Rachel Zolotov's Blog - Posts Tagged "wwii"
So Excited to Share the Story Behind my Book Cover!
I'd love to share with you the story behind my cover, as it's pretty special to me.
The elements of my design were inspired directly from the novel. The fountain in the background is Stalingrad, while the train tracks and fighter planes depict events from the novel.
Pictured are my great-grandparents. The original photo was black and white, but for the cover I used AI to colorize the image.
This treasured photo was taken in Belarus before their hometown of Minsk was torn apart by the war. Little did they know then what challenges would lie ahead.
The elements of my design were inspired directly from the novel. The fountain in the background is Stalingrad, while the train tracks and fighter planes depict events from the novel.
Pictured are my great-grandparents. The original photo was black and white, but for the cover I used AI to colorize the image.
This treasured photo was taken in Belarus before their hometown of Minsk was torn apart by the war. Little did they know then what challenges would lie ahead.
Postcard Spotlight
While researching
The Girl with the Silver Star
, I reached out to many relatives hoping for some information about my family during the war. Finding a collection of postcards and letters that my great-grandfather Abraham sent to my great-grandmother Raisa during WWII was a treasure!
Many of these postcards and letters are what inspired me to tell this story of how my family overcame the horrors of the second war. This particular postcard is one of my favorites!
On the front is a patriotic Russian poem called "The Blue Scarf." The backside has a hand-written note from Abraham to his girls on June 3rd, 1943. In the novel, Raisa wears her favorite blue scarf to remember Abraham while he is far away.
The poem and note are a simple but powerful way of showing the longing he has for Raisa and his girls.
What do you think? Do you have any passed-down family heirlooms you love? Feel free to share them!
Many of these postcards and letters are what inspired me to tell this story of how my family overcame the horrors of the second war. This particular postcard is one of my favorites!
On the front is a patriotic Russian poem called "The Blue Scarf." The backside has a hand-written note from Abraham to his girls on June 3rd, 1943. In the novel, Raisa wears her favorite blue scarf to remember Abraham while he is far away.
The poem and note are a simple but powerful way of showing the longing he has for Raisa and his girls.
What do you think? Do you have any passed-down family heirlooms you love? Feel free to share them!
Journey Map
Luba and Sofia were only 16 and 10 years old when my great-grandmother was forced to take them away from everything they knew. The girls had to grow up faster than they could ever have imagined.They traveled 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Minsk, Belarus to Kokand, Uzbekistan. This would be the equivalent distance from San Diego to the tip of New York. It is hard to fathom traveling that far on foot and by train, especially while fleeing from the Nazis. The girls lived in what amounted to cattle cars with no electricity or running water and on floors of train stations. It took them months to arrive in Kokand. Their only saving grace was that the family avoided traveling during the harsh winter months where temperatures rarely average above 25 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Original documents make the best inspiration!
According to the website JewishGen.org, approximately 1 million former Soviet Union Jews were evacuated or fled themselves to Uzbekistan and neighboring areas before the German troops entered their cities. They estimate as many as 300,000 deportees perished from disease and starvation, while some died in the line fire serving their country.
152,000 registration cards have been digitized and a database has been made available with names and digital images of the registration cards of those that arrived in Tashkent between 1941-1942.
This is the registration card for my great-grandmother, Raisa and her girls, Luba and Sofia. How incredible that these were preserved and made available to view!
152,000 registration cards have been digitized and a database has been made available with names and digital images of the registration cards of those that arrived in Tashkent between 1941-1942.
This is the registration card for my great-grandmother, Raisa and her girls, Luba and Sofia. How incredible that these were preserved and made available to view!
