The Stolen Pink Rabbits: Navigating the Tapestry of Childhood Struggles from Judith Kerr’s Trilogy
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13688062
Author(s): Gourangi G. Sawant & Dr Charusheela Patil
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13688062
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Volume 15 | Issue 4 | August 2024
Pages: 424-432
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The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 15, Issue-IV, August 2024 ISSN: 0976-8165
www.the-criterion.com
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10448030
The Stolen Pink Rabbits: Navigating the Tapestry of Childhood Struggles from
Judith Kerr’s Trilogy
Gourangi G. Sawant
Research Scholar,
AISC, Pune University.
&
Dr Charusheela Patil
Associate Professor,
School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences,
JSPM University, Pune.
Article History: Submitted-08/07/2024, Revised-14/08/2024, Accepted-21/08/2024, Published-31/08/2024.
Abstract:
What do you generally recall when you think of âchildhoodâ? Chasing butterflies, sailing
paper boats, waiting on a road to count the vehicles and missing the classes, wandering in meadows
and playgrounds giggling away to the glory of those silly secrets, stupid squabbles with friends,
siblings and even with parents and then longing to get back with them, worrying for exam scores
and afraid of school report cards, there is an unending list that can encompass numerous feats we
encountered in those juvenile years. Childhood is often viewed through the lens of innocence and
carefree joy.
However, all colours on the palette of childhood are not sparkling vibrant, beaming and
jazzy, there are some dark, dim, blotchy and bleak shades too. The reality for many individuals
involves a complex tapestry of challenges and struggles that shape their formative years. Acclaimed
British writer and illustrator Judith Kerr explores these complexities of childhood struggles in her
trilogy, comprising “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit”(1971), “Bombs on Aunt Dainty”(1975), and
“A Small Person Far Away.”(1978). The Present Paper discusses these struggles with reference to
the trilogy.
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13688062
The Stolen Pink Rabbits: Navigating the Tapestry of Childhood Struggles from Judith Kerr’s Trilogy
www.the-criterion.com
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10448030
Keywords: Childhood, Childrenâs Literature, Judith Kerr, Refugee, struggles.
Introduction:
Celebrating the joy of ordinary as well as extraordinary life, warmth and humanity in her
works, Judith Kerr is a unique voice in British childrenâs writing, creating timeless, exquisitely
illustrated picture books for kids. Born on June 14, 1923 in Berlin, Germany, in a Jewish family,
Kerrâs Life Journey was marked by extraordinary experiences that influenced her artistic
endeavours. To escape Nazi Germanyâs persecution of Jews, the family was forced to go into exile,
first in Switzerland in 1928 then to Paris in 1930 and finally to England in 1936. From their
aristocratic, elite, comfortable and cosy life in Berlin, young Judith Kerr along with her two years
older brother Michael had to adapt to a very stressful lifestyle struggling to meet both ends.
Homeless, Jobless, penniless and to worsen the fear, languageless, the Kerr family had to face
stumbling blocks in every new country they dwelt. Following the unstable, unsettled and peripatetic
life due to the Nazi Propaganda and World War II, Young Kerr had to go to 11 different schools in
Germany, Switzerland, France and England. Kerr finally settled in Britain in 1936, where she lived
for the remainder of her life. It was only after her own children had started school that she began her
career, creating stories and pictures. Kerr, best known for her beloved children’s Books âThe Tiger
Who Came to Teaâ and Mog Series, draws upon her own experiences as a refugee and survivor of
World War II, offering a poignant exploration of resilience, identity, and the indomitable spirit of
childhood. This Paper deals with Kerrâs childhood battles and endeavours for survival.
Discussion:
Being a refugee and World War II survivor, the well favoured and beloved Childrenâs Writer
Judith Kerrâs childhood was not an easy one. Despite the upheavals and conflicts Kerr had undergone
in those tender years, she showed surprising equanimity and composure in her life and the books she
created. She used her own life as the inspiration for most of her work. Her three autobiographical
novels; When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit (1971), Bombs on Aunt Dainty (1975) and A Small Person
Far Away (1978) are based on her early wandering years (which against all the odds she greatly
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enjoyed), her adolescence in London during the war, and finally on a brief return to Berlin as a young
married woman. Comprising evocative fictionalised memoirs of her wartime youth, these poignant
accounts depict her shifts across Europe as a German refugee child. They seamlessly combine and
detail her uphill battle, unpalatable yet exciting experiences during those tender and sensitive
juvenile years. Collected as âThe Out of Hitler Time Trilogyâ, these books form a crucial outlook
through a child’s eye to the horrors and sufferings of war. Through these books, she has not only
provided young readers with a window into a tumultuous period of history but also conveyed the
importance of resilience, hope, and the power of storytelling itself.
