We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust

by Jacob Boas, Patricia C. McKissack (Foreword by)

World War II Jewish teens David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva, and Anne tell their tragic stories as victims at Hitler's death camps through journal entries that introduce the horrors of the Holocaust to present-day readers. Reprint.

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction, History, World War II, Biography, Historical, War

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 15, 1995

About the author

Jacob Boas has a Ph.D. in modern European history and is a historian, writer, and translator. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife.

Reviews

[Lilli Gilliam · Rating 3 out of 5]

My love for holocaust books begins when I was seven. It was around my bed time and I was going to pick out my next book to read. I came across Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust and it sparked my interest. I didn't know how to pronounce the word 'holocaust', so I went to my mom for help. She explained everything about it. The next day I devoured the book. So, whenever I read a holocaust book, and makes me think about this happy moment with my mom.
I solely picked this book up because I love reading about the holocaust. The five diarists in this book died in the holocaust, but their words survived. The holocaust books I have read so far follow a person's struggle and journey through the war, and the main character always survives. These five teenagers wrote in their diaries. They never lost hope, and they looked for the better side of life, even if the world around them was a dark and cruel place. Their words are captivating and beautiful. They never deserved to be murdered, but yet, they were. They were persecuted for who they were.
The diarists in this book shouldn't be forgotten. Their stories should be heard. These teenagers have voices that should never be forgotten. They longed for life until the very end. The diarists in this book are David Rubinowicz, Yitzhak Rudashevski, Moshe Ze'ev Flinker, Eva Heyman, and Anne Frank.
The thing I like about this book, is that I learned a lot more from this. I also like how this was written by a holocaust survivor. The only thing I found wrong with it, is it got a little too slow for me.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has ripped my heart out of my chest and put it back in many, many pieces. I forgot how depressed I get after reading these books. All five stories had me nearly crying, Eva's story completely broke me.

You had five different Jewish teens who lived in different parts of Europe. All their countries ended up under Nazi occupation. All five were part of the 6 million Hitler and the Nazis murdered. Every story was different and very eye opening. The story that probably that hurt my the most was Moshe's.

They all equally broke my heart but this one really hit with a hammer. Moshe's was an Orthodox Jew, which means that he did not belive that Jesus was the Messiah. I was so close to tears many times while reading his story. It was heart breaking to read his writing. He was hoping and praying that through this terrible, awful event that God was finally going to send the Messiah. It hurt my heart so much to read that.

Another thing that broke my heart was in Yitzhak's story. He was in a ghetto. In his particular ghetto, you were required to have a colored slip of paper to live. It hurt so much to read how people sold out their wives and families just to obtain this color slipped. It was hurtful to read that human beings were dedicated if they could live based on if they carried a color slip of paper or not.

Even though this was a very depressing book, it also was super eyeopening and a book I believe that everyone should read. In Holocaust/WW2 book terms, it was not graphic at all. This book should be a required read in either high school or college. If you can please read this book. It will make you depressed but you will get yours eyes opened to just how horrific the Holocaust was from a first hand experience of teenagers.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What gets me about this book, is that the stories are real. These entries are from real teenagers who have gone through something so horrifying, and yet their stories are being told. They have a voice, that will live forever. When I was reading this book, and looking at where their families have come from, I couldn't help to think about my own family. How my family came from similar places in Europe, and it could have been anyone. This book reminded me of how we need to keep their voices alive to teach generations after us. Reading a book like this can be sad, but so worth it.

[Book2Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

True diaries that show what the world lost under Hitler and the danger of fascism and the absence of truth. Sobering but important.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book We Are Witnesses is written by Jacob Boas. The book is five first hand accounts of children that died in the holocaust. David Rubinowicz, Yitzhak Rudashevski, Moshe Flinker, Eva Heyman and Anne Frank are the names of the five children. Jacob Boas took their dairies and put them into a book that is not only moving, but supported with facts about World War II. This piece of literature is an amazing read and will leave you breathless times five. We are Witnesses brings you inside the lives of five victims of one of the world largest world wars.The part of the book that affected me the most is when Yitzhak said, "We may be fated for the worst" they were the last words put in his diary before he was sent the the gas chamber. No child should ever have to say that. This book is very educational as well as moving. Boas did a good job of not only giving us an introduction explaining the Nazi power, but giving us a map of Europe and giving statistical numbers on how many died during the Holocaust. I would recommend this text to anyone that is interested in learning about World War II or what it was like living as a Jewish descent.
David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva and Anne were all kids my age. They were harmless and adventurous children that were born in a family with a different religion and ethnicity. I'm sure when they wrote in their diaries they never thought their writings would be in a famous book. They were witnesses of one of the biggest wars in the history of the world. They were five children out of eight million and yes those five can make a big difference in people's lives because they did in mine.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Everyone's heard of or read Anne Frank's diary, but her war-time experiences are a little bit unique because her family was in hiding. In this book, four other diaries by teenagers are discussed at length, each portraying a different aspect of what it meant to be Jewish in occupied Europe during the war. Among the other diarists were families who were forced into ghetto life, or who fled the country and pretended to be Christian to escape notice, and these stories are harrowing in detail, to say the least.

I really enjoyed hearing other teenage voices from this troubling time. Though this is marketed as YA, and is written for a young/teen audience, some prior knowledge of the Holocaust would probably be best before tackling the book. A lot of what the author discusses is assumed to be already known by the reader. Still, it's a very good read and a valuable addition to Shoah literature.

[Alliyah]

David Rubinowicz, Yitzhak Rudashevski, Mosh Ze’ev, Eva Heyman and Anne Frank. Those are the names of the teenagers who had a diary while the holocaust was taking place. All of the thoughts and emotions from these teens help to paint a better picture of what happened. I am aware that the event that took place was very sad but with these diaries you can see what happened to families but from another perspective. I personally really loved this book because i have heard of the holocaust and we did learn about it but it was from an outside look and reading this book taught me so much about what happened but things that I could apply to my life and the deep thoughts these teens have, can really open your eyes.I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history or is interested in this event. If you happen to come across this book you should pick it up because you might learn a thing or two.

[Katie Coci · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a poweful and wonderful book!! This book will make anyone not take life for granted. Within his book we hear from 5 teentagers, David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva and Anne and their struggle with survival during the Holocaust. This book is overflowing with emotion. Starvation, fear of death and left to die are some of the experiences that these teenagers face. Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down. This book can used in the classroom when learning about the Holocaust. Kids would love this book and they would be amazed about the experiences that these teenagers have gone through.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I'm a big fan of Holocaust literature. I am continually amazed by how people responded to such a tragedy. This book left a bit to be desired. It had the potential to be powerful but didn't quite make it there. Positively, the variety of viewpoints from Jewish teenagers from a variety of backgrounds, and I liked how historical fact was intertwined with the journal excerpts. However, I did not like the organizational technique. I didn't feel like I was getting a full picture of the characters and their struggles. I think chronological order and more detail (I do realize they were limited by the content of the diaries) would have made it a more powerful and satisfying read.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this book a lot. There are some spots that are kinda boring but then it gets better into the chapter. I love how it tells how Anne Frank's dairy is so famous and how the writeing in it is super good. I loved to find out the Anne Frank had the same birthday as me that was a really cool fact. I feel like this book is really sad at the ends of the chapters or kinda the whole chapter. It is sad to find out how they got killed and what happened to their friends and family when they died. I would reccomend the book to anyone who wants to read about the holocaust and people that want to read about what the kids anad teens had to go through in the Holocaust

[Kristi Krumnow · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's research into all 5 diarists is thorough and insightful. Let us be thankful that someone saved, and eventually had published, these young people's diaries.

[Christiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading The House at Tyneford by Natasha Soloman, I have fallen in love with historical fiction. I love being able to imagine what life was like then and the vintage clothing and accessories that were in style. Even though We are Witnesses by Jacob Boas is not historical fiction, I was still interested in the fact that it was all about teenager’s experiences during a crucial time in history. It is important that we are aware of our world history so that we do not make the same mistakes that we have made in the past.
The book takes place during the Holocaust. Five teenagers, David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva and Anne recorded their experiences during the sorrow filled years of World War II. Each excerpt that is presented of their diaries is not only sad, but is disturbing to think how a man could do these awful things to children. Children who had dreams. Children who were innocent. Children who were fighting to their death, hoping to see freedom after the war. What all of these kids had in common was more than just their diaries or ages, but it was the determination they had to survive those awful times. No one deserves to be treated like how they were treated and their “Voices we must never forget”.
Unlike most of the books I have read in the past, this book was divided into five sections. Five different sections for five different teenagers. I felt this helped keep the book organized and was effective in an emotional way. I also felt that it was very informative. I’ve learned so much about the Holocaust and World War II. Although I enjoyed this book and everything it has to offer, there were some things that didn’t work.
The cover of the book had me expecting five different parts of diaries that were written by five different teenagers during the Holocaust. Yes, this book is about five different diaries, and yes, there were five different teenagers, but I felt there was not enough from the actual diaries. The book mostly consisted of background information and there was a lot of explaining of what was going on. If there were more excerpts from the diaries, the book would have had a very different impact on the reader. It would have left us thinking about the teenagers and their personal experiences rather than feeling like we just learned about how the world affected these kids in general.

[Venus Zhao · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok I feel like the theme is that bad things can happen to good people and that the world could be unfair. I didn't like this book that much because I found it predictable because we already know whats going to happen, but overall it was an okay book because it was a bit different from other it shows peoples diaries and their storys. I liked that all the people came from different places. And why I thought the theme was the bad things happen to good people and that the world could be unfair is because many innocent jewish and other were shot, stolen from, and unfairly treated. It was about the Nazi´s time where people were unfairly treated and shot because of war. Some were even totured, starved. Or shot and it shows the diaries of 5 different people some of what my age and their storys and their perspective of whats happening.

[Nebiyu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was sad, depressing, sort of enjoyable all at the same time. This book had a lot of depressing times and must have been a terrible time to live in. I really liked the first story because I feel that his diary was explained more and it felt like you were there. This was one of the worst things in our society up until today. The ending was very annoying with the cliffhanger at the end. I couldn't really relate to the other Diaries and i'm glad I don't relate to any of them but it just didn't have that feel that a book I like has. It's also very sad to know that every single one of these people didn't know that they might just die tommorow. I also don't like the deaths and this book was just not a very good book in my opinion. This doesn't have comedy or anything it just has pain and sorrow.

[Mariem]

This was an amazing book on the stories of teenagers that passed in the Holocaust. This book was very informative and really showed how these teens felt. It showed how they lived their everyday life through pain and suffering because of the religion they chose to have. I would recommend this book to middle schoolers and high schoolers because I think it could change their perspectives on life. In the book, Ane Frank states, "I still believe people are good at heart" To be able to say that people are still good at heart even though they put you through so much pain and suffering is quite shocking to me. Overall this was an amazing book that really changed the way I view people that have a negative input on my life.

[Lia Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this book was very educational and emotional, at times while I was reading it got confusing and boring but I really enjoyed learning about five peoples perspectives during the Holocaust. All five diarists were so incredible to have hope during that horrible war. I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading diaries or is interested in the Holocaust.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tag line is "Five diaries of teenagers who died in the Holocaust" but that is not accurate. This book is mostly the author including small journal entries while telling us about the authors circumstances. The set up gave more information about the war then the actual people. It was hard to feel a connection with any of the characters. That is one of the many reasons Anne Frank's journal is so powerful. We can connect with her on so many levels. This book lacked that... This would have been great if it focused more on the journals and the individuals who wrote them.

[Katherine Gamal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me an insight about the inhumane things that happened to those teenagers and how they were deprived of their childhood and lives. It's a good read, It showed the diaries without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary explanations and commentary.

[TE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading quite a few books of this type recently, after a visit to the Anne Frank exhibit at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Many of them have been on my to-read list for quite some time, and I wanted to read more of the personal experiences of individuals who were eyewitnesses to what occurred in that tragic decade, as opposed to the traditional narrative histories I usually read. It's important to note that Anne Frank's groundbreaking record of her experiences in hiding represented only one person's view; there were no doubt thousands of similar accounts, but they are much less well-known.

This book is a compilation of similar written accounts of teenagers who experienced some of the worst atrocities ever inflicted by man, and who likewise showed an almost superhuman resilience in the face of almost certain death. The first account is that of David Rubinowicz, a Polish Jew who lived in a small village in Poland with his two siblings and his parents, who owned a dairy. He recounts the arrest of his father who was sent to a labor camp, but returned home for a brief time, but the entire family was murdered at Treblinka in September, 1942, along with 850,000 other Jews in a little over a year.

Yitzhak Rudashevski was the son of a typesetter father and a seamstress mother, in Vilnius, Lithuania. A committed and idealistic Communist (many Jewish residents believed that communism was the answer to the persecution to which they had been subjected) after the Soviet arrival, Yitzhak witnessed the invasion by the Germans and the abandonment of the red-star wearing Soviets, leaving them to the mercy of Hitler's armies. How he met his end, and when, is unclear, but it appears that he was "liquidated" in the fall of 1943 with the other Vilnius ghetto residents, either in a death camp or from being worked to death in an Estonian labor camp, at age fifteen.

The third author, Moshe Flinker, was born in the Hague, Netherlands, to an orthodox Jewish businessman father and a Polish immigrant mother. He was thirteen when the Nazis invaded in 1940, and soon after, his family migrated to Belgium to live under false papers as Dutch nationals in an attempt to conceal their Jewish heritage and faith. The latter was perhaps the most difficult aspect of the struggle for devout orthodox Moshe. Despite his clinging to his faith to the last, betrayed, the family was sent to Auschwitz. Although several siblings survived, Moshe did not. Despite his love for his religion, it's clear that Mosche struggled with his faith and the suffering he and his people were enduring. He wrote in his diary: "I think that upon experiencing such great anguish [people] will think that there is no God at all in the universe, because had there been a God, he would not have let such things happen to His people. I have heard this said many times already - and indeed, what can God intend by all these calamities that are happening to us in this terrible period? It seems to me that the time has come for our redemption, or rather, that we are more or less worthy of being redeemed."

The fourth writer, Eva Heyman, like Anne Frank, started writing a diary she was given as a gift on her thirteenth birthday. She lived in Hungary with her mother and grandparents, and speaks passionately about what was taken from them, starting with her grandfather's pharmacy. She seems the most ready to resist, confronting even the police who had come to confiscate her bicycle. Moved into the ghetto in Budapest, she was eventually deported and sent to Auschwitz, where Mengele himself may have sent her to the gas chamber, because of infection in her feet. Eva's mother and grandfather survived the war, but only for a short time. He died at age fifty-one in 1949, and her mother shortly thereafter committed suicide.

The final author in this collection is Anne Frank: I will, for the sake of space, comment little on her account as it's so famous. So much so, in fact, that the editor wrote: "Anne's diary is world famous. It has been translated into dozens of languages. It has been made into a movie and play.... Teachers use it in their classrooms. Presidents have quoted from it. She's the 'world's most famous child.'"

