Free Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer Page A

reaction. Some children looked shocked and dazed, and sat in stunned silence. Others shouted “No!” and “I want to stay — don’t send us away!”
    “Are we going camping again?” a boy asked. “Should we pack our things?”
    Shatta shook her head sadly. “No. I’m afraid this time five or six days in the woods will not make a difference. We must close the house for good.”
    “Now that America has joined the fight against Hitler, I’m confident that the war will not last too much longer,” said Bouli. “There are positive signs that the Nazis will be defeated. We all know the Nazis surrendered to the Russian armies at Stalingrad. And they have surrendered in North Africa as well. The tide is turning.”
    “Yes,” agreed Shatta. “Things
are
changing. But not soon enough for our house. The French authorities are supplying the Nazis with lists of Jews in this area so they can transport us to the concentration camps. There is increasing danger for the mayor here in Moissac and for all of our friends who have kept our secret. It will be better for them, too, if we leave.”
    “But where will we go, Shatta?” Sarah was the one who asked the hard questions for all of them. “Who can hide a houseful of Jewish children?”
    “We don’t have all of the answers yet,” replied Shatta with some hesitation. “But over the next few weeks, we will let you know whereyou will be going and when.” She sighed deeply before continuing. “There is no place that can take all of you. You’ll be going to homes and boarding schools, two or three together, staying with people who will hide you. I promise you all that I will not leave this house until each and every one of you is in a safe place.”
    There was that word “safe” again, thought Edith.
Could there really be enough safe places for us all?
    “We can no longer live openly as Jews,” Shatta continued. “You will be given new identities — new birthplaces, new names that are not Jewish. You will need to learn these names and answer to them as if you were born with them. All of this will take practice. But I am confident that you will learn these skills, just as you learned camping skills. Remember always that you are Scouts, and Scouts are always prepared.” Then Shatta dismissed the group with a tired wave of her hand. Edith could not even begin to understand how frustrated Shatta must have felt that they could not all stay together.
    That afternoon, Edith and Sarah went to see Eric in the photography workshop. He was working with several other older children, sorting through papers and documents.
    “Look,” he said, picking up one of the sheets of paper. “The church has given us blank baptismal certificates. We’re going to fill one in for everyone in the house.” This document would affirm that Edith and the others had participated in the religious ceremony to initiate them into the Catholic Church.
    “Shatta says that we are all getting new names,” said Sarah. “I wonder who I’ll be.”

    “What a silly question,” said Edith. “You’re Sarah. This is a disguise. It’s just pretend. It doesn’t change who you are.”
    “If this plan is going to work, it’s going to take more than pretending,” said Eric. “It’s not like you’ll be able to jump out from behind your disguise and shout, ‘Surprise! I fooled you!’ You’re going to have to believe in your new identity and believe that you are someone else. Look,” Eric said, pointing to the name below his own photograph on one of the identity documents. “I’m Etienne Giroux now.”
    Edith didn’t like the sound of this. What was it Mutti had said to Edith before leaving her here in Moissac? “Remember who you are.” How could she become anyone else?
    “I wonder where we’ll be sent,” Sarah continued. “Or if we can stay together.”
    Edith hadn’t thought about that. Shatta said that they would be sent away in small groups. But Edith had assumed that she would remain