The Silver Sword
First edition
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| Author | Ian Serraillier |
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| Illustrator | C. Walter Hodges |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
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Publication date
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1956 |
| Pages | 192 (1956) |
| OCLC | 154290268 |
The Silver Sword is a novel by Ian Serraillier, a children's classic, first published in the UK in 1956 by Jonathan Cape and then by Puffin Books in 1960. It had also been published in the U.S. under the title Escape From Warsaw. The story is based upon fact, although fictional names are given to a few of the places mentioned. The account of the Red Army on the march is derived from eye-witness accounts in Jan Stransky's East Wind over Prague.The Silver Sword has been adapted for television and radio.
Joseph Balicki, the school headmaster of a Polish school in Warsaw, was arrested by the Gestapo in early 1940 and taken away to a prison camp. His school had been taken over by the Nazis after the invasion of Poland, and he was forced to teach lessons entirely in German. Pictures of Adolf Hitler had been put up all over the school, and during a lesson Joseph had turned one of these pictures around to face the wall. Someone had reported this to the Nazis, and as a result he was taken from his house to the prison camp on a cold winter's night. He was in the prison for more than a year before escaping, after knocking out a guard who was bringing food to his cell and stealing the guard's uniform. He then decided to head to his hometown of Warsaw.
Even though Joseph was taken away, his wife (Margrit) and three children (Ruth aged nearly 13, Edek aged 11, and Bronia aged 3) were left behind to fend for themselves to survive.
After fleeing the prison, Joseph arrived at a house and took refuge with an elderly couple who lived there. They were at first confused by his Polish appearance and speech, combined with his Nazi uniform, but they accepted him as a friend after he explained what happened to him, and he showed them the prison number branded on his arm as proof. Shortly after his arrival, they heard the prison camp "escape bell" ringing in the distance, and he realised his escape had been discovered. Nazi soldiers arrived at the house searching for the escapee the next day, but Joseph hid up a chimney to avoid being captured or shot. Two German soldiers had entered the house and fired bullets up the chimney in a bid to find out if anyone was there, but they fled the house (fearful of ruining their uniforms) after dislodging a heap of soot. Joseph spent two more weeks in the house before deciding to return to Warsaw. The old man came with him for the first part of the journey, after which Joseph ventured on alone.
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Wikipedia