We Fought Back Allan Zullo if I Die I'll Take Some Germans With Me
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In this book I learned how rough the Holocaust actually was for the Jewish people. I felt that the book was very informational and made me feel that I was actually there. I could visualize what was going on. I really enjoyed the book, because it explained the scenes out very well and the book was not confusing at all. I also liked the book because it was not just based on one person. It was about six characters who had the same type of experience in different places.
Plot: In t
Personal Response:In this book I learned how rough the Holocaust actually was for the Jewish people. I felt that the book was very informational and made me feel that I was actually there. I could visualize what was going on. I really enjoyed the book, because it explained the scenes out very well and the book was not confusing at all. I also liked the book because it was not just based on one person. It was about six characters who had the same type of experience in different places.
Plot: In this book all of the characters homes were taken away from them. They were forced to move to a ghetto and lived in the streets. All of them escaped and ran to the wilderness. They became partisans which are people who fought against the Nazis. They lived off the land for four or more years. All of them were survivors who made it through this terrible situation. They then managed to find what was left of there family, and basically start all over again to have a normal life again.
Characterization: My favorite character had to be Paul. He was taken away from his family and sent to a work camp. He was able to escape by bribing a guard. He became a partisan and his job was to lay dynamite on the railroad tracks to stop the German trains from delivering supplies or soldiers to other areas. I think that was just awesome and I would be proud to do it. He ranked up and became a leader of over 800 people by the end of the war. He was brought back with his two younger sisters, and his dad who had escaped the work camp. They hid in the wilderness as well. I think he was one of the strongest characters and had the most will to survive.
Setting: The book took place in Germany from 1939 to 1945. It took place during the Holocaust while Hitler was the leader of Germany. The hardest thing must have been in the very harsh and freezing winters when they had no home. They lived in the woods under trees. If they were lucky, they lived in a small dens that they built.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to any male or female 12 or older because of the language. I would recommend this to someone who wanted to know more about what life was like during the Holocaust. I give this book four stars, because it was a very good book. However, I thought the author should have stuck with one person instead of five or six different people.
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Surviving subzero winters in swamps and forests, Jewish partisans had to evade violent anti-Semitism even from their comrades. At 15, Paul Strassman blew up
This collection of seven individual stories, based on author Allan Zullo's interviews with each participant, highlights eastern European partisans who "wreaked havoc on the Nazis through guerrilla warfare and sabotage." Simultaneously thrilling and harrowing, these tales honor real-life heroism while remaining truthful about the costs of war.Surviving subzero winters in swamps and forests, Jewish partisans had to evade violent anti-Semitism even from their comrades. At 15, Paul Strassman blew up a Nazi supply train, only to have his team leader aim a gun at him and suggest, "Let's get rid of the Jewish kid." Romi Cohn secretly supported 58 Jewish families as a 15-year-old, but was in constant danger of exposure from his non-Jewish neighbors. Sixteen-year-old Frank Blaichiman rooted out Nazi collaborators--usually ordinary citizens--attempting to destroy him and his friends.
Yet shining through these stories is each teen's righteous determination to survive and fight back.
The end of each chapter describes the person's after-war experiences. Most emigrate to America, become citizens, raise children, and create businesses, charitable foundations, and books to ensure that their stories are never forgotten.
I recommend this book for readers age 12 and up because of its mature themes and honest depictions of wartime violence. Despite sometimes clunky dialogue, it is an effective reminder of how previous generations fought back against virulent racism. Our job now is to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
...more Personal Response: The book, We Fought Back, by Allan Zullo was a very interesting book. The book was a non-fiction and different stories from different teenagers in every chapter. They explained what their experiences were during World War II. I enjoyed reading this book, and I hope to find a second book similar to this one.
Plot: The book had many plots because every chapter was the story of a different person's resistance to the Nazi's. Paul Stassman was a 15 year old merchant who was shipped
Personal Response: The book, We Fought Back, by Allan Zullo was a very interesting book. The book was a non-fiction and different stories from different teenagers in every chapter. They explained what their experiences were during World War II. I enjoyed reading this book, and I hope to find a second book similar to this one.
