Numara Stelele – Lois Lowry

1. Lois Lowry a aflat astfel de istorii cutremurătoare și emoționante de întrajutorare, de la prietena sa daneză
Annelise Platt, care era copil în perioada Ocupației germane.
Peste ani, prietena sa i-a istorisit ce-a însemnat să trăiești sub Ocupație, să își ajuți prietenii să fugă cu bărci
pescărești, noaptea, străbătând strâmtorile ce leagă Marea Baltică de Marea Nordului, spre incertitudinea
(totuși, salvatoare) din Suedia. Sau să fii unul dintre fugari. Evident că atunci a vrut să scrie o carte și astfel,
în 1989, a apărut Numără stelele. O poveste din Copenhaga.

2. Este anul 1943, iar pentru Annemarie Johansen viaţa în Copenhaga e un amestec de îndatoriri pentru şcoală,
de lipsuri şi foamete, totul desfăşurându-se sub privirea atentă a soldaţilor germani aflaţi la fiecare colţ de
stradă.
Curajul pare să-şi mai găsească loc doar în poveştile pe care fetiţa i le spune seara la culcare surorii ei mai
mici, Kirsti.
Aflând de raziile autorităţilor germane pentru ridicarea populaţiei evreieşti, familia Johansen hotărăşte s-o
salveze pe Ellen Rosen, cea mai bună prietenă a fiicei lor, dând-o drept propriul lor copil.
3. La sfârșitul anului 1943, aproape toți evreii din Danemarca au fost salvați de la deportarea în lagărele de
concentrare naziste. O picătură într-un ocean raportat la victimele Holocaustului, însă o acțiune curajoasă ce
a salvat mai mult de 7 mii de oameni. Una dintre cele mai mari acțiuni colective de rezistență din țările ocupate
a fost posibilă plecând de la semnalul de alarmă tras chiar de un diplomat german, sub organizarea
Rezistenței daneze, cu ajutorul oficialilor danezi și al Suediei vecine (care a reușit să-și păstreze neutralitatea)
și datorită sprijinului multora dintre simplii cetățeni ai Danemarcei
4. Și un citat aproximativ dintr-o poetă de origine somaleză* (Warsan Shire, poetă britanică de origine somaleză
(citat din theatlatic.com): “You have to understand that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is
safer than the land.”): “Nu-ți urci copiii într-o barcă decât dacă apele au devenit mai sigure decât pământul”.
Lois Lowry spune că literatura este locul în care tinerii fac repetiții pentru viață. Dacă e așa, (și sper că e)
5. Number the Stars (1989) is a work of historical fiction by American author Lois Lowry, about the escape of
a Jewish family (the Rosens) from Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II. The story centers on ten-
year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with her family in Copenhagen in 1943. She becomes a part of the
events related to the rescue of the Danish Jews, when thousands of Jews were helped to reach neutral
ground in Sweden in order to avoid being relocated to concentration camps. She risked her life in order to
help her best friend, Ellen Rosen, by pretending that Ellen is Annemarie's late older sister Lise, who had
died earlier in the war. Lise had been killed by the Nazi military as a result of her work with the Danish
Resistance, though her former fiancé Peter, based in part on Danish resistance member Kim Malthe-Bruun,
continues to help them. The story's title is taken from a reference to Psalm 147:4, in which the writer relates
that God has numbered all the stars and has named each one of them. It ties into the Star of David, worn by
Ellen Rosen on her necklace, which is symbolic to Judaism.
6. The novel was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1990[1] as the previous year's "most distinguished
contribution to American literature for children".[2] Lois Lowry traveled to Copenhagen to conduct research
and interviews for the book. She took the photo of the girl used for the cover (shown in infobox). That cover
was used on many editions of the book.[3]
7. Contextul istoric este explicat destul de clar în Postfață: ”În săptămânile care au urmat Anului
Nou evreiesc, aproape întreaga populație de evrei din Danemarca – aproximativ șapte mii de
persoane – a fost transportată pe furiș în Suedia.”
8. De Anul Nou evreiesc, în anul 1943, ”cineva” (vom afla din Postfață despre cine a fost vorba) i -a
avertizat pe evrei că în următoarele zile, nopți, naziștii staționați în Danemarca îi vor căuta și vor
fi trimiși în lagărele de concentrare. Cine a avut urechi de auzit, a strâns grabnic ceea ce a putut
să ducă în spate și s-au ascuns, majoritatea dintre ei fiind transportați de către pescari în Suedia
vecină și nesupusă de către nemți, peste apă și în condiții de clandestinitate, fiind astfel salvați
de la o moarte sigură.
9.
Annemarie Johansen and her friend, Ellen Rosen, are ten-year-old girls living in Copenhagen, Denmark, during
World War II. Annemarie has a 5-year-old sister named Kirsti. There are Nazis on every street corner in
Copenhagen. Butter, sugar, coffee, cigarettes and other goods are unavailable. Electricity and many other things
have been rationed.
