Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Now the humans need his... Classrooms have to ultimately be places of hope. So, can reading about an event like the Holocaust be a positive experience? The feeling Jeremy has is “positive in the sense that it is a story of survival, hope, love and courage.” Although, one thing that perhaps does not come across so explicitly in this version, because of the child’s viewpoint, is “their father’s determination to survive. How firmly he believed he was going to survive.” Even when the worst things are happening around him, Gustav was writing “I will not let these SS murderers grind me down.” Which Jeremy thinks “was a big part in what enabled Gustav and Fritz to survive.” Gustav never lost his faith or devotion to his son. It’s part of the positivity that comes through. Determination, courage, faith, belief, hope. Knowing these exist, Jeremy continues, through all of life’s challenges and difficulties, is inspiring. But what information needs to be told, and what are young readers not ready to learn about? Unsurprisingly, “anything essential to the story” is the short answer. Although, how do we decide what is essential? Jeremy explained that a lot was left out, especially those things which “would be too upsetting”. For example, Jeremy did learn of the fate of the mother and eldest daughter, actually discovering this in his research. Jeremy also had to find ways to tell essential events in a way that weren’t too graphic and “age appropriate”. A process which included the “writing, rewriting and scrapping and rewriting” of one scene in particular. Other scenes were left in because they had been “imprinted” in the memories of those involved. It would be remiss not to mention the illustrations by David Ziggy Greene. “David carefully researched using reference photos and film footage.” One particular illustration Jeremy had “planned right from the beginning… Because if you just use the word Stormtrooper, kids are going to think of the Star Wars version.” Meaning David had to research exactly what they looked like, and then refine the details through further discussion.

Fritz and Kurt | BookTrust

The story begins in Vienna just before the German invasion, and soon takes young Kurt out of the country, alone, to America. With only a few chapters of his story once he reaches a new home, it mainly then pushes the reader on to concentration camps with the older Fritz and his father, arrested for nothing more than their Judaism. It explains well what the Nazis thought of Jews, and allows readers to see for themselves the inhumanity inflicted on so many. Fritz and his Papa were sent to Buchenwald concentration camp in 1939, the beginning of a five-year struggle of loss, endurance, resistance and escape. The diary tells how, in 1942, when Papa was transferred to Auschwitz, Fritz volunteered to go with him. Fritz knew they would probably die there, but he couldn’t bear to be without his beloved Papa. When I read the diary’s account of that decision, I knew I had to tell this phenomenal story. The diary is too patchy and difficult to understand in itself (unless you’re a Holocaust historian), so I researched around it, found archived interviews left behind by Fritz (who died in 2009), and located Fritz’s brother, Kurt, who was still alive and living in America.My conversation with Jeremy Dronfield made me think deeply on many things. For example, no one can argue that books aren’t tools for learning. Not every book, of course. And even those that we might think are, may not be suitable for your needs as an educator. Or the needs of a child’s as a learner. But, do we consider that some books might not be in the best interests of the topic you are teaching? Although the subject matter is harrowing, the story has been specially adapted for young readers and is a testament to love and the strength of the human spirit, as well as a warning to future generations. This new version of the story will be completely rewritten for middle-grade readers aged 9+ and willeducate and inspire children with the powerful real-life account of two brothers’ experiences during theHolocaust. This book had a lot of depth to it and was really interesting along with having loads of bits and pieces that I loved. One thing I found to be unique and quite nice about this book is the writing style and how it was written - the writing was telling the brothers story in real time jumping between the two but it also occasionally had hints as too what happened to them at the end of the war say things like ‘but Fritz didn’t know that yet’, and similar which isn’t something I see often in books and really liked. It also tied in well with the point that the author was telling a true story and that this was something that had happened and had a specific ending.

