The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust Hope Morrison Ruelle, Karen Gray . The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust; written and illus. by Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland DeSaix. Holiday House, 2009 40p. ISBN 978-0-8234-2159-6 $17.95 R Gr. 5-8 The Grand Mosque of Paris, built in 1926, was a community center as well as a place of worship. Any Muslim could find the help they needed in the mosque and, from 1940-1944, many Jews found refuge there as well. The bulk of the narrative takes snippets of biographical tales of Jews who, at some point, passed through the mosque in search of assistance. Most of these Jews shared a common North African ancestry and were thus perceived by the Muslim community as neighbors; most didn't stay more than a few days, but for many, the mosque offered life-saving protection, falsified conversion papers, or, in the most extreme tales, the means to escape out of Paris by way of the underground souterrain that connected the mosque to the Seine River. The narrative is clearly written, and though the material [End Page 126] is denser than the picture-book format might suggest, it's approachable despite its weight; the stories told, most of which are based on a 1990 film documentary, are full of small details and thought-provoking episodes. Perhaps as fascinating as the story itself is the author's afterword, which details the challenge of researching an historical event that was entirely clandestine at its time; there are few if any written records, few if any survivors, and few if any primary source materials that reference the events described herein. The oil illustrations change tone to reflect the events, with descriptions of the secret workings of the mosque cast in shadows and dusty grays, while descriptions of the solace offered therein are cast in bright, natural light and luminous blues; the intricacies of the mosque's tilework are recreated in detail, adding rhythm as well as atmosphere. This is a seldom-told piece of history, and it will expand the picture both of humanitarian action during the Holocaust and interfaith relations. An afterword, glossary, and extensive bibliography are included. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois