Such Good Girls

Such Good Girls: The Journey of The Holocaust's Hidden Child Survivors is a non-fiction account of a few of the thousands of children who managed to survive the Holocaust outside of the concentration camps.

R. D. Rosen shares the stories of three girls: Carla, Flora and Sophie.  Each girl's tale is unique, yet are representative of the variety of ways children were hidden and survived during the Holocaust.  

Sophie changes her name and is told by her mother that she is Catholic, As years pass with Sophie believing she is Catholic, the news that she is a Jew is nearly unbelievable.

Flora and her mother move to avoid being sent to a concentration camp, and her mother leaves Flora with others to care for her and keep her safe.

Carla, who lived in Holland, is hidden in plain sight, living with her mother and brother and a family of nine near a busy area that Germans frequented.

These three women have now shared their stories after many years of being silent.  After Sophie, Flora and Carla's stories are shared Rosen adds the stories of other hidden children and the way they have been able to find closure and also share their stories with others who have had similar experienes.

I enjoy nearly anything written about the Holocaust, and did enjoy Such Good Girls. Rosen's account was not easy for me to get into initially, and I felt little connection to these women. However, as I continued to read, Rosen shared more human elements of these ladies, allowing me to connect with them, and want to know more about them and their miraculous survival.

Such Good Girls is definitely worth the time it takes to read, and brings an interesting perspective to the Holocaust by focusing on the many children who were able to survive and go on to build lives elsewhere.