I really enjoyed this book because it had lots of surprises and mystery. It was very interesting to hear about the war and how it impacted so many people in the world. I also liked how the book is fiction but a lot of the things that happened were non-fiction.
I was glad to see that the action started on the very first page, already showing the destruction and hatred that the Nazis caused. Throughout this book, there was friendship, hope, and teamwork, even though the war was raging on. I was glad that the author emphasised this, and the sacrifices made for it. Like Nolan, I enjoyed that the characters were fiction, but the events were not. I have read books about the french resistance and being german in towns controlled my the Nazis (Spy Smuggler and The Book Thief are the titles), but never a story about working in a labour camp in Nazi Germany. My grandmother lived in Germany during WWII and since her family was anti-Nazi, she experienced a threat from the Nazis, but remained in Germany and had a life very different from that of Lida, a Ukrainian. This story was very detailed, and I think that was one of the key things needed for this book. I would definitely recommend it to others.
NOTE: My grandmother, when she was about 10, stood up in class and said something negative about the Nazis that she had heard her father say, later the Nazis came and told her that if she said anything else the would take her away from her family and put her in a pro-Nazi one.
Normally i don't like historical storys but i really liked this one. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch createda short novel about a young girl who was captured by the Natis and forced to do things they don't want to do. I felt like i was in the story and had a relationship with each of the characters. I reccomend this book to readers that don't mind a horrid story line. This book is very sad but has lots of facts in it.
Like Isabeau, i have have a granparent who was living in a place where the Natis were capturing Jewish people. Some of my ancesters did go to a camp where they did get killed. Luckly my grandfather and his younger sister travelled across the seas to Canada safely.
Thank you, Hannah, Gabriel, Isabeau and Nolan for your feedback on my novel, Making Bombs for Hitler. If you have questions, just holler. And Isabeau, I am impressed. It looks like you've read ALL of the Silver Birch books this year already!
I notice that you're Ukrainian. Did you have a relative who had a similar experience to that of Lida, or were you just interested in Ukrainians during WWII?
Dear Isabeau, My husband's parents lived through World War II in Ukraine. It was a terrifying time. My father-in-law was the only one of his family to escape. He was sentenced to death by the Soviets and the Nazis and escaped both. My mother-in-law's name was Lida. As part of my research, I interviewed a woman who now lives in Mississauga (she is 90 years old) and she was a Nazi slave. For the 4 years that she was enslaved, she had no shoes. She can barely walk. She was able to tell me details that books never could -- what the soap was like. what the Nazis did to the very young children, what the inside of the sleeping quarters looked like...
I havent read the hole book yet but this book made me realy think like what if this was me and what if i had to go throe what Linda had to do I would not be able to stand it and i think that the book is amazing and that it realy stands out than other books because i know that there are very little novels that are about world war 2 and how the people in the war felt like and how the people captured were treted
Marsha Skrypuch I was wondering how you got the idea for making bombs for hitler as it just a idea that came to you or was some one you know in a camp like the one linda was in?
I really enjoyed this book because of the adventure it took you on. You think that everything is perfect for lida but in the sewing room but then she gets transferred to making bombs and than you think that everything is getting back to normal than they decide to rig the bombs and than you think that everything is normal in that way and then the factory blows up and you are just blown a way. If I had 1 qustion for this author it would be the same as owen's. Why did you choose to wright about lida and the camps. Have you had any experiences with them?
Dear Charlotte, I chose to write a novel about Lida and the Nazi slaves because it is a part of history that has been totally shoved under the carpet. The history in this book is true. I interviewed real survivors, and read memoirs and diaries of people who lived through these times.
I agree with you, Isabeau. There were millions of people who went through what Lida did. Most didn't survive, and those who did survive were bullied into keeping quiet. They were afraid that they would be labeled as Nazis themselves if people knew what they did during the war.
