Book Description:
Based on the true story of two World War II heroines who risked everything to save Jewish children from the Gestapo by hiding them throughout Belgium.
Belgium, 1942
Young schoolteacher Andrée Geulen secretly defies the Nazis in Belgium, who are forcing Jews to wear a yellow Star of David. Andrée is not Jewish, but she feels a maternal connection to her students, who are living in constant fear, and decides to take action. No child should have to suffer under such persecution. But what can one woman do against an entire army?
Ida Sterno is a Jewish woman who works with the Committee for the Defense of Jews in Belgium, a clandestine resistance group tasked with hiding children from the Gestapo. She wants to recruit Andrée because her Aryan appearance can provide crucial security measures for their efforts. Andrée agrees to join and begins work immediately by adopting a code name: Claude Fournier.
Together, Andrée and Ida, and their undercover operatives, work around the clock to move Jewish children from their families and smuggle them to safety through the secret channels established by the resistance. As each child is hidden, Andrée commits to memory their true name and history. Someday, she vows, she will help reunite as many of these families as she can.
But with the Gestapo closing in and the traitorous Fat Jacques who has turned from ally to enemy and is threatening to identify and expose any Jew he meets, Andrée and Ida must work even harder against increasingly impossible odds to save as many children as possible and keep them safely hidden--even if it might cost them their own lives.
Rorie's Review:
I really enjoyed reading "Under the Cover of Mercy" by this author, so I was excited to get a chance to read this book. I was not disappointed. It does move a little slowly in parts, but that's because it's real life, and real life isn't 24/7 action. I love reading about people like Andree (sorry, I don't know how to do the accents on my desktop keyboard. Pretend one is where it should be.) and Ida who risk everything to help innocent people. I hope that I would be as brave and determined as they were. As always, I appreciate the afterword that lets the reader know what happened to several of the main characters after the story ended.
Andrea's Review:
I enjoy historical fiction and was so interested to learn about this story of the brave souls who put their lives on the line to help hide Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Belgium. Growing up I learned about people like Anne Frank, but there are so many stories that are much less known. Andrée Geulen and Ida Sterno should be household names. It's amazing that their organization was able to hide so many children. There were many sad instances in the book, but I really appreciated the moments of hope and the goodness of those who either worked for the cause or who hosted the children. All took on a huge risk to their own safety, but pressed forward to try to do what was right. They looked at everyone as equals. This was a slow read for me, and at times I found myself skimming a bit, but on the whole it was an amazing story that is worth reading and sharing.
Title: Hidden Yellow Stars
Author: Rebecca Connolly
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Published: March 2024
ISBN: 1639932348
Source: We received review copies from the publisher. All opinions expressed are our own.
Purchase: Amazon Deseret Book
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