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Available
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Publication
Tundra Books (2013), Edition: Reprint, 432 pages
Description
Escape from Berlin combines Irene N. Watts' three award-winning, bestselling novels: Goodbye Marianne, Remember Me and Finding Sophie. The trilogy follows the life of Marianne, a young Jewish girl growing up in Nazi Germany who was rescued and taken to England by the Kindertransport. In Goodbye Marianne, 11-year-old Marianne and her family are targeted by the Nazi regime. In Remember Me, young Marianne is adjusting to life in England. In Finding Sophie, Marianne and Sophie are reunited after being separated since their arrival in Britain.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member joyceBl
Written by Irene N. Watt , the book Escape from Berlin, published in 2014, is an omnibus edition of three stories, Goodbye Marianne, Remember Me, and Finding Sophie, that have been published previously.
The first two stories tell about Marianne Kohn, a young Jewish girl living in Berlin in 1938,
I received this book through the Early Reviewers giveaway in LibraryThing. The three stories have received multiple awards since their initial publication, but they left me bored. I like to read books intended for middle schoolers and young adults, and find that in spite of my age, I can tremendously enjoy them if they are written well with realistic plots and interesting characters. I found this book to have none of those attributes. I couldn’t connect to Marianne – although in theory, the need to take children away from their families to safety and the fact that many of them never saw their families again, is one of many, many tragedies of Hitler’s horrific rule. But the author failed to elicit compassion and interest in the outcome. It serves as an historical anecdotal account of the Kindertransport program but offers nothing more.
The first two stories tell about Marianne Kohn, a young Jewish girl living in Berlin in 1938,
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the beginning of Hitler’s reign. Unable to keep her safe any longer and with her Jewish father in hiding, her Christian mother puts her on the first Kindertransport, a train filled with children traveling to Britain to be housed with foster families for the duration of the war. The third story tells about Sophie, another child who Marianne meets on the train.I received this book through the Early Reviewers giveaway in LibraryThing. The three stories have received multiple awards since their initial publication, but they left me bored. I like to read books intended for middle schoolers and young adults, and find that in spite of my age, I can tremendously enjoy them if they are written well with realistic plots and interesting characters. I found this book to have none of those attributes. I couldn’t connect to Marianne – although in theory, the need to take children away from their families to safety and the fact that many of them never saw their families again, is one of many, many tragedies of Hitler’s horrific rule. But the author failed to elicit compassion and interest in the outcome. It serves as an historical anecdotal account of the Kindertransport program but offers nothing more.
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LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
Written for the 75th anniversary of the Kindertransport (which was three days ago), this is a skilled and deceptively simple narrative about two German Jewish children who escaped--their fears in the old country, their memories of their parents and how they negotiate them, their new lives in
But it's the last part, where Marianne steps back and lets the other protagonist, Sophie Mandel, take her turn that the story fills out and darkens into something quite special. Where Marianne's story follows a classic arc, Sophie, who is only seven when she leaves, doesn't have the sense of self yet to spare her from falling between narrative chairs, into a really real-feeling liminality where she has to work hard to make any sense of what's happening at all: are her parents dead? Are they coming back? Does she want them back? Is she German or English, and what does it mean to be "Jewish" as even the grizzled elders are shocked into confusion by the revelations of the death camps? In a masterful stroke, Sophie is in fact only half-Jewish; and watching her negotiate her identity and constitute a new self is, if this can be said, the great pleasure of the book. Certainly, it leads to some arresting moments: when she finds, tucked away in a chest by the "aunt" she wishes could be a mother, the doll she loved and flung away from her after it was handled and torn open by the Gestapo; the moment of sheer discomfort when her cloud talk with her two little British friends turns into something uglier, as they suddenly close ranks and place her in the role of enemy alien. Not to take anything from Marianne Kohn, who is a strong and spirited girl; but Sophie is neither of those things, which makes her hard-won safety and English home even more affecting. These stories are worthwhile reading for anyone from eight to eighty.