My Conversation with Jeremy Dronfield — Just Imagine

This book didn’t try to have a unique twist on the war or tell a story that hasn’t been told before because both Fritz and Kurt’s stories have been told very similarly before it just tried to tell the stories it was telling as well as it could and that it did. It was simple sand powerful and meaningful because of that. Throughout the book as well it showed different things that could have happened to Jews during this time, so you had some that managed to escape and become refugees, some that were killed or sent to ghettos and died as well as some being sent to concentration camps that proves the point that not everyone was sent to a concentration camp and that other things did happen to these people. The story of the two Kleinmann brothers was first told in the best-selling The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz, but this edition has been especially written for younger readers more like the age of the boys themselves and also contains some additional material discovered since the first publication.At the end of last year, I was invited by the Holocaust Education Trust to a series of seminars about the Holocaust, which included a trip to Auschwitz and Auschwitz- Birkenau. Following this educational experience and the visit, I made a promise to myself that I would continue to educate myself and those around me on the horrific events that happened during the Holocaust and inhumanly treatment of Jewish community. Here is my first 'must buy, must read' title for 2023! There are so many books about the Holocaust but for me, Fritz and Kurt was instantly compelling. It's based on the true story of the Kleinmanns, a working class Jewish family from Vienna, that was told for adults as 'The Boy Who Followed his Father into Auschwitz'. Fritz And Kurt is a read suitable for any age, not just children. You will be full of admiration for the bravery of the brothers who lived through a time of great evil. And so I started this with trepidation, knowing what was likely to be forthcoming. And yes. It was upsetting, especially to a parent with children not far from the ages of Fritz and Kurt. But yes, it was also well-told. As well as simple words telling the story, the whole book is powerfully and yet simply illustrated by Ziggy Greene.

Andrew Lownie Literary Agency :: Book :: Fritz and Kurt

The ironies continue. Gustav’s new ally at Monowitz was an ex-soldier and co-worker who simply couldn’t credit that Hitler would imprison Jews without cause. But neither could Gustav credit the number of closed trains he saw carrying thousands of Hungarian Jews to their deaths. “And all this in the 20th century,” he wrote with disbelief. A year later, starving at Mauthausen, a camp in Upper Austria, Gustav barely escaped being massacred by ferociously antisemitic Hungarian guards. (The Russians, by contrast, treated all camp inmates with respect.) I’m immensely proud of this book, and sorry that Kurt did not live to see it published. He knew it was in preparation, though, and was thrilled that his story would be read by coming generations of young readers. This book and its predecessor are my memorial to Kurt, to Fritz, and to their extraordinary family. The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have... Gustav died in 1976, aged 84; Fritz died in 2009 at the age of 85. Kurt’s surviving sister, Edith, lived until the age of 96.

Book Reviews

Fritz and Kurt has the best interests of the reader and the subject matter at its heart. It is a new version for younger readers of Jeremy Dronfield’s internationally bestselling The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz. What is incredible is that these are narrative nonfiction texts. I found out just how incredibly true they are, how much research went into them, and how education was at the forefront of their creation. My conversation with Jeremy Dronfield was fascinating, and sharing it here is a privilege. This book follows two brothers Fritz and Kurt who get separated during the early years of WW2, going in different direcetions. Fritz gets sent to a Nazi concentrarion camp and Kurt goes to America to live with extended family as a refugee. Careful consideration and due diligence are parts of the good practice of anyone doing their job properly. This applies to choosing texts for the classroom – it is one of the main reasons Just Imagine exists. When it comes to the well-being of individual children in the classroom, the teacher will ultimately know what is suitable. When it comes to factual and accurate information, we place trust in the authors (including illustrators), editors and publishers to carry out due diligence.

Fritz and Kurt - ReadingZone Fritz and Kurt - ReadingZone

The impact of the illustrations certainly contributes to the effectiveness of the storytelling in what deserves to become as much of a classic as Ann Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl. In an introduction, the author sets the story of Fritz and Kurt in its historical context, explaining what the Holocaust was, how it came about and who was affected. There are also notes for parents, guardians and teachers who may wish to understand how the story is being presented. Of necessity, some of the brutality of concentration camp life has to be greyed out for this age group (it’s aimed at nine plus). The rest of the Kleinmann family in Vienna, meanwhile, were arranging their own survival. Kurt's oldest sister, Edith, fled to England in 1939 to work as a maid, while their mother, Tini, had managed, via a well-connected associate, to acquire a permit for Kurt to escape to the US. The arrangement couldn't have happened at a better time.

Jeremy Dronfield Press Reviews

Since the events of the book really did happen to a child, it’s right that children should be able to read about them — though nine is too young. After that book came out, many people who had been moved and inspired by the Kleinmann family’s story told me that they wished their children could read my book. At its core, it’s a story about children living through one of history’s greatest tragedies; it’s about children’s courage, love, and resilience. Young readers should be able to read it for themselves.