Darkest Hour

By Caroline Tung Richmond

     A heartfelt tale of bravery and determination.  This is an interesting story of one young american and how she came to aid the resistance in war torn Europe.  Will Lucie be able to get retribution for the death of her beloved brother, Theo?  Or Will the Germans be able to create a weapon to bring about the end of the war?  

     Lucie is a young girl who runs to Paris at the age of 16, hoping to help the French Resistance.  She has lied about her age, and is allowed to train for covert operations.  A group of young women that move about France, thwarting the Germans whenever possible.  Lucie's small group is situated in Paris and they are deadly to Nazi sympathizers.  After some of her fellow agents are captured and the group is scrambling to remain safe.  Lucie and Sabine are drawn into the interrogation and retrieval of a a scientist.  While, the two young women are separated, Lucie is left with the task of questioning Dorner, should she trust him and his valuable intel?  Should she help him get to Great Britain?    When they are discovered and she has to move quickly, she decides to take him at his word and puts him on the path to safety.  As they part ways, Dorner claims he knows of a double agent within the resistance ranks and gives her the initials RJH?  Could it be her commander?  

     Lucie rushes back to headquarters and discovers Sabine.  They compare notes and Sabine shares a cryptic message from the radio.  The clues add up to Harken being a double agent and putting the girls at deadly risk.  As they question what to do, Harken returns from his errand to be confronted by the two women.  Sabine is adamant that he is a traitor and wants him to die.  As Lucie is thrown in the middle, the Germans approach.  Sabine goes on the offensive and kills the traitorous man.  The women have to destroy headquarters and go on the offensive.  

     Of course, the information from Dorner is still brewing in Lucie's head and the women decide to find the lab and eliminate the risk of Zerfalt.  But what can three young women do to the mighty German's, they are jumping from the pot into the kettle in their plans to aid the resistance.  When the reach the location of the lab, surprises, pain and capture occur.  The discovery that they had been played and lied to along the way does not sit well with Lucie.  The Doctor has concocted an evil plan, in which Lucie and her friend Tilly are to be weaponized against the United States.  As the brainwashing treatment commences, Lucie barely holds on to her identity.  How are they to reach safety?  Will they ever make it out of the lab?  

     This book is full of twist and turns and is an interesting read.  I appreciated the "What if's" of the tale, but it did seem fairly impossible.  The only other negative is that most of the book, was well thought out and developed.  It did fall flat a little at the end, with the escape and Lucie's quest for freedom.  What could have been the best part of the book seemed to lack details.  I am giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars and feel that it would be good for kids in 7th grade and up.  This is another great story of time that needs to be remembered, that of a war torn Europe and an egocentric, dictator that put his own agenda in front of that of his countrymen.  

Links 

Caroline Tung Richmond

History of the French Resistance

Nazi medical experiments

German use of tunnels etc.

Destined to Live

By Ruth Gruener 

     This book packs a powerful punch!  Although it is a fairly short read it is full of intense situations and detail!  The book had me celebrating each triumph and afraid of each near death experience.  Ruth and her family were definitely very fortunate to not fall into the German's hands, but how they survived is inspirational.  What moved me most was the occasional addition of wise words of wisdom, for instance "We never know how the way we behave toward another person may come back to affect us at a different time."  A seemingly small act of kindness is what kept Ruth and her family out of the German clutches.  

     Ruth begins the story explaining that she was very young at the beginning of the holocaust, that her family was rather wealthy as the owners of a local candy store.  As the German's insidious power invaded Poland, Ruth and her family slowly began to loose much of their freedom.  They had to give up all of their wealth, their furniture and their apartment, finally being forced to move into the ghetto.  Her father was able to find work outside the ghetto, which is how he convinced a friend to hide Ruth for many months.  When things became to dangerous for that family, Ruth was reunited with her parents and hid with the Oyafs until the end of the war.  That is not the only remarkable aspect of their story, how they found their way to America and all of the steps they had to make in order to make it here, wow!  

     I enjoyed this book, it flowed nicely and was very powerful.  I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  My biggest criticism is that the book was broken into rather large chunks that were hard to break up, for smaller quick reads.  I think smaller chapters over parts would have been better.  I feel that this book would be good for 4th thru 8th grade and would be enjoyed by boys and girls.  This is a very good book and would be a good addition to a class library and a entertaining read for anybody.  

Links 

Ruth Gruener - Author

Lvov during the Holocaust

Holocaust Survivors

Dust of Eden

By Mariko Nagai

     This is a short quick read about a time in our history that we should be ashamed of; when we placed individuals and families of Japanese descent into internment camps.  At the onset of the United States entering WWII, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, there was a lot of anger directed towards specific people from Asia.  Even families that had been in the United States for generations were suspect.  

