Ruth is the eldest of the Balicki children, and after their mother is taken away, she immediately assumes the maternal role. The children have to hide whenever the Burgomaster comes around; this official has the job of sending refugees back to Poland. He argued that his themes of humanity overcoming suffering were timeless and transcended politics or race. Jan is not much of a people person, but he has a special bond with animals, all of whom love him, and with Ruth.

These rules objectively make sense, but are frustrating given what we know of the Balicki children’s journey. It was an approach which was to situate the New Windmill Series as a prototype of what we would now understand to be a Young Adult fiction list: although its stated target age group was 11–16, the majority of the books were geared towards the upper end of this range. A neighbor tells him the Nazis destroyed his school and his wife was sent to Germany as a foreign worker on the land. The book was translated into 12 languages and published as Escape from Warsaw (1958) in America, although not without overcoming some initial resistance.Alan Hill and Tony Beal, directors of Heinemann, worked with the Serrailliers to establish New Windmill as one of the key players in educational publishing. Before they left, Kurt's pet dog, Ludwig had hidden inside Jan and Edek's canoe and stayed with them on their journey south. A soldier clambers into the water to try to stop them and even tugs a paddle away, and there are shots fired from the bridge.

Only Ruth could manage him, and she encouraged him to start working with neighboring farmers’ sick animals. Blurbs were written, and other opinions sought from colleagues and pupils – the Serrailliers capitalising on their position as teachers and parents to secure reviews from young readers. Together with Jan they begin a dangerous journey across Europe to the safety of Switzerland where they hope to reunite with their parents. Ruth starts a school in the cellar; when she mentions this at the soup kitchen, she is given school supplies and a Bible. As the superintendent comments that he wishes all cases could end as happily as hers, she runs out and gleefully informs the others.Together with Jan they begin a dangerous journey across the battlefields of Europe to find their parents. Someone had reported this to the Germans and as a result, he was taken from his house to the prison camp on a cold winter's night.

Joseph is holding a large chunk of chocolate that appears like a gun in the dark; he says he has a revolver pointed, and if the person makes a sound, he will shoot. In 1944, Warsaw was liberated by the Russians, but there was still no news of Edek's whereabouts or of the children's parents.

The Silver Sword study guide contains a biography of Ian Serraillier, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. As a handwritten report from Ian Serraillier (written in 1949) reveals, the provision of reading material for schools was less than inspiring. The book’s “humanitarian attitude and very sound values throughout can have only a beneficial effect upon young readers, and it would be a great pity to reject the book for fear the fifteen references to rape might offend the prudish” ( 1964).

For instance: Joseph escaped from an impossible-to-escape-from prison and met a kind old man and his wife who nursed him to health.The silver sword is actually a letter opener, but that matters little to Jan, or even to the plot of the novel. Joe Wolski might be a poor driver and perhaps enjoys Jan’s discomfort a bit too much, but he is kind, friendly, and helpful: he drives the children to the camp, and helps secure a place for them there. Evidence from correspondence shows that attitudes to censorship were subject to change, according to mores of the day. It is his idea to tell Jan of his family, which triggers their journey to Switzerland, where Joseph has told Jan he will be. They were at first confused by his Polish appearance and speech, as well as with his German uniform, but they accepted him as a friend after he told them about what had happened to him and showed them the prison number ZAK 2473 branded on his arm as proof.