I just finished a beautiful, haunting book about the relatively unknown roundup of Jews at the Vel d'Hiv in July of 1942. This novel is based on the facts of that early morning raid known as "Operation Spring Wind" in which 12,000 Jewish families were arrested by the French police in response to a request by the Nazi's. The request was for men and women of working age only, but in their fervor to cooperate, the French also arrested 4,000 children. After a few days of horrific conditions inside the Vel d'Hiv the parents were separated from their children and taken to their deaths at Auschwitz. The children (including infants) were left behind with no food, water or parent to console them until they were eventually taken to Auschwitz as well. Less than 400 survived.
The novel is of journalist Julia Jarmond, an American expat, who is researching the roundup for an article on the 60 year anniversary. During her research she finds that her family has a strong connection to one little girl in particular. The story of this 10 year girl, Sarah, begins the morning of the roundup when she locks her 4 year old brother in their secret hiding spot, thinking that she will be able to come back and rescue him later. The rest of the novel intertwines the two stories and brings them together beautifully.
If you are interested in reading more about this story, check out Tatiana de Rosnay's blog.
1 comment:
It sounds like an agonizing story. My book club is reading your recommendation "An Inconvenient Wife". We meet to disucss next wk. I loved it.
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