Hitler’s Secret by
William Osborne
(333 pages)
Madison Bills A1
Hitler’s Secret is about the two teenagers, Leni and Otto, who are recruited from the British to become spies. Their mission is to retrieve a young girl by the name Angelika who is being held by nuns, and bring her back to headquarters. But why this little girl? What makes her so special? Through this action-packed adventure, Leni and Otto have to be careful because the Germans won’t be far behind. What is Hitler’s secret about this little girl?
True Facts: Some of the German soldiers and generals that the author used in this book, actually existed. Like Reinhard Heydrich, who was Lieutenant General of the SS (Schutzstaffel). Historians regard him as the darkest figure during the Nazi time. Even Hitler himself had called him “The Man with the Iron Heart” (Osborne).
The British had recruited teenage soldiers and spies. As a teenager Sonya Butt aka Agent Blanche, parachuted into German occupied France. While there, she used her young nineteen year old beauty to woo over German soldiers into telling Nazi plans. She would also use her expertise in explosives to sabotage enemy lines. The main character spies, Leni and Otto, had also parachuted into Nazi territory and had used explosives, just like Agent Blanche (DailyMail.com).
There was a border between Austria and Switzerland. Austria was invaded by Germans, but beyond the border to Switzerland, that was considered a “safe place” because they were not part of the war. In the book, Leni and Otto were trying to cross the border in order to be safe and complete their mission Pehofer, Hansjörg, and Martina Kinzl. “Universität Innsbruck.” Universität Innsbruck, 31 May 2017, www.uibk.ac.at/..
When Leni and Otto first arrive in Nazi territory after parachuting, Leni changes into a Bund Deutscher Mädel uniform so she would blend in with other girls her age. Bund Deutscher Mädel is a female Nazi party youth movement. The title of this group was the “League of German Girls in the Hitler Youth” and it consisted of three sections; each for different ages of girls. It was founded in 1930 and it did not grow popular until Nazis came to power (Jewish Virtual Library).
Leni had stolen a BMW R75 motorcycle with a sidecar attached to the side. Motorcycles were used in WW2 to make transportation quicker. The motorcycles could carry at least three people at a quicker pace. They were also used to get around easier because of their size compared to the cars back then. (Warfare History Network)
Fictional: Leni, Otto, and Angelika are made-up characters. There were real kids and people that they were based on, but these main characters in the book did not exist in this war.
Compare and Contrast: I liked reading the nonfiction article about the Nazi parties and Adolf Hitler. I learned things I didn’t know before but, I did enjoy the book better because it had a storyline and it was following an adventure. I also learned a lot in this book about spies and Nazi soldiers. I liked how it was telling a first person point of view from the main characters and how they felt about each situation and how it also told a first point of view from the German soldiers. History.com Staff. “Nazi Party.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nazi-party.
I really enjoyed reading this book and how it had so much to it. I liked how it shared the enemy's point of view and the main character's’ point of view.
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