The Silver Sword characters

Appears from the start

A Polish school headmaster in occupied Warsaw, arrested after he turns a portrait of Hitler to the wall. He is separated from his wife and children but remains determined to find them. After escaping imprisonment, he returns to the ruins of the family home and begins looking for any trace of them.

Also known as Mrs Balicki

Appears from the start

Joseph's Swiss-born wife and the mother of Ruth, Edek, and Bronia. The occupying authorities take her away after Joseph's arrest, scattering the family. Her Swiss background gives the children a possible place of safety if they can reunite after the war.

First appears in chapter 4

The eldest Balicki child, a resourceful girl who assumes responsibility for her younger brother and sister when their parents disappear. In ruined Warsaw she organizes food, shelter, and lessons for other displaced children, combining patience with a firm sense of duty.

First appears in chapter 4

Ruth's younger brother, bold and mechanically minded. He takes serious risks to obtain food during the occupation and is captured after becoming involved in smuggling. His sisters do not know where he has been sent or whether he has survived.

First appears in chapter 4

The youngest Balicki child, protected by Ruth through the occupation and the family's displacement. Bronia's trust and vulnerability make the need for a safe home especially urgent, although she also learns to endure the hardships of refugee life.

First appears in chapter 6

A streetwise orphan living among the ruins of Warsaw. Suspicious, impulsive, and fiercely protective of his few possessions, he survives by theft and quick thinking. A small silver paper knife links him to Joseph Balicki and gives him a reason to join Ruth and Bronia's search.

First appears in chapter 18

A Russian soldier encountered by the children during their westward journey. He responds kindly to the young refugees and especially to Jan, offering practical help at a point when official borders and armed patrols could easily halt them.