Book Guide

This is a story of a Polish family during the Second World War and immediately afterwards. Joseph Balicki is the headmaster of a primary school in Warsaw; his wife is Swiss, and their three children, Ruth, Edek and Bronia, are thirteen, eleven and three years old when Joseph is arrested by the Nazis in 1940. Soon afterwards his wife is taken to forced labour in Germany, and his house is blown up. The children escape over the roofs before the explosion, and join the gangs of orphans living in the ruins of the bombed city, existing as best they can. The 'silver sword' is only a paper-knife, but it is the talisman that, after the Germans have been driven out of Warsaw, gives Ruth, Edek and Bronia the hope and courage to make an astonishing journey across Europe. Accompanied by their friend, the fierce and resourceful Jan, they reach a refugee camp on the shores of Lake Constance and are reunited with their parents.

The quiet way in which Ian Serraillier tells this story makes it all the more persuasive and convincing.

From the dust jacket

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Ian Serraillier

Ian Serraillier

1912 - 1994
British
Ian Serraillier was born in London, the son of a French father and a Scottish mother. A schoolmaster for many years, his main interest is in writing... See more
C. Walter Hodges

C. Walter Hodges

1909 - 2004
British
C. Walter Hodges is one of England's best-known illustrators, and he has done art work for Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada and Will Shakespea... See more

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Content Guide

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Reviews

Plumfield and Paideia

The Silver Sword
Reviewed by Sara Masarik
When the Nazis came to Poland, they did not close Joseph’s school. Instead, they removed the Polish textbooks and banished the Polish language from the school. They also hung portraits of Hitler in all of the classrooms. When, during a Scripture lesson, Joseph turned Hitler’s picture to the wall, someone reported him. A few nights later, the Nazi stormtroopers came for Joseph and took him to Zakyna. Margrit and the children were left to fend for themselves. After many trials and failed escape attempts, Joseph finally escaped out of the prison camp. It was then that the Nazis came for Margrit.

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