Books |
Number the Stars
Lois Lowry
By
Published: Nov 28, 2021
Category:
Fiction
Hanukkah 2021 occurs in the shadow of an alarming expression of ignorance of 20th century history. From the Guardian:
Almost two-thirds of young American adults do not know that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, and more than one in 10 believe Jews caused the Holocaust, a new survey has found, revealing shocking levels of ignorance about the greatest crime of the 20th century.
According to the study of millennial and Gen Z adults aged between 18 and 39, almost half (48%) could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto established during the second world war.
Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, or had been exaggerated, or they weren’t sure. One in eight (12%) said they had definitely not heard, or didn’t think they had heard, about the Holocaust.
More than half (56%) said they had seen Nazi symbols on their social media platforms and/or in their communities, and almost half (49%) had seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online.
Ignorance breeds action. Protesters against vaccine mandates have taken to pin yellow stars to their shirts, just as Jews were forced to do in Nazi Germany. (Assumptions are dangerous, but it’s just possible these are not single-issue protesters.)
What can a decent person do to reach these people? If you recall my short story, The Pied Piper of Park Avenue, I’m a big believer in ignoring adults and reaching out to their children, because when kids take on a mission, the parents have to deal with it. And how do you reach kids? Stories.
Amazon says that “Number the Stars” is an excellent book for kids 10 to 12 — 5th to 7th graders — but I can’t think of a more appropriate book for Americans of any age to be reading right now. Lois Lowry published this 135-page novel in 1989. It won the Newbery Medal — the highest honor for a children’s book — the following year. It has become one of the best-selling children’s books of all time. In short, it’s that rarest of novels: important and addictively readable. [To buy the paperback from Amazon, click here. For the Kindle edition, click here.]
In 1940, Denmark couldn’t have fought Hitler; its surrender was prudent. And in 1943 the German presence isn’t a concern for Annemarie Johansen, a 10-year-old fourth grader who lives with her parents and younger sister in Copenhagen. King Christian X still rides his horse through the city, and the Danes, sharing his disdain for the Germans, go on about their lives. But now life is starting to change — as Annemarie and her best friend Ellen Rosen run home from school, two German soldiers stop them, just because they can.
Small inconveniences become real threats. Jewish businesses suddenly close. Jews take unannounced “vacations.” Ellen’s parents vanish, and Ellen comes to live with Annemarie’s family. And then the Germans, aware that Ellen and Annemarie are friends, visit the Johansens in the middle of the night.
Clearly, Ellen’s not safe in Copenhagen. But where can she go? And how? That is the thriller plot of “Number the Stars,” and it’s full of twists that are too good for a kids book. Like the wake held over a coffin, which includes a reading from Psalm 147:4 — “O praise the Lord … he who numbers the stars one by one” — and links those stars to the one Ellen wears around her neck.
Something goes wrong the night Ellen is to sail to Sweden, and it falls to Annemarie to fix it. An act of considerable bravery is required — is a 10-year-old capable of it? This isn’t a spoiler: you know she is. What you don’t know is what she learns. Her uncle tells her that she risked her life. Her response: “I didn’t even think about that!” Her uncle smiles: “That’s all ‘brave’ means — not thinking about the dangers.”
In 1943, Lois Lowry writes in an afterword, the Danes appointed themselves bodyguards of the country’s Jews. In 1943, there were 8,000 Jews in Denmark. Brave Danes moved 7,550 of them to Sweden.
