A photo of the Mirabal sisters(left), a memorial to the Mirabal sisters (right)
In the Time of the Butterflies-background information
Through the 1930s, '40's and '50s, the Dominican Republic was ruled by the former cattle
rustler and then dictator, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina -- better known in the United States as
simply Trujillo. He owned twenty homes, numerous businesses and one-fifth of his nation's
agricultural land. He surrounded himself with murderers who kept the public intimidated. He
promoted himself to his subjects as the Son of God, Savior of Mankind, Generalissimo and Father of
the Fatherland. And he ignored the tourist industry, because he did not want a lot of Americans
snooping around. With his enormous wealth, Trujillo supported a lobby effort in Washington D.C.,
and he had a friend as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Harold D. Coole of North
Carolina, who supported Trujillo's interests in the growing of sugarcane.
In 1937 Trujillo whipped up anti-Haitian fears and massacred thousands of Haitians. Under
his leadership history was rewritten, describing the Haitians as villains. In 1959, Trujillo was
blaming Fidel Castro for a rising tide of discontent within the Dominican Republic. In 1960,
Venezuela produced evidence that agents of Trujillo had tried to assassinate its president -- while
Trujillo was playing host to Venezuela's former dictator, Pérez Jiménez. Venezuela appealed to the
Organization of American States. An economic embargo was suggested, and Trujillo clamped down
harder on opposition within his country.
Trujillo met his end in May 1961. He was assassinated by young army officers in his private army
who, it is said, were unhappy about delays in being promoted. The assassins caught Trujillo in his
car on a lonely road. Nominal power shifted to Trujillo's vice president, Joaquín Balaguer, while real
power remained with military men, and while Trujillo's sons maneuvered for position. Citizens
rallied and rioted, demanding democracy. Two of Trujillo's sons left the island on October 22 and
returned on November 15 in an attempt to seize power.
The Kennedy administration decided to intervene. The administration viewed it as an
opportunity to stand up for democracy. (This event occurred six months after the Bay of Pigs
invasion and two months after the Berlin Wall had gone up.) United States warships with 4000
Marines appeared just outside the three-mile limit. A jet fighter flew overhead, and all members of
the Trujillo family fled the country, to live thereafter on savings from Swiss banks.
In the Time of the Butterflies was published in 1994. In the Time of the Butterflies is a fictionalized
account of the revolutionary activity and personal lives of the Mirabal sisters and their families and
compatriots in the Dominican Republic under the Trujillo regime. It was selected as a Notable Book
for 1994 by the American Library Association, and it was also a 1994 Book of the Month Club
choice. In 1995, it was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction, and it was
chosen as one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association
and the American Library Association. The book was made into a film in 2001, directed by Mariano
Barroso and starring Salma Hayek as Minerva. Mark Anthony played the role of Lío.
Consider and respond to the following questions after you watch the movie. You may
respond in English.
1. Most of the story takes place from the 1930s to the 1960s in the Dominican Republic.
What traits are considered appropriate for women living there at that time? Which
women defy these social customs, and why?
2. What prompts Patria to become involved in the revolution? How does her commitment
differ from Minerva's and María Teresa's?
3. Each of the sisters has different motivations for her involvement in the underground and
tolerates different amounts of risk. What specific event triggers each woman's decision to
become politically active?
4. The Mirabal sisters are viewed as heroines and martyrs in the Dominican Republic. What
makes a person a martyr. Is it necessary for martyrs to act heroically?
5. Many citizens in the Dominican Republic and Haiti were mistreated and/or murdered
during the Trujillo regime. What advice would you give the current Dominican
government to avoid a tragedy like this in the future?
Check off each item as you complete it:
_______ My letter is written in Spanish.
________ Sra. Hines has proofread my first draft.
_______ My letter is typed.
_______ My letter has a greeting.
_______ My letter has two appropriate headings (your address and the president’s address).
_______ The body of my letter has at least three paragraphs.
_______ Each paragraph has at least 4 sentences.
_______ I have addressed the following with the Presidente Medina in the letter:
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


an introduction-who am I, where I go to school
what have I learned about the Mirabal sisters
my concerns for the future of the Dominican Republic
how the Dominican Republic can honor the Mirabal sisters
_______ My letter has a closing and a signature.
Sarah’s Key Background Information
Vél d'Hiv, Paris 1942: 'These black hours will stain our history forever'
In June 1942, 12,000 Jewish adults and children were removed from their homes in Paris and
sent to Nazi death camps. It was the largest mass arrest in wartime France.
