The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, 2015

First published 1956

This is the story of what happened to a Polish family during World War II. Note that this wasn’t written until 1956, so some time has elapsed before the end to the war and people have had time to rationalise what happened to them. Right at the beginning the reader is warned that this may be a grim tale: “the Balickis had a grim time of it. But worse was in store for them” (Loc 42).

We are given a quite graphic description of the concentration camp where father Joseph is interned (loc 52). Joseph, does manage to escape and has to make some tough decisions. He threatens some of his compatriots. He finds his home-town changed when he gets back(loc 212). Worst of all he discovers that his children have probably died (loc 239).

The children escape the Nazis but only by taking a great risk - escaping via the roof tops (loc 357). Then they live in a cellar. In the summer they camp out in a field. They become very resourceful. However, Edek, the oldest, gets captured (loc 448).

There are some gleams of hope: not only do they find the silver sword in street-urchin Jan’s box but they are helped by some of the Russian soldiers after the war has ended. There are helpful coincidences: Jan found the silver sword in the rubble of what was Joseph’s home. It was a present he gave to his wife. He tells Jan to keep it and if it is recognised Jan can tell his children that he has gone to Switzerland. The children meet Jan. But there are also near misses: they find out what had happened to Edek. They arrive at the camp where he had been held - now liberated by the Russians - only to find that they have just missed him. He ran away the day before. Yet their meeting is also a great coincidence: a fight breaks out in the displaced persons camp. Ruth comes to holding a hand; it is Edek’s.

The story is fast-paced. Good fortune and problems alternate for the children.

As they make their way to Switzerland they stay for a while with a German farmer and his wife. They learn about their two sons who were killed in the war. They realise that the young men were actually really just like them (Loc 1275).

Throughout the story the children take risks - not least of all when they escape by canoe along white water (loc 1399) and in Chapter 23 ‘Dangerous Waters’. At this point too, the Americans become the enemy even though the family was originally persecuted by the Germans. Edek’s coughing is also a constant worry.

They arrive in a camp just outside Switzerland. They have been helped by an American of Polish descent. They are so near and yet so far. The Swiss will take no more refugees.

This is a story about displaced persons and it looks just before the end as if it is going to have a happy ending. But Serrailier warns us: “They did not know that what was in some ways their most dangerous ordeal still lay ahead” (loc 1691). He uses here the story-telling skills that produce Hollywood blockbusters; the children are almost completely scuppered by the famous freak storm of 1945 on Lake Constance.

The story ends happily. The whole Balicki family is reunited and they adopt Jan. But Serralier warns his young readers: “The war produced countless tragic stories, few of which ended as happily as that of the Balicki family” (loc 1846). Jan anyway remains damaged.

The story is fictional but based on some real people who did not form part of the same family. The final chapter tells us what happened after the war to the fictional characters.

This edition of the book contains many useful activities for the young reader.               

Schellberg 5 The Round Robin

I’m now writing another book in the Schellberg Cycle. This goes back to the original class letter and I’m expanding on some of the stories behind the letters. So, I’m in 1940s’ Germany again. 

I’m focusing on just a few characters:

• A farmer’s daughter,
• A young woman who becomes an actor
• The class teacher Hanna Braun
• One of identical twins.  They have to take over running their father’s factory.  One twin gets married and has a baby.  The other, featured here, takes on most of the work with the factory. 

To do this I’ve gone back to the letters included in The House on Schellberg Street. There’s an interesting story here, too. My editor suggested shortening some of the letters and leaving some out altogether. I think he was right. However, one reader asked where all the others were; he’d noticed an oddity in the sequencing. That is one of the reasons I’ve included “deleted scenes” on this web site.  Find them here.       

Each letter from these individuals is turning into two or three chapters. 

Again it is proving to be a way of uncovering what actually may have happened. What led to the twins needing new boots and how did they actually cope when there were none available? What was it like for Hanna Braun when her mother died and when she had to give up teaching? What was it like when they knew they were losing the war and how did the young men react? What was it like when the Americans arrived? 

I anticipate the book being about 80,000 words. I’m working on other projects as well but every day I work on this one I’m writing about 1,000 words.    

