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Escape to Virginia

From Nazi Germany to Thalhimer's Farm

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
“Fascinating . . . Provides a history of the Holocaust as the tapestry against which the trials and adventures of these young Jewish youth played out” (Jewish Book Council).
 
Jewish teenagers Eva and Töpper were desperately searching for an escape from the stranglehold of 1930s Nazi Germany. They studied agriculture at the Gross Breesen Institute in hopes of securing visas to gain freedom from the tyranny around them. Then, Richmond department store owner William B. Thalhimer created a safe haven on a rural Virginia farm where Eva and Töpper would find refuge.
 
Discover the remarkable true story of two young German Jews who endured the emotional torture of their adolescence, journeyed to freedom, and ultimately confronted the evil that could not destroy their spirit. Author Robert H. Gillette retells this harrowing narrative that is sure to inspire generations to come.
 
Includes photos!
 
Escape to Virginia is not only an illuminating history lesson, bridging the Old World and the New World during its most tumultuous period, it is also an exemplary story on various levels and for readers of all ages, crystallizing time and again the Gross Breesen spirit of hope, courage and resilience. The book is well researched, vividly narrated, and richly illustrated.” —Jewish New
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    • Booklist

      February 1, 2016
      Grades 9-12 Gillette tells the story of two German Jewish teens who escaped Nazi persecution in part thanks to Gross Breesen, an agricultural project begun early in Hitler's rise to power, which was designed to train future farmers. Werner Topper Angress and Eva Jacobsohn both had to leave the program early, since their families were fleeing Germany, but both found their way to the farm, in Virginia. The farm was purchased and set up by department-store owner Robert Thalhimer as a haven for the Gross Breesen refugees. Gillette calls his narrative creative history though his account is not fictionalized, he nonetheless strives to make it read like a novel. Mostly, he succeeds: Gillette is an excellent storyteller, and the details he uses so illustratively are from primary sources, such as letters, diaries, photos, and other personal narratives. Although Eva sometimes seems too good to be true, overall, this is an engrossing and informative study of a less familiar corner of a much-covered period. Ample source notes make this a solid choice for student research.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

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  • English

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