Escape or Die: True Stories of Young People Who Survived the Holocaust

Author Ina Friedman has written three books on the Holocaust, including Escape or Die, a collection of short stories about real-life adolescents who, with great courage, luck, and ingenuity, defied Hitler's "final solution" and escaped his death sentence for Jews. Friedman, a teacher and frequent lecturer-storyteller, appears before the camera to tell kids and adults the inspirational stories of 14-year-old Manny, who survived the horrors of Kristallnacht (November 9, 1938, when Jewish synagogues, homes, and businesses were viciously destroyed by Nazis in Germany); 13-year-old Renee, who was orphaned in 1940 and left to fend for herself and her siblings in Occupied France; and 13-year-old Robert, a Ukrainian who escaped from a death camp to fight in the battle of the Warsaw ghetto. Each of the classroom-friendly short stories is fleshed out and given historical texture through archival footage. Although the program contains some graphic images that make it unsuitable for younger audiences, the storytelling aspect is more appropriate for middle and junior high students than high school aged viewers. Aud: I, J, P. (T. Keogh)