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Hillman, Laura. 2005. I Will Plant You A Lilac Tree.

"We are going to Brunnlitz, to Oskar Schindler's camp!" I recall the shouts of joy that filled the barrack at Plaszow. But the terrible place where I now stand is not that hoped-for refuge. It is Auschwitz. (1)

I Will Plant You A Lilac Tree is a memoir of one of the women saved by Oskar Schindler. Hannelore Wolff. Except for the two-page prologue, the book is a chronological account of Hannelore's life in Nazi Germany. The book opens with her attending a Jewish boarding school in Berlin. Since Hitler had come to power, it was dangerous for Jews to walk on public streets. In spite of the risk we walked along a tree-lined avenue in a suburb of Berlin, the ever-present yellow Stars of David sewn to our jackets. (3) One day she receives a letter from her mother with the news that her father has been taken by the Nazis and has died. Weeks later she receives another letter. A letter saying that her mother and two brothers will be deported to the East on May 8, 1942. In what could only be perceived as foolish-yet-brave behavior, Hannelore writes a letter to the Nazis saying that she wishes to be deported along with her family. They grant it. Now this family of four is facing the great unknown as they board a train that could lead them--probably will lead them--to their deaths.

Hannelore's story isn't always easy to read. Let's see if I can phrase this better. Those readers who aren't well-versed in Holocaust memoirs may find it difficult to read. The way the Jews are treated is despicable. It is callous. Hannelore's story is an account of some of the wrongs she faced, some of the wrongs she witnessed. But it is also a story of courage, of hope, of strength in a time of great despair. While sometimes surviving was a matter of luck--of chance--part of it had to do with will as well. Those that lost the will to live, those that gave up hope, those that gave in to despair... Starvation. Disease. Nazis. The Nazis were responsible either directly or indirectly for so many deaths. Hannelore's story of how she survived the various camps and came to be one of the lucky few saved by Schindler is amazing and fascinating and in places quite heartbreaking.

But this memoir isn't just a testament of survival, and it isn't just an account of the wrongs against the Jewish people. It is a love story as well, a story of how love can be found even in the darkest places, the most despairing times. A story of how one young man and one young woman found hope and love in each other. A story of how that love helped them endure.

I definitely recommend this one.

243 pages.

To read other Nonfiction Monday posts, visit the roundup.

Meyer, Carolyn. 1993. White Lilacs.

In the time before we knew that we would be driven away, our lives uprooted, and our people scattered, Grandfather Jim Williams spent every spare minute tending his beautiful garden in Freedomtown. He loved that garden, and I loved him. The garden was my favorite place.

Set in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, White Lilacs tells the story of a community within a community. Freedomtown, a community of African Americans (Though of course they weren't called that then, negroes or colored being the terminology then. Though Meyer does use the n* word later on when relations become more strained.) Our narrator is Rose Lee Jefferson, a twelve year old who is about to forced into growing up rather quickly. She is a girl that loves life, loves her family, loves to draw. She especially loves spending time with her grandfather. He is a gardener for the Bell family. Her Aunt Tillie works for the Bell family as well. (I believe as the cook.) One day, soon after our narrative opens, Rose is unexpectedly called into the Bell's kitchen by her aunt and told that she needs her to serve luncheon to the Bells and their guests. She had been having fun with her grandfather, and the garden was a place she felt at home, felt comfortable. But she does what she must. It's a day that will change her life forever. Why? She overhears that the white folks of the community are planning to force them out, force them to sell. They want a park, a library, a woman's club.

Throughout that summer, Rose works when she can and overhears as much as she dares. But by the middle of July, it's clear that the whites will have their way. Change is a coming. And coming fast. Knowing that it would be impossible to save their community, Rose acts quickly to preserve what she can--on paper. She draws what she can--the school, the churches, the homes, the businesses.

White Lilacs is a heartbreaking story of prejudice and hate. But it is also a story of a loving family, a family that holds onto hope, holds onto the good, that holds together.

