Last Words

People should read this book because it gives you many life lessons. It shows us that we need to realize our mistakes from the past in order to improve them. If we just shove our problems aside, we will learn nothing from the mistakes and the past could repeat itself.

I think people should read this story because it is extremely interesting because it gives us more information on one of the biggest topics in history: the Holocaust. Most people never knew the French were involved in the massacre of the Jews and others. People just assumed it was all the Germans who did everything. However, the French had just as much involvement in that horrible event as the Germans.

This book would help you try to imagine you were a little child in the Holocaust and what those children had to go through. Luckily for Sarah she escaped most of the danger but she still lost her whole family and everything she had. If you have any interest in what happened in World War II this would be a perfect book to read so that you are able to see what else happened and learn the hidden facts.

Finding Sarah

Now that Julia has found out that the Starzynski family was the family who lived in her future home, Julia sets out to find Sarah. Knowing that Sarah is now 60 years older than she was in 1942, Julia has a hard time tracking her down. Although Julia, with the help of her lawyer sister Charla, manage to track down the name of Sarah's husband and his adress, who now lives in the United States. Julia took a trip to the states to find her.

Julia goes to this adress of where Sarah Starzynski lives only to find out she is not living there. Turns out Sarah had passed away in 1972 from a car accident and the woman she just met was R.J. Rainsferd's second wife. Julia was extremely upset when she learned she would not be able to speak to Sarah after learning all she's been through. However Julia finds out that Sarah had a son: William Rainsferd who she has just set off to Italy to find.

This all shows just how dedicated Julia is to her work and how much she wishes people would be more apologetic towards Jews and what the French have done to them. All Julia wants is to let them know that people care and that they won't be forgotten. Julia wants to find Sarah's son so she can apologize to him for what she hadn't even known.

One ironic thing is about the way Sarah died. Sarah had been struggling for so long to get away from the French police and to get away from being killed. She had hundreds, if not thousands of people (if you include the Germans) who wanted her death, yet she was killed in a car accident. It just seems like a bad way to go especially if you were able to withstand the Holocaust where millions of people were killed.

Families

Biological family   Family by marriage/other

Starzynski family
generation 2: Mom   Dad
generation 3: Sarah   Michel

Rainsferd family
generation 1: Sarah   Richard (R.J.)
generation 2:  William
Dufaure family
generation 2: Jules  Genevieve
generation 3: Gaspard  Nicolas  Sarah

Tézac family
generation 1: André  Mamé
generation 2: Edouard   Collette
generation 3: Laure  Cécile   Bertrand   Julia

Jarmond family
generation 2: Mom   Dad
generation 3: Charla  Julia
generation 4: Zoë

What happened to Sarah?

(pg. 66-67)

Since the beginning of the book every chapter has been alternating between Sarah in 1942 and Julia in 2002. Starting on page 67, Sarah's story is no longer told. At first it leads you to believe that Sarah was taken by the French police and killed. But the more you read Julia's story, the more you start to wonder what really happened to Sarah.

Other than the connection of the old woman with the bread, there is another connection between Sarah and Julia.

Julia was asking Mamé questions about the Vel' d'Hiv when Edouard (Julia's father in law) warned Julia to never ask her again. Julia became suspicious when Eduoard told her not to talk to her about it. Julia then finds out from a conversation with Edouard that the house that Julia is to move into, rue de Saintonge, was Sarah and her family's house before they were taken away. A huge coincidence that Julia and Sarah would have lived in the same house. Julia then learns that Eduoard's father was the little boy who answered the door when Sarah came to find Michel.

