Book Review: Your Name Is Renee: Ruth Kapp Hartz's Story as a Hidden Child in Nazi-Occupied France by Stacy Cretzmeyer
Description from Goodreads:
In Nazi-occupied France
in 1941, four-year-old Ruth Kapp learns that it is dangerous to use her
own name. "Remember," her older cousin Jeannette warns her, "your name
is Renee and you are French!" A deeply personal book, this true story
recounts the chilling experiences of a young Jewish girl during the
Holocaust.
The Kapp family flees one home after another, helped by simple, ordinary people from the French countryside who risk their lives to protect them. Eventually the family is forced to separate, and young Ruth survives the war in an orphanage where she is not allowed to see or even mention her parents.
Without the trappings of lofty language or the faceless perspective of history, this first-person account poignantly recreates the terror of war seen through the eyes of an innocent child. Your Name Is Renee is a tale of suffering and redemption, fear and hope, which is bound to stir even the most hardened heart.
The Kapp family flees one home after another, helped by simple, ordinary people from the French countryside who risk their lives to protect them. Eventually the family is forced to separate, and young Ruth survives the war in an orphanage where she is not allowed to see or even mention her parents.
Without the trappings of lofty language or the faceless perspective of history, this first-person account poignantly recreates the terror of war seen through the eyes of an innocent child. Your Name Is Renee is a tale of suffering and redemption, fear and hope, which is bound to stir even the most hardened heart.
My thoughts:
I really loved this book. Ruth aka Renee's story is different than other Holocaust books I've read. It was interesting and sad learning about her families struggle, hiding in plain sight from the police, and the amazing people who risked their lives to help them along the way. I also had no idea that children were sent to orphanages in hopes they would be safer there, instead of being with their family, in fear of being rounded up and sent to the concentration camps. This story shows and tells the sheer determination of a family trying to survive, a mother trying to keep her daughter safe, and keeping hope that somehow, someday everything will be alright. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in history and the Holocaust. The writing is great and this book is easy to follow.
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