The Hidden Room
The Hidden Room follows a Ukrainian family hiding from the Nazis during the last year of World War II. Jacob, his parents, sister Rachel, and brother Eli find refuge in a cave with the help of a gentile family, the Kovals. Their only son, Stepan, helps Jacob and his family by bringing them supplies, but as he is a soldier in the Russian army, he cannot come often.
One night, while Jacob and Stepan are gathering food in an abandoned potato field, they discover a killing field—a place where the Nazis have massacred thousands. But not all who are lying in the field are dead, and the boys rescue Lena, a gentile girl whose family was caught helping Jews. She is the sole survivor of her family and, while trying to rescue her, Stepan and Jacob are almost caught by a roving patrol of Nazi soldiers. While Stepan runs in one direction to lead the soldiers away, Jacob manages to get Lena back to the cave where his mother helps heal her. Lena becomes part of the family, and soon she joins Jacob in his nightly excursions to find food so his family can survive. Stepan is never heard from again, and the reader is left to surmise he did not escape the Nazis alive.
Character development could have been stronger. The children are easily reassured, and Mother shows a level of kindness and sacrifice that seems angelic. Stories easily calmed the children in a way that didn’t feel real to me. No one complains of their circumstance.
However, given the fate of Ukraine today, this story is a timely one and well worth reading. Learning the history of the Ukrainian people will hopefully help stiffen the resolve of those outside Ukraine to lend aid.
