When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

by Judith Kerr

Other authorsJudith Kerr (Illustrator)

Paperback, 1998

Status

Available

Series

Out of the Hitler Time (1)

Genres

Children's Books

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Scholastic Inc. (1998), Edition: First Scholastic Printing

Description

Recounts the adventures of a nine-year-old Jewish girl and her family in the early 1930's as they travel from Germany to England.

User reviews

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

It comes as no surprise to discover that this outstanding British children's novel, which chronicles the childhood experiences of a young German Jewish girl named Anna, whose family must flee their comfortable home shortly before the 1933 election and resultant Nazi rise to power, is based upon

Judith Kerr's own life-story. So convincing is it, so real does it feel, that I found that I had to continually remind myself that it was fiction, rather than autobiography. Opening in Berlin, where the oblivious young Anna is more concerned with school than with Hitler, who seems a distant disturbance in the adult world around her, rather than an immediate concern in her own life, the story moves on to Switzerland, where her family settle for a time. Unable to go back to Germany to collect the belongings - including Anna's stuffed pink rabbit - that they left behind, and unable to earn a sufficient living, the family move on to Paris, where Anna's writer father briefly finds work for a German expatriate newspaper being published there. When even this small source of revenue dries up, the family must move on again, this time to England.

With its distinctly memorable title and its influential role in the teaching of World War II history to both British and German schoolchildren, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is one of those books that I have long been meaning to read, making its selection as our November title over in The Children's Fiction Book-Club to which I belong particularly fortunate. By turns humorous and heartbreaking, it is a story of one family who, despite confronting terrible times, managed to stick together and to flourish. Although the historical details are specific to a particular time and place, many of the general experiences that Anna and her family confront - trying to learn new languages and to find new friends, in strange places; trying to find a job and make connections, in one's field of work; confronting a significant loss of affluence, and learning to make do with less - will be familiar to refugees and immigrants the world over.

Stealing 'Pink Rabbit' is clearly not the worst of Hitler's crimes, but then, this is not a book about the Holocaust. It is a book about the refugee experience of one fairly well-to-do family in pre-WWII days, and is told from the perspective of the nine-year-old daughter of that family. Although the more disturbing realities of what is going on back in Germany do enter the story - most notably, in the tragic figure of Onkel Julius, a family friend and naturalist who does not flee Germany when he has the chance, and who sees his entire world destroyed, even to the point that he is forbidden to visit his beloved animals at the Berlin Zoo - those realities are fairly distant. As they would be to the child narrator, living in safety in Switzerland, Paris, and England. I think that it is this very quality, this feeling of distance from the full horrors of the war (which, after all, hadn't happened yet!) and the Nazi regime, that makes this an ideal introduction to the topic for younger readers, and am bemused to note that some reviewers have taken the author to task for not writing a story horrific enough to suit their taste.

Highly, highly recommended, to all young readers who enjoy historical fiction, and who are interested in the story of World War II. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit will serve as an excellent entree - truthful, sometimes tragic, but often hopeful - to a very disturbing moment in history. For my part, I intend to read the two sequels, The Other Way Round and A Small Person Far Away.

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LibraryThing member Inkwell_Summer07

I saw this on the bookshelf at the library the other day when I was looking for a title for my eight-year-old brother to read. The book caught my interest, especially since I've always had a particular fascination for WWII and, sometimes, one can find true gems in the children's section of the

library.

Well, I was quite pleasantly surprised. I always loved reading WWII stories growing up -- stories from the chilren's perspective and written for children. There is something so innocent and inspiring about them. Several of my personal favorites were Snow Treasure (about several Norwegian children who daringly help smuggle gold out of occupied Norway), Twenty and Ten (about twenty school children who help hide ten Jewish children from the Nazis), and, especially, The Winged Watchman (about a Dutch boy who helps hide a downed allied pilot).

I am very pleased to say that this was just as good. But also quite unique because it actually takes place before the war in 1935. Based on the real childhood of the author, it follows the adventures of a German-Jewish family lucky enough to escape Germany a week before Hitler comes to power. Told with a deep sincerity but also touching simplicity, it watches the family endure hardship as refugees in foreign countries and ultimately prevail.