     It is almost eerie to me to see the correlations on how we treated the Japanese and how the German's treated the Jews and their political enemies.  In the United States we separated an encamped the Japanese, but we fed them and treated them decently, but we still forced them to leave their home and friends for no real reason.  Even though we treated the Japanese better, the idea of being forced from work, home, school and loved ones is troubling and was very difficult for Mina to understand.  She considered herself to be an American, having been born in the United States and could not understand the anger directed towards herself and her family.  This book is told in poetic verse as Mina traverses her frightening future.  Her father was taken initially, then her Grandfather, mother and brother, Nick, were moved to the first camp.  They were housed together, but the fear, confusion and anger was evident in their day to day lives.
     Mina manages to come to terms with her encampment and learns to appreciate wherever she is.  Even when they are transported far from home to Idaho she adapts and appreciates the school and teachers that come to teach the children.  While she adapts, her brother Nick becomes angry that he is not trusted by his country.  He wants to prove his honesty and eventually enrolls as a serviceman, much to his families anguish.
     Will Mina and her family be able to return to Oregon, or will they have to move across the country in order to achieve their freedom?  Will Nick make it home from the war?  Whatever the answers, this poetic read is very poignant and enjoyable.  Some of the pieces were hidden in meaning and beautifully written!  Although, I understand why she chronicled her journey in this method, I missed the details that would have been in a memoir, therefor I am giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars and would encourage poetry lovers and others to take a look at this interesting book.  This book is appropriate for fourth grade and up.

Links 

Author - Mariko Nagai

Japanese Internment Camps

Images

Unbroken

                                                                                 By Laura Hillenbrand


     Wow! Unbroken is an extremely well-crafted story of the unbreakable spirit of Louis Zamperini.  One is introduced to Louis as a young man growing up and getting into trouble.  That is until he finds a passion and love of running.  He quickly becomes one of the fastest runners in the United States, attends USC and earns a berth on the United States Olympic Team.  Louis attends the 1936 Berlin Olympics for the United States and his future looks bright, but sparks are flying in Europe and World War II begins.
     Louis enters into the armed services as an airman. Being an airman in the Pacific is full of danger.  Crashes are commonplace and surviving is rare.  Louis has several harrowing experiences that he and his crew pull through.  Through the luck of God, and indomitable spirit he perseveres.  That is until the fateful day that they are forced to fly an unfamiliar and ill-equipped "Green Hornet" on a search mission.  When the airplane lands in the Pacific only 3 of its passengers survive.  Louis is one of them.  Their survival gear has been picked clean and they do not have half of their supplies.  Their survival candy is stolen by one of the survivors and the men are left to their own devices.  Louis uses cunning and is able to collect water from rain and catch the occasional bird to help sustain their lives.  The candy thief succumbs along the way, and Louis and Allen eventually are captured by the Japanese.
     Of course being "saved" by the Japanese is kind of like going from the pot into the fire.  Each camp that Louis enters brings about new challenges and new dangers.  There are varying degrees of brutality among the guards.  Few are kind, most are brutal and some are deadly.  Louis runs into his personal demon in one "Bird".  The Bird is extremely lethal and very unpredictable.  He  makes it his personal goal in life to break Louis.  Each day brings beatings and degradation.  Louis gets a reprieve when the Bird is transferred to a new camp.  As the Americans come closer to Japan, tensions heighten between the jubilant prisoners and their guardsmen.  The massive B-29 has the Japanese quaking in their boots.  As the American begin bombing Japan, Louis is transferred to another camp and into the waiting arms of the Bird.  As the bird becomes more erratic and dangerous a plot is hatched to end his existence, but before the men could overpower the tyrant, he disappears into the mountains and Japan surrenders.
     Louis eagerly awaits going home, but this is a process.  His family knows that he is safe and on his way home, yet eagerly await his return.  Louis engorges his life with food and alcohol.  He is sought after by the press, because of his fame and his harrowing experience.  He eventually, returns home to his families relief but is not the same Louis.  The time in the Japanese Camps has left internal scars that are not readily visible.  Louis is at a lost as to what to do with his life, he does meet his future wife in Florida but begins to drink heavily to escape his waking and sleeping nightmares.  His life is spiralling out of control when his wife forces him to a tent revival with Billy Graham.  After leaving abruptly the first time, Louis returns and has an epiphany.  He had promised God one night on the raft that he would do  the Lord's work if he was saved.  Louis has a remarkable change and cleans up his life.  He opens his heart to doing good and becomes a motivational speaker and runs a camp for troubled young men.
     This story was very difficult to read at times.  The brutality and degradation along with the density of the information made this a slow read, although I enjoyed immensely.  I could only take the content in brief reads.  I am giving "Unbroken" a 4.5 out of 5.  This story needs to be told and read.  I would keep this book for at least 8th grade as the content is brutal.

Links 

Author: Laura Hillenbrand

Japanese Prisoners of War

Biography of Louis Zamperini

WWII Pacific Theater

     

Is it Night or Day?

                                                                                                By Fern Schumer Chapman

          This inspirational tale of a young Jewish girl, Edith, traveling to the 'safety' of America on her own during World War II is a rewarding read.  Fern uses the inspiration of her mother as the basis for this story and relates the poignancy and heart break of these young victims of Hitler's reign.

