Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Atheneum Books for Young Readers (2005), 256 pages
Description
In 1942 Hannelore Wolff made a difficult decision, one that changed her life forever. She left the comfort and safety of her boarding school in Berlin, Germany, and volunteered to be sent to a Polish ghetto. The Gestapo had already killed her father and were deporting her mother and brothers. Hannelore could not bear to be separated from what was left of her family so she chose to go with them. It was the beginning of her long journey through what turned out to be eight concentration camps, including Auschwitz. In one of the camps, Hannelore fell in love with a young man named Dick Hillman. After a few months they were separated, but Dick told Hannelore, "I will find you, wherever you are." He kept his promise. They were both put on Oskar Schindler's famous list and married when they were reunited. I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree is one woman's incredible story of finding courage, strength, and love during one of the most horrific times of the modern era.… (more)
Subjects
Awards
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 9-12 — 2007)
Gateway Readers Award (Nominee — 2008)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 2008)
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member Whisper1
This is a compelling, sad and dramatic book written by a survivor of eight! concentration camps.
In the spring of 1942, Hannelore Wolff and her family were torn apart by the Nazis. In page after page of vivid description, the reader travels with Hannelore as she writes of the atrocities of each
After witnessing the nightmares from which she thought there was no escape, Hannelore was fortunately placed on Schindler's list. The Russian army liberated Brunnlitz. After three long, incredibly brutal years of starvation, beatings, and mind and soul numbing pain, Hannelore was free.
The book is dedicated to the author's parents Martin and Kaoline Wolff and her brothers Wolfgang and Selly, who were murdered by the Nazis.
Highly recommended.
In the spring of 1942, Hannelore Wolff and her family were torn apart by the Nazis. In page after page of vivid description, the reader travels with Hannelore as she writes of the atrocities of each
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camp.After witnessing the nightmares from which she thought there was no escape, Hannelore was fortunately placed on Schindler's list. The Russian army liberated Brunnlitz. After three long, incredibly brutal years of starvation, beatings, and mind and soul numbing pain, Hannelore was free.
The book is dedicated to the author's parents Martin and Kaoline Wolff and her brothers Wolfgang and Selly, who were murdered by the Nazis.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member JanaRose1
The book begins with Hannelore as a student in a private school in Berlin. After her father’s death, Hannelore leaves school and is deported with her mother and brothers to Poland. During the next several years, she moved from one camp to another. Towards the end of the book, she ends up on Oskar
The book is written in a detached manner, describing brutal scenes in unemotional ways. Life at Schindler’s factory is only briefly described and she never fully explains how she was able to get onto Schindler’s list. For someone interested in holocaust memoires, there are better written books out there. Overall, I rate this book a three out of five.
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Schindler’s list and is able to survive until Germany surrenders.The book is written in a detached manner, describing brutal scenes in unemotional ways. Life at Schindler’s factory is only briefly described and she never fully explains how she was able to get onto Schindler’s list. For someone interested in holocaust memoires, there are better written books out there. Overall, I rate this book a three out of five.
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LibraryThing member amwo
Well, I (Amanda) chose to read this book, because we were learning about the Holocaust and WWII in History class, and I've always had a soft spot for true Holocaust survivor stories. I was instantly attracted to the hope and love that managed to remain between Hannelore and Dick in this book, but I
Didn't love it. Didn't hate it.
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didn't have the same reaction to the rest of the book. The plot was overall, a great idea, but it moved too fast at some parts, which ironically made the read go slower. I felt like Hillman lacked a little something in her writing, while I could somewhat connect to Dick and Hannelore's romance, and the hope and despair she went through, there just wasn't any fantastic imagery, or words and sentences strung together well enough that they just made me sigh like the literary nerd I am. I really disliked the beginning,(too fast), but the book did get better as it went on. You could feel Hannelore's joy as she received things that seem commonplace, like warm underwear. While the idea and the story is there, the delivery just didn't cut it. Overall, an average read. Nothing special, but the plot and characters saved it from being horrible.Didn't love it. Didn't hate it.
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LibraryThing member MattRaygun
"We'll use last names only, saying, 'Reunion for Gruenstein, Wolff, and Helfen taking place at Wangenheimstrasse 36. Berlin, Grunewald. Bring amusing stories."
