by Elizabeth R. Skoglund

“Thomas!” whispered Anna. “Thomas! Please come out!” she pleaded. Anna laid down on her stomach and tried hard to see Thomas through a small hole in the wall. Thomas the mouse lived somewhere inside that hole.

Anna sat back up on her bed. As she looked out the upstairs window at the snow below, she shivered inside her thin dress. But Anna was more than cold. Anna was afraid.

Anna lived in a country named Hungary. She lived there many years ago, long before you were even born. The world was at war. It had been at war for a long time. Some people called Nazis wanted people to be just like them. Nazi soldiers were trying to kill all Jews, just because they were different from them. That was very silly. After all, everyone is different from everyone else. For Anna it was also very scary.

A young man named Raoul Wallenberg came to Anna’s country and tried to protect as many Jews as possible from the Nazis. He believed that even one person can do a lot to help others when that one person really tries. He didn’t give up and quit when things got difficult. That attitude made him special. It made him a hero.

Raoul Wallenberg came from a country called Sweden. He hid many Jews in special houses called “safe houses.” He had the “safe houses” guarded so that the Nazis would not kidnap the Jews who were hiding in the houses. Wallenberg or one of his many helpers brought food and medicine to the people who were hiding in them. Then when the war was over, the people who were hidden could be rescued.

WAITING

Anna was a Jew. Today had been another day of waiting in the “safe house” where she lived. Anna was lonely. She missed going to school and seeing her friends. She missed parties and skating lessons and telling secrets to her best friend, Tina. She was tired of hiding in the “safe house” with only a mouse for a friend.

At the front door of the “safe house” Anna’s brother stood guard. Daniel was dressed in a Nazi uniform and held a gun. Because Daniel had blonde hair and blue eyes, he did not look like a Jew. He could pretend he was a Nazi soldier. Then when the real Nazis came by the “safe house,” and Daniel told them they didn’t need to come in, they believed him. Daniel was proud to work with a man as brave as Raoul Wallenberg. Raoul Wallenberg was Daniel’s hero.

“Thomas!” whispered Anna once more. “Thomas, I’m so afraid. What if real Nazis come and take Daniel away? What if they find out he’s a Jew?” Once again Anna bent down to look into the hole. A piece of her curly dark hair fell down into her face. Anna sneezed. A tear trickled slowly down her cheek.

Thomas poked his nose outside the hole. He sniffed the air and he moved his head to one side. He squeaked a little, in a friendly way. Wiping her tears away, Anna put a crumb of bread near the hole. Thomas came out fast. He ate the crumb fast. Then Thomas disappeared once again into his hole.

With a long sigh Anna turned back to the window. Anna felt bored and useless. Daniel and Papa helped Raoul Wallenberg. Mama sewed clothes for the family and helped the other ladies cook what little food they had. But Anna felt too young to do anything.

AFRAID

Suddenly Anna heard a noise outside. Anna looked out the window again but everything was quiet. Anna was careful to peek out the side of the window where nobody outside could see her. Sometimes the Nazis took Jewish people away and even killed them just for doing something small like looking out a window. Still, it was hard for Anna to remember to be careful.

A man went by with a cart of hay which was pulled by a horse. The man looked grey in the dull winter light and the wheels of the cart made a crunching sound as they moved through the snow.

Inside, Anna could hear Papa talking in a low voice, telling someone more about Raoul Wallenberg. “The Nazis take people away to kill them,” said Papa. “They take them away in trains. But Raoul Wallenberg gets on the trains too. Raoul Wallenberg gives some of the people a piece of paper called a Schutzpass which says they belong to Sweden. He gives it to as many people as he can,” explained Papa. “Then he takes these people off the train. He tells the Nazis, ‘Stop! These people are protected by Sweden.’ The Nazi soldiers believe him because he acts so sure of himself,” Papa concluded with a quiet chuckle.

Anna shivered with fear once again. She was glad that she was in a “safe house.” She pulled out a locket from inside her dress and looked at the picture of her friend, Tina. “I wonder where Tina is now,” she said quietly to herself. “I wish I were old enough to help. I wish I could be a hero, too.”

THE STAR

Once again Anna heard a sound from beneath the upstairs window. This time Anna knew that she had not imagined it. At first, she was too afraid to look. Then she peeked cautiously out the window at the ground below. A Nazi soldier came and stood right under the window. His boots crunched in the snow. Another soldier came, and then another and another.

One soldier was shouting orders to a group of people. Some of them were girls and boys just like Anna. Others were older like Mama and Papa. But deep in her heart Anna knew that they were Jews, just like her.

Anna looked through the very tiniest edge of the window pane. She watched in horror as the soldiers forced the people to lie face down in the cold, wet snow. She barely breathed. Then she saw the soldiers move the people into the shape of a star.

Anna knew that the six point Star of David was important in the Jewish religion. Before the war Anna herself had worn a pretty gold star on a chain around her neck. Anna’s friend at school who was Christian had worn a cross. Anna remembered how the girls had compared these symbols of their beliefs.

But she was sure that the human star in the snow beneath the upstairs window was there because the Nazis hated Jews. She knew that these people were in danger. Frightened, she crawled away from the window. She covered her face with her hands. Thomas stayed in his hole but he squeaked a comforting squeak.

GUNFIRE

Suddenly the sound of gunfire broke the silence. Anna heard screams of fear and pain. Nazi soldiers shouted out orders. There was more gunfire. There was a long silence. Then once again Anna heard the sound of heavy boots crunching in the snow. The soldiers were leaving. Still Anna was too afraid to move.

