There are many fictionalized accounts of historical events--even the Holocaust: Sophie's Choice, The Cats in Krasinski Square, and many others. They are based on actual facts but are presented in story form. However, you know up front that they are fact-based fiction. The problem is that while food was sometimes smuggled into the ghettos or even thrown over the walls, this would have been too difficult to do in the heavily guarded camps. If a writer is up front about sources and does not totally distort reality, there should be no reason to avoid writing Holocaust stories which help make the sad events more accessible to children and teens. Most Holocaust survivors are very resentful of out and out fabricating about their experience, but they don't say writers for children must only write the absolute and unvarnished terrible truth. The problem is when a book is a total fabrication rather than fact-based fiction. For publishing companies this adds one more reason for them to refuse Holocaust stories.
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