audio Download): Jeremy Dronfield, David Fritz and Kurt (Audio Download): Jeremy Dronfield, David

The Kleinmann family in 1938 featuring Gustav (second left) and Fritz (fourth left). Photograph: Peter Patten I spent many hours interviewing Kurt, and we became friends. He told me all about their family life in Vienna in the days ‘before Hitler came’ and about his special childhood bond with Fritz. He also told me about his own story of life in Vienna under the Nazis, and how he escaped to America in 1941, all alone, aged only eleven. My conversation with Jeremy Dronfield was about an hour in total, so some parts I have had to leave out. It was, however, wonderful to hear him speak so passionately and sincerely. You have to keep reminding yourself that the characters in this book are real people. The conversations are real. What happened is real. But at the same time, also unthinkable. Thanks to Jeremy, the Kleinmann’s story is one which will stay with me. Fritz and Kurt deserves to be a fixture in classrooms, and I hope it is. It will stay with readers for years.When his father is sent to a certain death, Fritz can't face losing his beloved Papa. He chooses to go with him and fight for survival. Meanwhile, Kurt must go on a frightening journey, all alone, to seek safety on the far side of the world. In this extraordinary true story, Fritz and Kurt must face unimaginable hardships, and the two brothers wonder if they will ever return home . . . Fritz and his Papa were sent to Buchenwald concentration camp in 1939, the beginning of a five-year struggle of loss, endurance, resistance and escape. The diary tells how, in 1942, when Papa was transferred to Auschwitz, Fritz volunteered to go with him. Fritz knew they would probably die there, but he couldn’t bear to be without his beloved Papa. When I read the diary’s account of that decision, I knew I had to tell this phenomenal story. The diary is too patchy and difficult to understand in itself (unless you’re a Holocaust historian), so I researched around it, found archived interviews left behind by Fritz (who died in 2009), and located Fritz’s brother, Kurt, who was still alive and living in America.