The Factory of The Third Reich

Readers of all generations have grown up on The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier’s best-selling tale of children under wartime occupation, but few know the real life stories of the children and teenagers who went further and actually stood up to the Nazis. Here, for the first time, Monica Porter gathers together their stories from many corners of occupied Europe, showing how in a variety of audacious and inventive ways children as young as six resisted the Nazi menace, risking and sometimes even sacrificing their brief lives in the process: a heroism that until now has largely gone unsung.

On the moonlit night of Jan. 29, 1943, a mighty blast awakened residents near the De Havilland aircraft factory on the outskirts of London. As dawn broke, workers returning to the plant, which produced the speedy, efficient Mosquito bomber, shook their heads as they surveyed a scene of awesome devastation. Yet all was not as it appeared. In fact, none of it was. The entire event was staged, all for the benefit of the amazing Agent Zigzag…