Darowane kreski [The End of the Game]

This is a memoir by Joanna Papuzińska on which her later children’s books such as Asiunia (2011), Mój tato szczęściarz (My Dad the Lucky Man, 2013) and Krasnale i olbrzymy (Dwarfs and Giants, 2015) were based. The author’s recollections trace back to the Second World War. Despite it being a dramatic time, especially for the adult members of her family, the small child’s perspective makes room for humorous moments.

Only one explicit mention of the Holocaust can be found in The End of the Game. When Joanna is a toddler, her mother picks her up, points to a red sky over Warsaw and: “she said ‘Remember’ or ‘Look – the Germans are burning the ghetto.’” [6] What is more, the book contains references to the fact that the Papuzińskis actively helped Jewish people. There are visitors in need of help who come and go; “various aunties” who “have lingered awhile and are staying in the little room at the back of the apartment” and keep “very quiet, very careful.” [7] Joanna’s grandmother says that it was “reckless” on the family’s part to allow them there. Some of the guests are children, who “also linger a little while longer.” [7] The reader can guess that the Papuzińskis shelter these Jewish guests, which is confirmed in the author’s additions to the third edition (“Introduction” and “After all these years”), where she writes about her parents’ being awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal.