Making Bombs for Hitler

Making Bombs for Hitler

By:  Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Book Quote:

"Once the Soviets invaded, Mama hummed lullabies under her breath and taught me cross-stitch on potato sacs. 'Remember, Lida," she would say. 'You can make beauty anywhere.' I looked around the cattle car.  Was there any beauty here?" - Chapter 2, p 12

Library Cat Rating:  😺 😺

Review:

          Making Bombs for Hitler tells the shocking and lesser known story of the slave raids conducted by Nazis in Eastern Europe during World War II.  Our narrator, nine year old Lida, is Ukrainian, not Jewish, but she and many other Ukrainian and children are ripped away from their homes and subjected to many horrors at the hands of Nazis.  Lida tells readers about her experience as a slave laborer, or Ostarbeiters, after being kidnapped and sent to a concentration camp.  One of the youngest prisoners to survive the initial selection process, Lida must work extra hard to prove the value of her work to the Nazis in order to stay alive.  Lida's determination to survive is reinforced by her determination to find her younger sister Larissa whom she is separated from shortly after the two are kidnapped. Lida is a charming narrator who will have readers rooting for her survival and success as she works to find beauty in the most horrible of places and inspire those around her to survive as well.

    VERDICT this book is a must read for any history buff.  It is an important piece of historical fiction writing that tells the story of Ukrainian child slave labor during World War II.  The young age of the narrator, but Lida’s emotionally maturity and the gravity of the subject matter make this story accessible to readers ages nine through adulthood.  

Awards:  

Silver Birch Award (2013), Geoffry Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People Nominee (2013)

Citation:

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk.  (2017).  Making bombs for Hitler.  New York, NY:  Scholastic Press.  

Annotation:
Lida is a young Ukrainian girl who is ripped away from her sister and sent to work as a slave laborer in a Nazi war camp during World War II.  Although she is one of the youngest prisoners in the camp, Lida's ability to find beauty anywhere and her desire to be reunited with her younger sister, give her the strength and determination to survive and help others around her to do the same.

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Extras:

Author Marsha Skrypuch talks about her grandfather who was a interned in a concentration camp.  Provided by TheMark Newsvideo.

Author Marsha Skrypuch talks about Making Bombs for Hilter after winning the Silver Birch Award in 2013.  Provided by the Ontario Library Association.