The Escape

After the fathers were taken away from their families, it was the mothers turn to be torn from their children. Sarah and her mother were separated at the roundup and Sarah felt all alone. She had lost all who she loved and confided in Rachel another young girl. Rachel and Sarah devised a plan to escape their horror. On their way out of the roundup a French police caught the two of them. (pg 90-92) They were mortified. However, Sarah managed to convince the police to let them go because she explained how her young brother was trapped in the cupboard back home and that he'd die if she didn't get home to him. The reluctant police finally let them go and said "For God's sake, run! Run now, quick, both of you. If they see you... Take off your stars! Try to find help. Be careful! Goodluck!" He gave them a thick wad of money and freedom: Sarah couldn't have been more thankful. Rachel and Sarah had no where to go since they were easily recognizable as Jews. They found a little doghouse on a small farm and hid in it when the dog found them. The owners of the house came out and discovered the two of them in the doghouse. Sarah and Rachel thought this was the end when the two owners of the house told them to hurry inside to get safe. Jules and Genevieve were the two nice couple who took Sarah and Rachel in to try to safe their lives. However Rachel got extremely sick and so the couple had to call a doctor. This meant that the police would come to and when they did they found Rachel (a Jew) and took her away. Jules and Genevieve were horrified because they just wanted Rachel to get better they didn't want her to be killed. With the police in the house Sarah had to hide in the cellar in a sack of potatoes so they did not find her. Sarah was extremely grateful for the kindness of Jules and Genevieve but decided she had to leave to get home to Michel.

Sarah had finally left for her journey to Paris to find her brother. Jules and Genevieve wanted to go with her because she became the daughter they never had. The fate of her brother was discovered when she got home to the cupboard and found out her brother had died. Sarah had been so upset she fainted. 

After all Sarah's been through, she now has to deal with the loss of her little brother who was no older than 4. Most likely Sarah's parents have been killed, but the book does not tell us what has happened to them yet. Sarah has gone through so much in her life at the young age of 11.

This is the end of Sarah's story in the novel.

Small world

In 2002, Julia went to visit an old woman with Bamber (her coworker). They asked this woman if she remembered anything about the Vel' D'Hiv. The interesting part of what she said was: "...I realized that in the véledrome, they hadn't had much to eat or drink. I felt helpless and angry. I tried to throw them bread and fruit, but the police would not let me." (pg 68) I found this interesting because back in 1942 when Sarah had just arrived at the roundup, a woman tried to give her bread because she felt bad for her. (pg. 56) It is weird how all the way in 2002 Julia has crossed paths with the same woman who tried to help Sarah survive in 1942. It just shows how Julia and Sarah's lives cross even if one part of the story was in 1942 and the other was 2002. This also shows that not all French people were approving of what the French police were doing to the Jews. Overall it's strange how 60 years later Julia is sitting talking to the same woman who was back in Sarah's past. It goes to show that some people really are generous and kind even if most people believe everyone has a bad side to them and is self-absorbed.

Where were they?

"Where were they? She hadn't had time to look at the name of the station as they had pulled in. But she noticed the first things a city child pays attention to: the lush countryside, the flat green meadows, the golden fields. The intoxicating smell of fresh air and summer. The hum of a bumble bee. Birds in the sky. Fluffy white clouds. After the stink and heat of the past few days, this was glorious, she felt. Maybe it wasn't going to be that bad, after all." (pg. 64)

I think this was very interesting because all the Jews have been living in such poor living conditions the past few days and now they are in a place that sounds really nice. This was a big change for Sarah and her family who have spent the past few days at the roundup stuck inside the giant garage. The garage was small, smelly, hot and was not a place they wanted to be. The change of revenue made Sarah extremely excited because at this place they moved to was beautiful and didn't look like it would be a bad place at all. Sarah thinks that maybe nothing bad is going to happen to them since the scenery is so nice and looks harmless. Little does Sarah know this is just the beginning of her journey to where all the other Jews will be going: death.

Survey of Authors and Secondary Sources

1) Author: Tatiana De Rosnay   Title: Sarah's Key

2) I was interested in this author because she wrote Sarah's key which is about World War 2 and the events involved. The way she does the point of view in this story is interesting how it goes between 1942 and 2002. I was interested in reading Tatiana De Rosnay's book because I think reading a French view on what the French and Germans did in World War 2 would be interesting to hear.

3) Tatiana de Rosnay was born on September 28^th, 1961 in Paris, France.
She is of English, French and Russian descent.  Her father is French scientist Joël de Rosnay, her grandfather was painter Gaëtan de Rosnay and her great-grandmother was Russian actress Natalia Rachewskïa. She was raised in Paris and then moved to Boston. She moved to England in the early 80’s and got a Bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. She has published eight novels in France in which Sarah's Key is the first novel she wrote in English. Tatiana is married and has two children, Louis and Charlotte and she lives with her family in Paris. She writes for French Elle and is a literary critic for Psychologies magazine. 

