When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

I still remember the day I got the dark circles around my eyes. I don’t remember how it came into my possession, but I had a torch. When my dad said it was time to finish the chapter and turn the light off, I did as he said. Then, listening carefully until I was sure he was at the bottom of the stairs, I picked up my book, pulled the torch out from under my pillow and carried on reading.

When I woke up in the morning, I looked in the mirror and gasped when I saw the big purple shadows around my eyes. Oh no! My parents would definitely know I had stayed up late! The dark circles never went away (to this day) but the silver lining was that after that first morning, my parents never knew which nights I had stayed awake far too late reading.

I never understood why people used to read stories to children to get them to fall asleep. They did the exact opposite for me: after reading a book I was wide awake, mind racing and imagination firing. I was always desperate to know what happened in the next chapter and simply could not put the book down until tomorrow night. Before the torch, when I was forced to put the book down, I’d simply continue the stories in my head. I went to Hogwarts with Harry, rode in the Giant Peach with James, solved mysteries with Nancy.

One of my favourite bedtimes stories as a child was When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr. I remember reading it with my little cuddly elephant tucked into the crook of one arm so she could see the page too, and promising that I would never let Hitler steal her. The book is aimed at children and written through the eyes of a nine-year-old girl, but it’s really a story for all ages. Indeed, I used to come back to it every few years, and with each new read would see it in a fresh light.

The novel follows Anna, a young Jewish German whose father disappears in the dead of night. The next evening, she finds herself packing a suitcase for her own escape and is told she can only take one toy. She opts for a new floppy dog, leaving old favourite Pink Rabbit behind, a decision she will come to regret when she starts to imagine Hitler carrying Pink Rabbit around with him.

Anna is not quite sure who Hitler is, though she’s seen pictures of him on posters, but for some reason Hitler doesn’t like Anna. It’s the eve of the 1933 elections, and Anna’s family flees Germany for neighbouring Switzerland. The rest of the story follows them as they try to make a new life as refugees, first in Zurich, then Paris, and finally London.

This story has special meaning for me because it was the first book that made me cry. It was the first book to make me feel true empathy for another person and to see the challenges of life through another’s eyes. It was the first book to interest me in history and politics, and to understand their impact on an innocent child’s life.

It also set me on a lifelong path of language-learning, because I was moved by Anna’s struggle to learn French and fit into a new country, and in awe of the fact that she ended up knowing German, French and English. Today I speak French and Spanish fluently and have spent several years living in Germany, France and Spain on my own immigrant journey in Europe.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit inspires a child’s imagination because it is written from a child’s perspective. When you read a story, or look at a picture book, or watch a film, you see the characters and you see what they are feeling, but when you read a book like this one, you step into Anna’s shoes and feel what she feels. Through Anna’s eyes, you see her journey across Europe as a thrilling adventure, difficult at times, but always exciting.

This book inspires children to imagine how they would feel if they were forced to leave their own country, and what they would do if they had to leave everything behind and start life over again. It inspires them to imagine what it would be like to live in a new country and learn a new language and make new friends. It inspires them to imagine how they would be brave for their families when faced with difficult circumstances. It inspires them to perhaps imagine how they would treat a refugee who arrived at their school out of the blue.

The subject matter is an unusual one for a children’s book, but at some point we must realise that life is not all fairy tales and magic. The novel is a good introduction to a challenging topic and a difficult period in history, without ever dwelling on it. Hitler’s rise to power is the background, but the focus of the novel is on Anna’s family and their experience building a new life abroad. It is hopeful and positive and funny, and teaches us that there is light and laughter even in the dark times.

When I first read this book, like Anna, I didn’t really know who Hitler was or why he didn’t like Anna and her family. As a teenager, I read the story with new eyes, having more knowledge about what happened in Germany during that period of time. And when I was older, it grew even more poignant as I identified with the adults in the novel, Anna’s parents, and realised how they must have suffered and how well they protected her from the horrors of Nazi Germany. Reading it after The Diary of Anne Frank is particularly devastating, when you understand how differently Anna’s story could have been.

Despite being set nearly 90 years ago, the novel’s themes are timeless and still relevant today. Sadly, war and conflict, authoritarian regimes, racism, anti-Semitism and refugees are still a part of our world. This book is so important and the themes so vital for children to read and understand, because it encourages them to see refugees not as the Other, but as a person the same as they are. Anna is just like any other child in any country she passes through – she wants to go to school, have fun, make friends and spend time with her family. This book asks you to imagine yourself in that situation, it inspires you to empathise with others and, most of all, it teaches you not to judge anybody for their religion or ethnicity.