Final Victory
Re-issued as a paperback is a title in A & C Black’s series Flashbacks (originally published in 2000), a welcome addition to the school library or teacher’s bookshelf. The series aims to give the reader “strong characters and thrilling plots set during key moments in history.” This particular story takes place during the last days of the Second World War in 1945, but from the perspective of Jurgen, a 12-year-old boy about to join the Hitler Youth and help fight against the approaching Russians. He witnesses key events, such as the bombing of Berlin and the destruction of the Hitler Youth Headquarters, even coming face to face with Goebbels and Hitler themselves. This is an unusual take on the Second World War and tries to explain how young boys were caught up in the patriotic fervour of the time, but were forced to realise the true nature of the Nazi regime. At the end of the book are a glossary of terms and two pages of historical notes. Other stories in the series are: Blitz Boys (1940 London) by Linda Newbery; A Candle in the Dark (1938, Germany) by Adele Geras; Doodlebug Summer (1944 England) by Alison Prince; Across the Roman Wall (397, Roman Britain) by Theresa Breslin; Mission to Marathon (490BC, Greece) by Geoffrey Trease; A Ghost-Light in the Attic (1650s Civil War England) by Pat Thomson and Casting the Gods Adrift (1351 BC Egypt) by Geraldine McCaughrean.
