T4

LeZotte, Ann Clare. T4. 2008. 108p. ISBN 978-0-547-34852-0. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Jews were the Nazis’ principal targets. But in their plans to establish a master race, the Nazis were also concerned with eliminating what they considered undesirable elements of German society, such as homosexuals, the mentally handicapped, and those who were blind and deaf. In October 1939, with the Second World War now in full swing and Germany’s conquest of Poland, Adolf Hitler signs a decree authorizing physicians to euthanize anyone not meeting the master race standards. Simply known as Aktion T4, over 90,000 people were killed by Nazi doctors.

Paula Becker is thirteen years old. Deaf from birth, she lives a good life with her family in a rural German town. She can communicate with her family, but has been sheltered all her life. As rumors begin to spread of disabled children dying in their placement hospitals or shelters, Paula’s parents decide to entrust her to Father Joseph, the family priest, who promises to educate Paula and keep her safe for the duration of the war.

Paula ends up moving with a widow, who taught deaf students before. She teaches Paula how to use the universal sign language to communicate ideas and desires, but her presence is discovered and Paula has to run. Relocated to a church shelter, Paula has to pretend she can hear so she can stay one step ahead of the Nazis. When the unpopular order is finally rescinded in 1941, Paula is able to return home to a world that has changed beyond recognition.

Told in free verse poetry by a deaf author, this short book is a fast read and provides another view of the Holocaust, with a victim that is neither Jewish nor foreign, but rather a German girl hated by her own government simply for being deaf. Pair this book with What World is Left for a true Holocaust experience.