the ghosts of Izieu

December 7, 2010

12^th Journal

- The Ghosts of Izieu -

By: James Watson

This book tells about a girl named Elise who followed her Dad and her stepmother to a small French village to spend their two-week holiday. Elise’s father always visited many small villages that had historical story of war because he liked history and terrible things happened to the war victims. He said that, “... those people gave their lives for us ... We musn’t forget that.”

Elise entered the church to see its beautiful window glasses but she found something else. She found herself in the year of 1944, the year of the Second World War! And she met around forty-four children hiding from Gestapo (the German police of Nazi regime). Elise was extremely frightened because she had read the history of Jews arrestment and concentration camps.

Now she knows about her father’s feeling for many forgotten war victims.

I feel sad when I read the story, especially for those innocent children who became the victims of Nazi’s cruelty. It reminds me of a movie titled “Life Is Beautiful” and a book titled “A Boy in the Striped Pajamas” which have same topic about the Jews’s suffering, concentration camps, and the tragic things occurred to children due to the Nazi’s cruelty.

I found an unforgettable sentence or quote when Elise and her father visited the war memorial, “... Dad, can we put some flowers .... Flowers will never be enough.”

It seems sad and tragic, particularly for people who experienced themselves the war, the fears, and the tears, more especially for those who innocent ones.