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The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is an important reminder for the world to remember those who were murdered, tortured and dehumanized and bore witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust and the strength of love and the power of resilience to overcome and survive. I recently added The House We Grew up In by Lisa Jewel and Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate to the BExtraordinaire Blog. Check it out. |
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is reading Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan for March Book Club.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan is based on the true story of Pino Lella, an unsung hero from Milan willing to risk his life to save others during World War II.
The story takes place during the Fascist regime between June 1943 -May 1945 in Milan, Italy and its surrounding areas. Pino is a young man desperate to help his fellow countrymen in the fight against the Nazis. His family sends him away to a Catholic Boys boarding school in the Alps mountains near the Swiss border in efforts to protect him. He is enlisted by the priest in an underground mission to take refuge seekers across the treacherous mountain passes to safety in Switzerland. The trip is full of danger: icy slopes, blizzard conditions, avalanches, bandits and Nazi patrols. His courage and skills enabled him to successfully guide many Jewish people to safety.
Here is a snippet from one of the journeys across the Alps.
“Pino collapsed in the snow, thanking God for watching over them, and praying that they’d seen the worst. But the winds picked up again, not in gusts but with steady force that drove the snowflakes into their faces like icy needles. The farther southeast they trudged, the worse the storm got, until Pino wasn’t exactly sure where he was. Of all the obstacles they’d faced since leaving Casa Alpina that morning, moving blind in a snowstorm across an open ridge was the most dangerous, at least where Pino was concerned. Pizzo Groppera was pocked with crevasses at that time of year. They could fall six meters or more into one of them and not be found until spring. Even if he could avoid the mountain’s physical dangers, with the cold and wet came the threat of hypothermia and death.”
With Pino’s 18th birthday approaching, his parents inform him he has no choice other than enlist as a German soldier. They believe by joining the Organization Todt work unit of the German Army his life would be safer. Little did they imagine, he would be chosen to be the driver of one of the most powerful Nazi generals, General Hans Leyers. General Leyers, the Plenipotentiary of the Italian Sector for Organization Todt reported directly to Hitler. Pino’s uncle, a member of the Italian Resistance sees this as an opportunity to access important information that could change the fight against the Germans. His uncle convinces him to become a spy for the Allies. Pino become a spy, known as the “Observer”.
I cannot wait to hear what our book club has to say about this extraordinary tale of courage.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan is based on the true story of Pino Lella, an unsung hero from Milan willing to risk his life to save others during World War II.
The story takes place during the Fascist regime between June 1943 -May 1945 in Milan, Italy and its surrounding areas. Pino is a young man desperate to help his fellow countrymen in the fight against the Nazis. His family sends him away to a Catholic Boys boarding school in the Alps mountains near the Swiss border in efforts to protect him. He is enlisted by the priest in an underground mission to take refuge seekers across the treacherous mountain passes to safety in Switzerland. The trip is full of danger: icy slopes, blizzard conditions, avalanches, bandits and Nazi patrols. His courage and skills enabled him to successfully guide many Jewish people to safety.
Here is a snippet from one of the journeys across the Alps.
“Pino collapsed in the snow, thanking God for watching over them, and praying that they’d seen the worst. But the winds picked up again, not in gusts but with steady force that drove the snowflakes into their faces like icy needles. The farther southeast they trudged, the worse the storm got, until Pino wasn’t exactly sure where he was. Of all the obstacles they’d faced since leaving Casa Alpina that morning, moving blind in a snowstorm across an open ridge was the most dangerous, at least where Pino was concerned. Pizzo Groppera was pocked with crevasses at that time of year. They could fall six meters or more into one of them and not be found until spring. Even if he could avoid the mountain’s physical dangers, with the cold and wet came the threat of hypothermia and death.”
With Pino’s 18th birthday approaching, his parents inform him he has no choice other than enlist as a German soldier. They believe by joining the Organization Todt work unit of the German Army his life would be safer. Little did they imagine, he would be chosen to be the driver of one of the most powerful Nazi generals, General Hans Leyers. General Leyers, the Plenipotentiary of the Italian Sector for Organization Todt reported directly to Hitler. Pino’s uncle, a member of the Italian Resistance sees this as an opportunity to access important information that could change the fight against the Germans. His uncle convinces him to become a spy for the Allies. Pino become a spy, known as the “Observer”.
I cannot wait to hear what our book club has to say about this extraordinary tale of courage.
