The Nazis are here!"
It was march 15, 1939. The place was Plzen, Czechoslovakia. The life of 15-year-old Jirina Zizkovska, like the lives of millions of people across Europe and around the world, war was about to change -- never to be the same. In "Remember World War II" you will experience the war through the real-life accounts of kids who survived the war in Europe, the Pacific, and on the home front.
What would you do if you had to go to sleep every night to the sound of Nazi boots pacing the floors of your house? That's what Solange Berger and her sister had to endure after the Germans took over their home in Belgium. Can you imagine being told that listening to the radio was punishable by death? For Olga Held, whose German family had become disillusioned with Hitler, news broadcasts from England were a lifeline of hope. The quacking of their "watch duck" Georgie was a signal to turn off the radio.
What if, like Japanese American Thompson Izawa, your Sunday morning fishing trip turned into a nightmare, as you witnessed Japanese planes bombing the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor? Or how would you feel if your mother painted your name and blood type on your chest, knowing the information could save your life? That's what happened to some of Eiko Arai's friends during the firebombing of Tokyo.
Through these and other stories, Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson captures the resilient spirit and incredible bravery of kids in wartime. By combining eyewitness accounts with carefully researched narrative and compelling archival images, she makes "Remember World War II" an unforgettable reading experience.