4) Some other works by Tatiana de Rosnay are A Secret Kept, Moka, La Mémoire des Murs, Spirales, Le Voisin, Boomerang, La coeur d'une autre, Elle s'appelait Sarah, etc.
Some genres that she used are historical fiction/non-fiction, mystery, tragedy, and educational.

5) Since Tatiana has lived in England, United States and France she is fluent in English and French. Some of Tatiana's interests are travelling, art, music and movies. Tatiana is French and yet she hadn't heard about the Vel d'Hiv until her thirties. It took Tatiana 2 years to write Sarah's Key. Tatiana's daughter who was 11 years old at the time she wrote the book, was her  inspiration for Sarah's character. She went to Beaune la Rolande and Drancy many times and also met actual Vel d'Hiv survivors.

6) Some themes favored by Tatiana are role of religion, discrimination, desire to escape, survival, family, love, losing hope, power, war and will to survive.

7) Some authors that Tatiana de Rosnay have been compared to are Diane Ackerman, John Boyne, J.L. Miles, Eileen Goudge and Linda Masemore Pirrung. 

8)  Since Sarah's Key is a French book, there was no critical articles about it on any of the databases.


Simon, Alissa. "SARAH'S KEY (ELLE S'APPELAIT SARAH)." Variety. 20 Sep. 2010: 46. eLibrary.     
                      Web. 17 Oct. 2010.

http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/curriculumca/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_canada&resultid=5&edition=&ts=6A87C1E19A98CAD19F1469359DCFF187_1287342304124&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B184887115&pdfflag=y

In the Cupboard

It made her sick to think he probably thought she'd forgotten him. That's what he believed, locked up in the dark cupboard. He thought she had abandoned him, that she didn't care, that she didn't love him. He had no water, no light and he was afraid. She has let him down.  Pg. 64

This situation made me feel so sick and upset when you think about what Sarah is going through. She thinks that her brother is disappointed in her. She believes that he thinks she doesn't love him and that's why she locked him up and left him there to die. I feel bad for Sarah knowing she isn't able to tell her brother that she is doing everything she can to get home and save him and that she does love him. If I locked my brother is a dark cupboard and never came back for days I would feel so terrible that I wouldn't know what to do. Her brother has no idea what is going through Sarah's head which makes the situation worse. He could think that she just doesn't love him and doesn't care that he is trapped in the cupboard.

This is a picture of my brother and I when we were little sitting in a cupboard in my own house. This relates to the story because me and my brother also used to sit in there and hide from people when we wanted to be alone. I can definitely imagine what Sarah is going through since I have been in the same type of environment. The only difference is I obviously never locked him in there and was taken away by the French police.

"You poor little girl. May God have pity."

A middle-aged woman crossed the street and quickly pressed some thing into her hand. It was a small roll of soft bread. The woman was shooed off by a policeman. The girl had just enough time to see her return to the other side of the street. The woman had said, "You poor little girl. May God have pity." What was God doing, thought the girl, dully. Had God given up on them? Was he punishing them for something she did not know about? Her parents were not religious, although she knew they believed in God. they had not brought her up in the traditional religious fashion, like Armelle had been by her parents, respecting all rites. The girl wondered whether this was not their punishment. Their punishment for not practicing their religion well enough.    Pg. 56

I think this paragraph was interesting because while Sarah was waiting for the train, a Parisian woman came over to Sarah and gave her some food. I think this shows that not everyone was agreeing with what the police were doing. That woman could have been killed for trying to help the Jews but she was willing to risk that to help Sarah even in the tiniest bit. I also think this paragraph is important because Sarah thinks she is being punished because they are "not practicing their religion well enough." The real reason they are being punished is because of their type religion not because they don't practice it well enough. Other than the obvious fact of it being totally horrid and unfair, it was really unfair that the French and German didn't even explain to them why they were doing such horrible things. I think it's kind of ironic how the woman is saying "May God have pity" to Sarah, when Sarah thinks she's being punished for not practicing well enough but then God is going to have pity on her anyways even if she doesn't really believe.

