In 1945, young Francine and her Maman are sent to the Bergen-Belsen Nazi prison camp, where life is gray and hopeless. Determined to lift Francine’s spirits, Maman shares a secret: she has smuggled in two pieces of chocolate. Maman tells her not to eat them yet, saying: “One day when I see that you really need them… that’s when I’ll give the chocolates to you.”
When Francine meets Hélène, a fellow prisoner, she learns another secret: Hélène is pregnant and she and her baby are in grave danger. Remembering the chocolates, Francine selflessly shares them with this woman in her time of need. Inspired by a remarkable true story, the book concludes with the fact that the real-life Francine Christophe, as an adult, organized a conference many years after the Holocaust for survivors and their mental health. One of the guests was a psychologist named Yvonne. At the conference, Yvonne introduced herself to Francine: miraculously, Yvonne was the little baby whose life had been touched by Francine’s kindness in Bergen-Belsen all those years before.
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Fiction
Two Pieces of Chocolate
- From the Publisher
September 1, 2023
Discussion Questions
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