Refugee by Alan Gratz

The following links, arranged by the three plot lines, provide background information 

about the historical events mentioned in Alan Gratz's book, Refugee:

Overview of Book

• World Map

• Interactive World Map (you can click on country and get close up view)

Josef's Story as a Refugee Fleeing Nazi Germany 1939

• Slideshow About Holocaust

• Newsela articles:

  • • "The Holocaust, Part One: The Rise of Adolf Hitler and World War II"

    • Newsela Article About Propaganda

    • "The Nuremberg Laws Deprived Jews of Their Rights in Nazi Germany"

• Video: How to Pronounce Kristallnacht (0:29)

• Brainpop "Holocaust" Video (3:52)

• Ducksters, "The Holocaust"

isabel's Story as a Refugee Fleeing Havana, Cuba 1994

• Newsela article about Fidel Castro

• The Atlantic Article, "20 Years After the Cuban Raft Exodus"

• Video: Cuban Rafters 20 Years After the Crisis  (9:08)

• Flashback Miami - Photos From the Miami Herald 

• Video: What is "clave?

Mahmoud's Story as a Syrian Refugee 2015

• Video: Syrian Kids Explain the War -- BBC News (3:35) 

• Newsela, "Syria's Civil War Explained"

• Video: Second a Day (1:33)

• Timeline of Syrian Conflict

• Journey of a Syrian Refugee -- Map

• Before and After War Pics of Aleppo Syria  

• Teaching and Learning About the Syrian Refugee Crisis Vimeo (4:50)

• Video: 7 Year Old Aleppo Girl Tweets (2:11)

• Video: A Young Syrian Girl's Life As a Refugee (4:10)  

• Video: The Dangerous Boat Ride to Greece (3:15)

• Video: This Refugee Family Was Smuggled from Syria to Greece (6:59)

• Video: Refugee Teen Dreams of Returning to Syria  (2:52)

• Video: We Are People Just Like You (2:04)

• Video: The Toy Smuggler (2:20)

• Newsela article The Plight of Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and IDPs Around the Globe"

Refugees Today

• Newsela Opinion Article, "Refugees around the world need homes; U.S. must help more of them"

• Video: Kid President's "Teen Refugees Show Us What True Friendship Looks Like | Kid President Travel Show Ep 4" (6:49)

• Statistics About Refugees as of June 2025 - Link to UNHCR site (UNHCR stands for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Also known as the UN Refugee Agency, it is a global organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, mandated to aid, protect, and find solutions for refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people worldwide. )