This powerful novel by Rebecca Connolly is based on the true story of two amazing women who took extraordinary risks to save Jewish children from the Gestapo by hiding them throughout Belgium. Andrée Geulen is a young school teacher who is horrified at the treatment her Jewish students and their families are experiencing as Belgium comes under Nazi control. Ida Sterno is a Jewish woman who hides her Jewish identity and joins a resistance group that works to hide Jewish children. She recruits Andrée to the cause since her classic Aryan looks provides some protection from Gestapo suspicion. The two women work together moving children all over the Belgium countryside. Andrée commits the names and details of each child to memory and hopes for the day when they can be reunited with their families. As the Gestapo tightens the net around the resistance group and the traitor Fat Jacques endangers the life of any Jew he encounters, the women work against the clock to save as many children as possible, even as their own lives become increasingly at risk.
This is a compelling story that illustrates how individuals can make a difference for good even in very difficult circumstances. Andrée and Ida really were heroes as they saved these children from the Nazis. Thank you, Rebecca Connolly for sharing their story with us.
Content Advisory: Holocaust