The New York Times Book Review
Rappaport…has written the kind of narrative that can change readers' perceptions; her commitment to recovering stories of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust is not only powerful but also historically significant. By gathering and carefully organizing accounts from throughout the Nazi era, she is able to relate the entire tragedy and at the same time to challenge us to see it anew: instead of the inexorable slide into death, we witness the choice to fight. At each beat of the familiar story of extermination, she finds examples of almost inconceivable courage, and actual success in resisting the Nazis…her book belongs in every library and home where we ask young people to learn about historical change…
—Marc Aronson
Publishers Weekly
In a thoroughly researched project far more ambitious and expansive than her acclaimed picture-book nonfiction, Rappaport (Lady Liberty: A Biography) has assembled more than 20 stories of Jewish resistance to the Holocaust, some never before told. From all corners of Nazi-occupied Europe, these harrowing accounts are heart-wrenching and hopeful as they pay tribute to the brave thousands who defied their oppressors in ways large and small. In one, 12-year-old Mordechai Shlayan sneaks explosives in his violin case and blows up a hotel where German officers are dining. In another, 22-year-old Marianne Cohn is caught smuggling children into Switzerland; she turns down an offer to escape to remain with some of the imprisoned children and is executed soon after. Introductions preceding each of the book’s five sections provide historical context; numerous photographs are sometimes graphic and often painfully poignant. Also included are maps, a pronunciation guide, bibliography, source notes, and index. These true stories, while at times hard to stomach, honor the incredible human spirit in the face of unimaginable suffering and torment. Ages 10–up. Agent: Faith Hamlin, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Rappaport has written the kind of narrative that can change readers’ perceptions; her commitment to recovering stories of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust is not only powerful but also historically significant. By gathering and carefully organizing accounts from throughout the Nazi era, she is able to relate the entire tragedy and at the same time to challenge us to see it anew…Rappaport’s devotion to uncovering these instances, whether issuing from academic papers, museums, interviews or memoirs, and her care with narrative structure, locating the rare archival images and using them generously throughout, is truly magnificent. On each page you sense that it meant everything to her to track down the truth and get it exactly right.
—New York Times
In a book that is the very model of excellence in nonfiction, Rappaport dispels the old canard that the Jews entered the houses of death as lambs led to the slaughter... Thorough, deeply researched and stylistically clear, this is a necessary, exemplary book.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
With all the shelves of Holocaust books about the millions lost in the genocide, this is one of the few histories to focus in detail on Jewish resistance across Europe—those who fought back and saved others. The intricate deceptions are as compelling as the confrontations, and the underground escape stories make for thrilling adventure. . . An important addition to the Holocaust curriculum.
—Booklist (starred review)
This well-written and affecting volume is an excellent example of a history title with wide appeal. It belongs in every middle and high school library.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
These true stories . . . honor the incredible human spirit in the face of unimaginable suffering and torment.
—Publishers Weekly (starred reiew)
Rappaport’s engrossing storytelling will entice many teens to read cover-to-cover, while the organization and rich supporting features will guide teen researchers to specific topics, and the brevity and substance of individual entries will be valued by history teachers for classroom oral readings.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)
Reading this book will give people the power to believe that defiance is possible and human hope will live on.
—VOYA
This book captures the essence of Jewish resistance in an attention-grabbing and touching collection of personal stories complemented by powerful photographs.
—Library Media Connection
With numerous archival photographs, including portraits of the brave individuals it describes, BEYOND COURAGE is beautifully designed and a sobering, bittersweet read.
—The Wall Street Journal
This book has rightly gotten starred reviews from every review outlet that bestows stars; it’s a vital contribution to Holocaust literature as well as a very gripping book.
—Tablet Magazine
Doreen Rappaport’s book is an important contribution to Holocaust literature for young readers. Its compelling stories reflect the geographic diversity of Europe’s Jewish communities, and represent several types of resistance. The narrative style is engaging, and presents stories against the larger context of the Nazi war against the Jews. Profusely illustrated, the book is a valuable tool for teaching themes of Jewish resistance.
—Bonnie Gurewitsch, Archivist/Curator of the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, NY
Rappaport is to be commended on a book devoted purely to those acts of courage, recognizing and remembering the Jewish heroes of our no-too-distant past.
—Jewish Book World
An amazing book.
