Once he is released, the family flees to Cuba. While walking on the boat afterwards, a newly minted man, he overhears the stewards discussing how the ships engines are maxed out - in order to beat the other ships to Cuba. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Josef wonders what this means for (read more from the Pages 74 - 109 Summary). The Syrian Civil War is still ongoing as of 2021. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. The places where they live are in a horrifying state of turmoil. The two families face much peril in the Florida straits: giant tankers, a hurricane that blows them off course, running out of fuel and water, deadly sharks, and Mami's going into labor all while trying to avoid the U.S. Coast guard so that they can make it to shore where they can claim asylum. Source (s) Refugee (He is Officer Padron from Josefs story.) What can you learn about the people and the time period from these allusions? All are escaping persecution and seeking safety and freedom. Josef Landau's story begins in 1938 in Nazi Germany. A few of the crew, however, openly dislike the Jewish passengers, especially Otto Schiendick, who proudly states his Nazi allegiance. What are the different settings of the novel and how does it affect and shape the characters? On their way to Switzerland, the Landaus unfortunately run into German soldiers. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. He is gaunt and thin; looking "like an escapee from a mental asylum" (36). After a riot in Havana, Isabels family decides that they should also leave Cuba immediately. Thus, Gratz presents the stark reality of the perils of such a passage. All storyboards are private and secure to the portal using enterprise-class file security hosted by Microsoft Azure. What I really like about this book is the changing perspectives. This dude does his history homework and then hides it in a total page-turner. Refugee looks readers straight in the eye, challenging them to truly see these kids who are battling the worst moments of our recent history. For Aaron, it represents a metaphorical death, as he disappears into the water and subsequently out of Josefs life. For one, fiction enables the reader to inhabit history in a way that textbooks and newsprint cannot accommodate. But Captain Schroeder recognizes the necessity of keeping those hopes alive, and so continues to conceal that there may be trouble when they reach Cuba. It tells the story of three refugee children and their families in different times and places. Josef again shows his passage into adulthood, as he notices and worries about his mothers mental condition. Though Refugee is a novel, all three of its main storylines are based on actual historical events. on 50-99 accounts. This summary should be accessible to high beginning or low intermediate ENL students. Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida - 1994, 5 days (1) Themes and Colors Key 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. After the police see Isabels father participate in a riot, there is no option but for the Fernandez family to leave Cuba by boat. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs LitCharts Teacher Editions. Ruth promises to help Mahmoud find Hana. Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? For the last few years, there has been a war in his country between the Syrian government, rebels, the Soviets, the United States and several other factions. Braving extremely choppy and shark-infested waters, the two families make the ninety-mile run to Florida. Summary Plot Overview Refugee follows the stories of three different children and their families, each attempting to flee their violent homelands, in different regions of the world and during different decades. Anincredibly important, heartrending, edge-of-the-seat read, bringing light to the plight of immigrants who search for safety and freedom. Her father is caught participating in the "Maleconazo" riot, during which citizens protested the government's civil rights abuses as well as the economic crisis that had plunged the nation into poverty. After the war ended, Ruth returned to Germany to look for Josef and Rachel, but learned that the two were killed in concentration camps. The rest, like Josef and his mother, were largely sent to concentration camps after Germany invaded other European countries. Just when Miami becomes visible on the horizon, a U.S. Coast Guard boat tries to intercept the two families. Margaret Neville, The King's English Bookstore, 2018 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers, 2018 National Jewish Book Award Winner for Young Adults, New York Times Notable Middle Grade Childrens Book 2017, 2017 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Award Winner, 2018 Indies Choice/E.B. The family is eventually pulled from the water by the Greek Coast Guard. Josef: Havana Harbor 1939, 19 days (2). The stories are set in different times and places and are told from the perspective of the refugee children. Josef Landau is a twelve-year-old boy living in Berlin. Josefs father is convinced there is a trap, so Josef and his mother go without him. Isabels story starts with a riot. Refugee by Alan Gratz is a historical fiction novel written in 2017 that weaves together three compelling stories of families seeking sanctuary in other countries. Amidst the celebration of leaving, Josef