On an April morning, when the first snowmelt brought grassy scents from the mountains, the Luftwaffe sent wave after wave of Stuka dive-bombers to raid Belgrade. Armies from four hostile nations poured across the border. It took less than two weeks for the Yugoslav army to surrender. Even before that, Germany had declared Sarajevo part of a new state. “This is now the Ustashe and Independent State of Croatia,” the Nazi-appointed leader had declared. “It must be cleansed of Serbs and Jews. There is no room for any of them here. Not a stone upon stone will remain of what once belonged to them.”
People of the Book is a historical fiction novel by Geraldine Brooks that concerns itself with an imagined history of the the Sarajevo Haggadah, a well-known and very prized illuminated manuscript.
I read this passage, which so conveniently happens to be on page fifty-six of the novel, and was absolutely struck by the matter of factness of its wording. So blunt. So cold. But this is what happened.
I knew this would be a fantastic addition to the Friday Fifty-Six link up because not only is it a fantastic introduction to this fascinating novel, but it is also absolutely chilling in the way it portrays the way hatred spreads–how quickly and forcefully it can take over an area and change people’s lives in an instant.
This is how genocide happens. It doesn’t take much to convince people to hate.
The Friday 56 link up is hosted by Freda’s Voice.
It's a Britta Bottle! 
“It doesn’t take much to convince people to hate.” Too true, unfortunately 😦
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Yes, way too true.
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This is an amazing book, as all of Geraldine Brooks’ are. I hope you enjoy it even in its harshness.
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This is the first book by her that I’ve read, though I also have Caleb’s Crossing in my to read pile. I am enjoying it…and I’m used to harsh. I majored in history after all, and history, for all its triumphant moments, has many more unpleasant moments, unfortunately.
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Scary truth. Sounds like a very good book!
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It is! I’m enjoying it. There’s so much history, which I love as the history nerd that I am.
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Sounds like interesting historical fiction. Happy weekend!
Freda’s Voice
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It is! Happy weekend to you, to (even though it’s almost over by now).
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College burnt out war stories for me. I hope you are enjoying it. Happy Weekend!
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Well, considering that I want to earn a graduate degree in genocide studies, I don’t think I’ll ever be burned out from war stories. I have so much passion for this kind of stuff. It’s a great book. Hope you enjoyed your weekend, too!
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