VICTORY '45 by the spring of 1945 huddled in his Berlin bunker directing imaginary armies and planning his suicide. A few aides stuck by, but most were planning to save themselves. The most successful was SS General Karl Wolff, in Italy, who managed to impress OSS chief Allen Dulles\u003B fend off rival (and perhaps nastier) competitors, Heinrich Himmler and Ernst Kaltenbrunner\u003B persuade leading Wermacht generals to surrender with absolutely no conditions\u003B and protect himself against prosecution for his crimes. Wolff took enormous risks (visiting a deeply suspicious Hitler during his final weeks) but succeeded eventually in testifying for the prosecution at Nuremburg. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery handled the surrender of German forces in north Germany on his own with a nod to his superior, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, who preoccupied himself with the iconic May 7, 1945, official German government surrender. The authors precede that with accounts reminding readers of Nazi awfulness: a teenage Jewish boy’s years in concentration camps, a young American soldier’s experience encountering his first camp, and the chaos that engulfed Germany during and after the war. On the Pacific front, Japanese leaders, aware by 1943 that they were losing, worked to convince America that every Japanese man, woman, and child would fight to the death before surrendering. They assumed that the U.S., faced with this threat and lacking Japanese fortitude, would negotiate a compromise peace. By cruel irony, American leaders were indeed convinced of Japan’s resolve, but they did not negotiate\u003B they proceeded by unleashing an almost genocidal firebombing and two atomic bombs that, aided by the massive Soviet invasion, produced the desired surrender." - Review & Purchase Guide | BookBookOwl

Name: VICTORY '45
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.33 (316 reviews)
ISBN: 9780802166

Our Review

This gripping historical novel plunges readers into the final, chaotic months of World War II through the eyes of a determined teenage girl. As Allied forces push toward victory, she navigates a landscape of danger, loss, and fragile hope, offering a visceral, ground-level view of the war's end. The narrative masterfully balances intense personal stakes with the immense historical events unfolding around her, making the past feel immediate and urgent.

What sets this story apart is its unflinching focus on the human cost of conflict and the complex reality of liberation, rather than a simple, triumphant narrative. Young adult readers who crave immersive, character-driven historical fiction will find a powerful and thought-provoking journey here, one that resonates deeply with its exploration of resilience and the bittersweet nature of peace.

VICTORY '45

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