Important Information

This is some important information that helped me to understand the background information about what is really going on in my book.

•  The Holocaust began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany and ended in 1945 when the Nazis were defeated by the Allied powers.
• It is estimated that 11 million people were killed during the Holocaust. Six million of these were Jews.
• The Nazis killed approximately two-thirds of all Jews living in Europe.
• An estimated 1.1 million children were murdered
• After World War II started in 1939, the Nazis began ordering Jews to wear a yellow star of David on their clothing so that Jews could be easily recognized and targeted.
• After the beginning of World War II, Nazis began ordering all Jews to live within certain, very specific, areas of big cities, called ghettos.
• To get them to cooperate, the Nazis told the Jews they were being transported to another place for labor
• The term "Holocaust," originally from the Greek word "holokauston" which means "sacrifice by fire," refers to the Nazi's persecution and planned slaughter of the Jewish people. The Hebrew word "Shoah," which means "devastation, ruin, or waste," is also used for this genocide.
•  There were only about 200,000 Jewish survivors by the end of the liberation and the death counts from the holocaust were estimated to be around 6 million Jews and millions of other people who did not fit the Aryan mold. [Blonde hair, Blue Eyes (Germans- Racially Superior)]
• The greatest mass-arrest of Jews ever carried out on French soil is known as the Vél’ d’hiv’ Round-up. It involved 13 000 victims from Paris and its suburbs. 
• Over slightly more than two days, the Round-up involved nearly a third of the 42,000 Jews deported to Polish death camps in 1942. The statistics for this terrible year account for over half of the total 76,000 Jewish deportations from France
• The initial establishment of concentration camps in France was a result of the French government, not because of pressure of the Germans
  Concentration and Extermination CampsConcentration camps- work and starve to death
  Extermination camps- the actual execution of the prisoners
  
  Places in Europe where Concentration and Extermination camps were:

Rosenberg, By Jennifer. "Holocaust Facts - 33 Facts You Should Know About the Holocaust." 20th Century History. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/holocaustfacts.htm

Fact vs. Fiction

"My grandmother was fifteen the day of the roundup. She was told she was free because they were only taking small children between two and twelve with their parents. She was left behind. And they took all the others. Her little brothers, her little sister, her mother, her father, her aunt, her uncle. Her grandparents. It was the last time she ever saw them. No one came back. No one at all." Pg. 44

This quote is said by Guillaume at the dinner table when Julia was visiting with Hervé and Christophe. Julia, Hervé, and Christophe were talking about the Veldrome D'Hiver when Guillaume told them that his grandmother was part of it and you could tell it made him very emotional. If you were only 15 years old and everyone in your family left and never came home to you that would leave you such a mess. Before reading this book I thought that Jewish people of all ages were taken to the camps but were killed in orders based on how helpful they were. After reading this it seems they only took the old, young and weak and killed them. I once saw a movie called The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski. In that movie it shows they take all the Jewish people but once they get there they kill all the really old men quickly. It never shows what this book tells you, which is only taking the ages 2-12 and their parents. I'm not sure what one is really the truth because Sarah's Key is written by a French Woman while The Pianist was made by a Polish-French man who's parents as well as himself were actually involved in the Holocaust. This book implys that they only took the young and their parents however I think I would believe what Roman Polanski says about the Holocaust over Tatiana de Rosnays only because he was actually a surviver and lived through the real thing.

Taken

Sarah and her family have been taken away from their home and taken to a giant arena with tons of other Jewish people by the French police. Beforehand Sarah had locked her younger brother in a cupboard thinking it will save him and she'll just come back for him later that night. Sarah then found out she was not going to be going home. This situation made me feel so bad for Sarah. She thought she was doing something good for her brother by trying to protect him from the police. However locking him in the cupboard may have been just as bad. If Sarah doesn't get back to her brother in time he may die anyways. If I were in Sarah's position I would feel so guilty and angry with myself knowing I may have been the reason my brother died. I can't imagine how I would if I were Sarah in the moment she found out she wasn't going to be going home to get her brother. Sarah realized she may never see her brother again and that thought just makes me sick knowing you'd never be able to see someone you love ever again.

