Hanas Suitcase – 9781869286705

Description

In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children’s Holocaust education centre in Tokyo, Japan. On the outside, in white paint were these words; ‘Hana Brady, May 16, 1931’, and ‘Waisenkind’ – the German word for orphan. Children who saw the suitcase were full of questions. Who was Hana Brady? What happened to her? They wanted Fumiko Ishioka, the centre’s director, to find answers. The mystery of the suitcase took Fumiko back to a young Hana and her family, whose happy life in a small Czech town was turned upside down by the Nazi invasion. Hana was deported to Terezin concentration camp, and perished in the gas chamber at Auschwitz. She was eleven years old. Hana’s suitcase is based on an award-winning Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary. It takes the reader on an incredible journey and bears a powerful message of hope. Photographs and documents enhance this extraordinary true story.