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One Day – Book Review
One Day – A true story of courage and survival in the Holocaust by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Benjamin Phillips is a story about resilience and hope during one of the most catastrophic events of the last century.
“Get through one day, and then on to the next. One day at a time. One day after another.”
Eugene Handschuh, a Hungarian Jew of the French Resistance in World War II, lived in Paris during the time where Nazis were systematically persecuting and deporting Jews to concentration camps.
One day, Eugene and his dad, Oscar, were captured. That day changed everything. They were sent to concentration camps and forced to live and work under atrocious conditions, together with thousands of other Jews. People were arriving at the camps, never to return to their normal lives. Despite the uncertainty and horrors of their daily lives, they didn’t give up hope and joined forces with other prisoners to plan an escape route. Unfortunately, the Nazis found out and they were beaten and sent on a train to an unknown destination.
Eugene and his friends were packed into cattle trucks. There were twelve hundred Jews on that train. Men, women and children, starving, crying and screaming, unaware of their fates. Eugene and his friends would not give up in the uncertainty of their situation, they would not be broken down. So, they fought, they forced the bars of the cattle trucks open and nineteen of them jumped from the moving vehicle. They fled to the nearest train station and mingled with other people to escape the police that were looking for them, managing to reach Paris. Eugene’s dad was left behind and was lucky enough to be found and helped by a farmer couple, who hid him from the Nazis. He eventually reunited with Eugene in Paris, where they rejoined the Resistance and carried on their fight against their oppressors.
All of the twelve hundred other people on that train were sent to Auschwitz. Only twenty-nine came back.
The 27th of January marks the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. This book written by Michael Rosen and masterfully illustrated by Benjamin Phillips, narrates the poignant journey of Eugene and his dad, who one day after another, fought against the odds, knowing that any day could be their last. It’s a story of hope and resilience during times where the horrors of the Holocaust could break anyone’s soul.
Eugene and Oscar Handschuh, Maurice, Rene, Georges, Roger, Abraham, Claude, Monsieur and Madame Medard; their names are commemorated in this book, cherishing their bravery and resilience as they fought incessantly to live another day.
One Day’ is available to purchase from our partner, Peters Ltd.
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