What Made Sammy Run?: My Story

In 1933, on the eve of World War II, Europe was home to 9 million Jews. By 1945, when the war ended, Nazi Germany had systematically slaughtered 6 million of these innocent people, including 1 million children. Now, more than six decades later, Sam Silberberg invites his young readers to journey back with him to the terrifying years of his youth in Nazi-occupied Poland, when staying alive meant using street smarts beyond his years and, ultimately, making a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Through Sam’s feisty narrative, his readers become eyewitnesses to the Second World War, the Holocaust and the fight to establish the modern state of Israel, but they also see a boy their own age struggling to find meaning in a world filled with danger and evil. This gripping tale by one of a diminishing number of living Holocaust survivors is a fascinating read for teenagers and an extraordinary resource for discussion groups and teachers of history, literature and global studies.