     You meet Edith as she is preparing to leave her Mother, Father and Grandmother and her small village that is all she has ever known.  Her parents tried to give her a lifetime of teaching in a matter of weeks and Edith is numb and overwhelmed with the events surrounding her departure.  On the boat across the Atlantic Edith befriends a group of kids and they quickly become inseparable.  All of the children on the boat are there for differing reasons and going to different parts of the United States.  Edith is bound for Chicago, IL, along with fellow passenger Julius.  They both believe that they will be able to maintain their relationship in this city.

     Edith is met at the train station by her Uncle Jakob, whom resembles her father in Germany.  She is relieved to see something from home.  He takes her to his 2 bedroom apartment that is shared by his wife and daughter.  Edith does not have her own room, but a couch in the dining room.  She quickly realizes that she is not to be welcomed by her aunt and cousin.  Her aunt makes Edith into a servant/ slave and expects Edith to do all of the housework.

     Throughout this story Edith strives to maintain her identity as a German, in an attempt to maintain some sort of contact with her family remaining in Germany.  But she is forced to attend an American school, to learn more English, her Aunt throws away all of her clothes and will not let German be spoken in the apartment.  Through her Uncle Jakob, Edith learns to love the sport of Baseball especially the Chicago White Sox.  She even discovers a Jewish Baseball Great in Hank Greenberg.  As she grows, her love of the sport and the loss of her loved ones in Germany, she begins to identify with her new country.

     This tale is very powerful and a tribute to the 1000 Children program that saved children from Hitler's reign.  Very well written with wonderful detail and an identifiable theme of the difficulties of assimilation into a new culture.  Is it Night or Day?  is well worth the read, especially for students 10 and up.

Links

One Thousand Children Effort

Orphans of World War II

Hank Greenberg

Fern Schumer Chapman

 

The Hidden Girl by Lola Rein Kaufman and Lois Metzger

The Hidden Girl 

by Lola Rein Kaufman and Lois Metzger

     This is a nice short story written in retrospect from an adult looking back to what she endured as she hid from the Germans in Poland.  Lola looks back into a childhood, which began pretty idyllic in a Polish town.  Shortly after her mother is killed she is sent to a Ukrainian women for safe keeping by her Grandmother.  She stays in the countryside for a short time until the women is threatened by her son.  He wants to hand over Lola to the German Police.  Lola is then shipped off to another family where she is kept in a hole under the cellar and fed through a door.  She is hiding with 3 other people, and they are not allowed to talk or move. They do not want Lola there and are very dismissive of her as a young child.  When Germany is liberated, Lola is forced to remain with the family, since no one is left that is able to keep her.  She is forced out to begin the march into Russia and finally meets up with somebody who recognizes her and is willing to help.  She eventually is reunited with an uncle and they make the laborious trek to the United States.  

     

     Lola grows up and looses her childhood due to World War II.  She clutches her memories to her and does not share the horrors that she endured, like the dress that she keeps.  The last thing that her mother made her before she was killed.  Finally, she is encouraged to meet up with other hidden children and begins to tell of her story.  One person, becomes very interested and the restult is "The Hidden Girl."  Lola eventually, is willing to give her beautifully embroidered dress to a museum, so that the memory will live on.  

     Although, this was a short read, it initially left me wanting more.  I wanted more detail, I wanted to smell the dirt in the barn.  Not until the end when I realized that this was a story going back in time from a memory, that I realized that over time some of the details would have faded.  I ended up enjoying the story and would encourage anyone over 4th grade to grab a copy.  

Links 

Hidden children of the Holocaust.  https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006123

The Holocaust in Poland:  http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/about/09/poland.asp

World War II:  http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii

Lois Metzger:  http://www.amazon.com/Lois-Metzger/e/B001HMLK6S

Berlin Boxing Club

By Robert Sharenow

A heartwarming tale of hope in war torn Europe.  This is a beautifully crafted story of a young jewish boy and how he grows into manhood in Berlin during the beginning of World War II.  

Young Karl is living with his family and going to school like any good German boy.  Due to his Jewish background he is forced to leave his current school and attend a school for Jewish boys.  He meets World Boxing Champion Max Schmeling at his parents art gallery.  Max encourages young Karl to come to his boxing club for "lessons!"  Karl begins a regimen of daily conditioning to strengthen his thin body.  He falls in love with a girl that lives in the building.  As Hitler gains power, Jewish families are torn apart and lose all of their possessions.  

Karl and his family eventually, move out of their apartment into the basement of the art gallery, where his dad makes money by printing different pamphlets.  Karl is the delivery person, but still trains, whenever possible at the "Berlin Boxing Club".  Everything comes to a head, when the gallery is broken into and Karl and his sister seek refuge with one of his parents clients.  Eventually, moving in with Max, who aids in getting them out of the country.  

A heartwarnming tale of coming to age, and is a great read for everyone!

Related Links:

Jewish Museum in Berlin Home page:  http://www.jmberlin.de/main/EN/homepage-EN.php

Jewish Holocaust Library:  https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html

Auschwitz http://auschwitz.org/en/museum/news/

Robert Sharenow: http://robertsharenow.com/

Max Schmeling: http://www.auschwitz.dk/schmeling.htm

Jewish Holocaust - Background Builder

The Holocaust and Holocaust denial from Henry Hollis

In preparation of our next book "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", I have uploaded these two multimedia files to help build background!