The first part in Kerr’s trilogy, “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit,” paints a vivid picture of a
Jew family forced to flee their home in Germany as the Nazis rise to power. The protagonist, Anna
Kemper, grapples with the abrupt loss of her familiar surroundings and the unsettling realisation that
her identity is now tied to being a refugee. Kerr skilfully captures the emotional turmoil of
displacement, emphasising the challenges of maintaining a sense of self in the face of adversity. This
semi-autobiographical account sensitively depicts what it really feels to be suddenly poor, to live in
strange countries, go to strange schools, and learn strange languages ..How it feels to find out
abruptly that the school you go to everyday doesnât belong to you anymore⌠The home you got
back to isn’t your home anymore⌠The Mom who used to open the door and hug you tight is no
longer behind the doorâŚWhat if the comfortable, warm and lovely place you used to stay once
suddenly becomes dangerous for your life and you are forced to leave it behind?
For a little girl who is hardly nine years old without her close ones around the whole world
becomes strange and unusual. Though her parents do not directly speak to her about the ranting and
raving Nazism in Germany, little Anna has to face numerous oddities that stirred her life. The âPink
Rabbitâ in the title refers to Anna’s beloved toy and symbolises innocence, normalcy and sense of
belonging in childhood that is stripped away from her.
The theme of identity and the search for a sense of home is central to the novel. “When Hitler
Stole Pink Rabbit ” which Despite its historical context of tumultuous events of the 1930s in
Germany, remains relevant today across the world, serving as a powerful reminder of the impact of
war on families and the strength of the human spirit. Kerrâs alter ego and the protagonist of the novel
âAnna Kemperâ a young Jewish girl, living a happy, playful life with her beloved family in her
hometown Grunewald, suddenly comes to know that they are on shaky grounds in Hitlerâs Germany
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as her father is a brilliant German writer, an outspoken critic and a blacklisted opponent of Nazi
Party. Against the ominous backdrop of Nazi Germany, the family is then forced to flee their
homeland as Hitler rises to power. They first land in Switzerland, then into France and Finally in
England. Finding their way to life, the family not only struggles with the physical displacement but
also with the quest for identity and belonging. Anna grapples with the challenges of adapting to new
cultures and languages, all while trying to hold onto the semblance of a normal childhood.
Anna and her elder brother Max are allowed to carry only a little of their belongings on this
Journey. Anna is on the fence whether she should take her favourite toy âPink Rabbitâ that has been
there with her since her early childhood or the newly gifted woolly dog. Itâs painful to abandon many
things that have been part and parcel of her life. Though she leaves behind her favourite âPink
Rabbitâ home before setting off to Switzerland, Anna believes that one day she would be back home
and would live a normal life with all her usual routine. But it is not to happen and there begins
Annaâs search for her homeâŚquest for identity…longing for cosy childhoodâŚcraving for naive
needs. Kerr poignantly depicts Annaâs anxiety and concerns about the difficult childhood of Famous
people. Annaâs thoughts during the perilous train journey to Switzerland delineate her naive worries
about her present and future as she says âAll the famous people had had an awful time.âŚThey had
all had what was called a difficult childhood. Clearly you had to have one if you wanted to become
famous…. As the train rumbled through Germany in the darkness, she kept thinking “difficult
childhood…difficult childhood…difficult childhood.â (p.40.)
Switzerland, that’s a paradise for the rest of the world, doesn’t seem to help Annaâs parents
settle down to a peaceful life. They continue to struggle to meet their both ends and provide the basic
necessities to their children. Turning down from the sophisticated urban lifestyle of Berliners to the
rural set up of Swiss countryside, Anna encounters many cultural shocks, adapts a new Swiss-
German dialect, makes new friends and tries to mellow over time. But deep within her heart the roots
of the longing for her home in Grunewald make Anna sentimental. Meeting a family friend âOnkel
Juliusâ across the borders makes her feel that she is seeing her home again. She quotes this
sentimentally in her statement⌠âIt was Onkel Julius. It was wonderful and yet somehow confusing
to see him, as though a bit of their house in Berlin had suddenly appeared by the age of the lake.â
(p.71.) Anna comes to know all their property and belongings including her favourite âPink Rabbitâ
have been confiscated by Hitlerâs Nazi army. Calling all the goodbyes Anna has to bid to her safe,
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secured, happy and exuberant childhood as the âStolen Pink Rabbitâ, Kerr has sentimentally
metaphorized the innocent longing for our beloved ones.
