The Silver Sword

The Silver Sword- Ian Serraillier The Silver Sword is a story about the Balickis’, a Polish family, living in Warsaw. The story is about their separation due to the Nazi injustice in 1940 and how they reunite themselves in Switzerland after the war. It took them 5 years to reunite, the children have grown up, the adults have aged but at least they are all together again, along with a new member of the family. The first person that was separated from the family was the father, Joseph Balicki, he was taken away from his family and sent to a Prison Camp in Zaknya. During a scripture lesson, Joseph turned the picture of Adolf Hitler’s face to the wall and the news spread around and he is taken away. Eventually Joseph escapes prison after numerous attempts. He goes back to Warsaw with the help of an old couple along the way. The couple shows great kindness and bravery as Joseph was almost caught hiding at the home. On arriving in Warsaw, he was greeted with terrible news concerning his family. His wife was taken away to Germany to a concentration camp, and his children are believed to be dead. He still searches Warsaw just in case he finds them as he does not believe that they are dead. He realizes that his children are not in Warsaw and he decides to travel to Switzerland as it was the plan if they ever got separated. Before he takes off, he meets a young boy named Jan. Jan is an orphan who lives by himself with his cat. He is an animal lover. Joseph asks Jan to look out for his children Edek, Ruth and Bronia in the event they meet, and tell them to find him in Switzerland at their grandparents’ home. In return, Joseph lets Jan keep the silver paper knife. Jan helps Joseph to catch a train to help him travel to Switzerland. Eventually Jan meets Ruth and Bronia. Edek was taken away after caught smuggling bread and eggs. They join together to travel to Switzerland to make the journey easier and less painful. Ruth befriends a