This book is an easily accessible view into the life of a Holocaust survivor. The book is fast-paced with lots of action. The young author's
This book is a much more detailed introduction to the depths of depravity and pure villainy that the Nazis were responsible for than the equally important "Diary of Anne Frank". Every thing from bullying, racism, theft, beatings, homicide, infanticide, rape, slavery, torture, corpse-defilement, and mass-murder are listed matter-of-factly in this book. In this respect, I feel this book does a great service to the young reader by giving them a much more thorough expose' on the Nazis than many other sources. Books on the war-effort tend to involve individual heroism and tactics against the Third Reich, but this book reminds me very much of "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" for the depths that humanity can sink and the heights that humanity can rise.
Hannelore, the young author, is probably the best kind of writer for the level of horror displayed in the concentration camps, giving the reader glimpses of suffering, without (amazingly) dwelling on any particular aspect of her, or anyone else's, suffering. She loses almost every single person close to her through this book, and still carries on. So as much as I dislike the lack of intense detail in this book, its probably the only thing that makes it bearable for the author and reader alike.
This book is a treasure, if for anything, demonstrating that the humanity in good people can survive in the face of the most unimaginable horrors possible. Kindness surrounds Hannelore and she sees it as visibly as she see's man's inhumanity to man. She risks her life for people she barely knows and she is consistently treated to the same selflessness from strangers.
I recommend this book for anyone between the ages of 11 and 18.
This book is an easily accessible view into the life of a Holocaust survivor. The book is fast-paced with lots of action. The young author's
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memoir begins as the Second World War has already started and she is a student at a school for young Jewish girls in Berlin. Her story takes us through her flight from Berlin to meet what's left of her family, to the heights of the Holocaust. She escapes death routinely, and very rarely through any kind of theatrics. The randomness of death that surrounds her is evident and I think the only way the reader can endure with the author is because the author herself is so steadfast in her desire to survive.This book is a much more detailed introduction to the depths of depravity and pure villainy that the Nazis were responsible for than the equally important "Diary of Anne Frank". Every thing from bullying, racism, theft, beatings, homicide, infanticide, rape, slavery, torture, corpse-defilement, and mass-murder are listed matter-of-factly in this book. In this respect, I feel this book does a great service to the young reader by giving them a much more thorough expose' on the Nazis than many other sources. Books on the war-effort tend to involve individual heroism and tactics against the Third Reich, but this book reminds me very much of "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" for the depths that humanity can sink and the heights that humanity can rise.
Hannelore, the young author, is probably the best kind of writer for the level of horror displayed in the concentration camps, giving the reader glimpses of suffering, without (amazingly) dwelling on any particular aspect of her, or anyone else's, suffering. She loses almost every single person close to her through this book, and still carries on. So as much as I dislike the lack of intense detail in this book, its probably the only thing that makes it bearable for the author and reader alike.
This book is a treasure, if for anything, demonstrating that the humanity in good people can survive in the face of the most unimaginable horrors possible. Kindness surrounds Hannelore and she sees it as visibly as she see's man's inhumanity to man. She risks her life for people she barely knows and she is consistently treated to the same selflessness from strangers.
I recommend this book for anyone between the ages of 11 and 18.
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LibraryThing member Kathdavis54
This is the tale of Hannelore Wolff. She was a girl who bravely left her safe school to travel with her Jewish family during World War II. This is her story of survival even in the face of great loss. Although I felt like the ending was rush, the story was captivating.
LibraryThing member scnelson
For anyone who bothers to consider it, I think we all wonder how the world turned so on edge that a group like the Nazis could be seen as a good choice to rule a country. Even more so, I wonder how anyone who they didn't like managed to survive their evil rule to see it ended before they were ended
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themselves. This book tells just that story from the perspective of one of the least empowered people of the time, a young girl of Jewess decent in Germany. Unlike Anne Frank, Hannelore Wolff took the bold step to leave school and join her mother and brothers in deportation to camps in the east rather than attempt to hide from the SS, even after her father had been killed for the simple act of being a Jew and riding a bike without a license. It is a gripping tale that will give you a glimpse into what it was like to be viewed as subhuman by a "master race" and what it takes to survive in a world turned upside down. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jmmott
This was a very engrossing first person account of the author's experiences during the Holocaust. The hardship and abuse that Hannelore was subjected to in the concentration and labor camps is in stark contrast to her life before the Nazi Party rose to power. A particular strength of the book is
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its readability despite the subject matter being frequently horrifying. Ms Hillman weaves a narrative that is both engaging and illuminating. It is one thing to read a history text about the Holocaust and find it powerful and moving. Reading a first person account has the ability to scratch the reader raw. This is definitely a book I would consider using in a classroom setting, Show Less
LibraryThing member rosesaurora
Hannelore Wolff, still devastated by the murder of her father at the hands of the nazis does something unthinkable--requests to be deported along with her mother and two younger brothers. What follows is her personal tale of humanity at its most wicked. She is completely helpless to stop the
Even among these horrors she finds love with a Polish POW in the Nazi internment camps. Both of their names have been miraculously placed on Schindler's list and just as they fear their nightmare might be coming to an end Hannelore finds herself in Auschwitz. She can smell the burning flesh coming from the human ovens and as time passes she is shifted closer and closer to the dreaded showers.