While Anna thinks that they are getting settled down in Switzerland, her parents plan to
move to Paris in order to have better chances of earning and dwelling. This adds to Annaâs and
Maxâs worries as they find their German ambience that was blending down into Swiss surroundings
is now fusing towards a new French world. Back to square one, learning French and compromising
Paris life, Anna now has a tough row to hoe. Although Annaâs parents try to keep their children
away from blazing tensions and pressures of Jew persecution, the distress gradually flows down and
affects the childrenâs life. The untimely responsibilities, the pressure of being a patronised refugee,
the financial struggles, the fear of isolation and alienation entirely disturbs Anna and Maxâs
childhood normalcy. Kerr touchingly points out the high pressure of being extra sincere Jew refugees
through Annaâs fatherâs warning to the children. âWe have to be more hard working than other
people, ” said Papa, to prove that we are not lazy, more generous to prove that we are not mean,
more polite to prove that we are not rude. (p.122.)
Deprived of their simple and basic demands of childhood, Anna and Max long to get back to
the routine life they once lived. Anna would love to have a Birthday Party with her friends, play with
them, go to school and read and write like the other children. Kerr mentions Anna’s longing for
normalcy touchingly. âShe suddenly realised how long it was since she had really played with other
children. It was lovely to be back at school.â (p.182)
Kerr vividly portrays Anna’s struggle to learn a new language in a new country. She has to
go banging head on the wall learning every single word in French. âIt was sickening stuff to be
turning out when there were so many interesting things she could have written about if only she had
been able to write in German.â (p.156.) The scars of this bout do remain on the backdrop of time as
Anna dreams the throbbing nightmares. âNinety-Seven! She cried, but still Pumpel kept coming and
suddenly she realised that since they were in Paris, of course he would expect her to count in French.
What was the French for ninety- seven? Her mind was blank, panicked…. Quatre-vingts dix sept âŚ
she shouted triumphantly.â(p.173). Anna and Max run an extra mile to learn French and to cope up
with their academics. Their efforts are not in vain as they both not only miraculously learn French
but also perform outstandingly in their school. However, fate has another proposal for them as their
parents, disappointed with the financial burdens in Paris, look forward to moving to England with a
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hope of a better life. Life is not easy but Kerr optimistically makes the readers find the power of
hope and positivity as Anna is ready for any journey as long as she is with her family. âI don’t really
mind where we are’, she said ‘as long as we’re all together.â (p.146.) Joan Leung in her Book review
praises Kerrâs recounts of wartime childrenâs experiences as more visceral than intellectual as she
has been more impulsive in depicting them.
In the second book, “Bombs on Aunt Dainty,” the Kemper family lands themselves in war-
torn London. Once again, the family becomes languageless as the new Language âEnglishâ stands in
their way as a barricade. The challenges of daily life during the bombings and the uncertainty of the
future weigh heavily on young Anna. She has to depend upon the kind, philanthropic donors and
unwillingly accept their charity to cater to her daily needs as well as education. In a dilemma whether
to continue her art course or to start earning for the family, Anna depressingly answers Max, âBut
itâs all so hopeless, isnât it, when no one has any money? I mean, you read about artists leaving their
homes to live in a garret, but if your family is living in a garret alreadyâŚ! I thought perhaps I should
get a job.â The unfortunate failure of parents to earn for the family can cause a great deal of
frustration to themselves and their children as well. Kerr impactfully points out Annaâs fatherâs
helplessness by calling him a âA writer without a languageâ. Both Anna and Max have to shoulder
untimely responsibilities as they struggle for their very existence. Anna has to abandon her education
and accept a job of a stenographer to help the family meet both ends just at the age of 15, while Max
is first imprisoned as an enemy alien and then has to serve the British Air Force, discontinuing his
Law degree course at Cambridge.
Kerr continues Anna’s journey, now set against the backdrop of World War II in England.
One can relate and resonate the ups and downs Anna and Max go through. Shankar Biswas in his
article, narrates how Anna is traumatised with homesickness during the war period. He says that âA
Home is a place to which all children are determined to returnâ. But Anna canât. The struggle
intensifies as the war brings with it not only the fear of bombs but also the challenges of adolescence.
