Hide and Seek: In Pursuit of Justice

When Ben’s parents pick him up from kindergarten one day in 1942, he doesn’t yet know that it’s the last time he will see them. The Nazis have invaded his hometown of Brussels, Belgium, and Ben’s parents, sensing danger, send their only child to live with a non-Jewish couple in the village of Baudour. There Ben learns to be a good Catholic boy amid the explosions of war. After the war, Ben finds a home in Ottawa, Canada, with his extended family. As he matures, Ben reclaims his Jewish identity and begins a lifelong journey toward personal and societal healing.

Ben Carniol is only five years old in 1942 when his parents send him away to live with a non-Jewish couple in the village of Baudour, Belgium. Hide and Seek: In Pursuit of Justice describes a childhood filled with the loss and violence of war and Ben’s response to it: a deep lifelong commitment to creating a safe and just society for all.