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These three radio plays are the very first dramatisations of Kerr's trilogy, and feature a stunning cast including Anna Madeley, Paul Moriarty and Adjoa Andoh. Also featured is a bonus edition of World Book Club, in which Harriett Gilbert talks to Judith Kerr about her life and work. Published in 1971, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is the first in a trilogy of autobiographical novels that the bestselling author and illustrator wrote to explain her early life to her own children. We first meet her alter ego, Anna, as a precocious nine-year-old whose only problem appears to be negotiating the consequences of having a famous writer for a father. (“You hardly ever hear of two famous people in the same family. It makes me rather sad.”) But soon that life is gone, as first her father and then Anna, her mother and brother flee to Switzerland, then on to France and finally to England. Judith Kerr wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit fifty years ago, based on her own journey, so that her own children would know where she came from and the lengths to which her parents went to keep her and her brother safe. It has gone on to become a beloved classic that is required reading for many children all over the world and is an unforgettable introduction to the real-life impact of the Second World War.
Una historia que tras su aparente inocencia es durísima cuando sabemos lo acaecido. Pero a la vez es una lectura bonita, y con un toque de esperanza. Though on the surface this is a simple refugee story, seen through the eyes of a small girl, there are really three journeys in Pink Rabbit. The first is a literal one, in which the problems of temporary lodgings, making new friends and adapting to strange languages and cultures are described with a stoical humour. It is during their time in Switzerland that Anna becomes aware of the dangers she has left. She has to learn a new language and learn to fit into a new society and community without making it known she is Jewish. As seen in the above quote there is the stereotypical view of Jewish people and the view which has been influenced through propaganda and the media. Anna's friend Elsbeth does not believe she is Jewish because "she doesn't have a bent nose". It is this that I struggle to comprehend when it comes to this part of history. I can understand how people who are young and impressionable and those who were scared could share the opinion that Jewish people were evil but that leaves a large proportion of the country who were convinced that Jewish people were to play for the demise of Germany. Anna's life in Berlin is relatively comfortable and uncomplicated. She is an eager student and has several friends. Her family is rich and she is generally happy. Anna begins to register the concerns of Mama and Papa just prior to the election of 1933, when the Nazis come to power. She and Max see kids whose parents are Nazis and Sozis (the opponents of the Nazis) fighting at school and she sees that her father is quite upset at the possibility that the Nazis will come to power. When they are elected, Papa has already left the country for Switzerland and sends for them weeks later. There were some people who were bigots, and there were also a few heavy things for a middle grade book, including two things toward the end. One was unexpected for me and left me feeling very sad. I was expecting a bad outcome in this case but didn’t think it would come in this book (maybe in book two, if ever?) or happen in this exact way.
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This semi-autobiographic classic records author's experiences as a young girl of 9, who had to leave Germany with her family when the Nazis put her father, Alfred Kerr, an influential German critic of Jewish descent, in their top list of opponents. Their first home, as refugees, was Switzerland, then they settle in France, and finally in England, like that of Anna in the story. Teenage Anna is enjoying her new life in London, and looking forward to embarking on a secretarial course. But then her brother Max is interned as an enemy alien - and as the Blitz begins in earnest, she fears for the future of her family. I read this as a buddy read with Goodreads friend Hilary, for the first time; it wasn’t her first time. I’m so grateful she told me how much she loved the book when she was a child and finally inspired me to get it off my to read shelf. It was a great book to buddy read. There was so much to discuss and it was so much fun. We were flexible each day with how many chapters we read and at some point we started reading our chapters at the exact same time, 8 time zones apart. That made the reading experience particularly enjoyable for me. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a story that gives hope and perfectly explains the most important bits of history of the Nazi time. The book can be read by young and old equally. In the end, I felt as if I was part of this little family who just wanted to live a normal life together somewhere without having to fear for their lives. The family does not even feel at home anywhere because their home was taken away from them and at the end they are still on the run but I like how even this horrible situation is turned into something positive by the father in the end: “We‘ll belong a little in lots of places, and I think that may be just as good.“ They always kept their chins up and eventually they got out of their situation even stronger than before and that is something I consider as the most important message of this novel.
This was the first time I was reading a story about a family on the other side... the refugees … and from a child’s perspective no less! While the difficulties they face are probably nothing in comparison to those that families who stayed behind faced, the author beautifully brings to light how unsettling it is for Anna and her brother when they have to suddenly leave their home, school, friends, family members and toys behind. The innocence of children is very beautifully depicted by a simple statement like “Now Hitler will play with the Pink Rabbit” as they fail to grasp the need of the Nazi regime confiscating their belongings. Why else would Hitler go through the unnecessary task of taking their toys except to play with them. I've always been quite keen on childrens books about the second world war. There's a kind of simplicity in the way they cover it, that always makes it feel more real to me.When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was adapted by the German TV channel WDR as the television film Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl, directed by Ilse Hofmann [ de], starring Martin Benrath and Elisabeth Trissenaar. [8] I found the book easy to read and that with Judith not referring to herself it was easier to read as it distanced my feelings from Judith. For her to write a book depicting the persecution her family were subjected to and for her to be able to write it with such grace and conviction when the story is about herself this is something she should be very proud of that. Anna suddenly finds things moving too fast for her to understand. One day, her father goes unaccountably missing. Then she herself and her brother Max are being rushed by their mother, in alarming secrecy, away from everything they know - home and schoolmates and well-loved toys - right out of Germany! a b c Richard Moss (7 September 2009). "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit: how Seven Stories is using the Judith Kerr archive". Culture 24. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. The cherry on the cake are the beautiful drawings at the start of each chapter - Kerr illustrated her own books, and they are delightful illustrations, clear, charming, with a directness.
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