Rose Under Fire
Elizabeth Wein
Book Summary
Rose Justice, a teenage pilot from America, is in the war against Germany. While flying a plane from Paris to England, she is captured by Germans and is taken to a concentration camp. The camp was Ravensbruck, an all women camp where she is kept prisoner. In the camp she met women who she became close with and they stuck together for their time in Ravensbruck.
Ravensbruck Concentration Camp
In this camp is where Rose was taken and held prisoner with Jewish women.
Book Cover
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
Ravensbruck
A view of the concentration camp by map.
Things I Learned About The Holocaust
1. The first thing I learned was that the Americans were there during the war. I always thought that the Americans did not know about the war until after it had already happened.
2. The second thing I learned was not only about the Holocaust, but the war itself, that they used flying bombs that could take out major chunks of cities. " He was taking apart a bomb.... It was a flying bomb that hadn't gone off." (pg. 29)
3. The last thing this book taught me about the Holocaust was that the people who were put in the camps together made real relationships that can last a lifetime. Rose met women who she stuck with during her time and she had sort of an anchor of sanity with these women.
Quotes
Rose grew up around planes. Her father is also a pilot and she has flown since she was a small child. " I'm a good pilot. I've probably been flying five years longer than half the boys in 150 Wing. I flew with Daddy from coast to coast across America when I was fifteen, and I did all the navigation. You've never flown a Tempest, or a Mustang or a Mark Fourteen Spitfire- I've flown them all, dozens of times. They're wasting me because I'm a girl! They won't even let us fly to France...." This quote shows us that Rose is a confident and ambitious girl who knows her own strengths and abilities. She fights for what she wants and does not give up easily.
one day before Rose is captured, she and a couple other are at the train station and they see some young boys suspiciously across the tracks. They realize that the boys are trying to deactivate a fallen doodlebug. immediately Rose and the others begin to help. "Get him to put it down gently! There's an electrical charge in the fuse and some of them are timed to go off after they've landed." This quote exemplifies Rose in a situation where she has to think on her feet and keep others safe. She does a fine job and gets everyone out of the situation. This proves to us that she does a fine job in anything that happens.
Reflection and Recommendation
This book was very interesting at times, but it also had its own weak spots where I did not enjoy. It is a good story and of course a heart touching one due to all the things that Rose and the others in Ravensbruck went through. Rose found herself in many situations where she had to risk her life and others. In the end it made her stronger. This book has taught me new things, not about the Holocaust, but and the war itself. I was surprised at some points where they brought up new things I've never heard of.
When I was reading this book I felt badly for Rose. Her friends and loved ones all thought she was dead. Rose was American and that is something that surprised me because I was not aware that Americans had anything to do with World War II.
I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in Holocaust books, but not to any reader. The thing that I didn't like about it was how the format was written. For example the way she made them into journal entries and how they perspective would change was quite confusing at times. This book had a good story line but I did not really enjoy it.