Anna felt Mama’s hand patting her head. Papa came into the room, too, but he crawled on his stomach so that no one outside would see him through the upstairs window. “Don’t be afraid,” Mama said quietly. “God is still with us, even here.” Anna wanted to tell Papa and Mama about the star but she was too scared even to talk. So she pointed her finger to the window instead.

Outside it was quiet again. Very carefully Anna and her parents each peeked out of the window at the snow below. Mama and Papa looked in shock at the human star in the snow. Anna sobbed quietly. The star no longer moved or cried out. But human blood now stained the white snow red.

RESCUE

Suddenly Anna gasped. “Papa! Mama!” she cried out softly. “Someone in the star is moving!” Papa moved his head close to Anna and looked down at the snow. The star was quiet. Mama looked too. There was nothing but the snow and the silent bodies which still formed the blood-red star. Then they all saw it at once. One point of the star moved, ever so little.

Quickly Papa crawled back out of the room, away from the upstairs window. First giving Anna a quick kiss, Mama followed Papa downstairs. Thomas came out of his hole, looking for more crumbs. But Anna didn’t even see him. Anna was too afraid. Papa was a doctor and Anna knew that he would try to save whoever was moving in the snow. Anna wished that Raoul Wallenberg would come.

Anna wondered why Raoul Wallenberg cared about Jews in Hungary. She had heard he came from a rich home in Sweden and that he had gone to college in the United States. Papa had told her that Raoul Wallenberg was a young man who wanted adventure. More than that, however, Papa had explained that Raoul Wallenberg didn’t believe that people should be hated because they were different.

Papa had said that now the Nazis wanted to kill Raoul Wallenberg. They hated him for saving the lives of Jews. Saving Jews made Raoul Wallenberg different too.

Anna imagined what it would be like to be a hero like Raoul Wallenberg. Anna was proud that Papa was a hero too. One night Papa had helped Raoul Wallenberg take people out of the river. The Nazis had tried to drown these people. Anna shivered. The river was full of ice at this time of year. It would be very cold. Thomas squeaked loudly. The squeak brought Anna out of her daydream.

At that moment Papa and another man sneaked out the back door. Anna heard the downstairs door squeak, but the men were very careful not to let the door slam with a Bang!

At first Anna was so scared that she couldn’t even watch them from the window. Thomas ran back into his hole. Anna was afraid because the Nazis said that no one was supposed to leave the “safe house.” Anna prayed: “Dear God, please protect Papa and his friend. Please, please bring them back. And please, dear God, give me courage.”

Trying to be brave, Anna looked cautiously out of the window. It was getting dark outside. Maybe no one would see Papa, Anna thought to herself. Mama came back upstairs and watched too. Thomas was quiet in his hole. Anna held her locket tightly in her hand and wished that Tina could be safely with her.

Papa and his friend walked quickly to the farthest end of one of the points of the star. Anna clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails cut into the palms of her hands. A few seconds later the men lifted up a young woman out of the blood-stained snow. She looked pale and now she wasn’t moving at all. Her clothes were torn and bloody. Anna was afraid again. This time she was afraid the woman was already dead.

Papa and his friend carried the woman into a downstairs room in the “safe house.” Mama went downstairs to help them.

ANOTHER HERO

A few minutes later Papa came upstairs. He put his arm around Anna’s shoulder as he sat down beside her on the bed. “She’ll be okay,” he said. “You saw her in time, before she froze to death in the snow. You were a hero tonight, ‘Little One.’” Papa always called Anna “Little One” when he was proud of her. Anna gave Papa a big hug, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say.

“Her name is Sophie,” Papa continued in a low voice. “She was running from the Nazi soldiers along with some other Jewish people. They had no place to hide. Sophie is lucky you saw her. And remember what the Rabbi says, ‘Little One,’” continued Papa. “When you save one life you save the whole world.” Quietly Papa went back downstairs to be with his new patient.

When she was alone once again, Anna called out softly, “Thomas! Thomas! Come out! Did you hear that, Thomas?” she asked. “I’m a hero. I’m not too young to help.” Anna said a big “Thank you” to God. Then she touched her locket and prayed that her friend, too, would be safe.

GOING HOME

Several weeks later, soldiers in different uniforms came to town. Papa said they were soldiers from Russia. Anna and her family were free to leave the “safe house.” All the people in all the “safe houses” were free to leave. The Nazi soldiers tried to run away so that they would not be punished for all the terrible things they had done.

One morning Anna stepped outside of the “safe house” for the first time. It was still very cold and Anna’s dress was thin. But in spite of the cold, the fresh air felt good to Anna. New snow had fallen and covered the blood stained snow where the human star had been. The ground looked like it always looked. The human star felt like a bad dream.

Two Russian soldiers came by. Anna felt nervous when she looked at their guns. But the soldiers ignored her and went on. Anna stretched her stiff legs. She tried to jump up and down but her legs were wobbly.

Suddenly Anna heard Mama and Papa talking inside the “safe house.” Anna could hear them as their voices drifted down through the open upstairs window. Anna stood still in the snow. Once again she shivered in the cold and was afraid. Several men with big carts of hay drove by. A boy ran in front of her and waved. But Anna didn’t see any of them. She was listening.

Raoul Wallenberg had disappeared. Russian soldiers had taken him away and no one knew why. Anna was confused. “Maybe they took him because he was different, too,” Anna thought. “After all, Raoul Wallenberg was a hero, and heroes are very different people.” Anna was afraid again. This time she was afraid of all soldiers.

Along with many other Jews, soon Anna and her family went home. They went home but Raoul Wallenberg did not go home. The soldiers took him back to Russia where he was put into prison. To this day nobody knows why they did that. That was many years ago. Raoul Wallenberg has not gone home yet.