Dear Hannah, None of my own family members were captured by the Nazis. My own Ukrainian family came to Canada more than a hundred years ago. On my mother's side, I am Irish, and they came to Canada in the 1800s. But my husband's family lived through Nazi terror. I was inspired to write my World War II stories mostly to honour my mother and father in law. My mother in law died in 2008. Her name was Lida. The Nazis took over her house and she and her parents were their hostages. One night, Lida overheard the Nazis talking about an "action" at her school. Her mother made her stay home the next day, but when she returned to school two days later, all of the blonde/blue-eyed girls had been taken. What happened to those girls is the basis of Stolen Child, the companion novel to Making Bombs for Hitler.
My Ukrainian grandfather's sister and mother lived through WWII in Ukraine but I never met them. My great-aunt was in the underground army, fighting both the Nazis and the Soviets. She was executed and is buried in a mass grave of 100,000 Ukrainians. My great-grandmother was sent to a Soviet concentration camp in Siberia as punishment for her daughter's resistance activities. I have a third WWII book coming out in Feb 2014 and it is about the underground army in Ukraine -- the people who fought both the Nazis and the Soviets.
Dear Hannah, I have sixteen books already published. Google my last name and you'll see them, or just go to my website, which is www.calla.com.
In 2013, I have two picture books coming out. This is a bit different than my usual books. I just finished writing a novel about Luka from Making Bombs for Hitler. Remember when he escapes from the hospital? This new book is about what happens to him during the time he and Lida are separated. That book is coming out in Feb 2014. I think the title will be Luka Underground.
Right now I am writing a young adult novel set during the first world war.
I am currently reading Stolen Child, and so far I really like it. It is interesting to see how Lida's sister lives through the war. I really enjoy the plot, of how, through time, she begins to realize the truth and also, along with that, tell her story in an emotional and passionate way. I can't wait for Luka Underground, it will be even better to learn how all three are in a way close, but lead very different lives trying to survive.
Dear Isabeau, I am so impressed with the number of books you read! Are you also a writer? I'm delighted that you are enjoying Stolen Child. It was an interesting book for me to write because I sort of wrote it backwards -- like peeling away the layers of an onion. I live in Brantford and it was interesting for me to do research about what it was like here in the early 1950s when Nadia/Larissa came as a new immigrant. When you get to the part about the mansion, just want you to know that it is a REAL mansion here in Brantford, and kind of spoooky.
Dear Owen, Yes there is! I just finished writing it. Luka Underground is scheduled to be published in Feb 2014. Have you read Stolen Child? It is about Lida's sister Larissa.
i liked your story very much when i read it made me think.but i have one question what inspired you to write this book and was it a true story. please reply back
Dear Anonymous, Everything that happened in this story happened to real people, but the character of Lida is a composite of many real people. My inspiration for this novel was my mother-in-law, Lida, who lived through Nazi terror. In order to write this novel, I interviewed many people who lived during these times.
I agree, Jasper, but it also might have made them feel happy, mostly to get their story out. In fact, my grandmother, who lived in Germany during the war, mostly enjoys telling her story because it makes her feel known.
What was your experience with the interviewees like?
Dear Isabeau, It was an emotional experience, meeting the real people who lived through Nazi terror. Sometimes I ended up weeping part way through the interviews. What impressed me the most is that the people who lived through these times really wanted to get their stories out, for others to know what they lived through. One woman, whose name is Anelia, had especially vivid memories. She was able to answer all sorts of picky little questions I had, like what was the soap like, and was there a heater in the sleeping quarters. She did not have a pair of shoes the whole time she was a captive of the Nazis. She is 90 years old now and she can barely walk and she is in constant pain because of what happened so many decades ago.
I loved the book Making Bombs For Hitler because it really showed what the concentration camps were like when the Nazis invaded many countries, like Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and Aryan territory. The text is very accurate in what would happened and at first I thought it was a non-fiction book. I only have one question: Why did you decide to pace the events and plot the way you did?
re: >>I must have been horrifying for the interviewees to think back to the horrible times of the Nazi rule of much of Europe!<<
They were actually relieved to be asked about this. After living through these times, you don't forget, but others try to pretend it didn't happen. Every single one of the interviewees thanked me for writing the book, for giving voice to their own experiences. I had a book launch in Toronto last spring, and in attendance were about 100 people and almost all of them had been slaves, or their parents or grandparents had been slaves. It's bad enough to live through this, but the fact that they felt they had to keep it a secret made it worse.
