Scuds: A Teenage Jewish Refugee in Nazi-occupied Holland

The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines “scud” as to move or run swiftly especially as if driven forward. This definition belies the danger and immediacy of the forced drive forward to survive and eventually create a new life which author Hanna Kalter Weiss describes in her gripping autobiographical story, Scuds: A Teenage Refuge in Nazi-Occupied Holland (Devora Publishing; November, 2006).Hanna was typical teenager when the Nazis came to power in Germany. But on Kristallnacht, when mobs destroyed the synagogue and Jewish property, and ransacked her home, Hanna's parents shipped her and her sister Ruth off to safety in free Holland on the Kindertransport.Thus began her long sojourn as a refugee, living briefly with Dutch Jewish families and for years in children's homes. Hanna hated the humility of being a refugee – and then things got much worse when the Nazis conquered Holland and the Gestapo moved in next door.Through all this, Hanna tried to live her life – to get an education, learn a skill, make friends, and find a boyfriend. She didn't lose her cool, even when she and her sister were deported to a concentration camp.