The Jewish Roundup

These are real pictures that show the kinds of things the Jewish people had to endure. I put these pictures up because I think by seeing what the actual setting of the event looks like it helps me understand the setting of the novel and what it would look like to be a Jew in that time of the world. The first picture is showing that all the Jewish men were taken away from their families and guarded by the police. The second picture is when all the Jewish people were first taken from their homes and are all waiting around to be taken to their next location. The third picture isn't a real picture from the Holocaust but it shows 3 young Jewish boys who are trapped in their prison and are praying to get out (alive).  The third shows the women and children of the Holocaust and how they were absolutely terrified and confused. All of these pictures resemble the part of the novel I'm at so far because they are still being taken from their homes and sitting around waiting to hear what exactly is going to be happening to them.

Book Covers

#1
#1 This version of the novel cover is the French version so it shows the Nazi symbol on the key. I think it's trying to show that the Holocaust was the fault of the Germans and not the French who actually did alot of the killing. I think it's trying to say that the reason Sarah can't get back to save her brother is because the Nazis won't let her, but really the French are not allowing her to go home.

#2
#2 This version of the novel cover I think shows freedom. I think it shows how Sarah was free to be a little girl and live her life until the Jewish roundup occured. I think it is supposed to show how Sarah's life was free of stress and worry of survival and that is how she wants her life to get back to.

#3
#3 This version of the novel I think tries to show you the kind of person Sarah is. It shows her jumping a ditch or something, showing she has no fear. Also the text underneath her feet speaks really strongly. It's saying that Sarah has so much love for her brother that she is willing to do pretty much anything to save him even if it means risking her own life.

#4
#4 This version of the novel shows probably Sarah and her brother running down a path. I think this is supposed to show Sarah and her brother running to freedom away from the Nazis and the French Police. In the  novel Sarah and her family live in a nice French apartment and maybe that is what they are running to in this picture.

Tatiana de Rosnay: Author

Tatiana de Rosnay was born on September 28^th, 1961 in Paris, France.
She is of English, French and Russian descent.  Her father is French scientist Joël de Rosnay, her grandfather was painter Gaëtan de Rosnay and her great-grandmother was Russian actress Natalia Rachewskïa. She was raised in Paris and then moved to Boston. She moved to England in the early 80’s and got a Bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. She has published eight novels in France in which Sarah's Key is the first novel she wrote in English. Tatiana is married and has two children, Louis and Charlotte and she lives with her family in Paris. She writes for French Elle and is a literary critic for Psychologies magazine.  

Book Choice Submisson

1) Book Title: Sarah's Key
Author: Tatiana De Rosnay
Date of Publication: 2007
# of Pages: 293

2) I chose this book because it was set around World War 2 when the Jews were being prosecuted. The events of World War 2 are extremely interesting to hear about and it would be cool to hear them from the perspective of a little girl's life and an woman who researches what happens many years later. Also I think it would be interesting to hear the things people went through during that time in order to survive. The author of this book was born in France so her perspective of World War 2 may be different than what we have heard in North America. Another reason I chose this book is because it is based on a real even which makes it more interesting to read what people actually thought happened back then.

3) I really enjoy this book so far.It's very interesting and I never want to put the book down. It's a good idea that the author switches from past to present telling the story of Sarah and Julia.The story of the Holocaust always interested me. Reading it in the form of a novel showing the lives of a certain Jewish family is more fascinating than reading about a random person that I know nothing about. So far, Sarah has locked her brother in the cupboard to hide him from the French police and that really molds the beginning of the novel because you wonder if she'll get back in time to save him.

4) So far I have read 40 pages of the book. I've read 6 chapters about Sarah and her family and 6 chapters about Julia and her family. I've read far enough to get the basic information on Sarah's life and Julia's to understand the plot of the book.

