Unlike some historical fiction that is set in World War II, this novel shows us a view of what life was like for refugees between the onslaught of widespread harassment and the looming fate of the death camps . . . when they were being bent and conditioned . . . and still held hopes of renewal.
According to the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, 155,000 prisoners of war were sent to Theresienstadt. This ghetto served as a housing/work facility and way station before being transported to the death camps being established further east. Several propaganda campaigns were launched by the Nazi party during this time to contradict reports of the horrific conditions within these camps and ghettos where many families were being held. The creation of false narratives by this political power was a conniving and concentrated effort to conceal plans to drive the Jewish race into extinction.
This story and others that depict this terrible time in history serve as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Survivors of the holocaust have now become stewards of the past preserving the arts, culture, and traditions of their Jewish ancestors. The more we learn and understand the past, hopefully, that wisdom will help to create a better future for us all.
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Girls of the Glimmer Factory for my unbiased evaluation. 3.5 stars
