HOUR OF NEED

A Jewish girl survives the Nazi occupation of Denmark.

In 1940, when Mette is 5, the Germans invade Denmark. Raised in a secular, assimilated family, Mette doesn’t even know she’s Jewish. When she’s 8 and her father shares the dangerous secret with her, she understands so little of what it means to be Jewish that she responds, “But I thought I was Danish.” Meanwhile, in 2009, an older Mette brings her American grandchildren to visit Copenhagen. As she tells them her story, she can offer more than she understood as a small child: Factual recitations (King Christian X’s family tree, the messy Treaty of Versailles, the planned mass deportation of Denmark’s Jews, and the complex pragmatism of Danish surrender) mix with tales of stubbornly patriotic anti-Nazi resistance. Older Mette’s narrative follows both her memories of the mass rescue of Danish Jews in October 1943 and the story of real-life resistance fighter Svend Otto Nielsen. Shayne concludes by drawing comparisons between past and present and reminding readers of the importance of learning from history. Though at times the artwork is emotionally moving, for the most part the illustrations are cluttered and static, and the book relies more on telling than showing. As a result, the work feels surprisingly dull and even confusing—as the narrative jumps back and forth in time, it’s often unclear who is being depicted and when.

A dry account that nevertheless imparts significant historical lessons.