One of the key themes in Anne Frank's diary is that of the interpersonal conflict which arose between the residents of the Annex, doubtless a result of the unimaginable strain of remaining in hiding under appalling conditions of confinement. Other accounts likewise speak of strained relationships: after their home is ransacked, their food and valuables confiscated, and summary arrests, David Rubinowicz's father snaps and savagely beats him with a belt for not tidying up a woodshed, but is then later deported: despite the terrible brutality, when his father was being taken away in a truck, David laments, "I saw him on the last truck; his eyes were red with weeping. I kept on looking at him until he disappeared around the corner; then I had a sudden fit of crying, and I felt how much I love him and how much he loves me. And only now did I feel that what I wrote... about him not loving me was a beastly lie, and who knows if I won't have to pay for doubting him when it wasn't true at all... I cried a very long time, and every time I thought of Father's tear-stained face, I began sobbing all over again. The dearest person in the whole world we had, they've taken away from us-and ill as well."

Another key theme in this collection is the betrayal of other members of the community against the Jews when the Nazis began attacking them. Yitzhak wrote of the vicious attacks of other Lithuanians against Jewish residents for supporting the Soviets and embracing communism: "The Lithuanians especially had not forgotten that many Jews had welcomed Soviet soldiers with open arms, and were eager to get revenge.... The Germans could afford to remain aloof as the locals took revenge on the Jews for having supported the Soviets." The Lithuanians themselves reportedly dragged residents from their homes and drove them to train stations for deportation or to be shipped off to labor camps, sometimes in exchange for money from the Germans. Mosche Flinker's family, like the Frank family, was betrayed to the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz, where Mosche and his parents were murdered, although several of his siblings survived, and returned to their hiding place in Belgium, where his diary was found.

All of the authors of these accounts, in fact, did eventually perish in ways some too horrible to even contemplate. Their words speak to their terrible fear and anxiety, more for family members than for themselves, but also to their strength of spirit and the acknowledgement of how critical a period in history it was, such that the actions of their persecutors needed to be recorded, as did the heroic deeds of their community members who surrounded them, some of whom risked their own lives to help others. As the editor, a Holocaust survivor himself, noted: "living under the gun took its toll. Murders 'for no reason,' arrests 'for any trifle,' and humiliations and beatings and requisitionings and roundups and fear, always fear. 'If only you could have one quiet day,' [David] wrote on April 19, 1942. 'My nerves are utterly exhausted; whenever I hear of anyone's distress, I burst into tears, my head starts aching, and I'm exhausted, as if I'd been doing the hardest possible work. It's not only me; everyone feels the same.'" This, written by a thirteen-year-old who would not survive. The theme of humanity remains strong, despite the madness going on around these young but insightful people and their loved ones.


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In Germany, the Nazis came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the labor unionists, and I didn't speak up because I was not a labor unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I was a Protestant so I didn't speak up. Then they came for me..... By that time there was no one to speak up for anyone.
-Martin Niemoller (1892-1964)

We live in a time when you can't speak out; all you can do is keep quiet and swallow everything.

I walk burdened and irritated. The Lithuanians drive us on, do not let us rest. I think of nothing; not what I am losing, not what I have just lost, not what is in store for me. I o not see the streets before me, the people passing by. I only feel that I am terribly weary, I feel that an insult, a hurt is burning inside me. Here is the ghetto gate. I feel that I have been robbed, my freedom is being robbed from me, my home, and the familiar Vilna [Vilnius] streets I love so much. I have been cut off from all that is dear and precious to me.

I shall never stop hoping... because the moment I stop hoping I shall cease to exist. All I hav is hope; my entire being depends on it. And at the same time I have nothing. What will these useless hopes bring me? I don't know what to do.

[Jibber Jabber · Rating 5 out of 5]

memorizing and beautiful

[Jamii · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book, in a sad way. The Anne Frank section is short and used more as a comparison to the others than a standalone section but I figure that's done on purpose do to her diary being it's own book. The section that spoke to me the most and that I found to be the most interesting and most sad was that of a little girl named Eva, seriously her story is one that had me scratching my head the entire time. Why did she live like this? why did she go through that? Why didn't they help? Why didn't they seem to care? Of course I'm speaking of various specific details and not just her ultimate death by nazi, since we all know what lead to that. Moshe, David and Yitzhak were all brilliant children sadly extinguished. Their stories of their lives, family and friends are also interesting, however Eva's story is one I won't soon forget.
Anyone interested in WWII related literature should absolutely give this little book a read.

