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What World is Left

Monique Polak - Author

A Holocaust novel centred on a teenager confronting camp life and her father’s involvement in Nazi propaganda. It also follows her thoughts about friendship, romance, family and religion.

More about this book

A pampered child used to having her own way, Anneke Van Raalte lives outside Amsterdam, where her father is a cartoonist for the Amsterdam newspaper. Though Anneke's family is Jewish, her religion means little to her. Anneke's life changes in 1942 when the Nazis invade Holland, and she and her family are deported to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Not only are conditions in the camp appalling, but the camp is the site of an elaborate hoax: the Nazis are determined to convince the world that Theresienstadt is an idyllic place and that European Jews are thriving under the Nazi regime. Because he is an artist, Anneke's father is compelled to help in the propaganda campaign, and Anneke finds herself torn between her loyalty to her family and her sense of what is right. What World is Left was inspired by the experiences of the author's mother, who was imprisoned in Theresienstadt during World War II.

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

PropagandaMoral choicesFamily survival

Consider

Violence and harmGrief and lossEmotional intensity

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

propagandamoral choicesfamily survivalNazi propagandadeceptionhistorical setting

FictionNovel

Themes in Context

Art under coercion

Anneke’s father is forced to contribute to the staged presentation of Theresienstadt, while artists also make clandestine drawings of the camp’s true conditions.

How the book presents it: The novel presents a tension between complicity under coercion and efforts to document the truth; Anneke questions the moral choices involved.

Talk about: If someone is compelled to help create a false public image, what might they still be able to choose?

The staged image of camp life

The Nazis try to present Theresienstadt as an idyllic model settlement, including through an elaborate staged presentation.

How the book presents it: The contrast between the camp’s appalling conditions and the false image makes the propaganda’s deception explicit.

Talk about: What might a staged visit leave its observers unable to see?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

The story gives particular attention to artists coerced into helping disguise the camp’s conditions, alongside clandestine drawings that document the reality. This offers a way to consider how art can be used under pressure.

What Deserves Attention

The novel includes concentration-camp conditions: scarce food, bedbugs, forced labour and little privacy. It also refers to people being transported to death camps and to the deaths of Anneke’s friend and a boy she loves.

A Conversation Worth Having

If Anneke’s father is compelled to take part in the propaganda, how does Anneke weigh his actions against his efforts to help his family survive?

Reading Approach

Consider reading together or checking in after sections about camp conditions and loss. Let the young reader set the pace, and make room for questions about the historical setting or Anneke’s moral uncertainty.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

Art under coercion: How Anneke ultimately judges her father’s actions is not established here.
The staged image of camp life: The degree of detail given to the staged visit and its consequences is not established here.

What World Is Left - Monique Polak - Google Books

Limited information

Checked: 2 October 2026.

Relevant to: Art under coercion; The staged image of camp life

WHAT WORLD IS LEFT