When the Soldiers Were Gone

During WW II, a boy lives with another family until it is time to return home.

Summary: When Henk was younger everytime the Nazi soldiers came around he had to hide and he had no idea why it was just him who had to do this. When the war was over though he quickly found out that the family he thought he had was not his. His real parents came to pick him up and take him back to

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the city with them to start a new life there with them.

Evaluation/Argument: This book does a good job of providing insight into the life of Benjamin and how he felt throughout the war. He was not like the family who he was staying with, but he never knew why. This book really portrays his emotions well and and insight into his struggle. For example, the author does a great job at the beginning of the book describing the emotions that Henk has when his real parents come to pick him up. He has no idea who they are and why they are there, but he is adamant that they are not his parents. After the war was over Jewish people could have normal lives again, just like Benjamin was allowed.
The central message of this book is that discriminating a person based off of their religion is not right to do. Benjamin also learned that other people, besides just your family, can become family to you. The family he stayed with during the war became a family to him and he knew nothing else besides this family until the war ended.

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