A Time to Hide: Based on a True Story; Marion Seidemann Fredman, author
I wish I could give this book 10 stars. Briefly, and with clarity, the author’s parents’ experiences, during the time of The Holocaust, unfold. It illustrates their lives in Germany, in Holland, and ultimately in America. It is very moving. As Hitler began his reign of terror, Grete and Julius Seidemann were forced to flee their home. They were lucky to locate a family willing to hide them in their attic. During their five hidden years, Hitler murdered millions and millions of Jews unable to find sanctuary. Their daughter, born in Holland while her parents were hidden, has written this book that honors their memory.
It does not matter what spawned the shameful antisemitism resulting in the sadistic torture and murder of innocent Jews. What matters is that Hitler planted the seed of hate and his minions nurtured it. What matters is that supposedly good people allowed it to happen. Jews were rounded up and sent to work camps where they were systematically tortured, starved and killed. Although, in the end, the Nazis were defeated, and history judged the Germans and their followers and found them wanting, we know that antisemitism has not died. As a matter of fact, fanatic haters have once again reared their ugly heads, so what matters is finding a way to stop the antisemites.
It is for that reason that this book needs to reach a large audience. At first sight, the book’s presentation may appear to be for children. It is essentially a picture book with short descriptive paragraphs, but the concise explanations say more in a few words than many more learned tomes written on the Holocaust. I hope the audience for it will grow and reach a broader reader than is anticipated. It is a personal story of terror, and yet it is also a story of resilience, courage, survival and hope. It is a true story about right and wrong and good and evil. Every Jew faced torture and death with the rise of Adolph Hitler and his National Socialists. Sadistic murderers of the worst kind wreaked havoc on an innocent people, and it took years of fighting, sacrifice, loss and destruction, to bring about the end of the Third Reich. This horrible time in history was followed by disbelief, remorse and repentance by the ignorant, the guilty, and those that remained silent allowing the hate to thrive. We must rise to the occasion and stop the hate that is now rising once again. This book, in its simplicity, can shine a light on the malevolence in our midst. It can help educate those easily persuaded to hate, to turn away from it, and to see the truth instead, to love thy neighbor as thyself.