From: Betty Tisel <tiselfar>
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 21:12:09 -0600

Naomi Toder wrote: " The fact is that killing Jews was *the* central mission of the war and achieving this took precedence over military considerations." Thank you for reminding us of this; a fact which is particularly chilling in light of current events (Kosovar Albanians being brutally forced out of Kosovo while bombs fall -- the eviction of the undesirables taking precedence over military matters...). Horrifying. I thought we were all supposed to learn from history.

It's been several months since I read "No Pretty Pictures", but I recall that around the same time I saw the film "Life is Beautiful", an interesting parallel... I think it is helpful to hear the comments other readers have brought up, and I just hope that children will have a chance to read more than one book about the war and the Holocaust. Perhaps Lobel's skill at portraying the child's point of view so well will balance some of the concerns about her treatment of her Jewishness.

This discussion reminds me how touchy a subject passing is, whether one is talking about ethnicity, religion, race, gender or sexuality. People's ability to "pass" (as something or someone they are not) varies, as does their desire to do so. I was so struck by the photos of Anita with her Scandinavian classmates. I hope this is not too tangential, but it did come to mind as I was reading the past several comments.

Thanks to all of you for enriching my life, and my partner and children's lives, with wonderful books that we might not have come across if not for ccbc-net.

Betty Tisel Minneapolis Editor, Rainbow Families newsletter
Received on Mon 05 Apr 1999 10:12:09 PM CDT