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separation of her family and can only watch as one of her brothers slowly succumbs to death.Even among these horrors she finds love with a Polish POW in the Nazi internment camps. Both of their names have been miraculously placed on Schindler's list and just as they fear their nightmare might be coming to an end Hannelore finds herself in Auschwitz. She can smell the burning flesh coming from the human ovens and as time passes she is shifted closer and closer to the dreaded showers.
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LibraryThing member Kimberly.Danielle
A haunting, harrowing account of one woman's survival against all odds during the Nazi terrorism that reigned over Jewish people during World War II. She vividly recounts her journey from an ordinary teenage to one held hostage by fear, threats, and near death. In the midst of it all, she
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continuously held fast to hope and love. Show Less
LibraryThing member HHS-Students
Reviewed by Lizzie (Class of 2013)
“One day, when this is over, I’ll plant a lilac bush. Perhaps it will grow old and become a tree like the one you remember” (Hillman 129). This was said to Hannelore Wolff, (now Laura Hillman) a Schindler’s list Holocaust survivor.
I Will Plant You a Lilac
The book explains the many journeys Hannelore had to go through to survive the Holocaust. Hannelore was first deported from her home town of Aurich, Germany to the first ghetto, Lublin. There, she managed to stay with her mom and younger brothers, Wolfgang and Selly. When the next deportation trucks come through the family is forced to separate and go hide in different directions. Once Hannelore is found in her hiding spot, she is then sent to Belzyce where she works as an infirmary nurse. After that, she went to Kraśnik another ghetto, but it was more like a paradise than a ghetto. People lived in apartments, had hot water, food, and did not have to worry about anything except pleasing the SS with which she stayed. During her stay in Kraśnik, the SS where worried she was transferring and hiding information. Hannelore was then deported and sent to Budzyn, a concentration camp. That camp is where she first laid eyes on Dick Hillman. Also, she met her friend Fella. The camp was emptied in order to make room for more Jews. Hannelore was sent to Wieliczka, and Dick was sent to Plaszow. The two soon reunited in Plaszow, where the couple discovered they were on Schindler’s list and knew they had a chance of surviving. Before they would be on their way to safety, they had to endure more intense pain and hardship at Auschwitz-Birkeniau. Hannelore and Dick were saved from Auschwitz and taken to Brünnlitz where they would work for Oskar Schindler, and be so much safer than the other Jews in the concentration camps. After a short amount of time, the Russians overtook the German’s and the Jews were saved. Because of Hannelore’s presence on Shindler’s list, she was able to survive.
I really enjoyed this book. Some of the pros were the way I could picture the scenes and the characters. I could only imagine the pain Hannelore experienced. When a book has things you can actually picture, it’s like a movie playing in your head and it makes it so much more real. Also, the fact that it is a true story makes it much more interesting. There is only one con I can think of, it would be that you don’t get to find out how Hannelore’s existence on Shindler’s list is going to help her until about 2/3 of the way into the book. The only way you find this out is when Hannelore is told by her friend Fella that they were on the list. I think if I knew that she was surviving all of these harsh camps and ghettos because she was on Shindler’s list, it would’ve been better.
Overall, I think this book is great. It really makes you think about how easy and nice your life is compared to what these innocent people had to go through. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
“One day, when this is over, I’ll plant a lilac bush. Perhaps it will grow old and become a tree like the one you remember” (Hillman 129). This was said to Hannelore Wolff, (now Laura Hillman) a Schindler’s list Holocaust survivor.