After an encounter with two German soldiers, Annemarie and Ellen are much more careful. Later on, it turns out that
for unknown reasons the Germans are "relocating" Denmark's Jews. At the synagogue, the Nazis have taken the
names and addresses of all the Jewish people in Copenhagen. Ellen and her family are Jewish. Ellen's parents
have fled with Peter, the former fiancé of Annemarie's older sister, Lise, who died years before. Ellen must stay with
the Johansens, pretending to be Lise, even though she is half the age of the real Lise. Soldiers enter the Johansens'
apartment at 4 in the morning, thinking that the Rosens are "Paying a visit" to the Johansens. Annemarie and Ellen
wake up and Annemarie breaks the Star of David necklace off Ellen's neck. If the soldiers had seen it, they would
have known Ellen was a Jew. The soldiers see Ellen's dark hair and become suspicious because the Johansens
have blond hair, and Ellen has brown hair. Luckily, Lise had brown hair as an infant. Mr. Johansen shows the Nazis
a picture of baby Lise, and they leave.
Mrs. Johansen, Annemarie, Ellen, and Kirsti leave the next morning to go to Uncle Henrik's house by the sea.
Sweden, a Nazi-free country, can be seen from Uncle Henrik's house. Before they had gone to his house, Mr.
Johansen had spoken in code to Henrik. When they get there, Henrik seems like his ordinary self. The next day,
Henrik says that Annemarie's Great-Aunt Birte has died. A huge casket is placed in the middle of the living room.
Annemarie knows that there is no Aunt Birte, but learns from her uncle that it is easier to be brave if you do not
know something, so she does not tell Ellen the truth about her "aunt".
Later on, many people come to mourn "Aunt Birte", to Annemarie's puzzlement. Nazis come to the house and see
all the people and start questioning the family. They explain that Great-Aunt Birte has died, and they are carrying out
traditional rituals. The Nazis order the casket opened, and Mrs. Johansen acts fast. She says that Great-Aunt Birte
had typhus, a very contagious and dangerous disease, or so the doctor said. She goes to the casket to open it, but
one of the soldiers slaps her in the face and says they can open it when the soldiers leave.
After they leave, the wake continues. Peter, who is present, reads the beginning of Psalm 147 from the Bible to the
group, recounting the Lord God numbering the stars. As the psalm is not familiar to Annemarie, her thoughts begin
to wander. She wonders how it is possible to number the stars in the sky and remembers Ellen saying that her
mother is afraid of the ocean because her mother thinks it is cold and cruel. Annemarie thinks that the night sky and
the world are also cold and cruel. Peter opens the casket and gives the warm clothing and blankets concealed
within it to the Jewish families. They depart in smaller groups to avoid attracting attention. Ellen says goodbye to
Annemarie and her mother.
In the morning, Annemarie sees her mother crawling in the distance because she had broken her ankle. After
helping her mother back to the house, Annemarie finds a packet of great importance to the Resistance, a packet
which Mr. Rosen dropped when he accidentally tripped on a flight of stairs. Mrs. Johansen tells Annemarie to fill a
basket with food and the packet, and run as fast as she can. Annemarie runs off onto a wooded path in the direction
of her uncle's boat. She is halted by Nazi soldiers with dogs. When they question Annemarie about what she is
doing out so early, she lies, saying that she is taking a basket with a meal to her uncle. The soldiers do not believe
her, and one of them grabs at the basket. However, the soldiers eventually let her go, and Annemarie makes it to
her uncle's boat. She gives Uncle Henrik an envelope that contains a handkerchief. The handkerchief had traces of
cocaine on it to numb the dog's sense of smell. When the Nazi dogs took onto the boat sniff the handkerchief, they
can no longer smell Uncle Henrik's hidden "cargo": the Jewish people he is smuggling to safety.
Uncle Henrik returns to Denmark later that evening from Sweden. He tells Annemarie that many Jewish people,
including the Rosens, were hiding in his boat. He also explains that the handkerchief in her package contained the
scent of rabbit blood, which attracted the dogs, and the strong odor of cocaine, which numbs their noses, preventing
them from tracking down the Jews in Henrik's boat. Several revelations are made, including that Peter is in the
Danish Resistance.
Two years later, the war in Europe ends, and all of Denmark celebrates. The Jews who were forced to leave
Denmark will find that their friends and neighbors have kept up their apartments in hopes of their return. Peter had
been captured and executed by the Nazis in the town square earlier in the war, after which Annemarie learned that
her sister Lise died, not in an accident, but because the Nazis intentionally hit her with a military car: she was also in
the Resistance. It is unknown whether Ellen or her parents return to Copenhagen.