The introduction to Hana’s Suitcase gives historical context to the narrative. Levine briefly describes the circumstances of the Holocaust, in which millions of Jewish people were murdered. The Holocaust was perpetrated by Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, and lasted for six years.

Japan, aligned with German interests at the time, has had less national consciousness about the horrors of the Holocaust. In the late 20th century, Japanese interest in the Holocaust began to increase, and the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center was established, with Fumiko Ishioka as the director. Much of the Tokyo center’s work focuses on engaging children in learning about the Holocaust, which is how Hana’s story was uncovered. 

A nondescript suitcase is displayed at the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center. The suitcase is brown, battered, and painted with the name “Hanna Brady”; her birthday, May 16, 1931; and the German word for orphan, Waisenkind.

The museum director, Fumiko Ishioka, works with children to examine the suitcase. The young people are invested in figuring out who Hana was and where she went, and Fumiko “promises the children to do everything she can to find out about the girl who owned the suitcase” (3).