The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier is a compelling historical fiction novel written in 1959 about a Polish family torn apart by the Second World War and, happily, reunited afterwards.
“Their home was in a suburb of Warsaw, where the father, Joseph Balicki, was headmaster of a primary school. He and his Swiss wife Margrit had three children. In early 1940, the year when the Nazis took Joseph away to prison, Ruth the eldest was nearly thirteen, Edek was eleven, and the fair-haired Bronia three.”
When the Nazis came to Poland, they did not close Joseph’s school. Instead, they removed the Polish textbooks and banished the Polish language from the school. They also hung portraits of Hitler in all of the classrooms. When, during a Scripture lesson, Joseph turned Hitler’s picture to the wall, someone reported him. A few nights later, the Nazi stormtroopers came for Joseph and took him to Zakyna. Margrit and the children were left to fend for themselves. After many trials and failed escape attempts, Joseph finally escaped out of the prison camp. It was then that the Nazis came for Margrit.
When the stormtroopers burst into the Balicki home in the middle of the night, the children escaped to the attic and hid. Margrit was hauled out of the home and stuffed into a van. From his high attic vantage point, Edek fired a rifle shot that grazed a solider. The Nazis left in a hurry, but not long after, they returned and burned the house to the ground as punishment. They assumed that the children were still hiding inside. Having a little of their father in them, they had already disappeared into the night.
The rest of the story is just as exciting. Sometimes sad. Often times hopeful. And, ultimately, resolves very well. Beautifully written, this story is lively and engaging and would be excellent for middle-grade readers and beyond. There is nothing too hard or too intense in it which would prevent it from being a lovely family read aloud.
This story was recommended to me by my dear friend, Sherry Early of Meriadoc Homeschool Library. When discussing favorite WWII historical fiction, she mentioned that this is one of her favorites. I can see why! I am really glad she mentioned it, as I had never heard of it and might have missed out on it.
You can learn more at Biblioguides.com.
The Silver Sword is in print and has a lovely audio.