Norway Wasn't Too Small

Irene Levin Berman was born, raised, and educated in Norway. Her first conscious recollection of life goes back to 1942, when as a young child she escaped to Sweden, a neutral country during World War II, to avoid annihilation. Germany had invaded Norway and the persecution of two thousand Norwegian Jews had begun. Seven members of her father’s family were among the seven hundred and seventy-one unfortunate persons who were deported and sent to Auschwitz.

Berman impressed me with a story that reads like an action-packed drama, animating through fiction the history she so carefully documented in her earlier nonfiction work.... Berman incorporates traits of her relatives into strong, complex characters who serve as able and appealing protagonists.... I urge everyone to read it, share it in book clubs and classrooms, and keep history alive.

• Chapter 1—Oslo—War Comes to Norway, April 9, 1940Chapter 2—Aalesund—Who is Hitler?, April 9, 1940Chapter 3—Oslo—Are we running away?, April 11-12, 1940Chapter 4—Aalesund—Far, please listen, May 30, 1940Chapter 5—Oslo—The Pendant, June 10, 1940Chapter 6—Aalesund—An Unfulfilled Dream, September 15, 1940Chapter 7—Oslo—Are Jews Different?, September 30, 1940Chapter 8—Aalesund—Grandmother’s Story, January 1941Chapter 9—Oslo—Icy Spots, February 28, 1942Chapter 10—Aalesund—Cousins Connect, April 28, 1942Chapter 11—Oslo—The Blueberry Tooth, May 7, 1942Chapter 12—Aalesund—Isak is Arrested, May 12, 1942Chapter 13—Oslo—Persecution of the Jews begins, September/October 1942Chapter 14—Aalesund—Where is God’s Part in this? October 17, 1942Chapter 15—Oslo—Arrest of Jewish Men, October 25, 1942Chapter 16—Aalesund—“Where is Everybody?” October 26, 1942Chapter 17—Oslo—Tante Marie, October 28, 1942Chapter 18—Aalesund—Ingrid’s Plot, November 2, 1942Chapter 19—Oslo—Next—Women and Children, November 3-25, 1942Chapter 20—Aalesund—Leyla gives in, November 25, 1942Chapter 21—Oslo—The Wrong Train, November 25, 1942Chapter 22—Aalesund—The White and the Black Raincoat, November 25, 1942Chapter 23—Oslo—Annika’s Mistake, November 25, 1942Chapter 24—Aalesund—The Last Glimpse, November 25-26, 1942Chapter 25—Oslo—The Yellow Sign, November 25-26, 1942Chapter 26—Aalesund—Where do I go now? November 26, 1942Chapter 27—Oslo/Sweden—On Neutral Ground, November 26, 1942Chapter 28—Aalesund—Immediate surgery, November 26, 1942Chapter 29—Oslo/Sweden—I Need my Umbrella, November 26, 1942Chapter 30—Aalesund—Recuperation from what? December 2-31, 1942Chapter 31—Oslo/Sweden, Who is Miriam Davidson? December 3, 1942Chapter 32—Aalesund—The Wrong Side of the Floor? December 7, 1942Chapter 33—Stockholm—Socks vs. Sugar, December 16, 1942Chapter 34—Aalesund—Time is running out, December 16, 1942Chapter 35—Aalesund—The Journey with no return, January 23, 1943Chapter 36—Sweden—When the Lights went out