Vojenka - O dětech, které dospěly bez varování – Grzebalkowska Magdalena (2022)

Little refugees, little soldiers, little prisoners of camps. Children in places where they don't belong. Of all the atrocities of war, these are the worst. To protect the weakest, to prevent them from being harmed. That is the perspective of adults. But how do children perceive war? Magdalena Grzebałkowska decided to track down witnesses who could tell her about their experiences during World War II when they were just a few years old. At a time when they should be playing and going to school. Instead, they became orphans, had to take on the role of caregivers for younger siblings, leave their safe homes, stand alongside soldiers. Or discover that their loving father is a criminal and a murderer, as Niklas Frank understood. Each child had to cope with injustice and trauma, overcoming obstacles that would be challenging even for an adult. The experienced reporter is also well aware that memory is not historical truth, and she illustrates through various fates how personal stories can differ from reality. Some heroes tell her several versions of their 'war stories.' And perhaps that is what makes the book most interesting – a sensitive, journalistic account of how human memory works at the moment when your entire world collapses before your eyes.