is concerned about his father. After the Soviet Union collapsed, so too did its aid to Cuba, forcing thousands of families like Isabels into utter poverty. Summary Themes Questions & Answers Characters Analysis Refugee Themes T he main themes in Refugee are trauma and growing up, the dehumanization of refugees, and empathy and hope. In their memory, she decided to make Berlin her home. It only gets worse for them, but in the end, he learns a powerful life lesson: Its better to be visible than invisible, because even though the bad people can harm you, the good people can help you. However, despite the presence of kind adults like Captain Schroeder, the ship is also haunted by Nazi spies, like Otto Schiendick, who mistreat Jews. Josefs fathers jump into the sea symbolizes his desire to annihilate himself. Mahmoud Bisharas story is the most recent: he and his family live in Aleppo, Syria, in 2015 and escape to Germany. All storyboards and images are private and secure. Making their way past ISIS operatives, they get to Turkey by road, where a boat is to take them to Greece tomorrow. Again, like it was for the Landaus at the Cuban coast, that tomorrow is deferred, day after day and week after week, and the family is forced to take shelter in an abandoned Turkish mall. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Summary This section starts with Josef's perspective, somewhere on the Atlantic in 1939, "8 days from home" (74). Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Renews March 11, 2023 Josefs father gets sent to a concentration camp. Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 6 days, Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 8 days, Isabel: Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (1), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 10 days, Isabel: Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (2), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 11 days, Isabel: The Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (3), Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey 2015, 11 days (1), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 14 days, Isabel: The Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (4), Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey 2015, 11 days (2), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 17 days, Isabel: Straits of Florida 1994, 2 days, Mahmoud: The Mediterranean 2015, 11 days (1), Mahmoud: The Mediterranean 2015, 11 days (2), Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida 1994, 4 days, Mahmoud: The Mediterranean 2015, 11 days (3), Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida 1994, 5 days (1), Mahmoud: Lesbos to Athens 2015, 12 days (3), Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida 1994, 5 days (2), Mahmoud: Macedonia to Serbia 2015, 14-15 days, Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (1), Mahmoud: Serbia to Hungary 2015, 15-16 days, Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (2), Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (3), Josef: Vornay, France 1940, 1 year, 1 month, 10 days, Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (4), Mahmoud: Hungary to Germany 2015, 17 days. Eventually, the captain announces that they are not going to be allowed to dock in Havana and that the boat will be leaving. The journey aboard the St. Louis from Hamburg to Havana is a sunny interlude in Josef and Ruths troubled childhood. Even amongst people who have lost everything, they still have empathy toward this man who showed the same courtesy to a fellow Jewish person. His experiences with oppression in Germany, and then as a refugee, cause him to grow up far sooner than he should have to. The last date is today's It is shabbos and time for Josef's Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish religious ceremony when a Jewish boy turns 13 years old. Mahmouds story starts with their apartment building collapsing, due to people rioting because of the civil war going on in Syria. March 4, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 His experiences with oppression in Germany, and then as a refugee, cause him to grow up far sooner than he should have to. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Gratz illustrates more dehumanization from the Nazis, exemplified in Schiendicks equation of the children with rats. The third story belongs to thirteen-year-old Mahmoud Bishara, who lives in war-torn Aleppo, Syria, against the backdrop of a crisis which continues into the present day. In the end, these three stories are connected. Aarons purported crime is that he is still practicing law when the Nazis have expressly forbidden the Jewish community from that profession. Gratzs stirring novel humanizes the plight of refugees worldwide. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world, Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. Aarons real crime, of course, is that he is a Jew, the minority group that Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler wants to eradicate. Refine any search. With Storyboard That, you can create a wide variety of storyboards such as the story from the main character's perspective, or any other character's point of view. Eventually, the rest of the family is rescued by the Greek Coast Guard and taken to Lesbos, where the coast is littered with the bodies of Syrian refugees who drowned in transit.