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The Secret Jewish Sisters by Tikva Rager

Jan13

Internal Struggles

The Secret Jewish Sisters by Tikva Rager is a compelling historical novel. It is the first book in Unforgettable World War II Stories and can be read as a stand-alone. Each book in the series is written by a different author.

The book is fictional but is based on facts as we follow two young German Jewish sisters through the war years and beyond.

Smuggled out of Nazi Germany to Belgium, the two sisters are eventually hidden in a Catholic orphanage. They are physically hiding and they are also hiding who they really are. For the youngest sister, she believes she is Christian as she has no recollection of ever being Jewish. It is more complicated for the older sister as she remembers her Jewishness but makes a personal decision to become a Christian.

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The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt

Jan7

There Once Was A City

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt is a powerful Christian historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in Warsaw during World War II as we follow twin sisters and their very different wartime experiences. Both are incredibly brave. Both fight the Nazis but use very different methods. One hides and passes on, Jewish children through an underground network. The other fights for the resistance. Neither shares their activities with the other in order to protect.

Warsaw bore the brunt of the Nazis persecution. Hitler wanted Warsaw razed to the ground – but reckoned without the brave spirit of the people offering resistance where they could.

Even the children were brave. They learned how to act and when to be silent. “You must never tell anyone who you are but you must always remember.” Roots and heritage are very important.

When persecution of the Jewish people began, many stood idly by but “what happened… mattered to me… I could not look away.” A character decided “I must do something.”

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The Baker’s Secret by Lelita Baldock

Jan2

Finally Home

The Baker’s Secret by Lelita Baldock is a powerful dual timeline novel that I read in just one sitting.

The action takes place in Riga, Latvia during World War II and also in 2018 in Australia as we follow two sisters and their wartime experiences. The chapters alternate between the pair.

Latvia was a turbulent and dangerous place to be during World War II. Having gained independence after World War; during World War II, first the Soviets marched in, and then the Nazis, and then the Soviets returned to oppress the people until 1990. Latvians were trapped within their own country, always being persecuted by whoever had control.

June 14th 1941 is called The Night Of The Disappeared as 15,000 Latvians were torn from their homes – men, women and children – never to be seen again.

We witness the bravery of the people. One sister is active within the resistance, the other reluctantly helps. Both are proud Latvians.

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The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson

Jan2

A Golden Thread

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson is a powerful historical novel that totally consumed me and I read in just one sitting.

The novel is based on a true story of friendship, courage and resistance in times of war. It is set in Nazi occupied Jersey during World War II.

Books were important to the islanders. They provided an escape for minds though their bodies were in captivity. Librarian Grace cared for the books, hiding the banned books away. She brought books to the islanders and set up the wartime book club. “The library… represented safety and security, a sense of order that the world outside could… never offer.”

The book club united those from all different walks of life. The people bandied together receiving a collective hope that the books provided.

There was much bravery. “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” Brave souls did what they could to save others as there were also those who would denounce their neighbours for a few reichsmarks. “War… was the greatest killer of trust.”

Love blossoms in times of war. We witness a love that binds. Also, a love between friends that gives each a hope, a hope needed to survive. “Hope was a powerful thing… and… she had to coat herself in, like armour.” Without hope the people perish.

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