The Pact

Lewis, Amanda West. The Pact. 2016. 352p. ISBN 978-0-88995-544-8. Available at FIC LEW on the library shelves

The Armistice of 1918 ended the First World War and held Germany responsible. Over the following decade the country managed to get back on its feet, but the Great Depression wiped out the economy and led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Crushing poverty plagued the country and allowed Hitler to first become Chancellor, then assume the post of President. Now the Nazis are the only game in town, and war is brewing on the horizon.

Peter Gruber lives in Hamburg, a large port city. Very resourceful, Peter has created a black market trading network where he acquires objects from sailors and trades them to locals, earning enough money to allow his mother and him a very modest living in a rundown apartment building. When Germany invades Poland on September 1st, 1939, the country is at first elated. Progress is happening, and the war is quickly settled in Germany’s favor. Other adventures on the Western Front in 1940 lead to the defeat of France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and Norway. Germany is flush with victories, but the lives of ordinary citizens does not improve. Peter continues to go to school, and is enrolled in the Hitler Youths, but his trade has dried up as no more ships come into the harbor.

Then the British begin fighting back. Bombers attack Hamburg and bathe the city in flames. Suddenly Germany feels more vulnerable than it did. Children are evacuated, and his entire class is taken to Southern Germany. Over the course of the next three years, Peter and his friends will move around the country, sometimes returning to Hamburg but then leaving again as bombing campaigns continue to attack the city. Not allowed to voice their opinions of the regime, the teens are caught in a downward spiral. Forced to join the S.S., they are shipped to Denmark in late 1944 to complete their training. As the Second World War careens towards its bloody end, Peter finds himself caught between his supposed allegiance to a system that caused Germany’s destruction, and his desire to be free. With armies closing on both side, how can Peter survive this apocalypse?

Based on a true story, The Pact provides an intriguing look at what it was like to be a German child at the beginning of the war and how one’s formative years are spent living under a dictatorial regime. Any reader interested in finding out how the German population felt during the war or how teens’ daily lives were affected will appreciate the insights this book provides.