Exodus

On her fifth birthday Ticka was given a cat, which she called Pitsy. When the Nazis came, they both hid in the wardrobe, where Ticka would have been discovered if Pitsy had not leapt out of the cupboard instead. Ticka was left alone in wartime without her parents. She pretended to be a deaf-mute child and travelled right across Europe by train to board the Exodus in France. The refugee ship was then forcibly prevented by British warships from travelling to Palestine. The refugees were taken back and interned in Germany. Only months later could the voyage begin again. Ticka finally reached Israel in May 1948. With expressive drawings, sensitive dialogue and diary-like texts the author Esther Shakine tells her own fate through the story of little Ticka. It is a moving graphic novel, which presents the trauma of war, persecution and homelessness from a child’s point of view, but also civil courage, hope and humanity.