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England and the tribulations that come. It's broken into three parts: the first two are about an older girl, twelve-year-old Marianne Kohn, and her already formed self experiences this upheaval in a way familiar to us from children's stories past, one that Spielberg, say, could film to affect--a little bit immigrant story, a little bit boarding school coming-of-age novel, a sharp twinge of Anne Frank. It is deftly done (and I think Watts deserves a little extra credit for her clear narrator's eye and quite restrained sentiment--the hardest thing in the world to restrain as a Kindertransport alumna herself, I'd think, especially at 83).But it's the last part, where Marianne steps back and lets the other protagonist, Sophie Mandel, take her turn that the story fills out and darkens into something quite special. Where Marianne's story follows a classic arc, Sophie, who is only seven when she leaves, doesn't have the sense of self yet to spare her from falling between narrative chairs, into a really real-feeling liminality where she has to work hard to make any sense of what's happening at all: are her parents dead? Are they coming back? Does she want them back? Is she German or English, and what does it mean to be "Jewish" as even the grizzled elders are shocked into confusion by the revelations of the death camps? In a masterful stroke, Sophie is in fact only half-Jewish; and watching her negotiate her identity and constitute a new self is, if this can be said, the great pleasure of the book. Certainly, it leads to some arresting moments: when she finds, tucked away in a chest by the "aunt" she wishes could be a mother, the doll she loved and flung away from her after it was handled and torn open by the Gestapo; the moment of sheer discomfort when her cloud talk with her two little British friends turns into something uglier, as they suddenly close ranks and place her in the role of enemy alien. Not to take anything from Marianne Kohn, who is a strong and spirited girl; but Sophie is neither of those things, which makes her hard-won safety and English home even more affecting. These stories are worthwhile reading for anyone from eight to eighty.
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LibraryThing member shazzerwise
I've only just discovered Irene N. Watts in the past few years, but I've quickly become a fan. This book is a collection of three stories involving children from the first wave of the Kindertransport. The first two focus on Marianne, while the third revolves around Sophie (though Marianne plays a
Read all together, Escape from Berlin is an ultimately uplifting story of how people, children especially can survive and even thrive in the worst of situations.
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supporting role). The first book, Good-bye Marianne, is an almost perfect slice of fiction, creating a sympathetic character stuck in horrible circumstances and letting the reader navigate the choices Marianne and her family must make to survive. Remember Me continues Marianne's story in England and Wales, and while it keeps up the dramatic tension and deep characterizations, the ending in particular is choppy and a bit hurried. Finding Sophie suffers somewhat from a similarly rushed ending, but it's first person narration allows us an invaluable glimpse into Sophie's mind as she lives through the tumultuous end of the war and its aftermath.Read all together, Escape from Berlin is an ultimately uplifting story of how people, children especially can survive and even thrive in the worst of situations.
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LibraryThing member fuzzi
Before this year I might have heard/read about the Kindertransport, but not that I recall, so the topic was fairly new to me:
Just prior to WW II, children from Nazi Germany were sent to other countries for safety. Many of these youngsters never saw their parents or families again, and this book, a
The author draws you in to each child's tale, in an easy to read style, but not-so-easy topic. I was engrossed in the stories, not wanting to put down the book...as I had to find out what would happen next...how would Marianne cope with her reluctant English sponsors? How could her parents make their escape from Germany? What could she do about those who hated her for not only being a German, but a German Jew?
Irene Watts has written a very good series about the children of the Kindertransport, what they faced, and how some of them coped, rising above the hardships of being amongst strangers, many of whom did not want these children in their country.
Just prior to WW II, children from Nazi Germany were sent to other countries for safety. Many of these youngsters never saw their parents or families again, and this book, a
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trilogy of stories about how the children were impacted by the Kindertransport, is a fascinating and heart wrenching look into what happened to these refugees.The author draws you in to each child's tale, in an easy to read style, but not-so-easy topic. I was engrossed in the stories, not wanting to put down the book...as I had to find out what would happen next...how would Marianne cope with her reluctant English sponsors? How could her parents make their escape from Germany? What could she do about those who hated her for not only being a German, but a German Jew?
Irene Watts has written a very good series about the children of the Kindertransport, what they faced, and how some of them coped, rising above the hardships of being amongst strangers, many of whom did not want these children in their country.
