Traitors Among Us
Traitors Among Us
We walked through to the end of the town, and the road opened up onto the countryside. The road became more passable because the blasted-out buildings were farther apart, but there were the usual giant bomb-holes in the road that you could break a leg on if you didn’t watch where you were going. There were also sharp shards of stone and glass beneath our feet with almost every footstep. Every time I felt a crunch of glass or rubble under Olga’s shoe, I thought of the people who had lived here before the war. Maybe a family with young children and a cow? They had been filled with hope for the future, like we all had. Where were they now? Scattered across the continent? Or maybe all dead. My heart broke at the thought of so many lives cut short.
Olga’s shoes protected me from the shrapnel and glass, and I felt almost like she was watching over us. I sang a quiet “Vichnaya Pamyat” under my breath for her and Piotr. Maria walked beside me, and as she clasped my hand to steady me, she sang the hymn of eternal life along with me.
Traitors Among Us, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, is an important story about what happened after World War II, and how the destruction and death continued in a similar context in many different countries. Krystia and Maria’s story starts in a displaced persons camp where they have recently been reunited. Because both of their parents have died in the war, the already strong sisterly bond and desire to survive are only heightened by their understanding of their immeasurable loss. The sisters know they have family in Canada and believe that relief from the constant trauma of war is within their reach. This hope is abruptly stolen from them as they are accused of being Hitler Girls when a Soviet soldier searches the camp. The sisters are removed from their safe zone and transported to a Soviet interrogation house and must fight for their lives while trying to escape this new world of horror. Throughout their plight, they meet valuable allies, survive interrogations and mock firing lines, and eventually flee to Canada. The horrors of war and the grief of losing their family accompany them through every step of the way, but the sisters find strength and hope in each other.
This novel is a dual perspective text where each chapter switches between Krystia’s point of view and Maria’s point of view. The change in perspective only begins to be effective once the sisters are separated in the interrogation camp. Oftentimes, I had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was the narrator as the voices were incredibly similar. Their sole goal is to see the other survive. They are both cunning and thoughtful, and they both carry the weight of losing their loved ones in the war. While their quick-thinking and bold decision-making are admirable, little is done to create standout voices for Krystia or Maria. Towards the end of the narrative, they share a conversation about how, after their experiences, they are one in the same in their desire to look out for one another.
“Okay. No big sister and little sister. We’re equal sisters.”
The narrative treated each sister equally, and so this revelation between the sisters does not have much impact on the characters or plot. Fans of Skrypuch will appreciate the nods to characters from previous novels and the continuation of Maria’s storyline, while new readers interested in historical fiction can still pick this novel up without missing a beat. I preferred Skrypuch’s Trapped in Hitler’s Web (www.cmreviews.ca/node/2242) but still found Maria’s story after the war interesting to read. There is mature content in Traitors Among Us, which is to be expected from a book about post-war Europe and escaping an interrogation camp. Any death mentioned is not gratuitous in nature and is often paired with a reflection from the characters about the fragility of life during war. A straightforward, historical fiction for middle grade readers.
Lindsey Baird is a high school English teacher in Lethbridge, Alberta.