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Monthly Archives: December 2022

Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust

30 Friday Dec 2022

Posted by truebooktalks in History, Non-Fiction, social studies, Uncategorized, Young Adult

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History, teen readers

by Heidi Fried

Remembering the past in all its glory and/or depravity is the first step to changing the future. Someone has said that if we do not remember the past, we are doomed to repeat it. Since Heidi Fried lived through the events of the Holocaust, she is able to help us see clearly what happened in the hope that we never repeat that history.

Some people today are so ignorant that they are even saying the Holocaust did not happen. Fried shows the reader clearly that it really happened. The question of why it happened at all is one that can never be answered to anyone’s satisfaction. It is probably best just to acknowledge that it did happen and to do everything in our power to see that it never happens again. That is Fried’s position.

Her book is designed to answer questions she has encountered over her lifetime. At the age of 90 she has reached the step of gerotransendence in her life and thus is able to look back at all that happened to her with a detachment that probably was not possible for her earlier. Her dispassionate responses to the questions are reflective of her age.

Fried explains about how World War II changed her life as a Romanian Jew who was from a good middle class family to being a slave in a labor/extermination camp. At nineteen, she was looking forward to continuing her education at a university, but instead she found herself orphaned with a younger sister to care for and to try to keep both of them alive. Fortunately, both girls were in their late teens and appeared strong enough to work—at least for a while—for the Nazis. Both girls survived and went to live in Sweden.

Fried answers over forty questions for the reader. Some of them are quite personal, such as: Where you raped? How did you handle your periods? Why did you choose Sweden? Others are more philosophical, such as: Why did Hitler hate the Jews?  After all that has happened, do you still believe in God? Could it happen again?

Many authors have produced good works about the Holocaust, but I feel that first person narratives are the best source of true information. Every library should add this book to its collection. Social studies teachers would find this a very valuable source for discussions on the Holocaust. Fried even provides a list of discussion questions. I highly recommend the purchase of this book.

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Overturned: the Constitutional Right to Abortion by Carla Mooney

23 Friday Dec 2022

Posted by truebooktalks in Social Issues, Uncategorized

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Current social issues, United States

Many things in our country have caused division of opinion. The overturning of Roe v Wade was certainly one of those things. This book gives a good timeline around the court’s decision and the events that have followed. But the title itself shows bias. What was overturned was the Roe v Wade decision based on the fact that, in the eyes of this Court, it was never a constitutional right. It was a decision which should have been made by the states. The book purports to show things from both sides and even lists organizations from both sides which can be contacted for more information, but the list of internet sources in the index, except for the last one given, only show a pro-abortion side. Most students will move to the internet for more information on the subject they are researching, and the placement on the list will affect their understanding of the situation. There are other sources which could have been listed, such as https://www.statista.com/statistics/658555/number-of-abortion-deaths-us

I found other biased things as well. No scientific definitions about when life begins was given. Stories from women who were unable to get the abortions they needed or desired are supplied, but none from women who changed their mind based on efforts of anti-abortion support groups. There are few quotes or sidebars from pregnancy support groups. The picture used to start the book shows a group of young men supporting anti-abortion, but no women are in that picture. Then, the picture beside it shows a single woman asking for her right to decide. The pictures create in the mind the idea that men are against abortion and women stand alone in their choice. Neither of those things are true, they are the opinion of the author.

The author quoted a statistic which said that one in four (Another place in the book says “five.”) pregnancies in the U.S. end in abortion. The term “abortion” as it is used by the medical field means any termination of a pregnancy by any means, natural or medical. The author chose to use the commonly understood definition, which is a termination of a pregnancy by medical means. This skews the statistics and makes it appear the 25% of pregnancies are ended by the mother’s choice. That simply is not so. A little further research would show that, while that number is true, the reason for the termination is most often from natural means. Most people called the ending of pregnancy in a natural way a “miscarriage,” but the medical field still uses the term “abortion.” Realizing the subtle change in definition makes a big difference in understanding the statistic. Still, this book provides references and a perspective of the legal aspects of the Supreme Court’s decision to return the decision on abortion to the individual states. It is a subject needed in our schools. I am recommending the purchase of this book with reservations, in spite of what I see as a subtle bias. I would suggest that librarians try to get material on both sides of the issue in order to allow their students to do adequate research.

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