Dear Jasper, When I wrote Making Bombs For Hitler, I plunged myself into that time as if I were Lida. I wanted to experience it day to day like she did because for me that was the only way to accurately show what she lived through.
being a Jew myself, i really enjoyed reading this book. At some parts i was really scared but at some i learned a lot. My favorite character was Luka. I loved how i could look at him and say, that could be me. Sometimes i thought the Nazi's were going to come into my house and bring me to a camp. I would feel the exact way that they did. i loved this book and i would like to see how each of the characters turned out.
I found Making Bombs For Hitler a fascinating story because it explained allot about the nazi's and i did not know much about the nazi except for they where run by Hitler. I found it shocking that the nazi would execute the Jew's. i knew that the nazi government was with the polish government so it made a little sense way they got special treatment. also the resin way Lida's sister did not get harmed is because she had Blue eye's and Blond hair and to the Nazi people with those features are a golden race.
I would really like to know 2 Things: if Hitler is still alive or not???? and is there going to be a ecstintion to the book??
Jacob, of course hitler is NOT alive. He commited suicide in his bunker because he would have had many punishments after the war ended. Second of all, this happened 73 years ago and hitler was like 30 years old to 40 so he would be like 110 years old now.
I really enjoyed this book because it had lots of surprises and mystery. It was very interesting to hear about the war and how it impacted so many people in the world. I also liked how the book is fiction but a lot of the things that happened were non-fiction.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see that the action started on the very first page, already showing the destruction and hatred that the Nazis caused. Throughout this book, there was friendship, hope, and teamwork, even though the war was raging on. I was glad that the author emphasised this, and the sacrifices made for it. Like Nolan, I enjoyed that the characters were fiction, but the events were not. I have read books about the french resistance and being german in towns controlled my the Nazis (Spy Smuggler and The Book Thief are the titles), but never a story about working in a labour camp in Nazi Germany. My grandmother lived in Germany during WWII and since her family was anti-Nazi, she experienced a threat from the Nazis, but remained in Germany and had a life very different from that of Lida, a Ukrainian. This story was very detailed, and I think that was one of the key things needed for this book. I would definitely recommend it to others.
ReplyDeleteNOTE: My grandmother, when she was about 10, stood up in class and said something negative about the Nazis that she had heard her father say, later the Nazis came and told her that if she said anything else the would take her away from her family and put her in a pro-Nazi one.
wo your grandmother is guttsy. your lucky to have someone like that
DeleteIt's a very serious thing, Gabe. Many people were killed for an unfair reason.
Deletei know it still gives me the creeps
DeleteNormally i don't like historical storys but i really liked this one. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch createda short novel about a young girl who was captured by the Natis and forced to do things they don't want to do. I felt like i was in the story and had a relationship with each of the characters. I reccomend this book to readers that don't mind a horrid story line. This book is very sad but has lots of facts in it.
ReplyDeleteLike Isabeau, i have have a granparent who was living in a place where the Natis were capturing Jewish people. Some of my ancesters did go to a camp where they did get killed. Luckly my grandfather and his younger sister travelled across the seas to Canada safely.
Thank you, Hannah, Gabriel, Isabeau and Nolan for your feedback on my novel, Making Bombs for Hitler. If you have questions, just holler. And Isabeau, I am impressed. It looks like you've read ALL of the Silver Birch books this year already!
ReplyDeleteI notice that you're Ukrainian. Did you have a relative who had a similar experience to that of Lida, or were you just interested in Ukrainians during WWII?
DeleteDear Isabeau,
DeleteMy husband's parents lived through World War II in Ukraine. It was a terrifying time. My father-in-law was the only one of his family to escape. He was sentenced to death by the Soviets and the Nazis and escaped both. My mother-in-law's name was Lida. As part of my research, I interviewed a woman who now lives in Mississauga (she is 90 years old) and she was a Nazi slave. For the 4 years that she was enslaved, she had no shoes. She can barely walk. She was able to tell me details that books never could -- what the soap was like. what the Nazis did to the very young children, what the inside of the sleeping quarters looked like...