As the young Anna (through whose eyes most of the story is told), exclaims in one scene,

"It's just that I think we should stay together. I don't really mind where or how. I don't mind things being difficult -- just as long as we're all four together....I've never minded being a refugee before. In fact I've loved it. I think the last two years, when we've been refugees have been much better than if we'd stayed in Germany. But if you send us away now I'm so terribly frightened...I'm so terribly frightened...That I might really feel like one!"

It's a lovely little book. Do read it.

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LibraryThing member Clurb

As much as this is the story of one family's journey through Europe, it is equally the story of Germany in the 1930s, of heightened political tensions across Europe and whispered rumours of escalating horrors. On the face of it, Anna's story is heart-warming and encouraging and full of small

adventures and achievements, but underneath the narrative is a very dark and unsettling vision of how the Nazi party's influence spread across Europe and into everyday life. A book which shall stay with me.

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LibraryThing member VioletBramble

A fictional novel based on the real story of how Kerr's family escaped Germany just prior to the Nazi Party gaining power. Kerr's father, Arthur Kerr, was a well known drama critic, journalist and author who was openly critical of Hitler and the Nazi party. The family was Jewish by blood but

actually didn't celebrate the Jewish holidays. (In the book they are shown celebrating Easter and Christmas) The family got out of Germany just two days prior to the Nazi party winning the elections. They moved first to Switzerland, them France and finally settled in England.
The main character is Anna, based on Judith Kerr. Anna is young, early primary school, at the start of the book. The book deals more with Anna and her brother Michael - plus their parents- dealing with moving from country to country, being broke, going to schools where everyone speaks a language you don't, than with the events of the emerging Nazi party, increasing anti-senitism in Europe or the events leading up to WW II. Recommended.

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LibraryThing member Whisper1

Told from the perspective of nine year old Anna, in 1933, her secure life becomes shattered as she and her family flee Berlin in 1933. Her father, a well-known writer, finds it impossible to support his family as increasingly his articles are not allowed to be printed.

Insightful, fearful he knows

he must take his family and leave all behind before it is too late. Moving from Germany to Switzerland, then France and finally England, Anna finds it difficult to adjust. Middle class and sheltered, she has no reference for the difficult life they face as the family learns different customs and languages.

While the book is well written, I felt it lacked depth. As others were dying in concentration camps, starving and losing all contact with loved ones, Anna's family is fortunate to be able to leave.

In comparison to other nine year old children, Anna is very naive regarding just how frightening it is to exist under Hitler's reign of terror.

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LibraryThing member rcohen425

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is the story of Anna and her family who escape Germany prior to Nazi rise to power and the start of the war. Anna is a wealthy nine-year-old Jewish girl who spends her time at school, playing with friends and painting and writing. Once morning, a week before Hitler

rises to power, Anna wakes up to find her father is gone. Soon after, Anna, along with her mother and brother Max, reunite with their father in Switzerland. Despite their wealthy status while living in Germany, they face many financial struggles after leaving Germany. In addition to financial issues, the family is faced with Anti-Semitism and endures other hardships including severe illness along the way to establishing a new, stable life outside of their home country, Germany.

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LibraryThing member LyndsayE82

A differnt look at World War II. Great for 4th and 5th graders who are studing history or events.

LibraryThing member flickins

It nice to have another take on WW II that is different then Ann Frank. CBCA Book of the Year Awards

LibraryThing member RefPenny

Moving story of a young Jewish girl whose family is uprooted when Hitler comes to power. They settle first in Switzerland then move to Paris for a couple of years and finally move to England. As a child, Anna doesn't understand a lot of what is going on but our knowledge of events contribute an

added poignancy.

