This is the remarkable true story of a young Jewish girl and her brother
growing up during World War II, caught in a world turned upside down by
the Nazis. Written specially for children, Eva describes her happy early
childhood in Vienna with her kind and loving parents and her older
brother Heinz, whom she adored. But when the Nazis marched into Austria
everything changed. Eva's family fled to Belgium, then to Amsterdam
where, with the help of the Dutch Resistance, they spent the next two
years in hiding--Eva and her mother in one house, and her father and
brother in another. Finally, though, they were all betrayed and deported
to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Despite the horrors of the
camp, Eva's positive attitude and stubborn personality (which had often
got her into trouble) saw her through one of the most tragic events in
history, and she and her mother eventually returned to Amsterdam. Sadly
her father and brother perished just weeks before the liberation. Eva
and her mother went back to the house where Heinz and his father had
hidden, for Eva had remembered that Heinz had told her he had hidden his
paintings beneath the floorboards there. Sure enough, there were over 30
beautiful paintings. Heinz hadn't wasted any of his talents during his
captivity. For Eva, here was a tangible, everlasting memory of her
brother, and a reminder of her father's promise that all the good things
you accomplish will make a difference to someone, and your achievements
will be carried on. Heinz's paintings have been on display in
exhibitions in the USA and are now a part of a permanent exhibition in
Amsterdam's war museum. Told simply and clearly for younger readers,
The Promise is an unforgettable story, written by Eva Schloss, the
step-daughter of Otto Frank and Barbara Powers, Eva's very close friend.
