Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis is a Bauhus trained artist from Prague being held as a prisoner in Terezin. I liked this book because she teaches the children to draw and it helps them get throught their fears. The children expressed themselves in their artwork. The artwork and pictures throughout the book

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were helpful to understand what was going on and see the results of Dicker-Brandeis' teaching. This book was inspirational because even though they were in concentration camps, they fond something to ease the pain.

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This is the remarkable story of how one person's love and understanding of the importance of artistic expression can touch and heal.Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was a very well known artist in Austria who was deported to a Jewish ghetto called Terezin in 1942. During her time at Terezín, she gave art

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lessons and lectures to the others in the camp, especially the children. When packing for her transfer to the ghetto, Friedl chose to bring more art supplies than anything else because she knew that there would be so many children who would need an outlet to express their thoughts and fears in order to help them cope.
The book is filled with images from the work produced by her students, most of whom died at the tender ages of 12-14 after being transported to Auschwitz. In the two years at Terezin, 4,500 drawings were produced.
This is an extremely powerful story that I think should be read after Hana's Suitcase, because Hana Brady had been one of her students.

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7 - 12 years of age. Biography of a selfless artist sent to a concentration camp with children in Terezin, Czechoslovakia in 1942. She packed her bags with art supplies and paper to have something to share with the children to take their minds off of where they were.Copies of original artwork is

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scattered throughout the book. This is a very powerful book that has 8 chapters. It should be read carefully with time to ponder what is happening.

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If you enjoyed Hana's Suitcase, you will love this book. It puts a face to the brave adults who chose to not give up, no matter the circumstances, and continue to provide children with a hopeful future. The story of Friedl is so inspiring. I wondered if Friedl was one of Hana's teachers in Terezin.

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It's a wonderful read and I would definitely recommend it.

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An amazing story of yet another hero amidst the Holocaust, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis. I was so inspired by her efforts to provide the children in Terezin with as positive as an experience as could be expected, and I enjoyed learning about her independent personality and flare for artistic style as

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presented in this book. The artwork and photographs from the plays included in the book also make it an invaluable collection of primary resources for any Holocaust unit.

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This a beautiful, yet heart breaking story. Although this is a story of hope, and the bright spot in the darkness, it still breaks my heart to think of the lives lost in the holocaust, and the children that had to face such a hard reality. With that being said, this story was truly beautiful.

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Friedl Dicker-Brandeis brought art supplies for all of the children in the ghetto so that they would create art instead of fearing their reality. She provided a sense of escape and brightness. This story should definitely be shared in the classroom to communicate that you can make efforts to make the best out of any situation. This book would be perfect to use in a place like New Orleans who still feels the affects of Hurricane Katrina. Our storm is in no way comparable to a multi-nation genocide, but it was still a very dark moment that affected the lives of many and left them devastated. In a New Orleans classroom, you could have students write about efforts that they could've made in light of Katrina to be the bright spot in the dark.

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The tale of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the children with whom she worked in the Terezin concentration camp is at once hopeful and haunting. The reader will not find a happy story here, but, rather, they will find the story of a brave woman who did her best to brighten the worlds of children

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subjected to inhuman and heinous conditions and a collection of historical pictures and the artwork the children created. The narrative about this heroic teacher of the arts is framed by images drawn by children who were terrified of what life had become, and who just missed their home and normalcy. Children’s drawing of home or family are interspersed with chilling poems, written by other young children, about the weak dying off or about the terror they faced daily at the prospect of being transported to a death camp. The well-researched work states that only 100 of the 15,000 children who went through Terezin survived the war. Friedl Dicker-Brandeis also died in a death camp. This is an important book. Much like the tale of Breendonk, which I reviewed earlier this year, it puts human faces and agency to the masses of people who were killed during this dark period of history. I would gladly include this book in my high school social studies classes, and it would have a place in any class which discussed World War 2.

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