Plot: The book had many plots because every chapter was the story of a different person's resistance to the Nazi's. Paul Stassman was a 15 year old merchant who was shipped off to the Ghetto. After he escaped, he joined the resistance and blew up a train. Frank Blaichman lived in a four bedroom apartment with his parents and six siblings. He was the only one to try to escape into the mountains. Chonon Bedzowski fled his country when the Nazis started to overrule everything. Chonon, his mother and three siblings found the largest resistance group of World War II. He was in a group of over 800 resisting Jews.
Characterization: There were many characters in this book. They all shared similar traits. They were all Jewish and fighting back against the Nazis on the run. They all suffered from starvation, fatigue, and feared for their lives. The characters were also brave and fought to stop the Nazi's.
Setting: Each story took place during World War II. The events occurred in Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Most of the characters were hiding in the mountains where it was very cold. They rarely went into town because of the Nazi spies and people would take them to the Nazis to get money.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to anyone who takes interest in war or likes history. The appropriate age for this book should be 13 years old or older because there were some gruesome scenes. I give this book four out of five stars.
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Plot Summary: We Fought Back is about Jewish refugees during World War Tw
Personal Response: I personally enjoyed We Fought Back for its unique way of explaining the stories. The author does a great job of giving you enough information so you understand the stories, but not too much where it is repetitive. I also enjoyed this book for its interesting stories that I was not familiar with until now. Another reason why I enjoyed this book is that it contains multiple stories about the same subject.Plot Summary: We Fought Back is about Jewish refugees during World War Two who decide to fight back instead of hiding. All of the refugees joined groups of partisans that were led by ex-Russian officers. Each character in the book has a different role in their partisan group. For example, Paul Strassmann is a Czechoslovakian partisan whose job is to blow up Nazi supply trains. Selim Sznycer was another member of a partisan group whose job was to burn down a German factory that made wooden gun stocks. The other part of his mission was to cut down communication lines so there was a delayed reaction of German forces. He was successful in his mission but burned down half of the town in the process. Sonia Shainwald was a nurse at her partisan camp whose job is to treat the soldiers' many wounds. She works through constant fatigue and bombardment from German troops. All of these troops in the partisan camps had to deal with harsh conditions, food shortages, and the German Forces. In 1945 the partisans declared victory over the Germans and went home to what was remaining of their families.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book to anybody in middle school and above. I feel like this age group will enjoy the book the most because it gives the reader a different point of view of World War Two. I would also recommend this book to anybody who is interested in learning about World War Two and its battles.
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That said, I think this book is terribly fascinating. The true stories are intriguing; I don't remember hearing about these teenage partisan fighters when I was in school, so I'm grateful for the chance to learn about them now!
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Plot: In the book, We Fought Back, all of the characters homes were taken away. The Nazis forced them to
Personal Response: I really liked the book, We Fought Back. It made me realize how hard it must have been in the Holocaust. I could imagine it in my head. I really liked the book, because it described the scenes well. It was like a movie in my head. I also liked the book because it was not based on one person. It was about six characters who had the same type of experience in different places.Plot: In the book, We Fought Back, all of the characters homes were taken away. The Nazis forced them to live in the streets of the ghettos. All of the characters escaped and ran into the wilderness. They became partisans who are people who fight against the Nazis. They survived by living off the land. All of them were survivors who made it through this evil and dark part in our world's history.
Characterization: There were a lot main characters in this book. They shared similar traits like being captured and escaping etc. My favorite would have to be Paul. He was tough. He was captured and sent to a concentration camp. Like the others, he suffered from starvation and slowly worked his way up the ranks.
Setting: All six stories took place during WWII. These events occurred in Germany and Poland. Most of the characters were hiding in the woods where it was safe but very cold. They barely went into town because it was full of Nazi soldiers and spies.
Recommendation: I would recommend this to anyone who likes war books and who wants to learn about the Holocaust. I would recommend this to people ten years or older. There are some very graphic scenes. This was one of my favorite books I give it 5 out of 5.
...more Plot Summary: This book is about some of the teen partisans who, as the title implies, fought back against the Nazis. They snuck out of ghettos, camps, and homes to link up with partisan groups
Personal Response: I like this book because it talks about different Jewish families and teens who fought back against the horrors of the Holocaust. Some were together and others were broken up thanks to the Nazis. Sadly some of the families were killed or sent to concentration camps after their kids left.Plot Summary: This book is about some of the teen partisans who, as the title implies, fought back against the Nazis. They snuck out of ghettos, camps, and homes to link up with partisan groups willing to take them in. Many of them had the rest of their family killed while they were fighting in those partisan groups.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone looking for information on the resistance of teens during the Holocaust. I recommend it to guys or girls ages 12 to 70 because they have to be able to understand some of the words and phrases in the book.