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LibraryThing member leahdawn
I read the descriptions of this book and was immediately interested. I was unaware of the Kindertransport, but have a real interest in 20th century history, so I thought that I would certainly like this work of historical fiction. And I was not disappointed.
This book is at times completely
The jumps in time were a bit lurching at moments, but overall this is definitely a book that I would share with anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
This book is at times completely
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heartbreaking, which is to be expected given the serious subject matter which defines the setting and plot. However there are beautiful moments of love and acceptance as well, as we follow refugee children Marianne and Sophie on their voyage from Germany to new, radically different lives in England. The jumps in time were a bit lurching at moments, but overall this is definitely a book that I would share with anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Escape From Berlin by Irene N. Watts is composed of three novellas that blend perfectly together to make one cohesive story about Jewish children who were saved from the Nazi’s by the Kindertransport. The Kindertransport was a program set up by the Refugee Children’s Movement with the full
The book is told from two of the children’s point of view, starting in 1938 with eleven year old, Marianne Kohn. Her parents reach the difficult decision to send her to England with the knowledge that they themselves would possibly not be able to get out of Germany. On the train to England, Marianne watches out for seven year old Sophie Mandel after her mother thrusts her on the train just as it is pulling out.
The story captures beautifully the confusion, fear and sadness of the girls as they are sent away from their parents, their home and their country and set down in a place where they are strangers. This was an emotional and moving account of these children as they struggle with a different language and a different religion along with strange foods and customs and overwhelming homesickness. That they eventually adapt and actually thrived had a great deal to do with new friends and guardians.
At the end of the war these two girls have grown into young women of eighteen and fourteen. They meet again at a hospital where Marianne is training to be a nurse and Sophie volunteers. The end of the war brings with it a new set of anxieties as now they wait to hear some word of not only what happened to their families but also are they willing give up the lives they have in England to be with family that they haven’t seen in seven years.
Wonderfully written, this would be an excellent book for young readers to gain an understanding of what was actually happening in Germany to the non-Aryan residents both through the war and in the years leading up to it. The author herself was a child saved by the Kindertransport, and although this isn’t her story , it gives an accurate picture of what these children experienced.
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support of the British Government and many other groups. In the nine months before the war “at-risk’ children were moved out of Germany to safety in Britain. During this time, over ten thousand children were saved. These stories are being issued as one book in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Kindertransport.The book is told from two of the children’s point of view, starting in 1938 with eleven year old, Marianne Kohn. Her parents reach the difficult decision to send her to England with the knowledge that they themselves would possibly not be able to get out of Germany. On the train to England, Marianne watches out for seven year old Sophie Mandel after her mother thrusts her on the train just as it is pulling out.
The story captures beautifully the confusion, fear and sadness of the girls as they are sent away from their parents, their home and their country and set down in a place where they are strangers. This was an emotional and moving account of these children as they struggle with a different language and a different religion along with strange foods and customs and overwhelming homesickness. That they eventually adapt and actually thrived had a great deal to do with new friends and guardians.
At the end of the war these two girls have grown into young women of eighteen and fourteen. They meet again at a hospital where Marianne is training to be a nurse and Sophie volunteers. The end of the war brings with it a new set of anxieties as now they wait to hear some word of not only what happened to their families but also are they willing give up the lives they have in England to be with family that they haven’t seen in seven years.
Wonderfully written, this would be an excellent book for young readers to gain an understanding of what was actually happening in Germany to the non-Aryan residents both through the war and in the years leading up to it. The author herself was a child saved by the Kindertransport, and although this isn’t her story , it gives an accurate picture of what these children experienced.
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LibraryThing member JanaRose1
This is an omnibus containing three stories "Goodbye Marianne" "Remember Me" and "Finding Sophie." The first two stories are about Marianne, a young Jewish girl from Berlin. Her father is in hiding and her mother sent her through the kindertransport to England. The third story is told from Sophie's
I found it very jolting when the author switched from Marianne's story to Sophie's. Marianne's was written in third person, Sophie's first. This was also quite a difficult switch to make after the book was about 2/3's done. Overall, a good book, but not one I would pick up and read again.
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point of view, a young girl who Marianne took care of during the kindertransport.I found it very jolting when the author switched from Marianne's story to Sophie's. Marianne's was written in third person, Sophie's first. This was also quite a difficult switch to make after the book was about 2/3's done. Overall, a good book, but not one I would pick up and read again.
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LibraryThing member Tanya-dogearedcopy
[Escape from Berlin] is actually an omnibus of three novels, [Good-Bye Marianne], [Remember Me] and [Finding Sophie] that are being re-released on the 75th Anniversary of the first Kindertransport. On December 1, 1938, the first manifests of orphaned Jewish children were sent to England to escape
In [Good-Bye Marianne], seven-year old Marianne, daughter of an Aryan mother and a Jewish father, learns quickly the lessons of fear and suspicion as her family is subjected to increasing hostility and the denial of their civil rights. As the first Kinderstransport is scheduled to depart, a spot opens up on the list and Sophie's mother sends her on in the sick orphan's stead.
In [Remember Me], Marianne struggles to assimilate herself into the English landscape. Anti-Semitism in England is no less ugly for not having seem systemized as per Nazi Germany and; added to the strangeness of a foreign land, Sophie is homesick and hungers for friendship.
In [Finding Sophie], the perspective changes to that of Sophie, a little girl who Marianne had briefly befriended while they were en route to England aboard the first Kindertransport. Years have past since then and both children are now young adults who have settled into life in England, though with mixed feelings about their native country and friends & family that had remained in Germany. In this novel, Sophie manages to connect with Marianne, an ephemeral friendship made more lasting by the strength of shared experience.
At best, the Kindertransports are often only a footnote in WWII history and [Escape from Berlin] offers a bit of authentic insight into the experience. Though it is historical fiction, autobiographical details certainly factor in as the author herself was aboard the first Kindertransport as a seven-year old. Alas, the writing is also somewhat facile in plotting and vocabulary, even granted that this is marketed as juvenile fiction. There is certain lack of richness to the writing despite the emotional tax it has the potential to levy; but it it is a good start for children ages 7-10 on a subject that unfortunately is being relegated as trivia or worse, mythos.
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the increasing persecution of Judaism as a whole in Germany. Sent to England without friends or family, they were brought into alien households under varying auspices and forced to quickly adapt.In [Good-Bye Marianne], seven-year old Marianne, daughter of an Aryan mother and a Jewish father, learns quickly the lessons of fear and suspicion as her family is subjected to increasing hostility and the denial of their civil rights. As the first Kinderstransport is scheduled to depart, a spot opens up on the list and Sophie's mother sends her on in the sick orphan's stead.
In [Remember Me], Marianne struggles to assimilate herself into the English landscape. Anti-Semitism in England is no less ugly for not having seem systemized as per Nazi Germany and; added to the strangeness of a foreign land, Sophie is homesick and hungers for friendship.
In [Finding Sophie], the perspective changes to that of Sophie, a little girl who Marianne had briefly befriended while they were en route to England aboard the first Kindertransport. Years have past since then and both children are now young adults who have settled into life in England, though with mixed feelings about their native country and friends & family that had remained in Germany. In this novel, Sophie manages to connect with Marianne, an ephemeral friendship made more lasting by the strength of shared experience.
At best, the Kindertransports are often only a footnote in WWII history and [Escape from Berlin] offers a bit of authentic insight into the experience. Though it is historical fiction, autobiographical details certainly factor in as the author herself was aboard the first Kindertransport as a seven-year old. Alas, the writing is also somewhat facile in plotting and vocabulary, even granted that this is marketed as juvenile fiction. There is certain lack of richness to the writing despite the emotional tax it has the potential to levy; but it it is a good start for children ages 7-10 on a subject that unfortunately is being relegated as trivia or worse, mythos.
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LibraryThing member barefeet4
Three stories in one book. I liked the first two, that focused on Marianne, best but appreciated how the third story which looked at another girl on the kindertransport, Sophie, gave a different side of the experience and also provided closure. A different look at the Holocaust than you usually
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see; these children were viewed as enemies by some and ungrateful by others simply because they were homesick and missed their families. A heartwrenching story. Show Less
LibraryThing member sophronia82
Coinciding with the 75th Anniversary of the first Kindertransport from Germany to the UK, Irene Watts has released a collection of three novellas dealing with two Jewish girls who took that first train ride on December 1st, 1938.
