“My Name Is Sara”: When a 13-Year-Old Girl Carries a War on Her Small Shoulders

Amid the roar of bombs and the darkness of World War II — where humanity seemed to lose its way — a 13-year-old Jewish girl chose to survive… by no longer being herself.

My Name Is Sara (2019) is not fiction. It is truth. And that’s what makes every frame, every breath, every look from Sara pierce right through the viewer’s heart.

A Lost Identity to Stay Alive

After her entire family was murdered by the Nazis, Sara Góralnik was forced to abandon her name, religion, and past to pose as a Ukrainian Orthodox Christian girl. Without a father, without a mother, without anyone left to call “family,” Sara embarked on a grueling journey of survival — where every lie was a ticket to life, and every suspicious glance was an invitation to death.

She found refuge on a farm owned by a Ukrainian couple who took her in — unaware that the girl living in their home was Jewish. But Sara’s survival was not just about making it through each day; she had to face dark secrets hidden even within the family who saved her.

More Than a War Film — A Poem About Courage

My Name Is Sara has no large-scale battles or booming gunfire. Instead, it shows a silent, fierce, and brutal inner battle — the internal war of a girl forced to grow up too fast.

Zuzanna Surowy — the young actress playing Sara — doesn’t need flowery dialogue. Her determined eyes and trembling hands tell a haunting story of a soul that refuses to break.

Hope Still Burns in the Dark

On cold winter nights, Sara lights small candles — not just to keep warm, but to remember who she is. Every whispered prayer, every gentle hand over her heart as she thinks of her parents reminds her: “I am still alive, and that means there is still hope.”

The film is not about despair. It is painful, but it does not give in. It is heartbreaking, yet still flickers with light. It reminds us that even in the darkest times, kindness — no matter how small — can become a beacon guiding us through the storm.

An Unforgettable Reminder

My Name Is Sara is a testament to the strength of a soul that will not be broken, even when the world around her crumbles to pieces. But the film is not just about a girl fleeing to survive — it whispers about identity, memory, and the desire to be oneself.

As the final light fades, Sara — no longer just a borrowed name — steps out from the shadows of history with a profound silence. No more gunfire, no more hiding, only a young woman with a pounding heart, taking her first steps on a journey of rebirth — not just for herself, but for all those left behind.

Because Some Stories Must Never Be Forgotten

We live in an era when war might be just words in textbooks or faded photos in museums. But My Name Is Sara pulls us from that apathy. It reminds us that every statistic of the Holocaust represents a person — a person with a name, a family, and dreams cut short.

And Sara, the 13-year-old girl who had to be silent to survive, now has the whole world listening.