Review: Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight
Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight: A Graphic Novel Biography of Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya
by Lydia Lukidis, illustrated by Aleksandar Sotirovski
Capstone Press, 2024
Category: Middle Grade
Reviewer: Jeanette Brod
Buy at Bookshop.org
There are as many Holocaust stories of survival as there are survivors. We tell stories of the camps, the Holocaust, by bullets, hidden children, and now Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight. This true story is told in a very concise graphic novel.
There are two sisters who are musical prodigies and somehow escape the 1941 roundup of Jews in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Taken in by the families of schoolmates, the sisters assume false identities as orphans. In the orphanage, they find refuge in their music. Their piano playing wafts through open windows and despite their efforts to keep a low profile, their artistry propels them into the spotlight. They are offered musical scholarships and invited to perform for the occupying German soldiers. In 1945, when the German Army retreats to Berlin, the sisters, now part of the performing troop, accompany them. Then comes Liberation and a chance to reveal their true identities and play for their people in a refugee camp. There is further recognition of their talents, more offers of scholarships and immigration to the United States.
The graphic novel ends shortly after immigration but the narrative does not end there. In an afterword, the reader learns that both women marry and continue a life of professional musicianship. As a young reporter, the older sister’s son inadvertently discovers the truth about his mother’s Jewish identity. She had withheld the truth because she “didn’t want [her sons] reliving her pain.” That single statement says a lot about the scars and intergenerational trauma left by those terrible years.
The final sentence in the graphic novel says that “the girls survived because of their sheer talent and the power of music.” But any reader of Holocaust stores will tell you there is more to survival than talent. No one survived alone. Many Jewish and non-Jewish adults were a part of the sisters’ story. And as much as one shaped one's future with the decisions made at pivotal moments, any survivor will tell you there was always an element of luck in the way things turned out.
The experiences of Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya in Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight unfold in five short chapters that span life in prewar Kharkiv to new beginnings in the United States. Minimal text provides historical context and speech bubbles carry the narrative forward. The subdued palette of the illustrations captures the moment. A glossary and bibliography of selected titles and internet sites help make the book a useful tool from which to extrapolate lessons about the Holocaust. All Holocaust stories ask us to bear witness and Never Forget. Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight is no exception.
Reviewer Jeanette Brod is the Children’s and Teen Services Associate at the New Milford, Connecticut, Public Library. She also serves as Educational Consultant for Connecticut’s Voices of Hope HERO Center and speaks locally about her family’s Holocaust experiences. Jeanette is the former Director of Lifelong Learning at Temple Sholom in New Milford and a past Vice-President of the Children’s Book Council in New York City. She holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from Indiana University, Bloomington. Jeanette and her husband, Sasha, are the proud parents of two grown children.
There are as many Holocaust stories of survival as there are survivors. We tell stories of the camps, the Holocaust, by bullets, hidden children, and now Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight. This true story is told in a very concise graphic novel.
There are two sisters who are musical prodigies and somehow escape the 1941 roundup of Jews in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Taken in by the families of schoolmates, the sisters assume false identities as orphans. In the orphanage, they find refuge in their music. Their piano playing wafts through open windows and despite their efforts to keep a low profile, their artistry propels them into the spotlight. They are offered musical scholarships and invited to perform for the occupying German soldiers. In 1945, when the German Army retreats to Berlin, the sisters, now part of the performing troop, accompany them. Then comes Liberation and a chance to reveal their true identities and play for their people in a refugee camp. There is further recognition of their talents, more offers of scholarships and immigration to the United States.
The graphic novel ends shortly after immigration but the narrative does not end there. In an afterword, the reader learns that both women marry and continue a life of professional musicianship. As a young reporter, the older sister’s son inadvertently discovers the truth about his mother’s Jewish identity. She had withheld the truth because she “didn’t want [her sons] reliving her pain.” That single statement says a lot about the scars and intergenerational trauma left by those terrible years.
The final sentence in the graphic novel says that “the girls survived because of their sheer talent and the power of music.” But any reader of Holocaust stores will tell you there is more to survival than talent. No one survived alone. Many Jewish and non-Jewish adults were a part of the sisters’ story. And as much as one shaped one's future with the decisions made at pivotal moments, any survivor will tell you there was always an element of luck in the way things turned out.
The experiences of Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya in Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight unfold in five short chapters that span life in prewar Kharkiv to new beginnings in the United States. Minimal text provides historical context and speech bubbles carry the narrative forward. The subdued palette of the illustrations captures the moment. A glossary and bibliography of selected titles and internet sites help make the book a useful tool from which to extrapolate lessons about the Holocaust. All Holocaust stories ask us to bear witness and Never Forget. Hiding from the Nazis in Plain Sight is no exception.
Are you interested in reviewing books for The Sydney Taylor Shmooze? Click here
Comments
Post a Comment