For young readers grappling with the harsh realities of history and human resilience, this book offers a poignant look at lives shaped by prejudice and conflict.
A parent might reach for this book when their teen is ready to understand the human experience behind the historical facts of World War II and the Holocaust. It is for the young reader asking difficult questions about how such atrocities could happen and what life was like for ordinary children on both sides of the conflict. This powerful nonfiction book presents the true, parallel stories of two young people in Nazi Germany: Helen, a Jewish girl fighting for survival, and Alfons, an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth. It unflinchingly explores themes of prejudice, resilience, indoctrination, and moral courage. Best suited for mature readers aged 12 to 16, this book provides a unique and challenging perspective, making it an invaluable tool for discussing critical thinking, complicity, and the human consequences of hatred.
Includes direct, historical descriptions of warfare, executions, and concentration camp atrocities.
Sad ThemesIntense
The book's central topics are genocide, war, loss of family, and profound human suffering.
Character DeathIntense
Details mass death in the Holocaust as well as the deaths of family members and individuals.
Moral AmbiguityModerate
Alfons's story as a perpetrator requires readers to grapple with complicity and indoctrination.
Sensitive Topics
The book's approach to the Holocaust, war, and genocide is direct, historical, and unflinching. It is a secular account detailing immense human suffering, including the death of family members and mass murder. The resolution is realistic: while the meeting of Helen and Alfons provides a framework for reconciliation and education, it does not erase the trauma or the moral weight of the past. The ending is hopeful in its dedication to remembrance, but honest about the scars of history.
Ideal Reader
A mature 13-to-16-year-old history student who is grappling with the question of how the Holocaust could have happened. This book is for the teen who is ready to move beyond a simple good vs. evil narrative and explore the complexities of indoctrination, societal complicity, and the long process of reconciliation. It suits a reader who can handle graphic historical detail and morally challenging questions.
Parent Prep
This book requires significant parental involvement. Parents should preview the entire book, but especially the chapters detailing life and death in Auschwitz, which are graphic. They must be prepared to discuss difficult topics like genocide, systemic hatred, brainwashing, and moral responsibility. This is not a book to be assigned without context and the promise of open conversation. A parent has just heard their teen say something like, "I don't understand how any normal person could have gone along with the Nazis," or, "We learned about the Holocaust, but it's hard to imagine what it was really like for people."
Age Experience
A 12 or 13-year-old will likely focus on the gripping survival story of Helen and see Alfons's journey as a clear example of being brainwashed. An older teen, 14-16, is better equipped to analyze the nuances of Alfons's complicity, the seductive power of propaganda, and the profound questions the book raises about guilt, atonement, and the nature of evil.
What Makes It Special
The dual-narrative structure is its most unique feature. By placing the story of a victim directly alongside the story of an enthusiastic participant in the system, it creates a powerful and uncomfortable tension that other Holocaust memoirs do not. It forces the reader to confront the humanity, however misguided, of those who perpetuated the horror, making the history feel more immediate and complex.
Read plot summary
This nonfiction work follows the dual biographies of two young people in Germany during the Third Reich. Helen Waterford, a Jewish girl, experiences escalating persecution, flight, eventual capture, and survival in the Auschwitz concentration camp. In a parallel narrative, Alfons Heck eagerly joins the Hitler Youth, becoming a deeply indoctrinated and high-ranking member who fully believes in the Nazi cause. The book contrasts their experiences of the same historical events, culminating in their meeting as adults decades after the war to speak about their pasts.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
Alfons was a dedicated member of the Hitler Youth and truly believed in the cause. Do you think he is a villain, a victim of propaganda, or something else entirely? Can a person be both?
2
The book is called 'Parallel Journeys'. Besides living in Germany during the same years, what other parallels did you notice between Helen's life and Alfons's? Where did their paths most dramatically diverge?
3
After the war, Alfons Heck dedicated his life to speaking out against the ideology he once served. Do you think this was enough to atone for his actions? What does reconciliation look like after such a tragedy?
4
Helen eventually chose to meet and appear publicly with Alfons. Why do you think she made this difficult choice? What message might she have been trying to send?
