Out of the Hitler Time facts for kids
Cover of the E-book trilogy set incorporating the adult covers of the separate books
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| Author | Judith Kerr |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novels |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Published | 1971–1978 |
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| No. of books | 3 |
| OCLC | 51082577 |
Out of the Hitler Time is a series of three exciting novels by Judith Kerr. These books are based on her own childhood experiences. They tell the story of a young girl named Anna and her family as they escape from Nazi Germany.
Contents
Anna's Journey: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is the first book in this famous trilogy. It is a well-loved story for children and young adults. The book shares the early life of author Judith Kerr. Her father, Alfred Kerr, was a well-known writer and critic. He was Jewish and spoke out against the Nazis. Because of this, the Nazis wanted to arrest him.
Judith Kerr's family had to leave their home in Berlin. They traveled through Switzerland to Paris, and then finally to England. Kerr wrote this book when her son was eight years old. He had just seen a movie and said, "Now we know what it was like when Mummy was a little girl." Kerr wanted him to know the real story. So, she wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.
The book shows the rise of the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s. It tells the story from a child's point of view. It also shows what it was like to be a refugee. Judith Kerr remembered her own experience positively. She said her parents made it feel like an adventure. She even preferred it to a "normal" childhood.
The story begins in Berlin in March 1933. Nine-year-old Anna, the main character, wakes up to find her father is gone. She and her brother, Max, learn that Papa believes Adolf Hitler might win the elections. So, he has fled to Prague for safety. Since the family is of Jewish heritage and Papa criticized the Nazis, this is a serious situation.
If Hitler won, Mama, Max, and Anna would join Papa in Switzerland. If he lost, Papa would come home to Berlin. But Anna's parents decided not to wait. Mama and the children quickly left for Switzerland in secret. Anna had to choose one toy to take with her. She chose her new woolly dog and left her pink rabbit behind. She thought she would return to Berlin soon. This is why the book is called When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. Anna felt that Hitler and the Nazis had "stolen" her toy.
In Switzerland, the family stayed in a hotel by Lake Zurich for six months. Soon, Papa decided they should move to Paris. He went ahead to find a place to live. Mama then joined him, leaving Max and Anna alone for a short time.
The Nazis found out about Papa and offered a reward of one thousand marks for his capture. This scared Anna very much. She thought it meant coins would be dropped on Papa's head! Max had to explain what it really meant. When Papa returned to get them, a porter almost put them on the wrong train. This train would have taken them back to Germany, where Papa would have been arrested. Luckily, Anna noticed the destination just in time. They got their luggage and boarded the correct train to Paris.
In Paris, Max went to a boys' school. It took a while, but Mama found an elementary school for Anna. Anna found French difficult at first. But one day, it just clicked, and she could speak it easily. In 1936, after two years in Paris, the family decided to move again. This time, they went to London. Papa hoped the BBC might buy a film script he wrote about Napoleon's mother. The story ends with the family arriving in England. Mama's cousin, Otto, greets them at the train station.
Life in Wartime: Bombs on Aunt Dainty
Bombs on Aunt Dainty was first called The Other Way Round. This book is about Anna and her family's life in London during World War II. Anna lives with the constant fear of bombs falling. Her brother, Max, is away studying at Cambridge University. The book's final scenes take place on VE Day, celebrating the end of the war in Europe.
Growing Up: A Small Person Far Away
A Small Person Far Away is the third book in the trilogy. It was published in 1978. The story is set in 1956, during the Hungarian Revolution. Anna now lives in Kensington, London, with her husband, Richard. He is a scriptwriter for the BBC. Anna must return to West Berlin because her mother lives there. This is during the Cold War, a time of tension between different countries. Towards the end of the book, Anna finds out she is going to have a baby.
Awards and Impact
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit won the 1974 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, a German youth literature award. It is often used in schools in Germany and Britain. It helps students learn about this time in history and what it was like to be a refugee. The book is part of the Judith Kerr collection at the Seven Stories Centre for Children's Books in Newcastle. It has also been recognized as an American Library Association Notable Book. It was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and a Horn Book Fanfare Title.
Film Adaptations
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was made into a television film. The German TV channel WDR produced it. The film was called Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl. It was directed by Ilse Hofmann.
A movie version of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit came out in December 2019 in Germany. It was directed by Caroline Link, who has won an Oscar. Carla Juri and Oliver Masucci played Anna's parents in the film.
