A Jewish teenager’s dream of getting the Elgin 4 Star Deluxe bicycle is shattered when Hitler bombs Amsterdam. As the persecution threatens him and his family’s lives the Resistance arranges a risky escape. Will the Nazis find the jewels he’s hidden in his sister’s stuffed bear or will they be caught before reaching Switzerland?

SYNOPSIS:

THE WORN BEAR

War hangs like an ominous cloud over Europe. Holland stayed out of the Great War and is planning to stay out of this one too. Twelve-year-old Joseph Weinberg isn’t concerned about current events – all he cares about is getting the new Elgin 4-Star Deluxe. To save the money, he begins working for his uncle, a jeweler. Joseph becomes mesmerized as he watches the simple stones transform to glittering gems.

Then, on May 10, 1940, Joseph’s world changes forever. Only five hours after the prime minister tells the country that Hitler assured him Holland can stay out of the war, the Nazis bomb Rotterdam. German soldiers, on foot and in tanks, invade the country. More bombings occur. Soon the country is under Hitler’s control and degrees against Jewish people are issued. Joseph’s uncle has to close his business, his father is fired from his teaching position, and Joseph can no longer attend his school.

Conditions deteriorate. Jews are sent to ghettos and concentration camps. They are ordered to hand in their bicycles. Now, Joseph can’t have his old one, and won’t get the new Elgin 4-Star Deluxe. He is betrayed by his best friend, Peter, first when he ends up with his dream bicycle and then when Peter taunts him, “Jew boys can’t have bicycles.”

Jewish people are disappearing. Joseph’s parents arrange with the Dutch-Paris Resistance to escape to Switzerland. With false passports, they leave Amsterdam under the cover of night. They are constantly on the lookout for German soldiers. The journey is fraught with danger for themselves and the people who help them. They are hidden in people’s homes, barns, places of business, and wagons as they escape across Holland, Belgium and France.

Joseph gains new respect for his father when he saves a downed German pilot. Finally, they approach the gatehouse in Switzerland. When a soldier searches their bags, he finds Sammy, Joseph’s sister’s worn stuffed bear. Joseph pleads for him not to keep it. The soldier’s face softens, and he returns the bear. Instead, the guard snatches a pen from his father’s pocket. Joseph is shocked when his father asks for its return saying it was a present from his grandfather. He knows it came from one of the Resistance workers.

Safe in a Swiss hotel, Joseph cuts open the bear’s arm to reveal the gems he hid inside. His father chides him but can’t hide his pride in his son’s ingenuity. When a man comes to the retrieve the pen, they learn it contains important information for the war effort. Mr. W. asks Joseph’s mother for her scarf. The landscape imprinted on the material was the map of their journey. When the man leaves, Joseph digs a necklace he designed for his mother out of Sammy. His mother’s gasp of surprise brings joy to his heart.

They are now free and able to start a new life.