Anna faces the trials of growing up amidst the chaos, finding her voice as an artist, and grappling
with the uncertainty of the future. While Anna, and Max can assume new identities as Englishmen,
their parents’ age, profession, and commitment to Germany, prevent them from accepting a complete
acculturation as their children. Anna can feel the depth of this agony. Max tells Anna, “You and I
will be alright, but they’ll never belong. Not here. He made a face. Not anywhere, I suppose.â Kerr
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masterfully weaves the narrative with both heart-warming moments of friendship and the stark
realities of survival. The trilogy reflects the resilience of children who must adapt to their
circumstances, finding pockets of joy amidst the chaos. However, Anna gradually starts feeling
away from the German past that has been violently seized from her. Kerrâs portrayal of the
Grunewald that’s now in Nazi control indicates it as a separate space in which she does not belong
to. Anna can see at it from an estranged eye. âBut that’s nothing to do with me now, thought Anna.
I belong here, in England.â Joan Leung in her article, calls this journey a roller coaster of teens and
twenties between the twin poles of love and death.
Anna and her family survive World War II. They go through the horrors of blitz in London
and war-torn life. Eventually they are naturalised as British subjects. Anna finds her voice as an Artist,
marries an English Man working for BBC and gets a job as a script writer. Max on the other hand
becomes the first foreign born judge in England. Annaâs parents go back to Germany which is now
free from Nazi horrors, unfortunately her father passes away of a stroke.
Although the Holocaust horrors and Hitler hysterias of concentration camps are not much
directly discussed in the novels, one can see their dreadful impacts and everlasting scars on the young
minds. The toils, turmoil and tumultuous upheavals through which they have made their ways, do
leave marks on the time. The past waits around. Memories linger. In her last sequel of the trilogy,
âA Small Person Far Awayâ, Kerr skilfully addresses reflection and redemption as she explores the
aftermath of war and its lingering impact on Anna’s life. As she matures into a young woman, the
struggle transforms into a quest for understanding and acceptance of the past reminiscence. The
shadows of the past cast a long pall over Anna’s present, forcing her to confront the demons that
haunt her. Kerr efficiently examines the process of healing and redemption, emphasising the
importance of acknowledging and reconciling with one’s past.
The final book, “A Small Person Far Away,” delves into Anna’s adolescence and her
struggles with coming to terms with the traumatic events of her childhood. Kerr poignantly explores
the lasting impact of war on an individual’s psyche, shedding light on the complexities of identity,
guilt, and the pursuit of normalcy. The narrative grapples with the challenge of reconciling the past
with the present, portraying how childhood struggles can echo through the years. As she matures
into a young woman, the struggle transforms into a quest for understanding and acceptance. Kerr
impactfully portrays Anna who goes sentimental and feels dwarfed by the emotional tumult of
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returning to the places of her childhood. The reminiscences of past life remind her that the ‘small
person far away’ is here not merely distant, but lost forever.” The book depicts the âhealingâ Anna
gets through while settling down in a new life.
As stated by Judith Kerrâs in of the authorial interviews, without her parentsâ righteous
decisions, she could have been one of the millions of other Jewish children who lost their life in
horrible Nazi concentration camps. She can never forget how lucky she has been. Time changes but
the past is always present. We grow up and continue with life’s adventurous journey but somewhere
down the memory lane, deep within our heart, lay hidden those childhood memories, those pink
rabbits! And itâs when they pop up, one can reminisce about one’s childhood again!
Conclusion
While Kerr’s trilogy is rooted in her personal experiences as a refugee, it resonates with
readers on a universal level. Childhood struggles, whether shaped by war, displacement, or personal
adversity, are a common thread that binds individuals across different backgrounds. The resilience
of the human spirit, the ability to find hope in the darkest of times, and the enduring power of familial
bonds are themes that elevate Kerr’s trilogy beyond a mere historical account. The novels beautifully
capture the innocence of childhood juxtaposed against the harsh realities of political turmoil. Kerr
masterfully weaves together the personal and historical aspects of the story, allowing readers to
connect with the characters on a deeply emotional level and reminding of the shared humanity that
binds us all, regardless of the specific circumstances of our upbringing. Annaâs thought âI don’t
really mind where we are, as long as we’re all together.â keeps echoing in readersâ minds,
acknowledging the spirit of love, family bonds and resilience.
Works Cited:
Kerr, Judith. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2017.
Kerr, Judith. Bombs on Aunt Dainty. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2017.
Kerr, Judith. A Small Person Far Away. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2017.
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Leung Joan March 1921 https://www.linkedin. Com /pulse/ when-hitler -stole-pink- rabbit-out-
time-1-judith-kerr-joan-leung
Shankar Biswas. The Second World War in Childrenâs Literature. JOELL Volume 5 Issue 3 2018/
https://joell.in/wp-content/loads/2018/08/57-61 -THE-SECOND-WORLD-WAR-IN-CHILDREN-
LITERATURE.pdf
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