Why a Booktrail?
WW2: A poignant tale to show Hitler’s reign through the eyes of a young boy
Hitler’s Canary
What you need to know before your trail
Hitler’s Canary was the name the British gave Denmark for the way in which the Danes appeared to do nothing against the onslaught of Hitler, instead waiting as if they were sitting in a cage, like a canary and singing to his tune.
Bamse is 13 when he hears this on the radio and is horrified by it. His family don’t know much about politics and don’t pretend to get involved but Bamse is bothered by what others are calling his country. His father tells him not to let it bother him, not to get involved. But his brother has joined the resistance and now Bamse wants to do the same…
Travel Guide
The usual bright blue spring sky of Copenhagen was crowded with heavy grey planes. I didn’t know it then but they were German Junkers. “It was almost like an air show”. The horrors of the Nazi invasion of Denmark as seen through the eyes of a young boy. An air show yes, but one of the most chilling kind.
Told in a series of Acts as Bamse’s family is one of actors who love performing on the stage, this is his story of how war came to Denmark in 1940 and how all Germans are not bad and all the Danes were not good. He says there are good and bad people all over and it’s not always easy to tell the difference.
Danish people live by the adage of ‘Livskunst’ – the art of living and Bamse’s family believes that all of the world is a stage just like Shakespeare once said. This allows him to see what is being played out on the world stage in 1940.
This book is apparently based on Sandi Toksvig’s father and how he remembered growing up in Denmark during the Nazi occupation. A mix of fact and fiction but an overall picture of how the Danes viewed that time.
When Bamse discovers the German plans for the Jewish population, his resolve to join the Resistance grows. Many families at the time helped Jewish people escape and this is a homage to them.
Where Next?
