When Mark and Rachel Spigelman’s granddaughters were young, they would often ask about their grandfather’s story. But it took Rachel more than a decade to get it properly written down.
“Mark used to tell them stories. They would ask what happened. And he was very open. That memory is what prompted me. That and COVID,” Rachel told The AJN.
Rachel, who is also an artist, had nothing else to do. So, she wrote children’s books and illustrated them herself. Blue Eyes Wide Open though, she said, was always in her heart.
“I was thinking about it for a long time. I studied and became a portrait artist. But then, I’ve always told stories, even as a young child. I’d sit down and tell my friends stories, mainly about princes and princesses and the happy things, but I was always sharing,” Rachel said. So that’s what she decided to do with Mark’s story. Share it.
Blue Eyes Wide Open is the story of Mark and his parents, and how they survived the Holocaust – by dressing Mark as a girl.
Mark wasn’t born when the war broke out. At first the family was in the ghetto, so it wasn’t as threatening, but when it started to get worse, they realised they needed to do something. With Mark’s fair skin, big blue eyes and blonde hair, it was easy to disguise him as a girl. He could survive that way. Boys were often checked for circumcisions which proved they were Jewish; they would then be sent away.
“When it’s written for a child, it’s different”
“There were other children like that,” Rachel explained. “But I think Mark and his parents were some of the few people who survived together. They were harmed, psychologically. They were hungry and they were afraid, but on the other hand, they were not injured. They came out of the war together.”
When I remark that it’s amazing that Mark never outed himself or his situation, Rachel mused that children are not only adaptable but also very in tune with their surroundings.
“When there are dire circumstances, like trauma, they understand what to do. It’s a survival instinct. But also, I think Mark understood a lot of things. And his parents, of course, warned him.”
Blue Eyes Wide Open is written as a conversation between Mark and his three granddaughters (their names have been changed).
It is eloquently written, beautifully illustrated and easy for children to understand.
Educating children about the horrors of the Holocaust is something that is important to Rachel, and a big reason why she wrote this as a children’s book.
“Children should be educated from a younger age, because if they see the books that have been written by survivors or historians, they don’t relate to it. It’s too much above them. But when it’s written for a child, it’s different,” Rachel said. “Also, they’re exposed to so much in the media, on their tablets, we need to tell them in the right way. And that’s what I did, because I had the experience of listening to Mark tell his grandchildren who were, at the time, around seven, 10 and 12.”
“They were harmed, psychologically. They were hungry and they were afraid, but on the other hand, they were not injured. They came out of the war together.”
Those grandchildren are now in their 20s, grown-up women, living in Israel. The eldest of the trio – Effie in the book – was in Australia earlier this year and helped her grandmother with the book in its final stages.
“She gave me a couple of pointers,” Rachel laughed. “She was the first to see it. They all love the book; they’re very happy about it.”
The book, while of course special for the family to have, also serves as an important text in teaching the younger generation about the Holocaust.
More and more Holocaust stories are being written for younger audiences, as they seek to understand what happened, and in turn, as everyone seeks to ensure it never happens again. Rachel acknowledged that it can be hard to discuss these topics with children in the correct way, with sensitivity and empathy – answering their questions in age-appropriate ways while managing the potential fear the knowledge can cause.
For the family, it’s special that they have Mark’s story written down, not just for them but also for their children, grandchildren and future generations of the Spigelmans.
“I’m a daughter of Holocaust survivors, Mark is a child survivor. We have very few family left. But whoever is here, we keep them close,” Rachel said, explaining she first realised she was different when she saw her friends’ grandparents picking them up from school, but she didn’t have any. It’s why she and Mark have made it their mission to stay close to their grandchildren, even though they now live so far away.
And also why the book is extra special, keeping those memories close.
For me, the book takes on another meaning. The three granddaughters who Mark shares his story with are my cousins (Jewish geography – everyone is related somehow).
I can picture the three of them sitting down in front of their grandfather, hearing his stories and taking everything in, and I love that I can share this book and this story with my own children, and tell them who the three little girls are and about the incredibly brave and miraculous way their grandfather survived the Holocaust.
Because as parents, we need these kinds of texts. As survivors dwindle, we need to be able to talk to our children about the Holocaust in child-appropriate ways.
And that’s exactly what Rachel has given us.
Blue Eyes Wide Open is published by Real Publishing.
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