The Forgotten Names

THE FORGOTTEN NAMES by MARIO ESCOBAR is a brilliantly written description of the horrors perpretrated aganst the Jews in France during the Germao occupation. We learn about the brave men and women who made it their business, often paying a horrible price, to save over one hundred children from the Venissieux prison in August 1942. We see the courage and unconditional love of the parents who signed away their precious children in order to save their lives. I like to see the Jews, Catholics and Protestants working together to save God’s chosen people. I also like the scriprture references…….
In 1992: Valerie Portheret chose to write her university thesis on these forgotten children and made it her life’s work to find the real names of as many of them as possible in order to give them back their identities…….
The book is written in the form of a novel which by no means takes away from the authenticity of the historical content.
I found The Forgotten Names both informative and inspirational.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Harper Muse. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

The triumphant story of the French men and women who did everything they could against incredible odds to save the lives of Jewish children from the Nazi Extermination camps.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Just when I thought the atrocities committed by the nazis couldn’t get any worse, I read another novel which highlights yet another of their policies which sicken me. The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar brings to light another of these senseless, heartbreaking policies-Jewish deportation quotas. Yes, you read that right. It’s not only sickening, it’s also heartbreaking. The story centers around a policy in which a quota of deportees needed to be met by the French government in order to be able to maintain their free zone. However, the church, as well as several members of the resistance, just couldn’t accept that. They took it upon themselves to have parents relinquish their parental rights in order to save their children’s lives. It was both surreal and heartbreaking. To think that one man had the power to lead others to blindly follow his orders out of fear for their own lives as well as their families. I found the parallels the author drew between the deportation of the Jewish people and the Old Testament to be very eye opening. Overall, an incredible true story about courageous people who risked their lives to save the children of Vénissieux.

This was really well done, it had that historical feel that I was looking for in this type of book. The characters were what I was hoping for and thought they worked with this time-period. I enjoyed the dual timelines and thought the overall feel worked well. I enjoyed the way Mario Escobar wrote this and left me wanting to read more.

This book is heartbreaking to read, but it is so important that the true history this is based on not be forgotten! The agonies of the Jews being hunted by the Nazis and shipped off to concentration camps is not fun reading. This book centers on Lyon, France, and children who were rescued because their parents gave up their parental rights in order to save their children. The conversations are fictionalized, but many of the characters really lived through that period of World War II. The hope and miraculous deliverances are the bright spots in the story, along with the tale of finding the children who survived. If you can handle reading about the atrocities of the Nazis, the book is well worth reading.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own." #TheForgottenNames #NetGalley

This is a true historical account of members of the French Resistance hiding and aidindg 108 children who were scheduled to be deported from Lyon France in August 1942. This occurred during when Klaus Barbie was the German commander in the area. This was in the interment camp near Lhon France where families were waiting their fate. By using a French law members were able to obtain signatures from the parents absolving their parental rights and therefore letting the children be orphans.
How we know about this is due to Valerie Porthret who at first wanted to base her thesis about the trial of Klaus Barbie which had occurred in the late 1980s. However, after she found out about the children she decided to change her thesis and write about the children and vowed to find them and give them their real names.

Mario Escobar does research about Valerie and the members of the Resistance. He gives a detailed account on what happened on August 1942 and what hat happened to the children.

I highly recommend this book . I would hope the reader would go beyond the Epilogue and find out more information about Valerie Portheret, the children, and the other members of the team that saved these children

This is the rare historical novel that emphasizes the history but also works on the narrative through lines. There are two: the time around 1942 and the rise of Nazi control of the area around Lyon France, and the efforts of some very otherwise ordinary people to protect about 100 children from being exported to the death camps. These 100 form the basis of the novel's title and the second time period of the current era when a French law student takes it upon herself to document who was involved and to try to reconnect with them and recognize what they went through. The book documents how everyday people performed heroic acts but were lost to the sands of time and shifting circumstances. Most of us are familiar with the actions of Schindler in Poland to save hundreds of Jews but the efforts of the Venissieux neighbors who managed to convince parents to relinquish their rights as they were being rounded up by the Nazi deserves to be told. The parents knew that many of them would never see their kids every again, although a few did survive the death camps and were eventually reunited. The book's power is in its verisimilitude and the very real people -- although of course the dialogue and some of the events have been created to fit the narrative. If you are a fan of historical fiction, or WWII-era stories, this book is a must read.