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Yeah, I connect with them because when I'm in the wood hunting I always feel like something is watching me. It is like an eerie feeling because you do not know if it is dangerous like in their case they do not know if when they hear footsteps if it is from an animal or if it is from a Nazi soldier looking for jews for them to kill. Like how they are staying in the wood in a cabin he made, and it is like when we go up north to hang out at our friend's cabin that is surrounded by a forest and at night when you can hear the wolves howling. Also the book also reminds me of how there are people that discriminate on people just because of what a couple of people of that skin color or race have done like how there is always black discrimination, and how some people have the mind thought that all people that are Islamic like to blow thing up or are all serious. It reminds me of how cruel the Germans were just to the jews since they had different beliefs than what they believed in and how one person could be so cruel to kill millions of people the way that he did all just because of their religion.
My favorite parts of the book were how they hid everything from the Nazis and how they were able to make a cabin in the woods where the Nazis couldn't find them, and how they got their food source because they didn't have any money. I say that they did a good job and how accurate it was to the real thing and how rude and disrespectful they were to the jews by killing when they did nothing wrong and how they were just killed for what their religion was and how it didn't follow Hitler's rules, one thing I think she could have done is changed perspective on how everybody outlook was of certain things. I would recommend it to someone who likes history and how cruel the Nazis treated the jews just for their religion since it didn't follow Hitler guidelines. ...more
Far less reported in the history books is that there were partisan groups with Jew Many commentators have noted that had the approximately six million Jews killed by the Nazis managed to kill the Germans and their allies in the Holocaust at the ratio of one for every hundred Jews killed, the Germans would have had to stop or dramatically reduce the killing. The approximately 60,000 additional deaths in the Wehrmacht would have significantly reduced their fighting ability and shortened the war.
Far less reported in the history books is that there were partisan groups with Jewish members that fought hard and well against the Germans, forcing the Wehrmacht to expend considerable resources in fighting back and guarding their supply lines. This is the story of seven Jews that joined the armed resistance and by so doing, managed to survive the war when so many of their ethnic brethren did not.
The stories are of fighting, struggling for survival and experiencing extreme deprivation from lack of food and shelter. Forced to always be prepared to fight or flight at a moment's notice, even if it meant leaving nearly all of their possessions behind. Chronically short of arms and ammunition, these people define the term "survivor."
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This book was given to me by a coworker who told me I would enjoy the true stories of teenagers in Europe who showed resistance to the Holocaust. This was an interesting look at the lives and struggles of seven teenagers who defied all logic and actively resisted the Nazi party and the Holocaust. It was both inspiring and terrifyingly sad to read about the hardships so many of these teenagers and their families faced. I especially liked that at
"War cares nothing about hopes and dreams and love."This book was given to me by a coworker who told me I would enjoy the true stories of teenagers in Europe who showed resistance to the Holocaust. This was an interesting look at the lives and struggles of seven teenagers who defied all logic and actively resisted the Nazi party and the Holocaust. It was both inspiring and terrifyingly sad to read about the hardships so many of these teenagers and their families faced. I especially liked that at the end of each teenager's story, there was some information sharing about what happened to them after WWII. It was very interesting to see what happened to these teenagers in their later years and there is a wealth of additional sources to check out if the reader is so inclined. I always enjoy reading about the Holocaust and this was an interesting read to help me learn more true information about a demographic I don't often think about: teenagers.
TW: violence, death
...more Author: Allan Zullo
Genre: Biographies
Length: 176 pages
Date Finished: 5/7/13
We Fought Back tells the stories of seven different teens who lived during the Holocaust and became partisans to fight back against Hitler. The first story is about Paul Strassman. His family had been planning to leave Czechoslovakia, but their plan was ruined when the money they had been saving up got destroyed. When Hitler took over Czechoslovakia, the Jews were deprived of many of their rights. Pau
Book: We Fought BackAuthor: Allan Zullo
Genre: Biographies
Length: 176 pages
Date Finished: 5/7/13
We Fought Back tells the stories of seven different teens who lived during the Holocaust and became partisans to fight back against Hitler. The first story is about Paul Strassman. His family had been planning to leave Czechoslovakia, but their plan was ruined when the money they had been saving up got destroyed. When Hitler took over Czechoslovakia, the Jews were deprived of many of their rights. Paul and his family suffered. The Strassmans tried to avoid deportation, but one day, Paul's father and grandfather were taken away. Paul hid in a friend's house for a while, but later decided to join the partisans. Paul joined a partisan group called Batko's Miners whose main goal was to blow up railroad lines. Paul ran into many close calls with the Germans. In the end, his best hope was to reach the Russian Army. Later on, Paul arrived at an area that had been liberated by the Soviet military. From then on, he led a good life. The second story is about Selim Sznycer. The Sznycers were on the run from the Germans. One day though, the Nazis killed Selim's parents. Selim and his brother, Musio, escaped into the woods and met some of the Jews who had escaped. After the group had survived the winter, they joined the partisans. Selim and Musio had many victorious assaults but also had many close calls as well. After the war ended, Selim and Musio led good lives from there. The third story is about Romi Cohn. At first, he was helping Jews to have a place to hide. Later on, he joined the partisans. Romi took part in many successful attacks against the Germans. One day, the Partisan in charge of the radio said that the war was over. Afterwards, Romi won a few medals and led a good life. The fourth story is about Sarah Shainwald. At first, Luboml, Poland, the place Sarah lived, was occupied by the Soviets. But the Nazis later occupied it. The Shainwalds were forced into a ghetto. Later on, they managed to escape. After the Shainwalds survived through the winter, they joined the partisans. With the partisans, Sarah became a medic. Later on several of her friends and family died. Sarah tried not to show her emotions since that was not allowed. Later on, the war was over and Sarah led a fine life from there. The fifth story is about Frank Blaichman. Germany invaded Poland so life for Frank and his family became hard. Later, there was an announcement that the Jews had to go to a ghetto. Frank did not go. He eventually joined a group of Jewish families. They were able to get their hands on some weapons, so they become partisans. Frank and his group later teamed up with another partisan unit. They had many victorious assaults against the Germans. Later on, the worst of the war was over and Frank led a good life from there. The sixth story is about Martin Friedman. Martin suffered a lot because of the Nazis. But he was able to escape from a slave labor camp and hide in a monastery. One day, Martin decided to leave and join the partisans. With the partisans, Martin fought in many battles. He also had many close calls with the Germans. Later on, the war was over and Martin led a good life from there. The seventh story is about Chonon Bedzowski. After the Germans occupied Lida, Belorussia, life for Chonon and his family became hard. They were forced to live in a ghetto, but managed to escape. The Bedzowskis joined a partisan unit headed by Tuvia, Aseal, and Zus Bielski. With the partisans, Chonon collected food to help them. He and the other partisans also had many close calls with the Germans. Later on, they arrived at the Naliboki Pucsha and set up a camp that eventually turned into a thriving settlement. Finally, the war was over and Chonon and his family led a happy life from there.
I rated this book as five stars because I was fascinated by it. I couldn't believe how brave these people were. I think that the author does a good job of telling these nonfiction stories. Usually, people expect nonfiction stories to be boring, but this book wasn't boring at all. I loved it.
Exposition: Paul has been hiding in different homes sine the war started, but now he can't so he joins a partisan group to fight.
Rising Action: Paul and his partisan group was going to derail a German train with small bombs. After they had it all set up the train was about a minute away then Paul dropped all the blasting caps, which were hard to get so he frantically pick them up the the train was just behind the bend so he ran. When he got back Batko the leader pulled a gun on him and said, let
Exposition: Paul has been hiding in different homes sine the war started, but now he can't so he joins a partisan group to fight.
Rising Action: Paul and his partisan group was going to derail a German train with small bombs. After they had it all set up the train was about a minute away then Paul dropped all the blasting caps, which were hard to get so he frantically pick them up the the train was just behind the bend so he ran. When he got back Batko the leader pulled a gun on him and said, let's kill him for loosing the blasting caps. Then Paul pulled them out of his pocket and Batko put his gun away, other members said that he was just kidding.
