My brother, Willie, was intrigued with the nearby American soldiers, who were speaking in a strange and different language. However, at that moment the language of chocolate became universal. The soldiers were freely and eagerly handing out chocolates and chewing gum to us and the other refugee children that had just arrived. It was the first time that we had seen chocolate or any other candy.
One of the soldiers peeked into my buggy and said, “Hey little baby, I know you are too little for it, but when you get older, you can have some of this great American chocolate.” Little did I know then, that 18 years later I would be eating plenty of those goodies. (from Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates?, page xii)
Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates? (co-authored by George E. Pfautsch) is the story of Melitta Strandberg’s family, who fled from Romania in the early days of World War II to Weimar, Germany, and after the war rushed to get the last train out of East Germany before the Soviet Union sealed the border. Her father was of German descent and her mother of Hungarian descent, so while they were not treated as badly as the Jews, they still had their hardships to endure. Her mother had three children during the war, and it was not easy trying to care for them amid food shortages and bombing raids.
Melitta was born in September 1944 in a hospital known for conducting experiments on those who did not fit the Nazis’ definition of the perfect race. Given the Hungarian heritage of Melitta’s mother, it’s not surprising that Melitta was taken from her parents shortly after her birth and not seen again until she was six months old. Her parents were given another baby while in the hospital, but Melitta’s mother knew the baby was not hers, for she had glimpsed a birthmark on Melitta before she was taken away. During those six frantic months without her, Melitta’s parents searched desperately and were even told that she was dead.
After recounting the family’s flight into Augsburg, West Germany, Melitta talks about her undying respect for freedom, as her family knows what it’s like to live without it. She also provides details about her parents and siblings over the years since then.
I must admit that I’m torn about Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates?, which at just 67 pages, I finished in less than an hour. I applaud Strandberg’s efforts to take down her family’s story before it is lost forever, and it is a fascinating story. Her love for her parents and her respect for their perseverance and courage are evident on every page, as are her love of God and her love of life. Many of the children taken from their parents for medical experiments — and Strandberg will never know exactly what happened to her during those first six months of her life — were not so lucky, and she is thankful for all the miracles, big and small, that her family experienced during the war.
However, the book does not read like most memoirs I have read; it’s not very literary and is more like an essay or a report. Strandberg tells the story without much description or detail, which makes it difficult for readers to really get a sense of the atmosphere in which they lived or get to know or connect with her family. Moreover, many of the events she discusses occurred before she was born or when she was only an infant, and she says she has written them as they were recounted to her by her parents and siblings, which could explain the lack of detail.
Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates? might not be as captivating or engaging as other memoirs I have read, but it adds to the myriad of true stories of ordinary people during World War II. I have read numerous books about World War II, but I had never read one about the plight of the Romanians. While it was not enough to satisfy my curiosity about the events that occurred there during the war, Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates? might be a good way to introduce young children to the experiences of other young children and their families in times of extreme hardship.
Disclosure: I received a copy of Hey Kids, Want Some Chocolates? from the author for review purposes. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I can understand her need to write the story down as well, but it almost sounds like this is one that should have just been shared with the family.
It’s a tough call. I can see why the author would want to share her story, and it’s not that it’s not interesting. I guess the writing style and structure just didn’t work for me.
hm, not sure what to make of this. The writing style probably wouldn`t work well for me, but the subject matter appeals…
Well, it’s a very quick read, so you could always give it a try.
I tend to get bored with these types of memoirs.
I wasn’t bored with this one at all, but that could be because it was very short.
I can’t image what it must have been like to have your baby removed from you. How horrible! Although the story may be written as an essay, the title is quite catchy. It seems a good book for history lessons.
I agree that must have been an awful time for the family. And I can’t imagine not knowing what kind of experiments may or may not have been performed on me because I was too little to remember. So scary!
I think the title is a good one, and in terms of history lessons, I bet it would work best for younger readers.
Hi!
Sounds like an interesting book. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for stopping by my place and linking my review of Weedflower. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books
You’re very welcome!
The title gives this is a feel of a Children’s book, really. I can surely understand her need to write this story down. Thank you for the great review.
Thanks, Veens! I do feel that the book should be marketed to a younger audience.
Just when I think I can no longer be surprised by anything the Nazi’s did, I see something like this. I had no idea they would confiscate “unfit” babies at birth to run experiments on. This sounds interesting, and at 67 pages, I’m sure I could power through any style issues.
I’ve read so many books about the Nazis and watched so many documentaries that nothing really surprises me about them. They really did infiltrate every aspect of society.
The book is a worthwhile read, especially since it’s very quick. But as a reviewer, I felt it necessary to comment about the writing style.
If nothing else it would be a great addition to anyone doing their family ancestry. I’ve seen several of these types of books that people have written.
You’re totally right about that. I applaud people who make a point of preserving their family history.
[...] one was so short (67 pages) that I’ve already reviewed it. There are few fictional stories that can match the true story of the Mohr family and their long [...]
So much of this story shocks me…I don’t think I will ever not be shocked by the atrocities visited on human beings by the Nazis esecially in those camps. I’m sure many people feel the same way. To take a baby from her mother and give mom a different baby?!! As if she woudn’t know the difference. And experimented on people who weren’t of the ‘perfect race’ in the opinion of the Nazis? It’s so awful! Thank goodness her family escaped.East Germany
It’s too bad the book has the feel of a report more than a memoir. Even though much of what the author relays is seconhand I would think there’d still be some detail or the author could have taken a little literary license (I think that’s what it’s called!) and exaggerated a bit or did some research and included it or give her thoughts about what was happening to her family..Maybe she wanted a straight account of what her family told her about their experiences.. Your idea that this might nbe a good book to introduce children to what some children experienced during WW II is a great idea, Anna!
It really was a horrid and crazy time in history. I’ve read other books about experimentation on people who were not of the “perfect race,” like Children of the Flames, which touched upon Mengele’s experiments on Jewish twins in Auschwitz. T4 is a short novel in verse about a young girl who has to be hidden because she is deaf and the Nazis also targeted those with disabilities.
I agree that more detail could have been included, but it seems to me that the author simply wanted to write down her family history as it was told to her and that’s all. I can see how she wouldn’t have wanted to exaggerate the story (and that’s a whole other topic of conversation), but more research could have been done maybe to fill in the gaps.