When I see Mario Escobar has a new book available I simply have to get it, he never missed a beat and has always giving us historical facts mixed into a good story. Again he didn’t fail...

The story in a few words:

August 1942

French parents were faced with a horrible choice: watch their children die, or abandon them forever. To save them, Jewish mothers of Vénissieux were asked to make the ultimate sacrifice of abandoning them forever. The result of a coordinated effort by clergy, civilians, the French Resistance and members of other humanitarian organizations 108 children somehow managed to escape deportation and certain death in the German concentration camps.

Early 1990’s

Student Valérie Portheret in the midst of doing her doctoral research into the 108 children who disappeared from Vénissieux fifty years earlier made it her mission to match the abandoned names with the people they belong to. It took her a twenty-five year journey to allow the children to reclaim their heritage and remember their forgotten names.

My thoughts:

Told in dual timelines this account of true events is both sad and captivating. It is very well-said to keep our interest at its peak and us pushing on. It is chilling story that places us in the zone where Klaus Barbie was the German commander who ruled Lyon, France with an iron fist and did not hesitated to torture anyone. We do have graphic scenes to make the point. Of course this story is not fun to read, seeing the Jewish population hunted and shipped to concentration and children taken from their parents in order to save them is heartbreaking.

Although the conversation is fictionalized and the timeline may be out of sync, the characters are real and the events well documented. The timeline for those who hate this, the back and forth is on occasion and I felt it did not interfered with the flow. The chapters are short and the narration active. “The Forgotten Names” is well-said and well-done.

The Forgotten Names is one of the most engrossing books I've ever read (and I read at least 150 books a year.) I was born two weeks before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the event that forced the United States to enter World War II. One of my first memories is that of my father and uncles returning from the war, so the chaos of life during WWII has always held great fascination for me. The recovery from that war provided the context of my childhood.

This story brings to light one amazing example of the heroism of good people who band together to save the most vulnerable from the unchecked power of evil. There are so many stories of good conquering evil, but this is one of the most memorable. It is a story of redemption, selflessness, and eternal good. It is a story that shows how ordinary people often show extraordinary courage and creativity when they are faced with seemingly unconquerable odds. Simultaneous to the horrifying and edifying story unfolding in 1942, the author tells of a modern-day heroine who determines to give back to those rescued children their heritage and their names that were lost in 1942 to save their lives.

This story is so remarkable it would likely touch readers even if told badly; but, thankfully, a very skilled writer spent the time and energy needed to research and write, revise, edit, and polish a profoundly evocative account of this amazing side-story of World War II.

Very emotional, powerful read. The Jewish children that were captured and ultimately rescued from the clutches of the German Nazis is a heartbreaking retelling. Very good read. highly recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this well written book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

Historical fiction at is best.
Escobar takes a true story and brings it to life in incredibly moving yet heartbreaking. style.
When a graduate student is deciding on her thesis, she becomes mesmerized with the story of
the French children who were sent away to find safety during the summer of 1942 through the French Resistance movement.
Mothers who were in a prison camp with their children were asked to sign away parental rights so the
children could be moved, through the Resistance group, to families who would take them in with the hope of
reuniting them when the war was over. The camp was being cleared the next day and everyone was being moved to
what they believed would be their death.
The Resistance with the help of a local convent, worked out a plan to label the children as unaccompanied minors,
thereby exempting them from the move.
The story is intense and completely riveting. You are introduced to some of the people who made up the Resistance
as well as the back stories of the children.
The Third Reich's inhumanity and revolting total disregard for anything or anyone not German runs rampant through the
pages and though we all know the story well, it pays to revisit it and remind of ourselves of why we can not ever stand by
and watch such atrocities occur ever again.
And those this is called fiction, we all know these horrors did happen.
Kudos to all those people who stood up and took a stand and tried to make a difference in a barbaric society.
Wonderful one sitting read.

