In my daughter’s search for herself, she has picked up a variety of books that have to do with the Holocaust. I feel for the authors of these so-called children’s books. They have to strike a balance between teaching the child about a heinous time in the not so distant past, and not giving them nightmares.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr only skirts around the treachery of the Holocaust. I was disappointed, as it really taught no lesson at all. The headline on the cover notes goes like this: “Anna’s family was lucky to stay one step ahead of Hitler”. The story itself was not so intriguing. So, as far as this reader is concerned, the book failed on two points.

It is 1933 Berlin and Anna is nine years old. She is Jewish, but her family is completely non-practicing. It is just before elections and Hitler is using all manner of persuasion to win. Anna’s father is a prominent man. He’s a syndicated editorialist in Germany and just about everything he writes is anti-Hitler. That means he’s in trouble. When he’s tipped off that he might be stripped of his passport, he makes a midnight run for the border. The plan is, he’s going to wait in Prague until the elections. If Hitler looses, he comes back. If Hitler wins, he goes on to Switzerland where Anna and her mother and brother, Max will meet him.

Of course, Hitler wins. So Anna and her mother and brother pack up what they can carry on a train with them and head for Switzerland. There’s a moment of tension when they come to the border and passports get checked, since Anna’s father is now a national criminal, but all goes well and they make it just fine. They meet Anna’s father and the next big problem is how to make a living, as papers are reluctant to print anti-Hitler articles anymore. In fact, this is the only problem this “refugee” family faces.

The only time I felt that this book had any connection to the Holocaust at all was when Anna’s father gets a visitor. He is a man who roomed with Anna’s Onkel Julius. The man has come with bad news. Onkel Julius was a Zoologist who opted to stay in Berlin as many Jews did, thinking that the insanity would not touch them. But as Hitler’s power grew, the Jews’ dwindled. Eventually Onkel Julius’ pass to the zoo was revoked and he died soon after, apparently of a broken heart due to lack of purpose. Sad though the aside might be, it still doesn’t come close the horrors of the time. And it’s just an aside – a paragraph or two.

The story is not entirely uninteresting. At its basest level it is the story of a girl and her family that have to move due to political unrest. They go from Switzerland to France to England. They have to adapt to different languages and cultures.

It is NOT a book about the struggles of fighting anti-Semitism. It is not an escape from the clutches of torturous tyranny. It is not a story of overcoming almost unbeatable odds and loving your fellow man in spite of it all. It is therefore, not a story of the Holocaust. It is a story of a girl who lived during that time.

Very young children don’t need any more than a whitewashed version of the events of that time. But when children reach the age when they express their own need to know more, we should not be afraid to give it to them. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is too whitewashed. My ten-year-old didn’t finish it because she thought it was boring. I almost didn’t finish it because I thought the same thing. Ms. Kerr only mentions Hitler in passing, as a face on a poster. Anna’s “escape” is bland in comparison to the heart-wrenching stories of real escape from real danger.

I don’t recommend this book on two notes. First, I cannot recommend it as a story of Holocaust survival because it isn’t one. Second, I do not recommend it because it’s just not very good.


Recommended: No