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The Warsaw Diary Keeper by Avi Dobzinski

Oct20

Four Ordinary Heroes

The Warsaw Diary Keeper by Avi Dobzinski is a powerful historical novel that has been constructed around the author’s wife’s aunt’s wartime diaries.

This is a heartbreaking book about the effects of war on a Jewish family of four, living in Poland.

In order to survive the family had to adapt and reinvent themselves as Roman Catholics. “You will have to learn to walk through the world as someone else” was the message given to the two girls aged just twelve and seven. This cannot have been easy – but the family of four realised that their lives were at stake. First Poland was invaded by the Soviets and then the Germans.

Everyone from the very youngest daughter wanted to help the war effort. Though only young, the youngest daughter delivered underground newspapers. She was very brave.

Hitler’s policy to eradicate the Jewish people soon spread throughout Poland. “Neighbours who had been polite in shops… had turned into monsters overnight.” Nowhere was totally safe for the family, who travelled to various places within Poland, trying to stay alive. This is their war. We see events through their eyes. We witness the bravery of them all, even the very young. We cannot imagine the fear the parents had for the safety of their girls.

War is not glamourous. There are heroes and there are villains. This is a book about a family of heroes – They moved. They adapted. They survived.

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All Our Yesterdays compiled by Gervase Phinn

Sep24

A Trip Down Memory Lane

All Our Yesterdays compiled by Gervase Phinn is a delightful collection of reminisces from childhood.

The snippets are arranged under various headings and include quotes from the famous and the not so famous. The time periods range from the Middle Ages to the mid twentieth century. The majority of quotes are from the latter time period.

Each section begins with a passage by Gervase Phinn. Some of his poems are included.

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The Stepney Doorstep Society by Kate Thompson

Jul23

Fascinating Strong Matriarchs

The Stepney Doorstep Society by Kate Thompson is a powerful account of the lives of the matriarchs living in the East End of London. It is mainly set during World War II, with a dip into both the thirties and the post war years.

It was the women of the East End that ran the show. They were not necessarily large in stature but they were strong personalities. They had to be. They lived through the Depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s and also World War II. “I just had to get on with things. I wasn’t brave… I just had no choice.” They put on their big-girl pants and tackled life head on.

The women looked out for each other and for each- others’ children. It was proper community living as they were in and out of each-others houses too. They were “rich in love, poor in the purse.”

With World War II came opportunities for women. They got out of the home and into the factories, only to be relegated to the home again when the men returned from war. “The war brought out the strength in women.”

We see that “individually these women were tough. Together, they were terrifying.” When there was a wrong, these women stood up for what was right. They marched against Oswald Moseley’s Blackshirts in the 1930’s.

We learn that “infant mortality rates were… high and there was a heartbreaking saying offered up to a mother when a new baby arrived: ‘Has it come to stay?’” Within the community women acted as midwives, helping others birth babies.

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The Story Of Sapulpa & Route 66 by Kirby Lee Davis

May31

The Story Continues

The Story Of  Sapulpa & Route 66  by Kirby Lee Davis is the second book in The Great Beckoning series and published by Sapulpa Historical Society. This continues where book one left off as we follow the development of Sapulpa and the emergence of Route 66, well into the twentieth century.

Route 66 had investments from 1909 and was finally completed in 1928. It stretches from east to west, passing through Sapulpa.

We see the development of roads, going from mud to concrete, tarmac and hard core. The harder your road surface, the more affluent the area.

During the early twentieth century, we witnessed World War I. Following its’ end, over eight million people travelled westwards in search of new opportunities.

As Sapulpa developed, more businesses, diners and festivals sprang up – including a car and a Christmas festival.

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