I need to begin this review with some disclaimers. First, I, too, like Valerie in The Forgotten Names have suffered through detailed, mind numbing research in pursuit of a Ph.D. Success is not getting lost in the numbers or data, but truly caring about your topic. This was key to Valerie as well as the central characters in Lyon who put together a plan in the face of incredible odds to save children from Vénissieux. From the publisher, "Theirs was a heroic act without precedent in Nazi-occupied Europe." The real life dedication of these saviors is painted vividly, so much so that the reader can see their actions and tears. The mother in me can barely comprehend the gut wrenching decisions to be made by the families. My other disclaimer is that while I am not Jewish, I grew up near a very large Jewish community. I've seen Holocaust survivors and the numbers stenciled on their arms. Their fortitude is beyond understanding and a testament to the beauty of honor, morals, and truth. Mr. Escobar, we are indebted to you for your crafting of a historically accurate portrayal of one of the darkest times in our history.

This is the second book that I have read by Mario Escobar. Both books cover difficult subject matter and he does it well. Both books are historical fiction of difficult periods in history. His writing kept me interested throughout the book.

This book was both educational and heartbreaking. I've read numerous books on this time period and knew about the German families who took in jewish children to save them from certain death. What I did not know what the story of the French who did this as well. It's heartbreaking to imagine the pain the mothers and fathers felt as they gave up their children to be adopted, knowing they would never see them again, but also knowing and hoping that their children would live on while they themselves were facing certain death. This story has all the elements that make a book memorable. Courage, bravery and raw, pure love are displayed in this wonderful book. I often ask myself, what would I have done in that situation? Both as a jew or as a fellow countryman seeing what was happening. Could I have given my child to a stranger, never to see them again but hoping that choice saves their life, or would I be willing to risk the lives of my family to take in a child that could very well bring danger to my home? It's hard to imagine, but this is in fact what hundreds of thousands families faced.

I loved this book and highly recommend it. It will give you a glimpse into the lives of both heroes and those persecuted for simply being born.

In this incredibly well-researched novel, Mario Escobar sheds light on a not well-know story of one woman's efforts to restore the true names to Jewish children who were hidden in Vichy France. In 1992, Valerie Portheret was writing her thesis on Klaus Barbie when she discovered a list of 108 names. When she starts to investigate the list, she discovers that these are the names of children who were hidden so that they could not be deported and sent to concentration camps. Potheret, with the support of her thesis advisor, changes the topic of her thesis and sets out to discover how this event was able to occur since it is well know that the Vichy government collaborated with the Nazis. Portheret spends twenty-five years working to restore the true names to the hidden children and to highlight the hard work and dedication it took to stand up to both the government and the Nazis. Told in two timelines, Escobar spends time addressing the difficulties the individuals faced who coordinated the rescue effort and Portheret's work to restore the identities to the children.

Heartbreaking yet shows the resilience of the human spirit during the darkest of times in history. The heroes in this book are the people who risked everything in their compassion to offer help and sanctuary to those in need. I highly recommend this book.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Mario Escobar has done it again. I don't know what it is about his books, but I usually shed some tears throughout them. He has been the only author to manage that for me. His books are so well written that you feel as though you are there with the characters and are living through the same thing they are living through.

The Forgotten Names is no different! It was heartbreaking but also shows how even during the darkest time in history, the human spirit still glows just as bright as ever. You can totally see why this story brought tears to my eyes - it shows the best and the worst of what humans have the ability to do other humans - especially the innocent who can't protect or fight for themselves.

I think this should be a must read for everyone - especially those who want to know more about all of the untold stories around WWII