“We Survived the Holocaust is an extremely powerful graphic novel that can help readers from middle schoolers to adults visualize and understand the atrocities of the Holocaust. Written by Frank Baker and illustrated by award-winning graphic artist Tim Ogline, this is an important personal portrayal of the horrific challenges Bluma and Felix Goldberg managed to survive in cattle cars, concentration camps, and death marches.

Frank Baker, through interviews with the Goldberg children, presents an engaging and informative overview of World War I and World War II, conditions in Europe under the Nazi regime, and what life was like for the Goldbergs from early childhood until they passed away decades later in South Carolina. Ogline’s compelling illustrations tell the personal survival stories of Bluma and Felix Goldberg in more realistic and forceful ways than can be portrayed through text-only titles.

In the book, Bluma is quoted as saying, “In a way we fear that maybe that’s why we survived – so we can tell the story.” I cannot think of a more powerful way for the Goldberg’s story to be told than through the graphic novel, We Survived the Holocaust – The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story. I highly recommend this title to readers from young adults – adults. As a former school librarian and current educator of school librarians, I hope that this title will be on the shelves of all middle and high school libraries. The stories of how the Goldbergs, and other Jews, survived the Holocaust should never be forgotten by current and future generations.”

“The story of Bluma and Felix Goldberg successfully walks that fine line, capturing the human experience while also doing justice to the scale and monstrosity of the Holocaust, yet without resorting to horrific imagery. Here, the reader sees the forest and the trees. The detail provided about the broader context and the First World War is a welcome addition, as is the legacy the Goldbergs continued to build with their family and community in the U.S. If any graphic novel has ever captured the profound love that so many survivors felt for their adopted homeland, this is it. Tim Ogline’s detailed maps and landscapes help to create a true work of art.”

“Who will tell the story of the Holocaust survivors once the last of them has been buried? In this powerful graphic novel, Frank Baker offers an inspiring story, one that includes unforgettable drama and an ending that embodies the powerful reason why we embrace the mantra to “never forget.” This story is full of riveting details. A Polish Jew named Felix Goldberg comes face to face with Dr. Joseph Mengele before being shipped to a work camp. He was responsible for bringing out the bodies of men who had died of starvation and malnourishment under the slave labor conditions. Not far away, another young Polish Jew is deported to Bergen Belsen concentration camp under terrifying conditions. Forced to work in a concentration camp, Bluma Tishgarten steals food to keep her sister alive. After being liberated, Felix and Bluma met and fell in love, emigrating to Columbia, South Carolina in 1949. Through hard work, they build a life for themselves and tell their stories of survival, speaking at schools and synagogues. This graphic novel will engage readers of all ages as they encounter the terrors of the past with fresh eyes. With the scourge of intolerance, hate and anti-Semitism still present in daily life, we must continue to share survivor stories with the next generation.”

“The Goldberg story is the American story. Despite all of our obvious problems, it is still a blessed story of inclusion, hope and accomplishment – two people who somehow survived the horrors of the Holocaust to find another life in another land. I highly recommend this heartwarming book.”

“We Survived the Holocaust makes the story of Bluma and Felix Goldberg come alive for a new generation of readers, many of whom will welcome this version of a Holocaust story. Indeed, the powerful drawings of Tim Ogline and the moving text by Frank Baker make this old story new again—a much needed and appreciated feat in these scary times. Whether you are a classroom teacher wanting to teach the Holocaust or a fan of graphic novels, you will want to have this book in your collection. You won’t be able to put it down. Nor should you.”