I havent read the hole book yet but this book made me realy think like what if this was me and what if i had to go throe what Linda had to do I would not be able to stand it and i think that the book is amazing and that it realy stands out than other books because i know that there are very little novels that are about world war 2 and how the people in the war felt like and how the people captured were treted
ReplyDeleteMarsha Skrypuch I was wondering how you got the idea for making bombs for hitler as it just a idea that came to you or was some one you know in a camp like the one linda was in?
ReplyDeleteDear Owen,
DeleteI have met and interviewed many people who had experiences like Lida. Everything that happens in Making Bombs actually happened.
I really enjoyed this book because of the adventure it took you on. You think that everything is perfect for lida but in the sewing room but then she gets transferred to making bombs and than you think that everything is getting back to normal than they decide to rig the bombs and than you think that everything is normal in that way and then the factory blows up and you are just blown a way. If I had 1 qustion for this author it would be the same as owen's. Why did you choose to wright about lida and the camps. Have you had any experiences with them?
ReplyDeleteDear Charlotte,
DeleteI chose to write a novel about Lida and the Nazi slaves because it is a part of history that has been totally shoved under the carpet. The history in this book is true. I interviewed real survivors, and read memoirs and diaries of people who lived through these times.
Before this time, I had never heard about stories like Lida's. I think it is important for this story to be known.
DeleteI agree with you, Isabeau. There were millions of people who went through what Lida did. Most didn't survive, and those who did survive were bullied into keeping quiet. They were afraid that they would be labeled as Nazis themselves if people knew what they did during the war.
DeleteMarsha Skrypuch, did any of your family members get captured. If so, is that how you got your idea
ReplyDeleteDear Hannah,
DeleteNone of my own family members were captured by the Nazis. My own Ukrainian family came to Canada more than a hundred years ago. On my mother's side, I am Irish, and they came to Canada in the 1800s. But my husband's family lived through Nazi terror. I was inspired to write my World War II stories mostly to honour my mother and father in law. My mother in law died in 2008. Her name was Lida. The Nazis took over her house and she and her parents were their hostages. One night, Lida overheard the Nazis talking about an "action" at her school. Her mother made her stay home the next day, but when she returned to school two days later, all of the blonde/blue-eyed girls had been taken. What happened to those girls is the basis of Stolen Child, the companion novel to Making Bombs for Hitler.
My Ukrainian grandfather's sister and mother lived through WWII in Ukraine but I never met them. My great-aunt was in the underground army, fighting both the Nazis and the Soviets. She was executed and is buried in a mass grave of 100,000 Ukrainians. My great-grandmother was sent to a Soviet concentration camp in Siberia as punishment for her daughter's resistance activities. I have a third WWII book coming out in Feb 2014 and it is about the underground army in Ukraine -- the people who fought both the Nazis and the Soviets.
Marsha Skrypuch, do you have any other books and are you writing any more
ReplyDeleteDear Hannah,
DeleteI have sixteen books already published. Google my last name and you'll see them, or just go to my website, which is www.calla.com.
In 2013, I have two picture books coming out. This is a bit different than my usual books. I just finished writing a novel about Luka from Making Bombs for Hitler. Remember when he escapes from the hospital? This new book is about what happens to him during the time he and Lida are separated. That book is coming out in Feb 2014. I think the title will be Luka Underground.
Right now I am writing a young adult novel set during the first world war.
I am currently reading Stolen Child, and so far I really like it. It is interesting to see how Lida's sister lives through the war. I really enjoy the plot, of how, through time, she begins to realize the truth and also, along with that, tell her story in an emotional and passionate way. I can't wait for Luka Underground, it will be even better to learn how all three are in a way close, but lead very different lives trying to survive.
DeleteDear Isabeau,
DeleteI am so impressed with the number of books you read! Are you also a writer?
