Escaping Into the Night
by D. Dina Friedman
Summary
Halina Rudowski is on the run. When the Polish ghetto where she lives is liquidated, she narrowly escapes, but her mother is not as lucky. Along with her friend, Batya, Halina makes her way to a secret encampment in the woods where Jews are living underground. As the group struggles for food, handles infighting, and attempts to protect themselves from the advancing Nazi army, Halina must learn to survive without her mother.
Based on historical events, this gripping tale sheds light on a little-known aspect of the holocaust, the forest encampments that saved over 1200 Jews from the Nazis.
Excerpt
I drained the water and covered the pot to keep the potatoes hot, then looked out the window again. A lone man, tall and gangly like a spider, hurried along the street. He sneaked into an alley as a guard passed, then inched out again, propelling from alleyway to alleyway in short bursts. I heard noise on the stairs. Mama at last! But the footsteps weren’t Mama’s. There was a knock on the door.
I froze.
We all knew that a knock on a door after dark could mean only one thing. The Nazis!
Could I pretend no one was here? They could probably smell the potatoes.
There was another knock, louder and more urgent.
“Halina!” The whisper was hoarse and raspy. “It’s Georg. You must let me in!”
Mama’s boyfriend pushed his way inside as soon as I undid the latch, then leaned against the wall, panting to catch his breath. His graying, curly hair drooped into his bloodshot eyes.
“Mama’s not here.”
“I know. She was taken. Everyone at the munitions factory is gone.”
“Gone?”
The word hung in the air like a bad smell. I looked at the bare walls and down at my hands, which were rough and red from bleach. What was he saying? How could Mama be gone?
“What happened?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Is she...”
I felt a stillness inside, an emptiness, then a moment where it felt as if I couldn’t breathe. And then a big breath, a big, sad wave with a sound louder than any sound I thought I could make forced its way out of me before I could stop it.
“Shh!” Georg clasped his hand over my mouth and drew me close to him. He smelled of sweat, mold, and garlic. “They’re planning to empty the entire ghetto within the next three weeks,” he whispered in my ear. “We must act quickly. Plans are in place. The escape route is almost complete. But we must bribe the right people. Your mother said she had money hidden in the cupboard.”
“How can you think about money now?”
Had Georg ever really cared for Mama at all? It was his fault, all of it. The Nazis had found out what he was doing and were taking people away before they could escape. I clenched my fists and pounded at him, trying to wrench myself away. I wanted to hit him over and over until he brought Mama back.
“I came to help you, to help all of us.” Georg’s words were sharp as he grabbed my wrists. “Before it’s too late.”
It was already too late.
Reviews
"Combines adventure, mystery, and the resilience of human nature..."--School Library Journal
"Srong characters and riveting story line"--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Mines a little known aspect of the WWII resistance movement"--Publishers Weekly
Author's Biography
D. Dina Friedman lives in Hadley, MA, and teaches at the University of Massachusetts. She is also the author of Playing Dad’s Song, about a boy who loses his father on September 11, 2001 and finds healing from his grief through music.