Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #360038 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
It's 1944 and Anna's in the Sudetenland, her elder brother is at the front and her younger one is a fanatical member of the Nazi Youth. When she finds an escaped Russian soldier hiding in their barn, nearly dead, humanity conquers fear and she hides him in a disused bunker and continues to feed him despite knowing that if caught she'd be executed as a traitor. She doesn't dare tell even her mother. As the front approaches their village from the east it seems the Russian prisoner will soon be re-united with his comrades - but will Anna's already suspicious brother uncover her guilty secret first and expose her to a traitor's fate, and her family to destruction? An incredibly realistic and moving account of how one girl refuses to accept Nazi ideology and has the courage of her own conviction. A riveting insight into how the war affected the Sudetenland and its German and Czech population.

Customer Reviews

Social History?
A book that brings to life the conditions of life inside Nazi Germany towards the end of the war - and especially the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda!
Intertwined with the 'Social History' is the rather charming story of a young girl from an Austrian village whose horizons suddenly expand, completely changing her view of the world.

History is interesting!
I thought that this was a gripping novel in its own right, but the historical perspective gave added depth. I read it at one sitting because I wanted to know what was going to happen - I was gripped. After finishing the book I found that I was comparing it to All Quiet on the Western Front, the only other book I have read that shows quite so clearly how ordinary German people felt during WW2.
An excellent book at all levels - I can highly recommend it to readers from the age of 9 - 19.