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Bold, Bright Spirit: a compelling story of courage and resilience in World War II

Nine-year-old Oscar Rosenfeld chases his runaway kitten, delighted to be outdoors after months of being cooped up in a small Viennese apartment. His parents and sister Miriam race after him in alarm. He immediately runs into two policemen who catch hold of him. But they have no intention of returning him safely to his family. Their faces contort in disgust and rage. For Oscar has Down’s Syndrome and as such is targeted by the Nazis for extermination. Oscar’s parents fight to save him, their father is killed and their mother is beaten to the ground. Her last words to Miriam are to take Oscar and flee.Miriam is only fourteen years old, a young, unworldly Jewish girl in a regime which considers her an enemy. She is traumatised and alone but swiftly makes a desperate and courageous decision. She and Oscar embark on a journey across the continent to an aunt they have never seen. It calls on all of her remarkable intelligence, resourcefulness and determination, all her boldness and spirit. Every step they take is dogged by the menace of an ever-expanding Nazi empire.She finds her aunt in Athens but all too soon the Nazis conquer Greece. Miriam and Oscar escape to Crete but within days have to flee again, eventually reaching safety in Egypt. But finally, when she believes that that they are safe, Miriam agrees to return to Germany to discover the secret of the Nazi’s terror weapons. And there she discovers something that will haunt her for ever.Read more

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