Chapter 1: I'm forced to join the army

Posted by Leo. This is a fictionalized account of war time in Berlin as told from the perspective of a young Jewish boy hidden amongst the German Nazis. This is the first in a short series by Leo.

Berlin, Germany 1939. War was breaking out and many German boys joined the Hitler Youth Academy. I myself have not joined because I am Jewish and it is not in my blood to be a Nazi. Even though I am Jewish many people do not know this. Only my family and no one ever mentions it.

My name is Alban Shoft and I have lived in Germany all my life. My father came from Sweden and my mother is British. We are not pure German but no one can tell that. The problem that is happening now is the draft. A horrible thing. A draft is where the government picks names and those people have to enter the army.

Today was my first day out of school because I had my name drawn out of the box. Even though I am not in the Youth Hitler Club I am still forced to join the army. At age 16 I am a tall 6’ 2”, 180 pounds, and I have my mother’s blue eyes and my dad’s dusty blonde hair. I have played sports before and am quite big for my age.

My first day in the army was hard. I was yelled at and criticized for not being able to do 50 chin ups. People always told me I was a strong fellow but thinking back to it I can’t take their word for it. Many kids can hardly do 10 chin ups but I can do 30.

Today I made a friend, Max, a boy my age who loves to play pranks on people and is always trying to get attention from Lieutenant James Carter, a former British officer. We decided that it would be best if we stuck together just in case we needed help when we were in battle. Many senior officers agreed and said people should be grouped within a squad.

The last day of training was hard but now we are off to the front where we will be fighting the allied forces. The journey is a long way from home and judging by the looks of people in the medical bay most people won’t come back without a scratch.