Grade 4 Historical Fiction Unit: Holocaust

The true story of Lore Baer who as a four-year-old Jewish child was placed with a Christian family in the Dutch farm country to avoid persecution by the Nazis.

When the Nazis occupied Paris, no Jew was safe from arrest and deportation. Few Parisians were willing to risk their own lives to help. Yet during that perilous time, many Jews found refuge in an unlikely place--the sprawling complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Not just a place of worship but a community center, this hive of activity was an ideal temporary hiding place for escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages, especially children. Beautifully illustrated and thoroughly researched. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Diary entries, letters, and other genuine media sources of the era help to inform readers about the tragedies that took place during The Holocaust of World War II.

This series meets National Curriculum Standards for: Social Studies: Culture Individuals, Groups, & Institutions Power, Authority, & Governance Time, Continuity, & Change

Rachel, a young Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, struggles to survive with her family and maintains hope by painting colorful flowers on her dingy apartment walls.

This is a remarkable story of a tiny Torah smuggled into the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by a rabbi. Knowing he would not survive, the rabbi entrusts the Torah to a boy for safekeeping, asking only that he tell its story. Years later, Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon takes this Torah with him into space.

Without the yellow star to point them out, the Jews looked like any other Danes. For centuries, the Star of David was a symbol of Jewish pride. But during World War II, Nazis used the star to segregate and terrorize the Jewish people. Except in Denmark. When Nazi soldiers occupied his country, King Christian X of Denmark committed himself to keeping all Danes safe from harm. The bravery of the Danes and their king during that dangerous time has inspired many legends. The most enduring is the legend of the yellow star, which symbolizes the loyalty and fearless spirit of the king and his people. Award-winning author and storyteller Carmen Deedy has poignantly recreated this legend, which is accompanied by Danish illustrator Henri Sørensen's arresting full-color portraits. The result is a powerful and dignified story of heroic justice, a story for all people and all times.