Holly Mandelkern

Beneath White Stars Holly Mandelkern

Original narrative poems, historical accounts, with black and white, pen and ink illustrations.



Beneath White Stars features Holly's narrative poetry about real people from the Holocaust whom she has known personally or whose stories she has taught. Melding historical detail and keen insights with the grace of poetry, she brings to life a wide variety of individuals struggling against the horrors of the Holocaust. In these pages children are sent from home to face new lands alone, teens risk their lives to resist in ghettos and forests, prisoners rise above the miseries of ghettos and concentration camps through art, and diplomats and clergy employ their wiles to save all those they can. Brief biographical sketches, maps, and a personalized timeline further animate these courageous individuals.



Illuminated by Byron Marshall's black and white, pen and ink drawings, Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Poetry opens a unique window on bright lights that shone even in the darkest of times.