Awards

• Commended for Moonbeam Children's Book Award (Nonfiction-Young Adult) 2009

Overview

"The son of a diamond merchant in Antwerp's famous diamond exchange, Paul-Henri Rips was ten years old when the Nazis invaded Belgium in May 1940 and ended what he calls his ""golden childhood"" forever. Vividly told from a child's perspective, this fascinating account explores the diverse cast of characters who inhabited Belgium and France during the Nazi occupation and the experiences of one family against the backdrop of large-scale events. Guided throughout by his father's words of wisdom--""A klapt vargayt, a wort bestayt"" (A blow will go away again, but a word lasts forever) and ""Sei a mensch"" (Be a decent human being)--Rips conveys his unwavering belief in the importance of holding on to one's own humanity in the face of unfathomable inhumanity."

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9781897470091

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Paul-Henri Rips was born in 1929, the son of a diamond merchant in Antwerp's famous diamond exchange. He was ten years old when the Nazis invaded Belgium in May 1940 and ended his golden childhood forever. After the war Paul-Henri Rips continued to live in Antwerp, where he worked in the diamond industry. He left in 1950 and moved to the Belgian Congo for ten years and then to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he met and married his wife, Lily, and their two children were born. In 1997, the couple immigrated to Toronto to join their children and grandchildren, where Paul-Henri lives with his wife.

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