Black Radishes

Black Radishes by Susan Meyer

Black Radishes offers a unique story about World War II and the Holocaust. A number of unique circumstances, when added together, provide protection for the Jewish Becker family – why even the name, Becker, and its lack of Jewishness offers safety. Our young hero, Gustave Becker, and his mother are French-born Jews – foreign born Jews were delivered to the Germans first. Gustave’s father was born in Switzerland and maintains his citizenship there enabling him to cross borders with very little trouble. Gustave’s father would have been drafted and sent to war like Gustave’s uncle except that he has a disability, a limp, the result of polio. Having the family together allowed to them to act quickly without anxiety over loss of communications with loved ones. The Beckers have relatives living in the United States who will provide an affidavit guaranteeing their financial support of the Becker family upon their arrival. Along with foresight and courage, these circumstances help the Becker family to escape the horror most Jews would face in Europe during the Nazi’s reign.

Gustave is perhaps less affected by the threat of Nazi occupation than he is by the changes his family is required to make to escape them. Gustave is a city boy through and through. He is accustomed to Paris and all of the amenities that great City provides. Gustave excels in academics and is well on his way to earning honors before his family is forced to flee to the countryside. Leaving the city means more than forfeiting his schooling, the Boy Scouts, and many friends. Gustave must leave behind his close cousin Jean-Paul and their best friend Marcel – together they make the Three Musketeers. The rural town of Saint-Georges cannot provide or replace Gustave’s loss.

Saint-George on the Cher River is beautiful and pastoral, but it is also an old, old village with well-established Catholic families. The Beckers will be noticeably absent from Mass. They will have to worship quietly, behind closed doors and curtains and alone. Even in their attempts to draw very little attention to themselves, they will still stand out in their differences and lack of participation the in the community’s established norms. It isn’t long until Gustave is tricked into revealing his identity by a curious and vindictive bully.

The town has its bullies, but it also has its French Revolutionaries. The town occupies an important location. The River Cher represents the boundary between Occupied France and Unoccupied France. The bridges that span the river are checkpoints between the two and are closely guarded by German soldiers. But brave men like Gustave’s father find ways to cross over back and forth either in secret or broad daylight. Gustave makes a new friend, Nicole, who runs her own “Underground Railroad” of sorts helping Jews escape from occupied France. Gustave helps both his father and his friend as necessary and discovers first-hand the importance of wearing a poker face as well as how much the German’s love their black radishes with beer.

Every year, World War II and or the Holocaust are represented on the Rebecca Caudill Nominee list. I think last year was an exception. Two years ago, we had The Boy Who Dared and Yellow Star. Both were very poignant and thought-provoking. I don’t consider Black Radishes to be quite in the same league, but it is also a very different story, one that I haven’t heard or considered before. And there are many children who gravitate to these stories in particular and I wouldn’t want them to miss this one! Definitely recommended for 4^th through 6^th graders.