Yankev Glatshteyn’s novel about the persecution of Jews and others in Europe just before the start of World War II is remarkable for several reasons. Set in Vienna, the story follows Emil, who is Jewish, and Karl, who is not, as the best friends wander in search of safety after each is orphaned. Both boys lost their parents after the Nazi’s begin persecuting Jews and communists more aggressively. In the taut narrative the two boys move through the world as if shell-shocked as they slowly adapt to a life of uncertainty, buffeted by circumstance from one place to another. They rely wholly on one another, deepening an already committed friendship. Glatshteyn’s novel was first published in Yiddish in 1940. He was writing at a time when no one could possibly imagine what the outcome of the Nazi persecution would mean for the Jews of Europe, and yet Emil and Karl seems chillingly prescient. Significant references to trains, for example, including the one that Emil and Karl are waiting to board at the end of the story, bring to mind the many transports that took Jews and others to their death in the years following the time in which this affecting story was written and takes place. This is the first time Emil and Karl has been published in English. (Ages 10–14)

This book, originally written in Yiddish for children who attended Yiddish-speaking schools in the United States, makes a distinct contribution to Holocaust fiction for middle school readers. Set in Vienna in 1940 prior to the U.S. entry into World War II, the story revolves around the friend ship of two young boys, one Jewish and one non-Jewish. Separated from their families, the boys must survive alone amid the terrifying events that are occurring. This book presents a balanced perspective, with the victims including both Jews and non-Jews and several Austrian characters assisting the two boys. ebf

Originally published as Emil un Karl in Yiddish by Farlag M. Translated by Jeffrey Shandler.

Written in the form of a suspense novel, Emil & Karl draws readers into the dilemma faced by two young boys--one Jewish, the other not--when they suddenly find themselves without homes or families in Vienna on the eve of World War II. A taut, gripping page-turner, it offers a picture of life during the period and the moral challenges faced under Nazism--and a prescient glimpse of the early days of the Holocaust. Written in Yiddish, it is here translated into English for the first time.