I'm delighted that you are enjoying Stolen Child. It was an interesting book for me to write because I sort of wrote it backwards -- like peeling away the layers of an onion. I live in Brantford and it was interesting for me to do research about what it was like here in the early 1950s when Nadia/Larissa came as a new immigrant. When you get to the part about the mansion, just want you to know that it is a REAL mansion here in Brantford, and kind of spoooky.
is there going to be a secuel from making bombs for hitler?
ReplyDeleteDear Owen,
DeleteYes there is! I just finished writing it. Luka Underground is scheduled to be published in Feb 2014.
Have you read Stolen Child? It is about Lida's sister Larissa.
i liked your story very much when i read it made me think.but i have one question what inspired you to write this book and was it a true story. please reply back
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteEverything that happened in this story happened to real people, but the character of Lida is a composite of many real people. My inspiration for this novel was my mother-in-law, Lida, who lived through Nazi terror. In order to write this novel, I interviewed many people who lived during these times.
I must have been horrifying for the interviewees to think back to the horrible times of the Nazi rule of much of Europe!
DeleteI agree, Jasper, but it also might have made them feel happy, mostly to get their story out. In fact, my grandmother, who lived in Germany during the war, mostly enjoys telling her story because it makes her feel known.
DeleteWhat was your experience with the interviewees like?
Dear Isabeau,
DeleteIt was an emotional experience, meeting the real people who lived through Nazi terror. Sometimes I ended up weeping part way through the interviews. What impressed me the most is that the people who lived through these times really wanted to get their stories out, for others to know what they lived through. One woman, whose name is Anelia, had especially vivid memories. She was able to answer all sorts of picky little questions I had, like what was the soap like, and was there a heater in the sleeping quarters. She did not have a pair of shoes the whole time she was a captive of the Nazis. She is 90 years old now and she can barely walk and she is in constant pain because of what happened so many decades ago.
I loved the book Making Bombs For Hitler because it really showed what the concentration camps were like when the Nazis invaded many countries, like Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and Aryan territory. The text is very accurate in what would happened and at first I thought it was a non-fiction book. I only have one question: Why did you decide to pace the events and plot the way you did?
ReplyDeleteDear Jasper,
ReplyDeletere:
>>I must have been horrifying for the interviewees to think back to the horrible times of the Nazi rule of much of Europe!<<
They were actually relieved to be asked about this. After living through these times, you don't forget, but others try to pretend it didn't happen. Every single one of the interviewees thanked me for writing the book, for giving voice to their own experiences. I had a book launch in Toronto last spring, and in attendance were about 100 people and almost all of them had been slaves, or their parents or grandparents had been slaves. It's bad enough to live through this, but the fact that they felt they had to keep it a secret made it worse.
Dear Jasper,
ReplyDeleteWhen I wrote Making Bombs For Hitler, I plunged myself into that time as if I were Lida. I wanted to experience it day to day like she did because for me that was the only way to accurately show what she lived through.
being a Jew myself, i really enjoyed reading this book. At some parts i was really scared but at some i learned a lot. My favorite character was Luka. I loved how i could look at him and say, that could be me. Sometimes i thought the Nazi's were going to come into my house and bring me to a camp. I would feel the exact way that they did. i loved this book and i would like to see how each of the characters turned out.
ReplyDeleteI found Making Bombs For Hitler a fascinating story because it explained allot about the nazi's and i did not know much about the nazi except for they where run by Hitler.
ReplyDeleteI found it shocking that the nazi would execute the Jew's. i knew that the nazi government was with the polish government so it made a little sense way they got special treatment.
also the resin way Lida's sister did not get harmed is because she had Blue eye's and Blond hair and to the Nazi people with those features are a golden race.
I would really like to know 2 Things: if Hitler is still alive or not????
and is there going to be a ecstintion to the book??
Jacob, of course hitler is NOT alive. He commited suicide in his bunker because he would have had many punishments after the war ended. Second of all, this happened 73 years ago and hitler was like 30 years old to 40 so he would be like 110 years old now.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete