Fighting to Survive World War II: Terrifying True Stories

By Nancy Dickmann

World War II was filled with deadly battles. And people caught in the crossfire were in just as much danger as the soldiers. Learn about the war's determined survivors and what it took for them to escape.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780756564544

Nancy Dickmann

Nancy Dickmann has written more than 150 non-fiction books for children, specializing in science and history. Before becoming an author, she worked for many years as an editor and publisher of children’s books.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER

TITLE PAGE

INTRODUCTION

ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ

HIDING FROM THE ENEMY

UNDER SIEGE

SABOTAGE IN THE SNOW

LOST AT SEA

NEVER SURRENDER

GLOSSARY

READ MORE

SOURCE NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

COPYRIGHT

BACK COVER

INTRODUCTION

A war began on September 1, 1939, that would soon involve most of the world. The leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler, resented the treatment his country had received after losing World War I. He was the leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or the Nazi Party for short. The Nazis wanted to create a new Germany that spanned across Europe. At the same time, Hirohito, the leader of Japan, had plans to expand his country’s power in Asia and across the Pacific Ocean.

Soldiers marching through a demolished German town.

World War II began when Germany invaded Poland. Other countries, including France and the United Kingdom, declared war against Germany. Soon fighting occurred across Europe, spilling into northern Africa. In Asia the Japanese army attacked China. The war continued to escalate, and in 1941 two huge powers were pulled into it. The Soviet Union, after being attacked by Germany, and the United States, after an attack by Japan, joined the Allied forces.

SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS

Brave soldiers, sailors, and pilots faced death on the battlefield. But millions of civilians were put in danger too. Some of them lived in areas that were occupied by an invading army. Others saw their towns and cities bombed by the enemy. Even people far from the front lines experienced food shortages caused by the war.

At the same time, a different kind of war was being waged—a war against anyone the Nazis didn’t like. Hitler and the Nazis hated the Jewish people and believed they were an inferior race. As a result, the Nazis treated them horrendously. Before the war started, the Nazis stripped Jewish people of their rights. During the war, they forced millions into concentration and death camps. They also imprisoned gay people, Romani, people with disabilities, and other minority groups. They used these people for slave labor, and killed millions of them, including many children. This genocide is called the Holocaust.

DEATH AND SURVIVAL

By the time World War II ended in 1945, it had caused the deaths of an estimated 60 million people—approximately 3 percent of the world’s population at the time. Despite these deadly statistics, many people have amazing stories of survival. They used their wits and determination—and sometimes a bit of luck—to escape seemingly impossible situations.

ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ

AIREY NEAVE

As he was marched across the bridge spanning the moat, Airey Neave looked up in dismay at the castle in front of him. It loomed forbiddingly over the town of Colditz, Germany. The fortress was hundreds of years old and stood on a high, rocky spur. On three sides its walls ended in steep rock faces sloping down to the ground below. The British officer had already escaped from one camp, but escaping from this one would be much harder.

The previous year, after just a few months of combat in France, Neave had been wounded and captured by the Germans. After he recovered, he was taken from northern France, through Belgium and