Location: Berlin, London

The Child at the Window

Author/Guide: Gill Thompson

Why a Booktrail?

1937, 1939: Inspired by a true story, inspired by kind humans

ISBN: 978-1035431991
Genre: Historical, Inspired by true events

What you need to know before your trail

1937. As fascism rises across Europe and the threat turns to very real danger for their Jewish friends in Berlin, sisters Josephine and Constance smuggle out possessions to help to finance their friends’ new lives as refugees in London – if they make it out. Then, one day, they’re asked to rescue something much more precious: a little girl. Her mother, Ilse, has been imprisoned for her journalism and her father, Daniel, knows he must do all he can to protect their child – even if that means letting her go…

1939. When war breaks out, the sisters are tortured by thoughts of those they couldn’t save and commit to doing all they can on the Home Front – Jo, at the Ministry of Information, where she becomes part of a network of intelligence workers, and Constance as an air raid warden during the Blitz. Meanwhile in Germany, Ilse is moved to Ravensbrück, where she bands together with other women in the camp to expose the atrocities they face every day. But can Ilse find a way to connect with her daughter?

Locations

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Poland - Auschwitz
E: Auschwitz

Travel Guide

Berlin and London

Inspired by the true story of Ida and Louise Cook, the book portrays the sisters’ efforts to help Jewish refugees escape to London before and during the war.

From the BBC website:

“Between 1934 and 1939, two “nervous British spinsters” were regular visitors to the opera houses of Germany and Austria. But the trips also served a greater and more dangerous purpose – saving Jewish lives.

Ida and Louise Cook risked their own lives dozens of times by smuggling out valuable goods for those attempting to flee the Nazi regime, as well as passing on messages and meeting contacts, some of whom were active in the underground movement.”