Hitler's Canary: A Daring Tale of Wartime Adventure
Mama was one of the most famous women in all of Denmark. My best friend Anton was the bravest person I knew. When the Nazis came for the Danish Jews, we needed to put on the performance of a lifetime. Could we pull it off?
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What the Book Is About
Jewish Content and Values
Content Advisory
When the Germans invade Denmark, Bamse doesn't know whether to stay out of trouble or be brave and try to help his Jewish best friend Anton’s family. This National Jewish Book Award finalist is based on the real-life experiences of author and broadcaster Sandi Tokvig's father as a child during the Second World War, when many Danes risked their lives to save their Danish Jewish compatriots from the Nazis. The book has tension appropriate to the subject matter and the age of readers, but also has plenty of lighter moments. An afterword explains that this story is based on the real-life experience of the author’s grandparents, who sheltered Danish Jews from the Nazis.
- Almost the entire non-Jewish community of Denmark helped to save their Jewish friends and neighbors. The operation to rescue the Jews of Denmark lasted from the eve of Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.
- When the Jewish community prepared to go into hiding, the priest helped the cantor to pack up the Torah scrolls, tallitot (prayer shawls), and siddurim (prayer books) and store them somewhere safe.
- The afterword notes that the “Danish government and citizens clearly understood the Talmudic excerpt that reads, ‘Whoever saves a single life saves the entire world.’”
- Bamse’s friend Anton is Jewish, wears a kippah (yarmulke), goes to synagogue, and leaves school early on Fridays. When his family is sent on a dangerous trip to safety in Sweden, Bamse hears Anton’s father chanting a prayer from Psalms.
There are a few Holocaust references to the Holocaust, including mentions of concentration camps and gas chambers. Thomas gives himself up to save Bamse’s and Anton’s family when Anton’s younger sister is caught by the Nazis. There are brief scenes of Nazi violence, and a Jewish man kills his family and himself out of fear. Bamse’s theatrical mother is hurt; she ends up addicted to morphine and is never the same. Uncle Johann makes a homophobic comment about the heroic Thomas.
What the Book Is About
When the Germans invade Denmark, Bamse doesn't know whether to stay out of trouble or be brave and try to help his Jewish best friend Anton’s family. This National Jewish Book Award finalist is based on the real-life experiences of author and broadcaster Sandi Tokvig's father as a child during the Second World War, when many Danes risked their lives to save their Danish Jewish compatriots from the Nazis. The book has tension appropriate to the subject matter and the age of readers, but also has plenty of lighter moments. An afterword explains that this story is based on the real-life experience of the author’s grandparents, who sheltered Danish Jews from the Nazis.
Jewish Content and Values
- Almost the entire non-Jewish community of Denmark helped to save their Jewish friends and neighbors. The operation to rescue the Jews of Denmark lasted from the eve of Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.
- When the Jewish community prepared to go into hiding, the priest helped the cantor to pack up the Torah scrolls, tallitot (prayer shawls), and siddurim (prayer books) and store them somewhere safe.
- The afterword notes that the “Danish government and citizens clearly understood the Talmudic excerpt that reads, ‘Whoever saves a single life saves the entire world.’”
- Bamse’s friend Anton is Jewish, wears a kippah (yarmulke), goes to synagogue, and leaves school early on Fridays. When his family is sent on a dangerous trip to safety in Sweden, Bamse hears Anton’s father chanting a prayer from Psalms.
Content Advisory
There are a few Holocaust references to the Holocaust, including mentions of concentration camps and gas chambers. Thomas gives himself up to save Bamse’s and Anton’s family when Anton’s younger sister is caught by the Nazis. There are brief scenes of Nazi violence, and a Jewish man kills his family and himself out of fear. Bamse’s theatrical mother is hurt; she ends up addicted to morphine and is never the same. Uncle Johann makes a homophobic comment about the heroic Thomas.
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