number the stars

One of the buttons on Kirsti’s jacket breaks. Mama tells Annemarie and Kirsti to visit Mrs. Hirsch, the seamstress, after school to purchase a replacement. When the Johansens and Ellen get to Mrs. Hirsch’s store, however, it is closed. There is a sign in German and a thick padlock on the door. The girls wonder where the Hirsches have gone. Little Kirsti wonders if they have gone on a vacation to the seashore, but Ellen and Annemarie can tell that something bad has happened to the family.