When Helen Stein Behr wrote Renata ten years ago, she could not have imagined how the book would spark a series of events that would reconnect members of the Haberer family. This tenth anniversary edition features a new afterword and photos describing how that transpired, uncovering events and relationships that might have been lost forever had Renata’s story not been retold.

A children’s book about the Holocaust

Like most children, Renata Haberer loved the train. The sound of the whistle. The gentle hum of wheels hugging the tracks. Chatting with passengers she did not know. Renata loved it all. But all that changed on an October day in 1940 when German soldiers forced Renata’s family and her town’s fellow Jews on a different kind of train for a destination unknown. It wasn’t just Renata’s love of trains that changed that day. Everything she cherished would never be the same.

A true story about a coming of age
Jewish girl during the Holocaust

Based on actual events, Renata tells the story of a German girl born as Adolph Hitler comes to power. At first shielded by her parents of Nazi abuses and a world collapsing around them, Renata’s facade of a normal childhood begins to crumble with Kristallnacht. Soon one horrific change after another shatters Renata’s life, leading to a separation from her parents and ultimately a race to the Swiss border with a German soldier at her heels. No longer did Renata wish for a new doll or a new party dress—all she wished for was to be with her family.