Simona Pociute

Saved by Psalms Simona Pociute

Young Irving was too young to understand what was happening when the Nazis occupied his region of Czechoslovakia. His simple, happy childhood was over when antisemitism spread quickly. On his 9th birthday in 1940, Irving was excited to go to his first day of sixth grade. On his way to school, he saw a sign in front of the park which said, "Jews and dogs are forbidden to enter." As he came closer to school, he saw the principal of the school standing outside with a group of children around him. All the children had yellow stars on their shirts. The principal said: "You cannot go to this school because you are Jewish." Later that day, Irving wanted to play soccer with his friends, but he was confronted by his teammates who refused to let him play on their team. Next Jews, including Irving and his family, were put into cattle cars and shipped to Auschwitz concentration camp. Young Irving and his brother survived the horrors of the camp and were part of the death march led by the Nazis. Weak and exhausted, it was clear to the brothers, "You march or you die." The march seemed to last forever, and they could not go a couple of feet without seeing a dead body. Irving's brother Andre encouraged him, asking him to recite the book of Psalms of the Bible to take his mind off his hunger and weariness. A young author from Lithuania wrote this powerful story and a girl from Iowa did the amazing artwork that makes it even more compelling.