Hi all,
I just finished a book called The Girl from the Train, by Irma Joubert. It was originally written in Afrikaans. It tells the story of Gretl and her journey from a train bound for a concentration camp to life in South Africa. Her story has many turns as she moves from a Jewish ghetto, to Poland and a convent school, and finally to Protestant South Africa. As a young girl of 6 she meets Jacob takes responsiblity for her welfare bringing her to live with his family. Eventually his family can no longer keep her and Jacob hears of South Africans looking for pure Aryan orphans to adopt. Jacob tells her to not talk about her Jewish roots, being Polish, or the Catholic religion which had become a major part of her life during her time in Poland so she would be considered for the program. Since Gretl's father was an SS Officer and she was baptized in the Protestant church so she becomes eligible for the program. This secrecy becomes an essential part of her life as she hears about the Catholic threat and the Red threat two things that would be associated with her because she was coming from Poland. All these things affect her life and relationships as her story continues.
I would recommend this book as not only is it a good read but it is very respectful of the Catholic faith. I was saddened to learn about the call for pure Aryan orphans as they were still clinging to the Third Reichs idea of racial purity. I also learned more about communist Poland which was something I did not know much about. I hope you all have a good start to the Advent season.
Have a good read,
Nina
