Many children were displaced from their families during WWII and living in relative safety in England. These are the conditions for William Osborne’s debut novel, Hitler’s Secret. Middle school readers of historical fiction and adventure will enjoy this fast-paced and action-packed novel about a female Austrian refugee and a male German refugee who agree to a secret mission: to go under cover as sister and brother, Leni and Otto Fischer. Disguised as members of the Hitler Jugend, the Hitler Youth, Leni and Otto set out to avenge their families destroyed by Hitler’s evil and to change the course of the war.
Although only 14 years old, Leni is chosen by the London Controlling Section for her character, athletic talent, academic aptitude, and ability to speak German. Otto is chosen for his speed and trouble-making. Together, they will abduct a nine year old girl, Angelika, who has been confined to a convent for five years, and ferry her along a treacherous route to Switzerland. 
Her identity important, Angelika becomes a bargaining chip, a propaganda tool in the war. Ironically, Admiral McPherson, the official acting on behalf of Winston Churchill, believes women can get emotional about things and that ultimately it’s up to the men to make the tough decisions. Yet, it is Leni and Angelika who play the hero’s role more than once during their acts of treachery to the Reich.
In their efforts to escape, the trio are pursued by elite, battle-hardened SS infantrymen, a mystic with a pendulum capable of tracing psychic energy, and several Gestapo Officers—including Reinhard Heydrich, Lieutenant General of the SS and chief of the Reich Main Security Office. Historians have dubbed him the darkest figure within the Nazis elite, often calling him the cruelest and most brutal mass murderer during a time of barbarism. After a series of shoot outs, close calls, captures, and escapes, the action culminates in a show-down. Engaged in the lives and events of the children, I read hurriedly to discover their next conflict and to see how or whether they would persevere in the face of their nemeses.
The book not only includes personalities significant to the war but also includes events like Kristallnacht and invasion details like Operation Barbarossa, lending itself to a history lesson. This is a high action book that puts a personality on the people who are the victims of war.
- Posted by Donna