[Gabriel F · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We Are Witnesses,” by Jacob Baus, is an emotional train ride. Though I will not include all five stories, the one I will be writing about is probably the one that hit me the hardest. “We Are Witnesses” is a book focused on a short summary of five teens’ experience during the Holocaust. David Rubinowicz story stood out to me because it truly showed that these people didn’t deserve to die. As a boy who loved to be outdoors and suddenly be stripped of this right was the most impacting thing to David. He would sit by a window just to be able to see the outside world. The middle of his story is what had all of touching parts so I’ll just skip that part. But like the book states in the title David unfortunately died but one quote that will always stick with me is, “A girl as pretty as a picture- if she could be shot, then the end of the world will soon be here.”
A teen should not be surrounded by death no matter race, religion, or color of skin. Death is a horrible thing and it should not be a regular everyday thing for a teenager.When the Germans first invaded Poland the Jews still had some rights but towards the end of the war the treatment got worse. This book tells the stories of five teens who for one didn’t deserve to die but did and that’s the bad part. This book brought out a soft side in me and that’s something that no other book has done. The fact this book is based on true stories makes me think how one human could possibly make it his life goal to kill millions of people. Hitler was and is the definition of a piece of worthless trash and how he made a country fall to him makes me think his “perfect race” wasn’t that “perfect.” I truly loved this book because of so many reasons that even I don’t understand. The theme of this book is to make the best of your life because you don’t know when it will end. This book deserves so much more attention that it has because it was that good.

[Antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today is a cloud Sunday morning; I just had breakfast, and lay in my hammock to continue reading it. I feel devastated for David sobbing at his beloved father’s departure to a forced labor camp, without knowing the fate that waits for him there, and if he will ever see him again. Even more when Yitzack’s mother, after many other failed desperate attempts, gets a yellow pass (a pass that allows the survival of a family of four under the greatest of the beast’s Reich in Lithuania), and they rush off to a ghetto, and leave their grandma behind, in the streets of Vilna, at the German bandits will, open-arms, begging to be taken. She will soon be murdered. I stopped reading, got up, and stayed walking from sitting room to kitchen, hands holding my head tightly as if trying to extract some reasoning for this horror out of my own mind. Cannot stop my tears and have to delay the beginning of my scientific paper corrections planned for this Sunday morning because I am too distressed. I am aware that David and Yitzack themselves will eventually die, because these little, though powerful diaries were written by children who all died in the hands of the Arians, the superior race. Hate and revolt sweep my mind and reach my body. I also suffer for knowing that at the end of the book the five Jewish angels will be dead.

[~Bellegirl91~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I loved this book! it's about 5 different Jewish teenagers who wrote Journals and were later found after the war. The commentary is great and it's just an amazing book to hear from 4 different teenager's points of view of how they lived in the Holocaust, their lives, their thoughts and feelings, their struggles....I say 4 because Anne Frank is the epilogue and the last teenager. I skipped that because I want to be surprised when I read her diary in the original book with no commentaries. But the last story of Eva Heyman was my favorite! How she was in a camp and fought hard to stay alive but couldn't. all the other stories are amazing too and reminds us how important it is to see that this kind of thing should NEVER EVER happen again! Just all the cruel things the Nazis did and the amount of Jewish people who died and learning about "new massacres" I've never heard of are horrible and hard to describe. But I admire these 4 teenagers (and Anne Frank. I'll include her too. :D) for their strength and their faith to go on in this war and knowing that any day would be their last and yet they stayed strong! I'd HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY....recommend this book! Truly amazing stories.

