The Underground Reporters

August 1, 2005
Gr 6-9 -In the summer of 1940, in Budejovice -a lovely old Czech town of some 50,000 residents -Jewish youngsters were allowed to meet each day at a piece of land near the river that they called -the swimming hole. - There they played sports and games and created a newspaper that is a lasting reminder of the children who died in Hitler's concentration camps. In part one, Kacer introduces several young people through the reminiscences and anecdotes of John Freund, one of the few survivors, and then follows them and their families as they were forced by the Nazi regime to adhere to strict laws limiting nearly every aspect of their lives. Part two offers details of Freund's life from October 1937 until April 1945, including the creation of the newspaper that the children called "Klepy" ( -Gossip -), filled with stories, poems, chatter, photos, and drawings meant to entertain and raise the spirits of the children and their families. All 22 editions of "Klepy" survived the Holocaust to become part of the collection of the Jewish Museum of Prague. Finally, all 1000 Jews of Budejovice were transported to Theresienstadt. Part three describes their existence in the camp, including details about the celebration of life events (a bar mitzvah; a wedding), then their transfer to Auschwitz where most of the prisoners perished. Black-and-white photos and reproductions of pages of and covers from "Klepy" appear throughout. The straightforward narrative allows readers with little or no background in the period to gain basic knowledge of the Holocaust." -Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH"

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