Protected by the Enemy

" What is a war, Mama?" asks eight-year-old Rachel on September 1, 1939. But her mother cannot answer such a weighty question. Many years later, a host of historians and politicians offer their opinions, explaining why World War II happened and what provoked it. Left to her own thoughts, Rachel tries to find out what the work "war" really means, and gradually discovers the bitter truth that a war causes hunger, deprivation and death. She also finds it a test of human strengths and frailties, including her own moral dilemma: the shunting aside of values carefully taught by her parents in order to survive. Rachel also observes the gallant, brave acts of men who refuse to abandon their personal values and beliefs, despite the political mandates of their countries. Rachel's father, especially, personifies these traits as he attempts to prepare his family for the horrors of war. Allied prisoners of war, fearful of being killed during the Allied invasion, strike a desperate bargain with Rach

Annelore Maack