—Jewish Image Magazine
This book is an essential read for anyone interested in one of the most appalling events in history.
—New York Journal of Books
All of the stories...are fascinating, inspiring, and humbling, vivid reminders.
—Reading Today Online (International Reading Association)
The emotional immediacy of the subject matter combined with Rappaport's clear prose and excellent design layout incorporating poetry, photography, maps, artifacts and songs, all combine to make this an extraordinary effort. (starred)
—Shelf Awareness for Readers
Thoughtful, well-researched.
—Washington Post
School Library Journal - Audio
Gr 6 Up—Well-researched, informative, and inspiring, Rappaport's book presents 21 true stories of defiance and heroism in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. Hearing the accounts of the survivors during the Holocaust will inspire and inform students of the struggles and choices people had to make in order to survive. Divided into five chapters—"The Realization," "Saving the Future," "In the Ghettos," "In the Camps," and "Partisan Warfare"—the book presents an account of Jewish resistance attempts by courageous children and adults, from the well known Warsaw Ghetto uprising and the Bielski brigade in the Polish forest to the heroic actions of French resistance which led to the killing of over 3,000 Germans to an all-girl fighting unit in Greece. The narration by Emily Beresford and Jeff Crawford is clear and easy to understand, but the unaccented voices sound too modern to be authentic. A bonus CD includes the black-and-white archival photos from the book which are an essential, valuable visual aid for the audiobook.—Ellen Frank, Jamaica High School, NY
School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up—In this landmark title, Rappaport documents Jewish resistance to the Nazi regime, presenting the stories of brave and committed people who disrupted the course of the mayhem and murder in 11 countries across Europe. Many of them were instrumental in getting Jewish children out of occupied Europe and to safety in Great Britain, Switzerland, and the United States. Others escaped from concentration camps, led insurrections in ghettos, attempted to orchestrate escapes from trains bearing Jews to death camps, or lived in outlaw camps deep in the forests. Many of them sacrificed their lives to save others, and many others bore both physical and psychic scars for the rest of their lives. The text is divided into six sections, discussing the realization on the part of the Jewish population of Germany that their situation was dire; saving Jewish children in occupied Europe; resistance in the ghettos; freedom fighters in the labor, concentration, transit, and death camps; and partisan warfare. The profiles give the backgrounds of the individuals involved in saving others, the situations in which they worked, and the outcome. Black-and-white and sepia photos extend the text and put faces to the deeds. Finishing with a detailed chronology, source notes, and an extensive bibliography, this well-written and affecting volume is an excellent example of a history title with wide appeal. It belongs in every middle and high school library.—Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
NOVEMBER 2012 - AudioFile
Emily Beresford and Jeff Crawford narrate alternating chapters of Rappaport’s chronicle of uprisings and resistance among the Jewish population in Nazi-occupied nations during the Holocaust. Many of the stories end well: Children are successfully smuggled from occupied France to neutral Switzerland, and in Poland a group of brothers creates a thriving village of survivors in the wilderness. Other accounts end with suffering and death, but Rappaport focuses on the individuals, their courage, and their desire to live. Beresford and Crawford don’t embellish these stories in their deliveries, and they don’t need to. Listeners will be riveted by the human capacity for bravery and sacrifice amid the most horrifying of circumstances. A.F. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
In a book that is the very model of excellence in nonfiction, Rappaport dispels the old canard that the Jews entered the houses of death as lambs led to the slaughter. Although "[t]he scope and extent of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust cannot possibly be contained in one book," Rappaport offers an astonishing and inspiring survey. By shining a spotlight on individuals and their involvement in given situations--Kristallnacht, deportations, guerrilla resistance, among others--throughout Europe, she creates intimate personal snapshots of the years of the Nazi occupation. She tells of people who committed acts of destruction as well as those whose resistance was in the simple act of celebrating and maintaining their faith in impossible conditions. Well-known events--the escape from Sobibor, the battle for Warsaw--share space with less-familiar ones. Short biographies introduce readers to those involved, some of whom the author has interviewed. Archival images of people and places help readers envision the people and places that are mentioned: partisan forest hideaways, concentration camps, the ovens, barracks, groups of people on their way to death, diagrams of camps and more. Thorough, deeply researched and stylistically clear, this is a necessary, exemplary book. (pronunciation guide, chronology, notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)
