"Late in the evening, when Hana lit a birthday candle, I was reminded of a speech from William Hanley's little-remembered 1964 drama Slow Dance on the Killing Ground. A former railroad engineer on the Auschwitz line who delivered countless Jews to their deaths says, "Every year a bunch of Jewish people get together and light a fat candle for the 6 million Jews the Nazis killed. A candle. For 6 million people you light the sun, maybe. But a candle?" Hana's Suitcase is only a candle, but it burns brightly."

"The use of masks to heighten the fear of the unknown is an excellent touch. The drama follows Hana and her Jewish family from a comfortable life in Prague to the hell of encroaching Nazism, the camps, and an eventual journey to Auschwitz. Powerful drama that will explain a lot to school-age children."