I am so very thrilled to have this novel finally available for Ukrainian readers. Yulia Lyubka’s translation is brilliant and I LOVE the cover art by Anya Styopina. Making Bombs and Stolen Girl tell the tale of two Ukrainian sisters torn apart by the Nazis in WWII. One is considered racially valuable and is kidnapped, brainwashed into thinking she’s German, and placed in a Nazi home. The other sister is considered not racially valuable, and is starved and worked nearly to death. Although these books are historical, they’re unfortunately also current because Putin channels Hitler and Ukrainians are currently going through this all again. The publisher is Books XI. In Canada they’re available through Koota Ooma.
Halyna Kostiuk, Ukrainian teacher extraordinaire at St. Josephat Catholic School in Etobicoke, arranged for me to visit last Thursday with grade 7 and 8 students. They had been reading as a class my novel, Stolen Girl, the Ukrainian version. Many of the students are recent refugees from Ukraine, fleeing Putin’s brutal war.
It was poignant for me to speak with them about the real history behind Stolen Girl — victims of Hitler’s Lebensborn program — the kids who were kidnapped by the Nazis and brainwashed into thinking they were German and placed into German homes. This novel was written to fulfil a promise I made to my mother-in-law before she died. She had lost half of her classmates to the Lebensborn program in WWII and she felt very guilty the rest of her life for surviving while her friends didn’t.
For these students to be able to read this book in their own language is bittersweet, seeing as Putin is now channeling Hitler, and doing his own Lebensborn program, kidnapping Ukrainian children, brainwashing them, and placing them in Russian homes. So much for “never again.”
I cannot post photos of the students for privacy reasons, but here are pics with teachers. On the table that was prepared for me to display my books, note the beautiful orange roses the students presented me with, and the Roshen chocolates — yum! It was a Ukrainian-themed day because after the visit, I dropped by Pelman Perogies factory outlet for a LOT of mushroom potato perogies, then off to Koota Ooma to buy my sister a Christmas present.
With Halyna Kostiuk and Olga ShklarWith Halyna Kostiuk and Mar’yana Chornij
Books XXI in Chernivtsi, Ukraine is publishing this beautiful edition of Stolen Child (Stolen Girl). Titled The Kidnapped Girl for this edition, the translation was done by the talented Yuliya Lyubka. More information can be found here. In Canada it will be available from Koota Ooma and other Ukrainian bookstores.
Many thanks to the Brant Family Literacy Committee for funding this presentation. Since I did this for a Brantford group, I decided to talk about Stolen Girl, which is set in Brantford just after WWII about a young refugee who has troubling memories of what she may have been doing during the war. As a Brantfordian, it was awesome to include some of my favorite local places, like the original Brantford Public Library, now Laurier Brantford, Central School, the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St John, Yates Castle, and the train station, as well as our old downtown and some of the stores that used to be there. Also the neighborhoods where the refugees of that era lived.
Simplified Chinese editionKorean editionScholastic Canada original edition editionScholastic Canada French editionWook Portuguese edtionAudio edition
Nadia is haunted by World War II. Her memories of the war are messy, coming back to her in pieces and flashes she can’t control. Though her adoptive mother says they are safe now, Nadia’s flashbacks keep coming.
Sometimes she remembers running, hunger, and isolation. But other times she remembers living with a German family, and attending big rallies where she was praised for her light hair and blue eyes. The puzzle pieces don’t quite fit together, and Nadia is scared by what might be true. Could she have been raised by Nazis? Were they her real family? What part did she play in the war?
What Nadia finally discovers about her own history will shock her. But only when she understands the past can she truly face her future.
Inspired by startling true events, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch delivers a gripping and poignant story of one girl’s determination to uncover her truth.
Reviews
Kirkus: “The author once again deftly sheds light on lesser-known aspects of the Ukrainian experience during WWII. . . A gripping exploration of war-induced trauma, identity, and transformation.”
In this companion book to the award-winning Stolen Child, a young girl is forced into slave labour in a munitions factory in Nazi Germany. In Stolen Child, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch introduced readers to Larissa, a victim of Hitler’s largely unknown Lebensborn program. In this companion novel, readers will learn the fate of Lida, her sister, who was also kidnapped by the Germans and forced into slave labour — an Ostarbeiter.
In addition to her other tasks, Lida’s small hands make her the perfect candidate to handle delicate munitions work, so she is sent to a factory that makes bombs. The gruelling work and conditions leave her severely malnourished and emotionally traumatized, but overriding all of this is her concern and determination to find out what happened to her vulnerable younger sister.
With rumours of the Allies turning the tide in the war, Lida and her friends conspire to sabotage the bombs to help block the Nazis’ war effort. When her work camp is finally liberated, she is able to begin her search to learn the fate of her sister. In this exceptional novel Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch delivers a powerful story of hope and courage in the face of incredible odds. Continue reading “Making Bombs for Hitler”