The Children’s War by Juliet Gardiner

I found this book totally fascinating, though it’s an awkward book to read in bed.  It is a heavy and wide hardback.

It is actually the official companion to the Imperial war Museum Exhibition of the same name.  There is an interesting blog post about the exhibition here. 

I have of course researched this era extensively but I was pleased to be reminded of some things I’d forgotten, be assured about some things that I still know and even to find out a few things I’d not known. 

This isn’t a scholarly work but I did buy the book because another academic mentioned it. It is however extremely well researched and gives a lot of factual information.  There are masses of illustrations and also photographs taken at the time. Many of the illustrations are adverts and posters.  When I used the facsimile War Papers for my research I found the advertisements very informative.  They gave much insight as to what life was like back then. The same was true for the illustrations here. 

The other academic who recommended the book did say that many of the first hand accounts were less reliable as the story-tellers had had too much time to rationalise their experience.   Yes I’ll admit that is normally the case but I actually found it less so here.  The first-hand accounts and the realia gave very similar information. 

Very interesting was a discussion about the General Election just after the war when Churchill was ousted in favour of a Labour government. The Beveridge report in 1942 had promised ‘security to all “from the cradle to the grave” from the ravages of sickness or unemployment’ (200). There was an attack on ‘Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness’ (201).

This is a book I shall dip into time and time again. An absorbing and very easy read.         

Just One More Day by Jessica Blair

This was classed in my local library as a family saga. There is quite a bit of romance and in fact brother, Spitfire pilot, and sister WAAF working in intelligence, end up working on the same air base.

Jessica Blair is actually Bill Spence, born 1923. He worked in the RAF as a bomb aimer doing thirty-six operational flights in Lancasters of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron Bomber Command. After the war he was sent to Rhodesia by the RAF. No wonder, then, that the descriptions of flying Lancasters sound convincing.

Less flattering reviews on Amazon cite a lack of character development and too much technical information. I dispute the former and would say that the latter suits our purposes very well indeed. I gave a four star review on both Amazon and Good Reads.

It lost a star because of unrealistic dialogue and because I spotted a few things the proof-reader didn’t. Neither of these two points detracts from it being a useful resource in the form of an easy read for anyone interested in what the Schellberg Cycle discusses. It gives us considerable insight into what working for the RAF was like, as part of the crew of a Lancaster or Spitfire and as young WAAF officer.     

It makes us think again about these young men - on both sides of the World War II - who were asked to put their lives at risk because of a dispute between nations.  The story however does not give a German point of view thought the British bombers take pride in being very accurate with their targets and thereby presumably do not harm too many civilians.  

Krigeshilfsdienst

 

Some of the jobs that the girls in the Schellberg cycle had:

·         Air traffic control

·         Working at the Post Office

·         Working in the pharmacy

·         Working at a Kindergarten

·         Working on farms

·         Looking after families so that the farmer’s wife could take on the farm work

·         Playing the organ and writing letters for the vicar  

·         Looking after the family business

·         Working as a housekeeper for a man with an important job  (Hani)   

Which of those jobs would you like the most? Write your letter of application. Say why you would be good at the job.

 

Camaraderie and duty

The girls continued to feel a strong sense of duty but also enjoyed being with the other girls.  In some roles they worked with other young women but in other roles, such as Hani’s, they were more on their own.  Pretend to be the person who wrote the letter above. Tell the other members of the group why you have a sense of duty and how much you enjoy or miss mixing with other girls.    

 

After the war is over

The war ends. The men come home. They take back their work. Write a small sketch in which you argue that you should be allowed to keep your job.

Then write a letter to one of your friends about what you think of this.

Hani’s experience

Some points to ponder:  

·         Hani went straight from school to being a house-keeper.

·         She had to learn to cook.  The Gődde’s maid taught her how to cook.

·         She also had to clean and do laundry. Remember they didn’t have dishwashers or washing machines then.  And she was used to having a maid to do all of that work at home.  

·         She would also work in the garden.

Hani keeps a journal. She wants to remember everything so that she can share it with her friends later.  Write an entry for her journal. She probably won’t mention the special class in case someone finds her journal.