5) Sarah's Story(May 1942) :
Plot- So far Sarah and her family (except brother) have been taken to an arena by the French police with all the other Jews. Sarah locked her little brother in a cupboard to hide him from the police keeping the key to give to her hidden father who would later save him. Thinking his whole family was taken, her father gives himself into the police so he can be with his family not knowing the brother was locked in the cupboard. Sarah and her family are kepy with the other Jews and Sarah realizes that her yellow armband is the reason they got taken from their homes. While in captivity one of Sarah's classmates, Léon, tries to escape the French police so he doesn't get taken away and offers Sarah to come along. Which she refuses.
Setting- Paris, France, Sarah's House, a large garage(Arena)
Characters- Sarah, Sarah's brother, Sarah's mother, Sarah's father, Léon (Sarah's classmate), concierge girl at Sarah's apartment
Mood- gloomy, mysterious, suspenseful, lonely, hopeful, sad, tense, confused
Julia's Story(May 2002) :
Plot- So far Julia and her family Bertrand and Zoë are moving into Bertrand's grandmother's old house. They were visiting the house trying to decide what needs to be renovated. It tells you how Bertrand always makes fun of Julia about how she's American and how she's fed up with him. Julia's boss Josh asked her to do a commemoration for Vélodrome d'Hiver which was the event that involed Sarah and her family back in the 40's.(This is how Julia's story connects with Sarah's story)
Setting- Mamé's house, Julia's work, Hervé and Christophe's house(Julia's old roomates/house)
Characters- Julia, Bertrand(Julia's Husband), Zoë(Julia's Daughter), Joshua (Julia's Boss), Mamé(Bertrand's grandmother), Antoine (Bertrands business assistant), Bamber and Alessandra (Julia's coworkers), Sean and Heather Jarmond (Julia's parents), Charla (Julia's sister), Hervé and Christophe (Julia's friends)
Mood- exciting, lonely, confused, annoyed

Things I've noticed:
Julia gets asked to make a commemoration on the events of Vélodrome d'Hiver, 1942, at work, which is how Julia and Sarah's stories connect to each other.

6) Some themes that I see forming are:
Loyalty: Sarah promises her brother she will come back to save him and all he has is to trust her.
Racism(religion): Sarah's family is going to be put through horrific events just because they are Jewish.
Survival: This is the biggest theme for Sarah because we aren't sure if Sarah and her family will survive the Jewish genocide.
Desire to escape: Sarah really wants to escape this torture and just get back home with her family.
Self (#1): Julia always feels like an outsider because she is an American living in France even though she has lived there for a really long time.
Self (#2): Julia is questioning her marriage because she is not happy with her new husband and the way he treats her and she's getting tired of it.
I think the author is trying to say that these themes are cruicial to the development of the plot. Sarah's main theme is survival and it goes the whole book wondering if she will live. Julia's main theme is Self because she struggles with fitting in with Parisians and figuring out her marriage.

7) Some secondary sources I have found so far in the novel is that Julia is researching the Vélodrome d'Hiver from books and internet which is the event that happened to Sarah. That is a secondary source because it is describing events written back in time. Also these sources that Julia was looking up was saying all about the involvement of the French which I personally did not know about after all these years of studying history. I looked this up on the internet because I never knew the French police were involved. I just thought the Germans were. It's interesting how it wasn't only the Germans to blame about what happened. It's confusing though that we were taught that the French had no involvement with arresting and killing Jews. It's weird that we were never taught that and that we were only taught a certain thing.

8) One line in the novel so far that speaks to me is "I'll come back for you later. I promise." I think this is an interesting line because sometimes you can't keep your promises. Sometimes people make promises that they truly plan to keep but sometimes they get broken because something else happens to screw it up. Most promises are broken because a problem will come up and the promise isn't followed through with. Connecting that to the novel I think that Sarah won't be able to get back to help her brother since there are so many things working against her favour.

Introduction

My name's Emily Eichner and I'm in grade 12 at Governor Simcoe. I chose the book Sarah's Key because it was based on a true event in World War 2. I thought it would be interesting to hear someone else's interpretation of what happened to the Jewish people back in the second world war. We only were really taught the involvement of the Germans in the war however this book shows you the possible French involvement in the Holocaust.