Jewish children walk to a holding camp as part of the Vel d'Hiv roundup in Paris, 1942. Many were later
transferred to Auschwitz.
The Vél d'Hiv roundup began in the early hours of 16 July 1942 and, over the next two days,
12,884 Jews from the Paris region, including over 4,000 children, were taken into custody. It was
biggest such mass arrest in France during the Second World War. Of these, 7,000 victims were
packed into the Vélodrome d'Hiver, an indoor sports stadium. Here, they awaited shipment to the
death camps in eastern Europe.
What made the event so especially shocking was not just the number of children involved, but
that the operation was planned and executed by French police and civil servants. After the war,
the Vél d'Hiv roundup would become a symbol of French guilt and complicity in the Holocaust.
The Vichy French government of 1940 was forced to co-operate closely with the dictates issued
from Berlin. During 1942, growing pressure from Germany to deport Jews from France received
an enthusiastic response from the Vichy government.
The original German directive had called for deportation of adult Jews. But, the Vichy
government proposed that Jewish children should be included in the deportation. In part, this was
to prevent ugly public scenes of the forcible separation of children from their parents. But it was
also simply to avoid the financial responsibility for the soon-to-become orphans.
The roundup was prepared in great secrecy and involved a massive force of 9,000 police. But
given the scale of the operation it was almost inevitable that news of the impending action leaked
to the French resistance and various Jewish organizations. As a result, some were able to escape.
But most tamely accepted the police's orders to gather up a few possessions before being bused
to the Vélodrome d'Hiver.
Parisian reaction to the roundup was mixed. Some people plundered the apartments of the
arrested Jews; bystanders were seen to applaud as the victims were led away. A few, however,
actively helped the Jews. Sympathetic police officers encouraged their charges to flee into the
city and French families hid those on the run from the authorities.
But for the thousands incarcerated in the Vél d'Hiv conditions became progressively worse. No
food was provided and the only source of water was a single fire hydrant pumping filthy water
from the Seine. There were no working bathrooms. After five terrible days the victims were
taken to nearby transit camps before the first trains left for the death camps of Auschwitz.
After the war, the French reaction to the deportation of its Jewish population was initially one of
silence and denial. It would take five decades before the government accepted responsibility for
its actions. On 16 July 1995, French President Jacques Chirac issued a complete and fulsome
apology for the actions of the Vichy government in executing the Vél d'Hiv roundup:
"These black hours will stain our history forever," he said, "and are an affront to our past
and traditions ... the criminal insanity of the occupiers was assisted by the French, by the
French state."
In Sarah’s Key, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist married to a
Frenchman, is commissioned to write an article about the notorious Vel
d’Hiv round up, which took place in Paris in 1942. She stumbles upon a
family secret which will link her forever to the destiny of a young Jewish girl,
Sarah. Julia learns that the apartment she and her husband Bertrand plan to
move into was acquired by Bertrand’s family when its Jewish occupants were
dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what
happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski,
parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel.
Consider and respond to the following questions after you
watch the movie. You may respond in English.
1. What did you know about the holocaust BEFORE you watched the movie?
2. What was the Vichy government? Why did they feel it was advantageous to cooperate
with the Nazis?
3. Why would people clap when the Jews were led away? Compare it to the anti-bully
messages that you get at school.
4. Why was it important, 50 years later, for President Jacques Chirac to admit and apologize
to the world and especially to the Jewish people?
5. Can you compare the Vel d’Hiv incident to a similar situation in our world today?
Check off each item as you complete it:
_______ My letter is written in French.
________ Mme. Bojsen has proofread my first draft.
_______ My letter is typed.
_______ My letter has a greeting.
_______ My letter has two appropriate headings (your address and the president’s address).
_______ The body of my letter has at least three paragraphs.
_______ Each paragraph has at least 4 sentences.
_______ I have addressed the following with Présidente Hollande in the letter:
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


an introduction-who am I, where I go to school
what have I learned about the Vel d’Hiv Roundup
my concerns for the future
how this incident compares to students looking away when someone gets bullied
_______ My letter has a closing and a signature.