Marianne, 11, and Sophie, 7, haven’t yet met, but their lives as
Though Marianne and Sophie are fictional, their stories are based on the author’s own experience as a child of the Kindertransport, as well as extensive research into the memoirs of other children saved by the Kindertransport. Their experiences are vivid – heartbreaking but full of the hope of young girls. Though certainly not an exact likeness, Watts’ manner of descriptive writing and the style of conversation the book’s characters share felt very reminiscent of the much-beloved Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. Recommended historical fiction for upper elementary and young adult readers.
Marianne, 11, and Sophie, 7, haven’t yet met, but their lives as
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Jews in Berlin share many similarities. As Jews are ever more frequently the victims of public humiliation, looting and theft, strict segregation, and violence, their parents make the wrenching decision to send their daughters alone to the UK – hopefully to safety. These stories, told through the eyes of the girls, who make a lasting but brief connection on the train and don’t meet again until 7 years have passed, put us right into the heart of war-time London, where the girls must navigate homesickness, a new language, unfamiliar families, food rations, and the kindness (and sometimes cruelty) of strangers in their adopted country. Though Marianne and Sophie are fictional, their stories are based on the author’s own experience as a child of the Kindertransport, as well as extensive research into the memoirs of other children saved by the Kindertransport. Their experiences are vivid – heartbreaking but full of the hope of young girls. Though certainly not an exact likeness, Watts’ manner of descriptive writing and the style of conversation the book’s characters share felt very reminiscent of the much-beloved Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. Recommended historical fiction for upper elementary and young adult readers.
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LibraryThing member skstiles612
Source: (Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program.)
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. In the past we have taught about the Kindertransport in my class. However, I liked this much more than the book the county had picked
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. In the past we have taught about the Kindertransport in my class. However, I liked this much more than the book the county had picked
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for us. It gave us a realistic look into how children were actually treated. Those of us who have studied and taught about the life of a Jew during the times of the Nazis know that they had a lot of persecution to deal with. Many parents sent their young children off to England for safe keeping, never knowing if they would be seen again. They believed that the people taking in their children would treat them like they would their own. This was not always true. Many of them as you learn from the stories in this book wanted them for free labor, others saw them as traitors or demons. I felt for Marianne the main character of the first two stories. She is bounced around form one home to another. Mistreated, thrown out or forced to live in opposition to her religious upbringing. Sophia, the young girl Marianne meets on the train is treated much better. Her “Aunt Em” is a friend of the family and treats her as if she is a relative. There is very little written about this time and it is refreshing to find a book that does such a wonderful job of telling it, even though the story is historical fiction. This will be a great addition to my bookshelves at school. Show Less
LibraryThing member theresearcher
While this trilogy started out a little slow for me, I am really glad that I was forced, both by having accepted an Early Reviewer copy, and by having the entire trilogy in one volume, to finish it.
I realize that I had high expectations for the book, especially given that I read it right after "The
A non-autobiographical, fictional account of two girls on the Kindertransport written by a woman who also lived the experience, this is a lovely young-adult reading experience. The first-person narrative style allows for an exploration of the interior lives of children who felt especially powerless and lost, having been shuffled around by well-meaning adults who saved their lives but could not heal their wounds.
I realize that I had high expectations for the book, especially given that I read it right after "The
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Book Thief." Though they are similar in time, setting, and subject matter, they are quite different in terms of writing style, and that took me a little while to get into.A non-autobiographical, fictional account of two girls on the Kindertransport written by a woman who also lived the experience, this is a lovely young-adult reading experience. The first-person narrative style allows for an exploration of the interior lives of children who felt especially powerless and lost, having been shuffled around by well-meaning adults who saved their lives but could not heal their wounds.
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LibraryThing member Yells
I quite enjoyed this one. It was well written and provided an interesting look at something that I really didn't know a lot about.
ISBN
1770496114 / 9781770496118