An Orange in Winter by Margaret A. McQuillan

"An Orange In Winter: The Beginning of the Holocaust As Seen Through the Eyes of a Child" is the authentic story of a young Jewish boy, Walter Less, growing up in Germany in the 1930s and his friend. Walter is the author's father, who told her the true story of a poor boy who brings an orange to Walter's birthday in December. The author named the anonymous boy Hans and used the simple birthday gift as a basis to contrast the lives of both boys. While Hans is a composite character, everything he experiences and witnesses are based on authentic accounts. Walter is the son of a prominent Jewish merchant, Leopold Less and his wife Anna, who store is in Luenburg, Germany. He has two siblings and grows up in a comfortable home. Hans is the son of a poor warehouseman who works for Herr Less. His family has suffered greatly, as did most Germans, from the ecocomic crisis that resulted from Germany's defeat in World War I. After January 1933, when the Nazis come to power, the lives and viewpoints of the two friends change radically. Walter is expelled from high school; Hans becomes a proud member of The Hitler Youth. The story describes Hitler Youth indoctrination; the expulsion of Jews from public schools and professions, the horrors of Reichkristallnacht, the Sachenhausen Concentration Camp, and the many obstacles Jews faced while trying to flee Germany. What happens to Walter's family and to Hans, as he becomes conflicted by Nazi rules and behaviors, illustrate how and why such horrific events evolved into the genocide of the "final solution". By learning about such events through the eyes of these two children, readers can gain a personalized understanding of how the dark, evil shadow of how the Nazis infiltrated the lives of people in one German city. Walter and Hans are appealing and empathetic children. The plot, dialogue, and settings draw the reader into the difficulties and decisions the characters face.