Das Mädchen, das ein Stück Welt rettete

Youth Book of the Month – recommended by the German Academy for Children’s and Youth Literature

Poland, 1939: Sixteen-year-old Stefania and Izio are newly in love and want to get married. But then World War II begins. Izio and his family must move to the ghetto of the city of Przemyśl because they are Jewish. Stefania suddenly finds herself all alone and has to take care of her little sister Helena, as their own mother has also been deported to a forced labor camp. At the same time, she tries to help Izio's family wherever she can by smuggling food and medicine into the ghetto – even though this is punishable by death. When Izio and his parents are murdered, Stefania's world collapses. However, his brother Max manages to escape deportation to the death camps at the last moment – to Stefania, who now has to make a decision. She offers refuge to Max and twelve other Jews in her attic.

This novel sensitively tells the true story of a girl who hid thirteen people from the Nazis and thus saved their lives. It vividly depicts everyday life in hiding and the constant fear of being betrayed and discovered, but above all, it tells a story of humanity, courage, and hope.