Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Skrypuch (Scholastic Canada) $8.99
Torn Apart: the Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi, by Susan Aihoshi (Scholastic Canada) $16.99
ON Remembrance Day especially we take time to pay homage to those who went to war so that we might enjoy freedom – a freedom which was bought at a horrific cost for so many.
We can more easily appreciate the sacrifices made on our behalf by learning about them through various resources – family history, television documentaries and books. One very powerful approach to learning is through personal narrative, which broadens and enriches the historical perspective. Kids (and this reviewer) can relate more easily to social history, which allows them to see through the eyes of the protagonist and comprehend how war affects a particular individual.
Two excellent books that provide this perspective are Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Skrypuch and Torn Apart by Susan Aihoshi. Both titles focus on individuals who by strength of character and resourcefulness face and deal with circumstances that drastically change their worlds.
Skrypuch writes about the slave raids conducted by Hitler throughout the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Between three million and 5.5 million Ostarbeiters, as these people were called, were transported to Germany and forced to work under horribly inhumane conditions. Thousands died either from starvation or from overwork.
Many who were rescued and sent back to the Soviet Union were killed by Stalin who considered even Nazi captives to be Nazis. For this reason people kept silent for many years about their experiences as captives and it was not until the Soviet Republic dissolution in 1991 that information began to surface.
The story describes the capture by the Nazis of eight-year-old Lida and her little sister Larissa. They endure appalling conditions on the train to the work camp and are separated as soon as they arrive.
Lida is advised by another prisoner to lie about her age and find a skill or she will likely be killed. She tells the Germans about her ability as a seamstress and is sent to work in the laundry where she proves that she is indeed talented. Unfortunately, she is soon transferred to a new assignment, assembling bombs. With incredible bravery, Lida and her fellow prisoners risk certain death in carrying out a plan to sabotage the bombs and contribute their bit to defeating the Nazis. Finally, they are rescued and in the gruelling aftermath of war Lida and her friend Luca face more challenges in the refugee camps.
The harsh, brutal and unrelenting pain, fear and misery encountered by the camp labourers is made evident in Skrypuch’s wonderful writing. Lida’s world is documented with clarity and accuracy. The reader is left wondering how anyone can survive such misery and thankful that we live in a different place and time.
Susan Aihoshi’s Torn Apart is subtitled “The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi” and is set in Vancouver in 1941. While in no way as gut-wrenching as the Skrypuch title, it makes it clear that war affects everyone. This is another title in the excellent Dear Canada series which melds fiction with historical information and photographs.
In the acknowledgements we learn that the author has drawn on family experiences to flesh out the book’s main character. The diary format provides a window on the everyday life of a girl whose entries begin on her 12th birthday, Saturday, May 24, 1941. We see her happy family life begin to disintegrate as the government imposes more and more restrictions on Japanese Canadians.
Mary’s entry for Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941 describes the news about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and its effect on the family. Mary ends her entry with the comment, “The war has finally become real in a way it never was before.” Finally, the unthinkable happens and Mary’s grandfather is sent away to a labour camp.
A mere seven months later Mary and her sisters find themselves on a train to New Denver to begin a new life in an internment community. Her family is fractured as her mother is still in Vancouver caring for an ill brother and her father has been detained for questioning. The diary ends with a reunited family still living in New Denver hoping to eventually return home.
Mary’s life as a child in the 1940s in Vancouver in many ways reflects the life of any child of that era. She describes her enjoyment of Guides, her school life and her special interests and activities. Mary’s voice is authentic and charming and because she is so likable the reader is all the more appalled at the unfeeling cruelty of the government. It was not until Sept. 2, 1988 that Brian Mulroney announced a Redress Settlement which acknowledged the offences against Japanese Canadians during and after the Second World War and ensured that in future no Canadian would be subject to this kind of injustice.
Torn Apart is suitable for readers aged eight to 12. Skrypuch’s title is for a slightly older audience that includes adults. Reading either or both will reinforce your gratitude for the heroic efforts made by those who fought for us.
Fran Ashdown worked for many years as the children’s librarian at the Capilano branch of the North Vancouver District Library. She will be thinking of her father, an RAF radio officer, on Remembrance Day. For more information check your North Shore libraries.
Contributing Writer