Rising Action: The group was at there hiding spot when bombs and gun fire started all around them, they all ran away but Paul was at the end and a tree fell on him but there was a little ravine so he wasn't crushed. He screamed for a little while then some soldiers came walking through so he was quite. After a few hours he was able to get unstuck and later found the group.
Rising action: They had planed a big attack on the Germans and were getting ready to go kill as many of them as they could. They ate a nice meal then went out.
Climax: They were in position to attack they were just waiting for Batko to say go. Then he did they shot at the Germans then reloaded and kept doing that. There were way to many Nazi soldiers so Batko told the rest of the group to run away, then he ran out into the open towards them so they could make there escape. Batko was shot to death, and Paul looked back and saw him with blood everywhere.
Falling action: The rest of the group ran off and got split up for the night, but later found everyone and discussed what they should do next. But everyone kept fighting until Paul spoke up and said to leave the past in the past.
Resolution: They had been hearing rumors that the war would end soon so and it did. They went back a half normal life. They could never forget the life they had during the war.
Character change: Paul changed the most through out the book, at the beginning he was a shy kid that wanted to help fight and didn't realize how dangerous it really was. He got into the groove and learned how to fight but he changed most when the leader Batko was killed. He realized he could be next and how cruel the nazis were. He became more of a leader and was brave.
Theme: In life we often have challenges thrown at us and we react to them in a lot of different ways. We need to think things through, we need to see the outcome of what might happen. "Visualize the perfect life after the war." (Zullow 21). We might want to visualize what will happen, but we must first overcome the challenge that is thrown at us.
Review: That was a slow moving book not the best either. It's the first and the last book I'll ever read from Allan Zullow. Some parts of the book were good but most were not. I just read it because I don't have very many books, and I wanted to see how it was which was not very great. ...more
Typically, whenever a book is written about the Holocaust, it will have a "sadder" feeling to it. This novel shows the successes and life threatening moments of the teen Jews. In the very first account, a boy named Paul is helping partisans blow up a Nazi train. Paul accidentally lost the blasting caps, as it would make a larger explosion on the train, so the leader of the group said, " 'Now let's get rid of the Jewish kid for losing the blasting caps' " (Zullo 8). For Paul, this is a life or death situation. What I don't like about this section, is that it does not go into what happens next, it gives background information on Paul's family. I enjoyed the story of Paul's survival, however, it is too choppy.
More often than not, when someone sees a Holocaust survivor present, the Holocaust survivor himself/herself will give the presentation. In We Fought Back: Teen Resisters of the Holocaust, Zullo was telling the story. The accounts were not in first person, and it killed the vibe of the book. As a reader, it did not take long for me to dislike the third person narrative of the Holocaust accounts. In the second account of the novel, it got to the point where the reader could realize that it is going to be third person narrative the entire story. The second account is about a teen named Selim who says, "If I die, I'll take some Germans with me." Selim and other partisans are trying to find food to live. They come across a farmer who, "Broke down and tearfully begged for her life. 'Please don't kill me!' she pleaded to Selim" (Zullo 43). This could have been cooler if it was more of an interview type of novel. Or, the novel would have been more interesting had each account been in first person. A Holocaust story should be told from first person, not third person.
...moreA native of Rockford, Illinois, Zullo graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1969 with a degree in journalism. His books include The Baseball Hall of Shame and Baseball Confidential (both co-written with Bruce Nash), A Boomer's Guide to Grandparenting (co-writ
Allan Zullo is an American non-fiction writer. He is the author or co-author of more than eighty paperbacks for adults and children.A native of Rockford, Illinois, Zullo graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1969 with a degree in journalism. His books include The Baseball Hall of Shame and Baseball Confidential (both co-written with Bruce Nash), A Boomer's Guide to Grandparenting (co-written with his wife Kathryn), and the Haunted Kids series. Zullo has also written articles for The National Enquirer, The Christian Science Monitor, Ladies Home Journal, and The Palm Beach Post. His syndicated comic strip "The Ghost Story Club" ran in American newspapers from 1995 to 1998.
Zullo currently lives in Fairview, North Carolina.
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We Fought Back Allan Zullo if I Die I'll Take Some Germans With Me
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