An Orange in Winter

"An Orange In Winter: The Beginning of the Holocaust As Seen Through the Eyes of a Child" is the authentic story of a young Jewish boy, Walter Less, growing up in Germany in the 1930s and his friend. Walter, the author's father, told her the true story of a poor boy who brought the gift of an orange to his birthday. The author named the anonymous boy Hans and used his gift as metaphor to compare and contrast the lives of both boys. Walter is the son of a prominent Jewish merchant, Leopold Less and his wife Anna, whose store is in Luneburg, Germany. He has two siblings and grows up in a comfortable home. Hans is the son of a poor warehouseman who works for Herr Less. His family has suffered greatly, as did most Germans, from the ecocomic crisis resulting from Germany's defeat in World War I. While Hans is a composite character, all he experiences is based on authentic accounts. After January 1933, when the Nazis come to power, the lives and viewpoints of the two friends change radically. Walter is expelled from high school; Hans becomes a proud member of The Hitler Youth. The story describes Hitler Youth indoctrination; the expulsion of Jews from public schools and professions, the horrors of Reichkristallnacht, the Sachenhausen Concentration Camp, and the many obstacles Jews faced while trying to flee Germany. What happens to Walter's family and to Hans, as he becomes conflicted by Nazi rules and behaviors, illustrates how and why such horrific events evolved into the "final solution." By learning about these events as seen through the eyes of these two children, readers can gain a personalized understanding of how the dark, evil shadow of the Nazis infiltrated the lives of people in one German city. Walter and Hans are appealing and empathetic children. The plot, dialogue, and settings draw readers into the difficulties and decisions the characters face. Enhanced by primary source material, photographs, documents, maps, timelines, a glossary and discussion questions, the book may be read independently or as part of a self-contained or interdisciplinary curriculum unit. Its short length and simple language make it eminently readable for students 10 years and older as well as by adults. It can also provide a context for additional non-fiction and fiction books about the Nazis and the Holocaust. The discussion questions encourage readers to delve more deeply into complex issues (propaganda, indoctrination, the evolution of a dictatorship, prejudice, hatred, discrimination, bullying) from an historical perspective and to reflect on how these timeless issues personally relate to the readers' social, political, and moral beliefs and experiences. The author closely collaborated with The History Workshop of Luneburg, whose mission is to "tell the story" of all Jewish families in Luneburg, to commemorate the victims, and to educate present and future generations about racism and genocide. In 2013, a linden tree was planted opposite the site of the destroyed Jewish temple to honor the Less family. The Luneburg Museum now houses her family's menorah, returned to her by a former citizen of Luneburg, and her father's tallit. The story has been used in German high schools. The author has taught workshops for teachers and students in Germany and the U.S.

From Dr. Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient: "Your efforts to teach your students about the importance of memory will surely make a difference in their lives."

From Sachsenhausen: "What a great source of knowledge your book is for our work. Our (1938) exhibit is focusing on the fate of over 6,300 Jewish men...their persecution, their attempts to flee...and making a new life in exile... Bringing together fictional and autobiographic elements is enriching and innovative...We are particularly grateful for the many documents and photographs. We are very grateful to rely on your book as an important testimony."

Margaret (Less) McQuillan is a retired school administrator. She has been an elementary school principal in three schools, a curriculum developer, and a K-12 Performing and Fine Arts director for several districts in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees are from the University of California from which she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English. She also has an MFA in Dramatic Art. Throughout her educational career, she has designed and led many interdisciplinary programs and projects that emphasized the creative process, the importance of multicultural education, the arts, and global citizenship. She first wrote "An Orange In Winter" to tell the story of her father, Walter Less, and his Jewish family, during the beginning of the Nazi rule in Germany in the 1930s, basing the narrative on a true incident her father told her about a special birthday gift, and on information from an autobiography she asked him to write. She first told this story to her children, Matthew and Jessica, and later, as a principal, expanded it for her upper elementary students to personalize and explain the prejudice, hatred and discrimination that led up to the Holocaust, and to provide an understandable context for other books whey were reading about the Holocaust. The nameless young boy became Hans, whose character and experiences are a composite, but are all authentic descriptions from people in the 1930s. Hans becomes a Hitler Youth and a witness to what happens to Walter's family and others. Because Hans and Walter are close in age, they provide parallel perspectives of how evolving events in one town reflected the national growth of Nazi Socialism from a variety of viewpoints and incidents. She again expanded the story to become a curriculum unit detailing further resources, research, documents and photographs. This included how her father, sponsored by his maternal uncle, was sent to California in 1934 at age 15, and how his parents escaped in 1941. Since her first visit to her father's home in Luneburg in 2009, she has worked collaboratively with the registered association History Workshop Luneburg, who provided extraordinarily valuable research, historical information, photographs and documentation. The book includes a study guide, questions, maps, timelines and a glossary which enables it to be an accessible teaching text. While in Germany, she has presented teacher workshops, led community discussions, and spoke to students at her father's high school. In 2013, the city planted a linden tree to honor and remember her family, and Margaret donated her family's menorah (which was returned to her by a former Luneburg resident in 2006), and her father's tall it to the Luneburg museum, which are now on exhibit. This book is in the libraries of The Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., and the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It is used in Germany to teach history, social studies, English, and for interdisciplinary teaching . It is also used as an instructional resource for "Facing History and Ourselves."

When Walter joined the American army, he met an English Catholic woman who joined him in California. They had one daughter, Margaret. Her father's family did not speak of their persecution and fear, but Margaret, as she delved deeper into their past, felt an obligation to "tell their story" as a way to personalize the greater moral, ethical and political issues that gave rise to the horror of the Holocaust for students and adults. The questions she has included encourage readers to think critically about this historical time period, issues they may experience in their own lives, national and global conflicts, and to remind readers to "never forget." Margaret currently lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts with her husband, Dr. Mark McQuillan. She serves on The Newburyport Human Rights Commission and continues to lead workshops on "An Orange In Winter."