"Sarah's Key" & "Those Who Saved Us"

While enjoying a vacation in Jamaica, we read many books. Two of them were really great novels, but horribly sad.

Both novels deal with World War II.

"Sarah's Key" is a story of a young Jewish girl living in Paris who is rounded up with all the Jewish people into the Velodrome d'Hiver. From here, the French police eventually lead them ultimately to the deaths of most. The young ten year old girl escapes from the Camp where they were brought and eventually was protected by an elderly couple who responded appropriately to the needs of a young girl. Her struggle to use her "key" to rescue her brother who she hid in their house leads to an journey that is sad beyond words.

"Those Who Saved Us" zeroes in on Germany and the plight of the Germans forced to deal with their government's ill-conceived vision of itself.

We shiver when thinking of how Jews were treated (unfortunately, neither is anti-Semitism dead or other types of gross discrimination) and the terrible pain suffered by so many. These novels present another insight into that pain and suffering that makes anyone wonder how it is possible for humans to treat others so badly.