german occupation, 1941-1944

"Artem lives in the sleepy city of Stalingrad, which has mostly been cut off from war with Nazi Germany--until the summer of 1942. That July, martial law is declared as the Nazis begin their unprecedented march toward the city. Artem's older brother is a soldier in Stalin's Red Army, so Artem is worried for his brother's safety once he and his family have evacuated the city. Then the announcement comes. Stalin has ordered that no civilians be allowed to leave Stalingrad. The city which bears his name is an important symbol, and the Red Army believe that the soldiers defending it will fight all the harder if their families' lives are at stake. Artem and his new friend Yuna are put to work shoring up the city's defenses, digging trenches and building fortifications. Then, on August 23rd, the bombing begins. A massive German air raid reduces most of the city to rubble. With Stalingrad blockaded by both the Germans and their own government, escape from the coming battle seems all but impossible"--Provided by publisher.

Twelve-year-old Ivan has escaped from the siege of Leningrad, but when the town he has taken refuge in is occupied by Hitler's troops, he sees his chance to help the partisans he has met--and to rescue to German shepherd puppies, Zasha and Thor, from the cruel Commander Recht.

During World War II, a group of Jewish partisans fight together to end the Nazis supreme. Seventeen-year-old Edmund maintains his own inner resolve with memories of his parents and their life before the war.

Twelve-year-old Ivan has escaped from the siege of Leningrad, but when the town he has taken refuge in is occupied by Hitler's troops, he sees his chance to help the partisans he has met--and to rescue to German shepherd puppies, Zasha and Thor, from the cruel Commander Recht.

It is June 1941 and after the brutal rule of the Soviets the people of Krystia's small Ukrainian village are inclined to look on the German invaders as liberators; but soon the Nazis start rounding up Jewish Ukrainians, and Krystia is faced with a terrible choice--risk everything by helping her Jewish friends and neighbors to hide, or save herself and her family by doing nothing.

In 1942 twelve-year-old Anton, his family, and their small community of Ukrainian Jews are hiding from the advancing Nazi troops and the Gestapo in a web of underground caves. One officer in particular, Major Karl Von Duesen, is determined to catch or kill every Jew he can find, but as the tide of war turns, a final confrontation between Anton and his enemy is looming.

In 1945 Russia, those who own German shepherds are considered traitors, but thirteen-year-old Mikhail and his family are determined to keep the dog a dying man brought them, while his classmate Katia strives to learn his secret.

"Kalinka is in danger. She is alone on the frigid, snowy Ukrainian steppe. She is pursued by Nazis. Tracked like prey. The cold is strangling her, and the hunger won't go away. No food, no warmth, no help. Except for a loyal dog and two remarkable horses she is trying to save, against all odds. Her only allies. Are they enough?"--from back cover.

Two children face the perils of the German occupation of Russia during World War II.