The Silver Sword

A family is broken apart by the Second World War. Four children set out across Europe to put it back together.

Joseph Balicki is separated from his wife and children after his arrest in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. When he escapes from a prison camp and returns home, he finds the city in ruins and his family gone. Before leaving for Switzerland to search for his wife, he gives a silver paper-knife to a ragged orphan boy called Jan, with a message for his children if they are still alive.

Ruth, Edek and Bronia are left to fend for themselves amid the rubble of Warsaw. When they meet Jan and recognise the silver sword, they realise their father is alive and searching for them. Together they begin a dangerous journey across postwar Europe in the hope of reunion.

At its heart, this is a story about children refusing to give up on one another. The silver sword is small enough to carry in a pocket, but it holds the promise of home, reunion and a family still waiting to be found.