For many, the events of the Holocaust are too painful to talk about. During this period, Jews in Europe were subjected to increasingly harsh persecution that ultimately led to the murder of 6,000,000 Jews (of which 1.5 million were children) and the destruction of 5,000 Jewish communities (History). These deaths represented two-thirds of European Jewry and one-third of world Jewry (History). While both Kofman and Kertesz introduced readers to the effects of the Holocaust on the Jewish child, Kofam focused on one of the rarest aspects of being a Jewish child, while Kertesz provided vivid details about the reality of the Jewish child's fate. genre, he was equally a victim of the Holocaust. Children were rarely targets of Nazi violence simply because they were children, but were usually persecuted along with their entire families for racial, religious, or political reasons. The chances of survival were slightly higher for older children, as they could potentially be sent to forced labor in concentration camps and ghettos. Some children could pass as non-Jews and live openly. Those who couldn't had to live clandestinely, often in attics or cellars. Children who passed themselves off as Christians had to carefully hide their Jewish identities from curious neighbors, classmates, informants, blackmailers, and the police. Even a momentary lapse in language or behavior could expose the child, and the rescuer, to danger. One thing that was different in the two books was the situation presented in Rue and Fatelessness. A child who was transformed and a child who was sent to forced labor. Kofman talks about how Mimi slowly transformed from head to toe, inside and out; changing his diet, his hair, his... middle of paper ......what life was really like for those in the camps, day after day, monotony of horror that turned into weeks, months, and even years. The fact that there were survivors shows that there is something in us that cannot be taken away no matter what, and that is a true testament to the human spirit. Works Cited "History of the Holocaust - An Introduction". Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. Network. 07 August 2011. Wikipedia contributors. "Auschwitz concentration camp." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, August 1, 2011. Web. August 7, 2011. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The Holocaust”. Holocaust Encyclopedia. Network. 08 August 2011=10005143>.