Product Overview
In 1943 Denmark, an active Resistance rescued over 99% of the Danish Jews from Hitlers Nazi Gestapo. It was an unprecedented effort of collective sabotage against the Nazi regime during World War II. The Red Umbrella is an amazing memoir of Johna Christensens childhood and family life during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. She had an Orthodox Jewish Mother and a Danish Father, but he did not believe in any religion. This unique story plays out against complex family relationships. The stigma of being Jewish in 1943, combined with the fact that she was born with a birth defect. She is very confused, trying to reconcile the her background, her handicap and the danger of the Nazi Invasion. Johnas Mother and Parents hide, while she stays behind with her Fathers dangerous activities. Her Father was enamored with some of his Nazi comrades from his Mothers tavern and brothel. However, they help the Jews escape to Sweden, because all Danes need to help each other. From beginning to end, her story will make your heart ache for the characters, and make you laugh. It is a dilemma in desperate times, where women and men of courage and character are forced to be both heroes and villains. ...The Red Umbrella is a riveting account ...an absorbing tale of family conflict, murder, covert resistance, and a small nation's stouthearted defense of its Jewish citizens.....It's hard to put down... - Bellingham Herald
