Author Jennifer Elvgren

Q: The Danish people's heroic efforts to save "their" Jews are one of the few "feel-good" stories from the Holocaust.  What inspired you to create a picture book on this topic? 

A:  Somewhere around late elementary, early middle school, my grandmother gave me her copy of The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, and my mother gave me a copy of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. From a young age, I pondered the bravery of those hidden and the bravery of those who protected the hidden. I carried this interest in Holocaust literature as I grew and started my writing career as a print journalist. When I began writing solely for elementary children after my second child was born, I wondered if there was a way to tell a Holocaust story to a younger set of readers. Around 2009, I read Ellen Levine’s nonfiction book Darkness over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews. One Jewish boy recollected his father trying to find the Gilleleje harbor on a moonless night and villagers stood in doorways giving him directions. As I read this, I could see the storyboard in my mind – Anett and her parents hiding a Jewish family and enlisting the village to whisper them to safety.

 

Q:  Could you comment on the unique challenges of writing a book aimed at young children on the Holocaust?  

 

A:  For the youngest readers, I wanted to portray danger, not horror. I intended this book to be the start of a lifelong discussion of the Holocaust, focusing initially on kindness and bravery. In early drafts of The Whispering Town, I went too far the other way and watered down Anett’s character. I never had her come face-to-face with Nazi soldiers. After a meeting with my critique group, there was consensus that Anett must face the soldiers. By not doing so, she would have been robbed of her greatest chance to be brave. Now I believe that was the best decision for her. Anett was able to dig down deep, think fast on her feet and face her greatest fear.

 

Q:  What kind of research did you do for this story?  Is Anett based on a real girl?  

A: In this story, Anett is a fictional character, and I researched the occupation of Denmark and the Danish Resistance, which smuggled almost all of the Danish Jews out of Denmark.

 

Briefly, on April 9, 1940, at 4:14 a.m. Germany began the invasion of Denmark by land, sea and air. The invasion lasted six hours, which was the shortest operation in WWII. The Danes knew the attack was coming but were denied permission to fight, as the Danish government did not want to provoke the Germans. Denmark cooperated, but did not collaborate. As a result, King Christian X stayed on the throne and continued to live at the palace in Copenhagen. From 1940 to October 1943 resistance to the occupation mostly took the form of bursts of national pride like when King Christian X took his daily ride through the Copenhagen streets to meet throngs of flag-waving Danes, a few scattered acts of sabotage, strikes and a slow down of the workforce.

 

During the summer of 1943 Danes had grown weary of the occupation and their acts of sabotage became more violent including riots in Copenhagen. In August 1943, the Germans declared a State of Emergency and by September, Hitler approved the deportation of Danish Jews to death camps.

 

Danes were horrified. People from all walks of Danish life – clergy, government workers, storeowners, farmers, fisherman, teachers, police and the coast guard – protected Jews. The Danes hid Jews in barns, cellars, hospitals, summerhouses, churches and warehouses. They loaned boats and gave money to hire boats to smuggle Jews out of the country to neutral Sweden. The Danes also protected Jews’ houses and belongings until after the war.

 

Q:  The Whispering Town shows young children the heroism in ordinary people, as opposed to the superheroes that delight so many children.  In this case, the heroes are not Spiderman or Batman, but a small girl, a baker, a librarian, and a farmer.  How did you happen to choose these three professions to represent the Danish people?  (Of course, as a librarian, I am delighted by the choice of a librarian!)  

 

A: In times of crises, and anytime really, food and words bring comfort, healing and love. When my friends are facing illness or sadness, I deliver homemade food and/or books to their doorsteps. With Carl and his mama so frightened in her cellar, it seemed natural for Anett to bring them her favorite food and books, to feed their bodies and souls.

 

Q: As an author, how did you feel about the illustrations Fabio Santomauro drew for your text?  With their graphic novel feel, they are quite different from the illustrations in most of the picture books about the Holocaust.

Jennifer, thanks so much for participating in the Sydney Taylor 2015 blog tour! Please check out interviews with other winners throughout this week (see blog tour schedule below).