I Will Plant You a Lilac
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Tree is a memoir of Hannelore’s experiences during her three year journey through multiple concentration camps and ghettos. In the book, there aren't too many characters, because the book focuses on Hannelore. The main characters are Hannelore, her younger brother Selly, Hannelore’s three friends, whom she met at the concentrations camps. Their names are Fella, Eva, and Hella. Plus Dick, who is now her husband.The book explains the many journeys Hannelore had to go through to survive the Holocaust. Hannelore was first deported from her home town of Aurich, Germany to the first ghetto, Lublin. There, she managed to stay with her mom and younger brothers, Wolfgang and Selly. When the next deportation trucks come through the family is forced to separate and go hide in different directions. Once Hannelore is found in her hiding spot, she is then sent to Belzyce where she works as an infirmary nurse. After that, she went to Kraśnik another ghetto, but it was more like a paradise than a ghetto. People lived in apartments, had hot water, food, and did not have to worry about anything except pleasing the SS with which she stayed. During her stay in Kraśnik, the SS where worried she was transferring and hiding information. Hannelore was then deported and sent to Budzyn, a concentration camp. That camp is where she first laid eyes on Dick Hillman. Also, she met her friend Fella. The camp was emptied in order to make room for more Jews. Hannelore was sent to Wieliczka, and Dick was sent to Plaszow. The two soon reunited in Plaszow, where the couple discovered they were on Schindler’s list and knew they had a chance of surviving. Before they would be on their way to safety, they had to endure more intense pain and hardship at Auschwitz-Birkeniau. Hannelore and Dick were saved from Auschwitz and taken to Brünnlitz where they would work for Oskar Schindler, and be so much safer than the other Jews in the concentration camps. After a short amount of time, the Russians overtook the German’s and the Jews were saved. Because of Hannelore’s presence on Shindler’s list, she was able to survive.
I really enjoyed this book. Some of the pros were the way I could picture the scenes and the characters. I could only imagine the pain Hannelore experienced. When a book has things you can actually picture, it’s like a movie playing in your head and it makes it so much more real. Also, the fact that it is a true story makes it much more interesting. There is only one con I can think of, it would be that you don’t get to find out how Hannelore’s existence on Shindler’s list is going to help her until about 2/3 of the way into the book. The only way you find this out is when Hannelore is told by her friend Fella that they were on the list. I think if I knew that she was surviving all of these harsh camps and ghettos because she was on Shindler’s list, it would’ve been better.
Overall, I think this book is great. It really makes you think about how easy and nice your life is compared to what these innocent people had to go through. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
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LibraryThing member kmcinern
Laura Hillman shares her memories with readers as she recounts her expeirence as Hannelore Wolff, a survivior of one of the most gruesome concentration camps. The subject matter is certainly not for the faint of heart, however, it is the explicit, vivid recollections that make this text memorable.
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I believe this book would appeal to a variety of students, specifically those interested in the study of WWII related literature. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jenni01
I thought it was an excellent story of love and survival during the holocaust. I would recommend reading the book.
LibraryThing member Michelle_Bales
This is the amazing story of Laura Hillman's journey through concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Brave and loyal, young Laura arranges to join her family as they are sent into captivity. Unexpectedly, she finds love when she meets Bernard "Dick" Hillman, a fellow inmate. The story of love, luck,
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and severe loss and suffering is artfully told. The few black and white photographs of Laura's family are heart-wrenching when combined with the tale of what happened to them. This book would be a good one to use to introduce young readers to the plight of Jewish people in the concentration camps. Although there is much suffering and sadness, there is the added sweetness and suspense of Laura's and Dick's love story. Show Less
LibraryThing member mrcmyoung
Hannelore is shuffled from camp to camp in an agonizing horror show. As shocking as the Nazi atrocities is the sense you get that there is absolutely no meaning to life, that survival is dependent on the arbitrary moods of your captors, a matter of stepping into a different line of people or
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speaking with the right accent. Hannelore's is an important voice to add to those who have recorded their experiences during this time. Show Less
LibraryThing member HHS-Students
Reviewed by Cody (Class of 2014)
Have you ever been in some place that makes you feel uncomfortable and you don’t know what to do? Well in, I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree Hannelore felt like that. Her dad was riding his bike back to his house, and he got stopped and was kidnapped by the German
I will Plant You a Lilac Tree is a good book because the author made the book interesting. I thought this book was interesting when Hannelor wanted to leave the safety of her school and go be with her mom. I would recommend this book to someone who has to read a book in 6-9 days because it is short and the pages aren’t long.