[Nancy Oyula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading through this book made me emotional. I have heard and read about the holocaust several times but this book evoked fresh sad feelings in me. It’s like I had just heard about the holocaust.
I couldn’t help but shed a tear when I read David’s story, the young boy recorded how the Nazis considered Poles sub human. How every Jew in Krajno, a small village South of Warsaw was killed. Jews in Kielce were not allowed to travel in vehicles, they had to walk and were forced to wear an arm band to display at all times. David wrote of how he witnessed mass murders. Murders which happened for no reason. Arrests, humiliations and beatings.

This is a good book for history lovers. It’s educative and has a lot of facts about the German attacks on Jews in 1930s and 1940s. The stories written by the teenagers are mournful. It breaks my heart that fellow men could do the worst to each other. Killing people of a different descent like roaches, like they don’t matter. These despicable acts by German Nazis will forever be inscribed in man’s history, and future generations will read and listen in shame, wondering how a group of humans could turn into beasts.

[Shaila Prather · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Are Witnesses was an amazing book to read this semester. In my book We Are Witnesses it talks about the tragedy that occured in 1939-1945 and how Jews got through World War 2. But in this book, it specifically talks about 5 teenage Jews that wrote about their experience of World War 2 in their diaries. That’s what I liked about the book, it’s a nonfiction book that tells the reader what has happened in the past and what people went through as a person. The first point of view I read from was David Rubinowicz. He wrote about struggling against fear and terror. The second point of view is from Yitzhak Rudashevksi. He wrote about how Jews clung to culture, to learning, and to hope, until there was no hope at all. The third point of view is from Moshe Ze’ev Flinker. He wrote about religion, constantly seeking answers from God for relentless tragedy. The fourth point of view is from Eva Heyman. She wrote about the unquenchable hunger for life that sustained her until the very last moment. And the last point of view comes from none other than Anne Frank herself. She wrote about the largest truth they all left for us: Hitler could kill millions, but he could not destroy the human spirit. These five teenagers faced the worst of human evil.

I found this book very engaging. You never know what really happens in a person’s life until you actually read what they have to say about their lives. I would very much so recommend this book to others because it’s a very interesting book. I would mostly recommend this book to people who like non-fiction. And who likes to learn about the subject WW2. This book has all you need to know about WW2 and how people lived through it.

Five quotes that show how these teenagers faced the worst of human evils is,
David Rubinowicz: “ Yesterday afternoon I went to Bodzentyn to get my tooth filled and intended to stay there overnight. Early this morning the militia came. As they were driving along the highway, they met a Jew who was going out of town, and they immediately shot him for no reason, then they drove on and shot a Jewess, again for no reason. So two victims have perished for absolutely no reason. All the way home I was very frightened I might run across them, but I didn’t run across anybody.” pg.20. This shows how David Rubinowicz faced the worst of human evil.

Yitzhak Rudashevski: “ Our hearts are crushed witnessing the shameful scene where women and older people are beaten and kicked in the middle of the street by small bandits.” pg.46. This shows how Yitzhak Rudashevski faced the worst of human evil.

Moshe Ze’ev Flinker: “ Reveal Thy sacred mighty arm and draw redemption near. Take Thy revenge upon that Wicked people(!) that has shed the blood of those who worship thee. Our deliverance has been long overdue, evil days are endless, banish the foe, destroy the shadow of his image, provide us with a guiding light.” pg.106. This shows how Moshe Ze’ev Flinker faced the worst of human evil.

Eva Heyman: “ Today they came for my bicycle. I almost caused a big drama. You know, dear diary, I was awfully afraid just by the fact that the policemen came into the house. I know that policemen brig only trouble with them,wherever they go.” pg.130. This shows how Eva Heyman faced the worst of human evil.

And lastly, Anne Frank: “ In the evening, when it’s dark, I often see rows of good, innocent people accompanied by crying children, walking on and on, in the charge of a couple of these chaps, bullied and knocked about until they almost drop. No one is spared-- old people, babies, expectant mothers, the sick-- each and all join in the march of death.” pg.172-173. This shows how Anne Frank faced the worst of human evil.

If your looking for a book about personal life or even a nonfiction book, this is the book to read. We Are Witnesses tells you everything you need to know about WW2 and how people’s lives were affected.

[Cindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the main character in “Diary of Anne Frank,” this book is a collection of stories from five teens who lived, and died, in Europe during World War Two.

Anne Frank may be the most famous young diarist of Holocaust literature, but she is not the only Jewish teenager who kept a diary during Hitler’s maniacal reign. Many of us have read the diary written by Frank while she was hidden with her family and others in Amsterdam or perhaps watched one of the films based on to book published after her death in Bergen-Belsen. Of the five diaries included in this book, Anne’s is the only one almost everyone has heard of. However, her story is much different than the others.

There is David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva, and Anne. Anne is the only one who went into hiding. The other four experienced the ever increasing restrictions on Jewish people while living in a variety of towns in Eastern Europe. They experienced living in the ghettos and seeing ones they lived taken away or killed. By comparison, Anne had almost a privileged existence before going into hiding and was still able to have some of the luxuries she had before going into hiding.

The subject matter is definitely heavy, but seems quite realistic. The author uses their own words in telling how these teens felt and thought about what was going on around them. This would make a great companion book to the “Diary of Anne Frank.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but only gave it three stars because of its inclusion of Anne Frank. I would liked to have seen another teens story included instead of Anne’s.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a heartbreaking book. A quick read & a really good introduction for younger readers. (I’m thinking teens, rather than children. Maybe in lieu of The Diary if Anne Frank & Elie Wiesel‘ day night, maybe read it in the grade before those books, or put it in lower level English classes.) I think an adult reader with an interest in WWII history or specifically the Holocaust would want more depth.

The thing I disagree with in terms of this book is the inclusion of Anne Frank. Look - it’s Anne Frank & her diary tends to be THE book. It’s a touchstone & so many people have read it. (Heck!! The kids from the Freedom Writers read The Diary of Anne Frank & reference it.) Anne Frank has the PR. We know who she is & high school English classes across the US read The Diary of Anne Frank. I even went back & read it because that was not part of my high school or college experience. If I were the person editing this book, writing it, putting in the research, Anne Frank is not where I would have focused. There were 4 other teens that could’ve been focused on. If there was a need for a fifth, was wasn’t another teen chosen? Someone less known than Anne, like the previous 4.

[Beckett Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: 5 teenagers in different parts of Europe with different backgrounds try to live a normal life when the Nazis take over. Each one of them is Jews. Their names were David Rubinowicz, Yitzhak Rudashevski, Moshe Finker, Eva Heyman, and Anne Frank. They all left diaries, accounts of their time during the Nazi invasion. Each of them is doing whatever they can, fighting to stay out of the Nazi’s grasp while recording it in diaries so they will not be forgotten. Some are put in ghettos, others find safe houses. Each one of them has hope in their faith but unfortunately, there are no happy endings. Every one of them falls at the hands of the Nazis.

Review: I really enjoyed this book. I like looking at the holocaust through other people's eyes and this book was perfect for that. It was interesting how different and similar each person's experience was. The book had a lot of good lessons and is great for education on the holocaust. I would 100% recommend this book to somebody even if they aren't specifically looking for WW2 books because it such a good experience to learn about the holocaust through these kid's eyes.

[Shyanne]

We Are Witnesses is a book about 5 teenagers who died during the holocaust. In this book, you will read about David Rubinowicz, Yitzhak Rudashevski, Mosh Ze’ev, Eva Heyman and Anne Frank. Their diaries explain how their conditions got more critical and the hardships they went through with the situation of the invasion until their diaries were taken. This author took all these elements from each diary put it in a book and explained somethings these children missed out on.

This book was so heavy especially when you read about all the hardships and struggles these kids went through. These kids had so much life left in them when you read about how some of these kids were so close to making it through it makes you rethink life. This book makes you realize that you can never understand what these kids went through. Overall this book was very well written and made me so sad to think about how good I have it and that I have some simple luxuries that these kids never had and I take them for granted like going to school.