By Kelly Bridgewater
In August 1942, French parents were
faced with a horrible choice: watch their children die, or abandon them
forever. Fifty years later, it becomes one woman’s mission to match the
abandoned names with the people they belong to.
Five years after the highly
publicized trial of Klaus Barbie, the “Butcher of Lyon,” law student Valérie
Portheret began her doctoral research into the 108 children who disappeared
from Vénissieux fifty years earlier, children who somehow managed to escape
deportation and certain death in the German concentration camps. She soon
discovers that their rescue was no unexplainable miracle. It was the result of
a coordinated effort by clergy, civilians, the French Resistance, and members
of other humanitarian organizations who risked their lives as part of a
committee dedicated to saving those most vulnerable innocents.
Theirs was a heroic act without
precedent in Nazi-occupied Europe, made possible due to a loophole in the Nazi
agenda to deport all Jewish immigrants from the country: a legally recognized
exemption for unaccompanied minors. Therefore, to save their children, the
Jewish mothers of Vénissieux were asked to make the ultimate sacrifice of
abandoning them forever.
Told in dual timelines, The Forgotten Names is a reimagined
account of the true stories of the French men and women who have since been
named Righteous Among the Nations, the children they rescued, the stifled cries
of shattered mothers, and a law student, whose twenty-five-year journey allowed
those children to reclaim their heritage and remember their forgotten names.
My Thoughts:
The Forgotten Names
by Mario Escobar is an appalling, yet redemptive story about children during
World War II. I have read tons of books on World War II, and every story
appears to be a little different. Showing the good and horrors of humanity. As
the story is written, there are a number of viewpoints from a good chunk of the
rescuers to the children to a priest to a Nazi solder. For a while, it was hard
to follow the story. But then I didn’t worry about whose point of view the
section was in, I just focused on the time period. Made it so much easier to
follow the plot. Again, as someone who reads about these dreadful events, I
would hope that if I was put in the same situation that I would stand up for
the Jewish people no matter the cost. Escobar does a wonderful job at creating
empathy for the characters as he shares their plight with the Nazi’s. Even
though the creation of the characters are not really that three-dimensional by
learning their backgrounds or what makes them tick, readers can still feel
horrified with the terrors that does occur to another human by the hand of
another who believes he is superior. There are a number of cuss words. A couple
of scenes that allude to horrible situations, so be careful when allowing less
mature younger children to read this novel. Overall, The Forgotten Names
by Mario Escobar brings to light the saving grace of 108 children who were
saved from having to go to the concentration camps even though they had to take
on new identities. A wonderful story to read.
I received a complimentary copy of The
Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar from Harper Muse Publishing, but the
opinions stated are all my own.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Purchase The Forgotten Names
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