Dark Hours by Gudrun Pausewang
Many years ago I read my first Gudrun Pausewang novel for children. It was stark, realistic and even horrific but riveting. The book was futuristic fiction, not really scifi, but a picture of a possible future in Europe. And that is what I expected from this novel. Was I ever wrong. It is still stark, realistic but this time it brings the reader into intimate contact with one of the most horrific events of WWII, the destruction of Dresden.
Dark Hours is written in the form of a memoir written by a grandmother for her granddaughter. The girl is turning 16 and her grandmother writes out the story of her own 16th birthday. She was the eldest in a family of 4 children, almost 5. The family including her own grandmother was evacuated from their home in modern Poland just before the Russians arrived. They flee to Dresden to stay with the other grandparents. In the confusion of refugees, Mother goes into labour and has to leave the train before it’s destination. Oma then escorts the children on to Dresden, but becomes separated in the crush. Suddenly Gisel is left with 3 younger siblings in a strange city and the air raid siren goes.
As adults we know what happens, but young people today have no idea. I can imagine this book read as an absorbing adventure, and then comes the realisation that the event really happened and the story could be basically true.
The author’s note indicates that Pausewang has written many novels for children and young adults which have won prizes all over the world. Her books often explore themes of peace, the environment and social justice. So why aren’t they translated to English and released in Australia?
