Mała wojna [The Little War]

Author: Katarzyna Ryrych

Illustrator: Joanna Rusinek

Year: 2019

Publisher: Literatura

Place of publication: Łódź

Pages: 80

ISBN: 9788376726557

Notes: “Wojny dorosłych – historie dzieci” series

The plot of Mała wojna [The Little War] takes place in and around Lviv (in today’s Ukraine) during the Second World War. Two sisters living in a suburban home, Janeczka and Lilka, try to function normally in the shadow of the conflict. This is made easier by their family’s wealth, thanks to which they can take music lessons from Mr. Stefan whom they call Maestro – a demanding yet friendly senior violin virtuoso. During a seemingly routine lesson at Mr. Stefan’s home, Lilka notices a book fall out of a shelf. Another time, it seems to the girls that a portrait hanging on the wall is following them with its eyes. The strange phenomena push the characters to investigate the mystery of Maestro’s home.

In her short story, Ryrych uses the genre of the detective novel, drawing from the rich imagination of the child characters. This makes Mała wojna [The Little War] a compelling read. However, the element of adventure does not overshadow the subtly depicted tragedy of war which affects Janeczka and Lilka’s family. It is with similar gentleness that the author mentions the extermination of Jewish neighbours “leaving” the city, and “the crazies” as they are called by one child character, meaning the patients at the mental hospital in Kulparkowo, located near the girls’ home (and active until this day). Notably, this is the first mention of the Holocaust of persons with disabilities and mental illnesses in Polish children’s literature.

Bibliography:

• Rybak, K., Stosunki polsko-żydowskie i Zagłada w polskiej literaturze dziecięcej XXI wieku, [in:] Stosunki polsko-żydowskie, vol. 2, Kultura. Literatura, sztuka i nauka w XX wieku, ed. Z. Trębacz, Warszawa 2020, pp. 171–187 (p. 174, fn. 7; 182);
• Rybak, K., Zagłada i ideologia w polskiej literaturze dziecięcej XXI wieku, „Narracje o Zagładzie”, no. 1(7), 2021, pp. 155–173 (p. 159, fn. 20);
• Rybak, K., Obrazowanie Zagłady. Narracje holokaustowe w polskiej literaturze XXI wieku dla dzieci i młodzieży, Warszawa 2023 (p. 13, 92);
• Wawer, K., Lekcje (polskiego) z wielokulturowości. Praca z serią Wojny dorosłych – historie dzieci w szkole podstawowej na wybranych przykładach, „Polonistyka. Innowacje”, no. 13, 2021, pp. 145–161 (p. 146).