Masters of Silence by Kathy Kacer

Masters of Silence is the second novel in the Quartet series by Kathy Kacer. In this story, two young refugees from the Nazis are helped by Marcel Marceau to safety.

Fourteen-year-old Helen Rosenthal and her ten-year-old brother Henry, have journeyed from Germany to southern France with their mother in the hopes of finding safety with the nuns at a convent. Their home had been in Frankfurt, but as Jews, the city and the country had become increasingly unsafe. Mr. Rosenthal was seized by the Nazis a year earlier and they do not know his fate. After his seizure, Helen, Henry and their mother packed a few belongings and traveled to Kronberg where they were taken in by a Catholic family. Frau Weber was willing to keep their mother because she could be passed off as a servant. However, the presence of Helen and Henry would have been more difficult to explain even though their blond hair meant they did not look Jewish. 

After Frau Weber told their mother about a convent in southern France taking in Jewish children, the three set out on their journey. Now at the convent, Helen and Henry's mother hands over their identity documents and to their shock says goodbye. She tells them she is returning to Kronberg to wait for news of their father and that she loves them both. Henry cries loudly and Helen is so shocked all she can do is stare at her mother.

The two children are taken to their dorm rooms by the kindly Sister Cecile. The next morning Helen meets one of the girls in her room, Michelle who tells her that they are all in the same situation. Many have no idea where their parents are or have no parents at all.  Michelle explains the convent's routine, that they have church services, go on outings to town to shop and have visits from a clown who does shows. Michelle also warns Helen to watch out for Sister Agnes, who is very strict and seems to have a mean streak.

Helen and Henry go to meet Mere Superieure. She tells them to stop thinking about their parents and to focus on learning the rules of the convent. Mere Superieure explains that the convent houses Jewish children from all over Europe. Although the convent is a safe place for the children, Nazi soldiers are searching through the towns of southern France for Jews who are in hiding. Because of this, they must learn and obey the rules to keep everyone safe, and learn to get along with the other children. They are to pretend they are Catholic children who have been orphaned and they will attend church, learn Catholic prayers so they can pass as Catholic if questioned.   They must also change their names. Mere Superieure tells Helen and Henry they will now be called Claire and Andre Rochette.

After dismissing Henry, Mere Superieure tells Helen she is very concerned for Henry who has not spoken since his arrival. Helen pleads that he just needs time, but the nun warns that if he does not adjust this may become a problem. Henry continues to struggle, doesn't speak or interact with anyone, even Helen, and isn't eating well. Instead he spends time writing in a small notebook that Sister Cecile has given him.

Several days later, Sister Agnes takes Helen and Henry into town to purchase some new clothing. However, the trip almost ends in disaster when Henry wanders off and is spotted alone in a store by several Nazi soldiers. Henry doesn't answer the soldiers' questions, leaving Helen to rush over and give their names. Fortunately, Sister Agnes intervenes, but the three leave the store badly shaken.

This leads Mere Superieure to stop the visits to the town because they have never had the Nazis so close until now. Helen is so shaken, she is unable to sleep that night. While up to get a drink of water, she meets a Jewish boy, Albert Gotliev. Albert is from Vienna and has lost both his parents after they were taken by the Nazis. He was smuggled out of Austria along with a group of Jewish children. Albert tells Helen about the visits by a clown, Marcel Marceau, who normally visits the convent every week.

Meanwhile Henry continues to struggle, feeling both profoundly sad and scared over the absence of his parents. He refuses to get up one morning and starts a fight with another boy who suggests that Henry's father may be dead. The fight is broken up by Albert, who tries to talk to Henry.

However, things drastically change when the clown, Marcel Marceau arrives one day to give a show at the convent. Henry is mesmerized by his performance and stays behind afterwards. Marcel helps Henry deal with his feelings but more than that, he helps Henry find his voice and leads him and his sister to safety after the Nazis raid the convent.

Discussion

Masters of Silence is the second book in the Quartet series by Canadian children's author Kathy Kacer. The focus in this second series is on the World War II hero, Marcel Marceau who was responsible for saving the lives of Jews and Gentiles. He was born Marcel Mangel, in 1923, in Strasbourg, France to Charles Mangel, a kosher butcher and Anne Werzberg.

With the Nazi invasion of France imminent, the French government evacuated the population of Strasbourg to Perigord in southern France. The Jews of Strasbourg fled the incoming Nazis and Marcel's family fled to Limoges. Marcel was only sixteen at this time. He and his younger brother Andre joined the French Resistance.  He used the name Marcel Mangel and posing as a Scout Master, he helped evacuate a Jewish orphanage in France to the safety of neutral Switzerland.

When he was a young child, Marcel was fascinated by American silent movie star, Charlie Chaplin. After the war ended, Marcel studied at the School of Dramatic Art in Paris. By 1947, Marcel's career as a mime was firmly established with the success of a character, Bip the Clown whom he created. What most did not know at this time, was the important work Marcel had been a part of during the war.

Kacer has crafted a believable storyline to showcase Marcel Marceau's work with the French Resistance in saving Jewish children. The two main characters in the story, Helen and her younger brother Henry have just arrived at a Catholic convent in southern France. The story could have just centered on these two children and their journey into France but Kacer adds another layer to the story. Henry Rosenthal, is a young boy who is so traumatized by what he and his family have experienced that he has become mute. No one is really able to help Henry and he continues to withdraw into himself as well as act out by fighting with the other boys, until Marcel, affectionately called "the clown" by the children at the convent, arrives to do a show. Through Marcel's patient teaching of mime, Henry finds a safe way to express himself and is able to verbally communicate when a dangerous situation develops at the convent. From this point on he shows himself to be a very brave little fellow.

The novel also highlights how many of the of the French helped the Jewish people during the war. Ordinary French citizens like the nuns at the convent were taking very serious risks. While hidden Jews were sent to camps, French citizens hiding them were shot.Hiding an entire group of Jewish children in a convent under the guise of an orphanage would have been an incredible risk and required a great amount of courage. Kacer also portrays just how dangerous it was for Marcel and his young charges to journey to the Swiss border.

The title, Masters of Silence is a play on the name given to Marcel Marceau who was given the same title for his work as a mime. And of course, Henry turned out to also be a "master of silence" with his skill as a mime. 

Book Details:

Masters of Silence by Kathy Kacer
Toronto: Annick Press Ltd.     2019
263 pp.