Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship

by Barbara Krasner (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
What do you do when your best friend becomes the enemy?

Growing up in Newark, NJ, in the 1930s, Tommy Anspach and Benjy Puterman have always done everything together. It never mattered that Benjy was Jewish and Tommy was of German descent. But as Adolph Hitler and his Nazi party comes to power in Germany and war brews in Europe, everything changes. Tommy is sent to Camp Nordland, a Nazi youth camp for German Americans, where he quickly learns that Jews are the enemy. Heartbroken by the loss of his friend, Benjy forms a teen version of the Newark Minutemen, an anti-Nazi vigilante group, all the while hoping that Tommy will abandon his extremist beliefs. Will Benjy and Tommy be able to overcome their differences and be friends again?

Based on real-life events and groups like the Newark Minutemen and the pro-Nazi German American Bund, this daring novel-in-verse reveals the long history of American right-wing extremism, and its impact on the lives of two ordinary teens.
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Publishers Weekly

Based on real-life events from 1937 to 1941, this illuminating verse novel by Krasner (Ethel's Song) traces the evolution of a Nazi youth camp in suburban New Jersey during Hitler's rise to power and its effect on the friendship of two teens: Jewish American Benjy and German American Tommy. When Tommy's alcohol-dependent father--still grieving his first-born son who died in Germany before Tommy was born--forces Tommy to attend nearby Camp Nordland to "embrace" his German heritage, Tommy eagerly complies, desperate to win his father's love and approval. He is quickly swept up in the group's pro-Hitler/anti-Jewish rhetoric and casts aside his bewildered longtime best friend Benjy. Meanwhile, Benjy, his father, and their Jewish community form an anti-Nazi vigilante organization intending to shut down Camp Nordland. Krasner's depiction of Tommy's shifting loyalties between his political stances and his feelings for Benjy reads as somewhat implausible; Benjy's acutely expressed grief and confusion over the loss of his and Tommy's friendship, by comparison, portrays Benjy as a deeply sympathetic character, making for uneven narration. Major characters are white. An author's note, glossary, timeline, and historical photos conclude. Ages 12-up. (Dec.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"(An) illuminating verse novel..."—Publishers Weekly

"The story of a friendship torn apart when Nazi ideology arrives on America's shores... (e)ach boy struggles with different types of personal adversity, and the challenges of their relationship highlight an important, lesser-known chapter in U.S. history."—Kirkus Reviews

"The novel's action moves back and forth between Tommy's and Benjy's first-person accounts, doing a nice job of adding complexity to the plot...Good for independent reading and, especially, classroom use." —Booklist

"Facing the Enemy offers a frightening glimpse into a little-known slice of America's history. Two best friends—one Jewish and one of German heritage—pit themselves against each other as antisemitism rises alongside German nationalism in a corner of New Jersey in the years leading up to World War II. Poetry is the perfect form for this well-researched, chilling read."—Kip Wilson, award-winning author of White Rose

"Barbara Krasner's compelling poetry brings to life a time in US history that must never be forgotten. Benjy's courage, conviction, and determination will inspire young readers to standup for what is right, even when it means risking everything. Tommy's ability to look deep within himself, question what he's been taught, and learn to think for himself is an important life lesson for us all. I hope this page-turner of a book garners the widest audience possible."Lesléa Newman, author of Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781662680250
Lexile Measure
820
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Calkins Creek Books
Publication date
December 20, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
YAF058190 - Young Adult Fiction | Social Themes | Prejudice & Racism
YAF051130 - Young Adult Fiction | Religious | Jewish
YAF024100 - Young Adult Fiction | Historical | Military & Wars
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
United States
Jews
Novels in verse
Toleration
Best friends
German Americans
Radicalism

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