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LibraryThing member YAbookfest

In this autobiographical novel, Anna's family barely escapes from Germany just as Hitler takes power. Although the family is not at all religious, and even celebrates Christmas rather than Hanukah, they are Jewish and that puts them in danger. Making matters worse, Anna’s father is a famous

writer and Hitler places a bounty of his head. The family flees first to Switzerland, then to France, and finally to England as Papa struggles to find someone who will publish his work. This is a tender story of a young girl growing up in an ever-shifting world. Once well-off, Anna now goes without. She has to learn new languages and customs as the family flees from one country to the next. Anna, however, is truly fortunate because the family did not suffer the horrors of the Holocaust, which are barely mentioned in the novel.

This story is appropriate for young middle school students, grades 4 to 6. At times the wording may be slightly unfamiliar to young readers because the author is English rather than American.

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LibraryThing member asomers

A welcome addition to any Holocuast fiction colletction for students.

LibraryThing member br14elmo

Nine-year-old Anna is living in Germany, and the year is 1933. It is one of the country's most troubled eras. But she's too busy with her schoolwork and friends to notice Adolf Hitler's face glaring from political posters plastered all over Berlin. And she's never even paid much attention to the

fact that she's Jewish. Being Jewish, she thought, was just something that you inherited from your parents and grandparents, like the color of your hair. One day, she is forced to take notice. Her father is unaccountably, horrifyingly missing. Soon after, she and her brother, Max, are hurried out of Germany by their mother with alarming secrecy that Anna does not fully understand.
At last, they are reunited in Switzerland, and Anna and family embark on an adventure that extends over the course of several years, and over the borders of many countries. Along the way, they learn new languages, new customs, how to cope with confusion, and how to be poor. They are refugees, and Anna soon discovers that it requires special skills to stay a few steps ahead of the Nazis.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit avoids most of the details of the actual Holocaust. Instead it provides young readers with a gentle, yet important introduction to a devastating chapter in world history. The family moves all around and finally ends up in England.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very easy to understand due to the fact that I am also Jewish. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and/or autobiographies. Overall this is definitely a humorous yet terrifying novel about a little girl living in the Holocaust.

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LibraryThing member markbarnes

I never read this book as a teenager, but if I had, I would have loved it. It's a more cheerful, and more true to life version of The Silver Sword, which was probably my favourite book as a child. It's well written, moving, and unusually it was written by someone who had experienced much of what

she wrote. Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member Berly

When Hitler Stole pink Rabbit is Judith Kerr's YA novel based on her flight from Germany and Hitler at age nine. When she began writing this book, Kerr had only published picture books (Mog series and [The Tiger Who Came to Tea]) and was feeling unsure of both her rusty German and the exactness of

her memories. So rather than using a first person narrative, Kerr tells this story from Anna's point of view. The major events and feelings are hers, with some invented detail. Unlike many Holocaust novels, what emerges is not a tragedy but a beautiful book of adventure, family and warmth. Anna, despite the family's new poverty, enjoys Switzerland and France, the excitement of new people and the challenge of learning new languages. (YA)

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LibraryThing member imtanner2

A story about a family who flees Germany in the 1930s to avoid persecution. The whole story takes place before the war so it's not really a World War 2 story, it's more a story about refugees. Not my favorite.

LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV

Read for the Nov. Children's Books group discussion. I'd really like to read some historical fiction for children about some other event, but at least this took place early, starting before Hitler was actually elected. And it's true, and it was written fairly long ago, before most of the other WWII

fiction I've read.

One thing I found interesting here is how quickly some of the French people got nasty to the Jewish refugees, for no good reason except that their world was turning into a nasty place. And England was seen as safe. This ends when they moved to England, so a sequel would be interesting.

Anyway, very well-written, with terrific illustrations by the author, mostly actually a heartwarming family story with some bad true stuff mixed in. Still very readable, even funny in bits. Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member john257hopper

After hearing a Holocaust survivor, Eve Kugler, speak at a Holocaust memorial day event in my department last week, I read this book, aimed at older children but really for readers of all ages, which is a fictionalised account of the author's own childhood experiences in Germany in the early 1930s.

Her father, journalist Alfred Kerr was a prominent Jewish journalist and critic of the Nazis in Berlin. Warned of a plan to take away his passport, he was able to smuggle his wife and children to Switzerland on the very day of the election in March 1933 where the Nazis became the biggest single party (though, despite being emboldened by Hitler's appointment as Chancellor and brutal intimidation against their opponents, without achieving an overall majority). The family, here fictionalised as the Papa and Mama of Anna (Judith) and her brother Max, later move to France when Switzerland's neutral state is compromised by Nazi pressure. After nearly getting sent by a porter onto the wrong train, bound for Stuttgart, the family settles in Paris and makes a decent life there, though suffering some hardship as Anna's father tries to get work. After a couple of years they move to London. Told from Anna's point of view (she turns ten shortly after they arrive in Switzerland), the story shows how she views her life as a child refugee, punctuated by the odd incident of anti-Semitic behaviour, though thankfully it never gets worse for her than bad words and rejection by some non-Jewish families. The author continues to live in this country, now in her 90s still illustrating children's books (and there is a bilingual English-German school in south London named after her).

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LibraryThing member Lisa2013

I read this as a buddy read with Goodreads friend Hilary, for the first time; it wasn’t her first time. I’m so grateful she told me how much she loved the book when she was a child and finally inspired me to get it off my to read shelf. It was a great book to buddy read. There was so much to

discuss and it was so much fun. We were flexible each day with how many chapters we read and at some point we started reading our chapters at the exact same time, 8 time zones apart. That made the reading experience particularly enjoyable for me.

I loved the book and am so glad that I’ve read it. I want to go on and read the next two books. It would have been a huge loss (even if I had never realized it) if I’d never gotten to this book. It’s an excellent book.

There are lovely illustrations, one each, on the title page and at the start of every chapter. They give just a hint of what is to come in the story.

I would like to read a biography about the author. This is historical fiction but closely based on the author’s childhood experiences, and I’d love to know what really happened and what was changed or made up, and also what was left out. It all seem so real that it read like an autobiography. I kept forgetting that it was fictionalized.

I loved the writing style and storytelling style. It’s a very well written book.

The child’s voice and point of view are done wonderfully and authentically.

The descriptions are wonderful and I felt as though I was in the various settings and experiencing what the family members were experiencing. German, Switzerland, France and all that was going on in those places vividly came to life. The food, the customs, everything were vivid and evocative.

The account perfectly captured the feelings of being a refugee, an immigrant, of belonging and of not belonging. Their experiences and the places they were and the relationships were all interesting and had some depth. A lot was packed into a relatively short book.

Even though I knew they got away I felt so nervous from the suspense. There was quite a bit of suspense at several points in this story. I was so anxious when they went to France (until I read the author bio blurb and saw the year they left for England) and so eager for them to get out of France and to England before the Nazi occupation. Even though I knew Anna and her family would get away and be safe I felt scared for them several times during their story.

I love the family. They’re flawed characters but good people and I loved them all. I appreciated that in Germany, and in Switzerland and France, and England, that they had people “100% on their side” – decent good people supporting them and not supporting Hitler’s policies.

There were some people who were bigots, and there were also a few heavy things for a middle grade book, including two things toward the end. One was unexpected for me and left me feeling very sad. I was expecting a bad outcome in this case but didn’t think it would come in this book (maybe in book two, if ever?) or happen in this exact way.

I was grateful for all the humor in the book, especially that included toward the end and at other times the book dealt with serious subjects, because otherwise it would have been depressing, even though it’s not at all a depressing book.

The ending felt too abrupt because I wanted more, but that just makes me glad there are 2 more books.

This would have been a favorite book of mine at ages 9-12. And it’s 5 star worthy now.

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LibraryThing member Helenliz

This ia a work aimed at older children (pre-teens) and tells of Judith Kerr's family's decision to leave Germany as Hitler came to power. They were Jewish, although non-practising and her father had written againts the Nazis. Judith was 9 at the time. This is told as a novel, describing what

happens to Anna (another of Judith's given names) and her brother Max as they leave to Switzerland then Paris and then arrive in London. She deals with school, the reduced circumstances, being uprooted and having to learn a new language and culture. There are some incidents where they are shunned for being Jewish, but for the most part that doesn;t feature very heavily. While it is quite a cheery book, it does touch on what is happening back in Germany, particularly Julius.
Anna is written as a child, with a child's concerns. As Judith reflects at the end of the book, her parents must have had very different worries, but they took pains to try and hide those concerns from the children. The book makes a valliant attempt to describe what it was to be a refuge to a younger audience.

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LibraryThing member fingerpost

The title (which is a wonderful title) is somewhat misleading, as this really isn't a book about World War II, the Holocaust, or even Hitler. This is a largely autobiographical story about a young, Jewish girl in a non-religious family, in Germany, when Hitler comes to power in the early 1930s. Her

father, a prominent columnist, wisely gets the family out of Germany immediately. This is the story of the family's time spent first in Swizerland, and then in France, and at the very end of the book, England, as they try to survive in Europe, after leaving their homeland. But the entire book takes place before 1939... before the war even starts.
It is such a heartfelt book, that I have to give it five stars. Less about plot, and more about a child dealing with being a refugee among industrial nations, it is a fine tale. But know from the outset that while Hitler and Nazis are mentioned from time to time, they are merely the catalyst that initiates the story, but not really part of the story itself.

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LibraryThing member stomas5

Summary: This children's chapter book is a story of survival about a German-Jewish girl names Anna and her family during the Nazi takeover in Europe. Anna does not realize what is happening until it happens-Hitler is taking control of Germany and her life. In this novel, Anna loses her father and

her and her brother go on a journey to sneak out of the country. It captures the struggle and hardships Anna and her family face moving from country to country trying to find a safe place to call home. Fighting the discrimination and the war, Anna and her family stick together through it all.

Argument: There are many reasons I enjoyed this children's chapter book and would recommend it for teachers in upper elementary level classrooms. First, I enjoyed the illustrations that can be seen on each page that introduces the chapter. It helps break the story up from being all text and give the readers something to look forward to after they finish each chapter. It also gives them a prediction of what will happen in the following chapter and foreshadows certain events. Secondly, I enjoyed this book because it contains language from the different countries the family travels to. This really puts the reader inside the minds and actions of the characters and connects them to the culture and time period. For example, on page 167 it states, "C'est bien pourou que ca dure". What I like about this book is it contains the multicultural language but also gives the English translation so the readers can comprehend the text. Lastly, I enjoyed the authors note/review in the beginning of the book. In this review it talks about how the author based this story off of herself and the struggles her family had to go through in Nazi occupied Europe. It gives the reader something to think back on as they read and imagine what life might have been like for the author.
The main message of this story is the importance of family and love. Even though Anna and her family endure hardships and torment traveling all across Europe, their love and strength in one another never fades. It reminds children that they need to be thankful for what and who they have in their lives.

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LibraryThing member blbooks

First sentence: Anna was walking home from school with Elsbeth, a girl in her class. A lot of snow had fallen in Berlin that winter. It did not melt, so the street cleaners had swept it to the edge of the pavement, and there it had lain for weeks in sad, greying heaps.

Premise/plot: Anna and her

family are Jewish. In the week leading up to elections, her father flees Germany just in case Hitler wins the election. If Hitler does win, his family will follow him to Switzerland. (The dad is a writer. His views will not be appreciated by Hitler and the Nazi party.) He tries to sell enough of his writing in Switzerland...and then France. But the economy of the 1930s isn't all that great. The family left everything behind--including Anna's pink rabbit--and are essentially penniless. By the end of the novel, Anna and her brother, Max, I believe have been sent to England.

The novel takes place circa 1933/1934.

My thoughts: This is my second time to read When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. It is set in the early 1930s. Many of the policies had not come into play yet. There were warning signs which this family heeds. But it is very early days. It is set in Germany, Switzerland, France, and England. (The last chapter is set in England.) I believe this one is in part autobiography. I don't know how much is based on her experiences and how much is pure fiction. The novel's conflict is subtle and perhaps more about a family's economic and financial struggles as they are displaced. The novel is about learning new languages, trying to economize as much as possible, struggling to make ends meet. Perhaps subtle isn't the best word. I mean that this isn't so driven by external events happening--like so many books set during the second world war.

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