Though fictional in nature, the book tells the all-too-real story of Quakertown in Denton, Texas. In the early 1920s, the African Americans of Quakertown were forced to sell their land so that the white folks of the city could have a park. You can read more about the actual Quakertown here and here. You can even watch a mini-documentary about it here. There is now a museum opened that tells the story of the community and documents Denton's shameful past.

I have *found* a new 2008 Challenge. You're probably thinking, "Becky, is SO challenge-deprived. She'll have nothing to read ALL year." This challenge that I don't-really-need, but can't-say-no-to is the Back to History Challenge. It lasts all year. January 2008-December 2008. The post mentions nothing about being able to list alternates or about the 'freedom' to change your mind. But I'm going to hold on to both. The challenge is to read twelve books, but I'm going to make my list MUCH longer than that and choose twelve from it as I go. Let me repeat, I will not be reading each and every book on this list. I am not insane. I will be picking and choosing from this list. I will probably read 12-20 from this list.

These are "borrowed" from the "In Their Shoes" Challenge making these all nonfiction:

The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
I Have Lived A Thousand Years by Livia Bitton Jackson
(My Bridges of Hope by Livia Bitton Jackson)
(Hello, America by Livia Bitton Jackson)
No Pretty Pictures by Anita Lobel
Night by Elie Wiesel
Until We Meet Again by Michael Korenblit and Kathleen Janger
Alicia My Story by Alicia Appleman-Jurman
The Cage by Ruth Minsky Sender
To Life by Ruth Minsky Sender
Isabella From Auschwitz to Freedom by Isabella Leitner
The Tale of The Ring: A Kaddish by Frank Stiffel
Dry Tears: The Story of A Lost Childhood by Nechama Tec
A Special Fate Chiune Sugihara: Hero of the Holocaust by Alison Leslie Gold
In My Hands: Memories of A Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke
I Will Plant You A Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman

These are borrowed from the Book Awards Reading Challenge

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

These would be *new* reads without being part of any other challenge--yet.

Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer
Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons: The Story of Phyllis Wheatley by Ann Rinaldi
A Ride Into Morning: The Story of Tempe Wick by Ann Rinaldi
Marie, Dancing by Carolyn Meyer
Escaping Into the Night by D.Dina Friedman
Shanghai Shadows by Lois Ruby
The English Governess and the Siamese Court by Anna Leonowens
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
The Road to Memphis by Mildred D. Taylor
The Land by Mildred D. Taylor
White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer
Jubilee Journey by Carolyn Meyer
An Unlikely Friendship A Novel of Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley
*one or more of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Juneteenth by Ann Rinaldi
the Hawk that Dare Not Hunt By Day by Scott O'Dell
Christy by Catherine Marshall
Savannah by Eugenia Price
To See Your Face Again by Eugenia Price
Before the Darkness Falls by Eugenia Price
Stranger in Savannah by Eugenia Price
Bright Captivity by Eugenia Price
Where Shadows Go by Eugenia Price
Beauty in the Ashes by Eugenia Price
Maria by Eugenia Price
Margaret's Story by Eugenia Price
Don Juan McQueen by Eugenia Price
The Beloved Invader by Eugenia Price
New Moon Rising by Eugenia Price
Lighthouse by Eugenia Price

If Carolyn Meyer and/or Ann Rinaldi publish ANY new books in 2008, they're automatically on this list. Even though I don't know the titles or if there are any forthcoming at all. Maybe I should just say *any* novel by Ann Rinaldi or Carolyn Meyer to be absolutely clear should count for this challenge.

I am also *considering* reading biographies of Margaret Mitchell, Jane Austen, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I don't know if I will. But if I do, I'd want them to *count* in this challenge.

Another loophole, ALSO ANY HOLOCAUST RELATED BOOK FICTION OR NONFICTION PUBLISHED IN 2008. This is my "subject" area of interest and if there are any new books out there that I want to read, I want them to count.

Yet another loophole, I reserve the right to indulge in any book related to Henry VIII and or any of his wives regardless of whether they're YA or YA-friendly. :)