Ruta Sepetys

Hello, dear Hannelore!

How writing or just thinking your name alters my mood. Sometimes I lie on my cot and whisper it oh so slowly into the darkness. Han-ne-lore. Little Lore.

“Enough studying, Joana. Sometimes living life is more instructive than studying it,” my father used to tease.

Originally created in Prussia and gifted to Peter the Great, the Amber Room was a glittering chamber of amber, jewels, gold, and mirrors.

Mother was anchor. Mother was comfort. Mother was home.

Mother was anchor. Mother was comfort. Mother was home.

I looked down at her lips

As the philosophers say, ‘Life is short,
but art is long.’

Hitler might lose the war, but he wouldn’t be willing to surrender all the art he had stolen. Especially not the Amber Room

So instead of creating art or collecting it, Hitler stole it. Large albums with photos and lists of the items he targeted for his museum were assembled. Two such albums had been
delivered to Dr. Lange. Some of the art listed was in private homes, owned by Jewish families. Other pieces, like the Julian Falat painting, were in museums. The Czartoryski Museum in Kraków had been pillaged. Masterpieces by da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Raphael now hung in the private apartments of Nazi officials

I knew Mama would say them if she could. But Joana spoke them, slowly and deliberately, clutching my hands between hers.

“Emilia, I am so very sorry.”

My chin began to tremble. My throat tightened. I nodded and warm tears spilled down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, squeezing my hands.

“Me too,” I whispered.