Have you ever been in some place that makes you feel uncomfortable and you don’t know what to do? Well in, I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree Hannelore felt like that. Her dad was riding his bike back to his house, and he got stopped and was kidnapped by the German
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officers. Hannelore’s mom got a letter in the mail and it said “Martin Wolff died of unknown causes on March 14, 1942. Urn contains his ashes.” [Hillman, Laura] .After her dad died Hannelore decided that she had to go be with her mom but her friends at the private school for Jewish girls do not want her to stay there with them. I will Plant You a Lilac Tree is a good book because the author made the book interesting. I thought this book was interesting when Hannelor wanted to leave the safety of her school and go be with her mom. I would recommend this book to someone who has to read a book in 6-9 days because it is short and the pages aren’t long.
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LibraryThing member HHS-Students
Reviewed by Jake (Class of 2014)
The Holocaust was one of the worst events in human history where over 6 million Jews were killed. I will plant you a lilac tree by Laura Hillman is a true story about her time in the concentration camps as she tries to survive living in the awful conditions.
At the
This book was very good, I was surprised that this is a true story because this sort of thing sounds like it would never happen, but it does and it was a great story. I have nothing negative to say about this book, it was very well written and I recommend it to everybody. This book gets an easy 5 out of 5 stars due to the way it was written and how it captured my attention.
This was one of my most favorite books, make sure to read it!
The Holocaust was one of the worst events in human history where over 6 million Jews were killed. I will plant you a lilac tree by Laura Hillman is a true story about her time in the concentration camps as she tries to survive living in the awful conditions.
At the
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beginning of the book while Hannelhore (the main character) is living at her school in Berlin, she gets a letter from her mom informing her that her dad had died in a concentration camp. Immediately she decides to leave school and be with her mom and two brothers. After a few days the Nazi’s evacuated them to a ghetto where they stayed for a while. In the ghetto Hannelhore and her family tried to escape by finding a secret tunnel but it failed, but they didn’t get caught trying to escape. A little while later Hannelhore was liquidated to a concentration camp where the suffering starts as she has to work with very little food, and if she doesn’t she gets killed. After a long time of being in different camps, she finds her brother Selly in a camp and he is very beat up. After a little while Selly can’t work anymore and Hannelhore watches as they kill her brother. She then finds a prisoner of war named Dick, and they use each other as a will to live. Eventually a guy named Schindler takes Hannelhore and many other Jewish women to work for him in his factory where they get fed a whole lot better and the work is easy. At this point Hannelhore is tired and has suffered from hunger for almost two years, and now she has hope that she will make it. Soon after the war ends and they are set free, eventually Hannelhore and Dick get married and move to New York and live a good life.This book was very good, I was surprised that this is a true story because this sort of thing sounds like it would never happen, but it does and it was a great story. I have nothing negative to say about this book, it was very well written and I recommend it to everybody. This book gets an easy 5 out of 5 stars due to the way it was written and how it captured my attention.
This was one of my most favorite books, make sure to read it!
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LibraryThing member agiffin
In this gripping work, Hannelore Wolff conveys her experience as a Nazi war labor camp and concentration camp survivor. The experiences described come across as clearly as if they had only happened recently. I believe this work to be an accurate description of her experience and that her memory
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remains clear. This is a book that will hold your attention from beginning to end as you follow her story of courage, strength, and perseverance. Show Less
LibraryThing member amclellan0908
Laura Hillman is Hannelore Wolff, a student in a private school in Berlin who decides to go home and be deported with her recently -widowed mother and brothers. At the arrival of the concentration camp, Hannelore is separated from her mother and brothers, and in a 3-year period, she endures 8
I teach Night in English II, and next year, in addition to the Wiesel text, students will have to read one other Holocaust experiences. I plan to recommend Hillman's novel. While Wiesel provides the voice of the adolescent male, Hillman provides the experience of the adolescent female during the Holocaust.
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concentration camps and hardships. From her own rape to the execution of a friend who got involved with a German soldier, Hillman recalls her experiences in straightforward, direct language, mirroring perhaps her resignation to simply endure. She and her love, Pole Dick Hillman, end up on Schindler's list (we are never told how), which is how they ultimately survive the Holocaust. They are the only surviving members of their family, and after they are reunited, they marry. Hillman's recollection is a challenging, yet honest, depiction of human cruelty but also of hope and love. I teach Night in English II, and next year, in addition to the Wiesel text, students will have to read one other Holocaust experiences. I plan to recommend Hillman's novel. While Wiesel provides the voice of the adolescent male, Hillman provides the experience of the adolescent female during the Holocaust.
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ISBN
0689869800 / 9780689869808