THE BOY WHO DARED

Just as the Nazis are rising to power, Helmut Huebener, a German schoolboy, is caught up in all the swashbuckling bravado of his time. The handsome storm-trooper uniforms, the shiny jackboots and armbands, the rousing patriotism -- all serve to draw him into this bright new world full of promise and hope.
In the beginning, Helmut's patriotism is unwavering. But every day the rights of people all over Germany are diminishing. Jews are threatened and their businesses are being destroyed, the truth has been censored, and danger lurks everywhere. Anybody can turn on you. The world has turned upside down: Patriotism means denouncing others, love means to hate, and speaking out means treason. Silence becomes everyone's guilty secret. How much longer can Helmuth keep silent?
Told in flashback with breathtaking suspense, Newbery Honor Book author Susan Campbell Bartoletti magnificently explores the life of a heroic German youth who dared to stand up against the Nazis.

Susan Campbell Bartoletti encountered Helmut Huebener's amazing story while writing Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow. She was so moved by his heroic actions that she wanted to flesh out his story into a fictional form. She also wanted to provide a dramatic meditation on the meaning of his short life that raises questions about moral courage, nationalism, and individual responsibility.