Sunday, September 29, 2013

MY MOTHER'S SECRET by J.L. Witterick


Author J.L. Witterick captures the incredible fear and sacrifice during WWII for those who hid to avoid death and those who risk it all to provide the hiding places.

Helena begins the story with memories of her mother's bravery.  When Poland is brought into the war and the Nazis invade, Helena watches as her mother bravely opens her home to German officers and soldiers at the same time she offers hiding places for two Jewish families and a frightened young German soldier.

As the pages are turned, Witterick reveals the stories of those hidden by Helena's mother.  One family is squeezed into a tiny cellar while the other is crowded above the pigsty in the barn.  Neither knows of the others' existence.  The German soldier, afraid for his life, welcomes the cramped attic as his hiding place.  Amazingly, all survive and all are forever grateful for the sacrifice of a brave Polish woman.

MY MOTHER'S SECRET is an excellent complement to other Holocaust stories like ANNE FRANK: DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL and NIGHT.  Based on a true story, it gives readers a real look at one of the most horrific times in modern history.

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