Life during World War II

Number the Stars

Book cover: 'Number the Stars'
Author(s): 
Lois Lowry
The amazing true story of how the people of Denmark secretly transported their Jewish countrymen by boat to safety in Sweden during World War II is told through the eyes of a girl and her family who assist in this effort. Suspense and action are intertwined with fascinating historical details of how the Danes succeeded in this endeavor right under the noses of the Nazis. There are some beautiful comments about the heroism of King Christian X and the devotion of his people toward him. There is a curious statement by the author at one point that the girl and her mother have become equals.

The World of the Trapp Family

Book cover: 'The World of the Trapp Family'
Author(s): 
William Anderson
Whenever I hear the phrase "based on a true story", I want to know what the true story was. The World of the Trapp Family will provide just that for anyone interested in the real family behind The Sound of Music. The movie is just factual enough that Sound of Music fans will surely enjoy the flesh and blood behind the story. However, the real family is so much more vivid and fascinating than the movie that this book will probably be enjoyed even by those who didn't care for the movie (or grew tired of seeing it too many times.)

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

Book cover: 'The Story of the Trapp Family Singers'
Author(s): 
Maria Augusta Trapp
This is the actual book, written in 1949, which inspired the script of the movie the Sound of Music. It is Maria and her family's autobiography, covering some early details of the Captain and Maria's separate lives and the history of the family from Maria's position as teacher to the young Maria all the way through the late 1940s. After reading the World of the Trapp Family (reviewed below), I finally picked up this book which I had started to read years earlier, but never finished.

Enemy Brothers

Book cover: 'Enemy Brothers: A Story of World War II'
Author(s): 
Constance Savery
After being very impressed with Constance Savery's insightful writing style and unique plot line in The Reb and the Redcoats, I had rather high expectations for Enemy Brothers. I wasn't disappointed in the least. This story is set in the early years of World War II (before the United States joined the Allied Forces) and tells of a young British man (Dym) whose toddler-aged brother was kidnapped from their large family ten years earlier.

The Shadow of His Wings

Book cover: 'The Shadow of His Wings'
Author(s): 
Fr. Gereon Goldmann
This is a fascinating tale on many levels - spiritual, historical, adventure, humor. Fr. Goldmann was a young seminarian in Germany when he was drafted into Hitler's dreaded SS. Despite amazing obstacles and in spite of his loud mouth and rather hot temper with regard to his disagreements with the Nazi's, Goldmann works his way through World War II as a medic for the German army and is finally ordained as a chaplain to his comrades in the French prison camps in North Africa.

Twenty and Ten

Book cover: 'Twenty and Ten'
Author(s): 
Claire Huchet Bishop
A very remarkable true story of twenty Catholic children, living in the country (to escape the war) with their teacher (a Catholic nun) who agree to hide ten Jewish children from the Nazis. The children show great heroism in offering to share even their meager food and bedding with these children and bravely face the Nazis alone while their teacher is detained. The story is a bit suspenseful, but ends beautifully (and a bit poetically) and could be read-aloud to fairly young children (Approximately 4th grade reading level). Highly recommended!

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Book cover: 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit'
Author(s): 
Judith Kerr
A well-written and engaging account, based on the author's experiences of a young (non-religious) Jewish girl and her family who escape from Germany in the 1930s and live for a time in Switzerland and then France before finally moving on to England. We see the escalation of Hitler's Germany from somewhat of a distance and the struggles of a displaced family trying to stay out of Hitler's reach (the father was a well-known writer who eventually has a price put on his head by Hitler).

A Place to Hide

Book cover: 'A Place to Hide: True Stories of Holocaust Rescues'
Author(s): 
Jayne Pettit
This book contains true stories of remarkable people (mostly Christians, including many Catholics) who saved the lives of Jews from the Nazis in World War II. According to this book, despite six million Jews killed by the Nazis, it is estimated that two million Jewish children were saved by rescuers such as the sampling presented in these stories. It is estimated that the number of rescuers (those who harbored Jews in their homes, transported them to safety, etc.) is anywhere from fifty-thousand to five hundred thousand.

The stories here include:

The Journal of Ben Uchida

Book cover: 'The Journal of Ben Uchida'
Author(s): 
Barry Denenberg
This is a fictitious diary of a 12 year old boy in a Japanese internment camp in California during World War II. (The diary covers the bombing of Pearl Harbor - Dec. 7 1941 thru parts of 1943). The diary is based on letters from Internment camp survivors and other actual events from the time period.

The story helps the reader to understand certain truths about the camps and the consequences of having such camps;

The Borrowed House

Book cover: 'The Borrowed House'
Author(s): 
Hilda van Stockum
The Borrowed House presents us with a look at Germany and Holland during World War II, through the eyes of Janna, a 13 year old German girl who is raised on Hitler's propaganda and is a member of "Hitler's Youth". Janna, raised in the Black Forest of Germany and separated from her parents (who are famous actors and travel around a bit), has been indoctrinated with a hatred of Jews and other aspects of Hitler's "ideals". From the beginning we learn somewhat chilling (although subtly handled) facts about the treatment of the sick and elderly in Hitler's Germany.

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