The Free Library of Philadelphia is honored to host a special exhibition from the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation that highlights the power of the human spirit even in the face of egregious atrocities.

In 1941, Hitler and the Nazis opened an internment camp in Terezin (also known as Theresienstadt), Czechoslovakia.  According to the Jewish Virtual Library, 97,297 of the Jews imprisoned in Terezin died.  Of those that died, almost 15,000 were children.

The exhibition “Transcending Their Boundaries:  The Children of Terezin” is more than an acknowledgement of the viciousness of the Nazis.  It is a celebration of the lives of the Jewish men, women and children who were confined at Terezin.  Through the pictures, games, and toys that the children and their teachers made during their time there, the spirit of the people shines through.

Please join the Free Library community at the opening event featuring the film “Liga Terezin” on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the Montgomery Auditorium at the Parkway Central Library.  The exhibition is installed on the ground floor in front of the auditorium and runs through November 20, 2012.

As the exhibition features the artwork of the children of Terezin, our librarians have prepared a special booklist to help you should you wish to share information with your children regarding Terezin and the Holocaust.  These books, and many others, are all available in the Parkway Central Children’s Department.

Littlesugar, Amy.  Willy & Max:  a Holocaust Story.  (call # j)

Kushner, Tony. (Illustrated by Maurice Sendak.)  Brundibar.  (call # j782.13 K968b)

Abells, Chana Byers.  The Children We Remember:  Photographs from the Archives of Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, Jerusalem, Israel.  (call # j940.5316 Ab35c)

Rubin, Susan Goldman. Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin. (call # j940.5318 D558r)

Smith, Frank Dabba.  (Photographs by Mendel Grossman.)  My Secret Camera:  Life in the Lodz Ghetto.  (call # j940.5318 G914m)

Perl, Lila and Marion Blumenthal Lazan.  Four Perfect Pebbles:  A Holocaust Story.  (call # j940.5318 L455p)

Leitner, Isabella.  The Big Lie.  (call # j940.5318 L536b)

Whiteman, Dorit Bader.  Lonek’s Journey:  The True Story of a Boy’s Escape to Freedom.  (call # j940.5318 L847w)

Rosenberg, Maxine B.  Hiding to Survive:  Stories of Jewish Children Rescued from the Holocaust.  (call # j940.5318 R723h)

Thomson, Ruth.  Terezín:  Voices from the Holocaust.  (call # j940.5318 T386t)