Sarah's Key Blog #3

In the book Sarah’s Key, main character, Sarah lives in France as a peaceable but hidden family. Her family is pleasant, full of love, but also living in ignorance to any of the French and German alliances created overtime. It wasn’t until soon before they were captured that they finally decided to go into hiding, and ultimately hide the Father due to recent capturing of just men. Before any of the fearsome things and complete invasion of Jewish people in France, the Starzinsky family was unaware that it was their own policeman hunting them down. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website says, “During the interwar period, France was on of the more liberal countries in welcome Jewish immigrants…” For the Starzinsky’s France had always accepted them and they were never lead to fear the people of their town.

After Sarah and her family were taken to the stadium, then leading that, the camps, they were taken by surprise and the author said, “The girl did not understand, these were French policeman, not Germans.” No one at first understood why the French were taking them, but soon everyone was aware of the bond between the two countries of France and Germany. Eventually when Sarah and her family had arrived at the camps they were separated from each other. Sarah was forced to be with the children, her mother with the other woman, and father as expected- with the men. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website says,  “Police razzias literally tore families apart, as parents, grandparents, and elder siblings were separated from younger children at collection points and at French or German assembly camps.” At first, the French were only taking one member of each family (primarily the men). The tradition of only taking the men had ended when the French made the decision to take whole families then separate them at the camps.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "France." Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States         Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005429>.