Summary: Number the stars
By: Ansh
This is a true story about how a population of almost 7000 Jewish people were threatened by the Nazis, and how Denmark helped hide and save them. All of the Jewish population was smuggled out of Denmark to Sweden across the sea. The story is told from the eyes of a 12 year old girl named Annemarie Johansen.
It all begins when the soldiers catch Annemarie, her best friend Ellen, and her five year old sister Kristi having a race. The soldiers scold Annemarie and Ellen to never do that again. When the soldier release them, they rush back home. Ms. Johansen and Ms. Rosen were very upset.
A few days later, everybody finds out that they are closing shops that are owned by Jews, then they started relocating them. So Ellen pretended to become Annemarie’s older sister Lise (she had died by a car accident by the Nazis) and Ellen’s parents were sneaked someplace else.
Without warning, Nazi soldier checked the house for any Rosens. They checked because they knew that the Johnsens are good friends with the Rosens. The soldiers almost caught that Ellen was a Rosen but they didn’t.With all the trouble with Nazis, everybody in the house but Mr. Johnsen go to uncle Henrik’s house. When they reach there, they find out that Sweden is right across the shore.
After a few days, they hear that great aunt Birte had died, but the funny thing that Annemarie tried to figure out was who is great aunt Birte. When the Funeral was held many people came who Annemarie didn’t know. She saw Peter, and best of all, Ellen’s parents! The Rosens!
Because so many people came to the house today, the Nazi soldiers came inside and demand to open the casket and see the dead body. Mrs. Johnsen said that great aunt Birte died with typhus and the disease is still spreadable so not to open the casket and Nazis didn’t checked the casket. When the Nazis left Peter read a psalm, when he was done he opened the casket. There was no dead body in the casket. It had only big coats and special packets. Everybody got one and then lead in groups to boats in the forest, by 4 am. When nobody came back so Annemarie checked outside and saw that mama had broke her ankle. She also saw a special packet that Mr. Rosen had dropped, So Annemarie decided to bring it to Uncle Henrik. Her cover story is that she is bringing lunch for Uncle Henrik.
It was very dark and cold, but she knew the road very well. When she was almost there, 2 soldiers stood with dogs and searched her “uncle’s lunch” but didn’t find anything.
Then when her Uncle saw her, he was so thankful and grateful that he had gotten his “lunch”(he had known what it was for). Then Annemarie rushed home to mama to see how she was. The next morning, Annemarie asks what was in the packet to Uncle Henrik, he told her that the packet had a scent that relocates the dog scent and thus avoid detecting the hiding people.
Two years later, the war ends, and everybody in Denmark celebrated that the Nazis were gone and once again, they were free.
