1) The narrator is a 10-year-old German boy who is taken from his home and forced to train in the army despite being underage, against his will. 2) After training for over a year, he finds himself on the battlefield, afraid and missing his parents. He struggles with having to kill others and invade countries. 3) During a battle in North Africa, he breaks his foot and is sent home, but his parents later die after soldiers find their hiding place in the forest. The narrator then lives in an orphanage alone.

1. Life In War
By: Alex
Feb 17th 2011
I am a German boy and I was 10 when this war began. It was
a sunny day until I heard of the news of World War 2 starting. I
thought they were stopping war because of the horrible World War
1. Many people have died already and they still want more people
to die? They say it was awful but they are still are still continuing
wars! Germany keeps on invading other countries and it makes a
world war! This country help that country and that country help this
country. So what’s the point?
I was happily playing badminton with my dad until an army of
soldiers came and told my dad that I needed to go training in a
army to get ready for world war 2. My dad was arguing that
children under 15 couldn’t go to war because it was illegal. But the
army of soldiers took me away. I was struggling to be let down. But
the soldiers grip was as tight as a thick rope tied to your hand.
I was on a green truck on heading for the army camp. Soon, I
was at the camp. I went to the general and the general gave me a
uniform and a rifle. The rifle was as heavy as a piece of gold and
the uniform has a big logo on it.
After a week of training in the army, I got used to being
independent and waking up at 4 in the morning. I write to my
parents once a week so they won’t worry about me. After 14
months of training, we were at the battlefield waiting for the signs
to attack. Day after day, night after night waiting for the war to
end.
Bomb after bomb, lives after lives many have died in this war.
I feel bad for those who suffocated from war and for defending their
country. I do not get why people start war. It is just a horrible
thing! During the war, I missed my parents a lot.
We were going to attack Poland and we are going to send out
the air force to bomb the city Opal. I feel bad for the foreigners that
live there. They did nothing wrong and Germany is intruding their
country, and they want me to join them?! First I don’t want to be in
war second, I hate killing people.
I don’t want to be in a history book after I die. I want to die in
peace, not in a war situation! Why can’t people share more? You
give a bit may let you skip a war and nobody dies! War is always
about dying, dying and dying, that’s all about war! All the general
thinks is victory, it is like his life!
After that, I thought to myself. What is good about winning a
war? You will just be in the history book, and what good is that?
Killing so many people and being in a history book is just not worth
it! It was Friday and I wanted to go home! I feel so uncomfortable

2. being in army. I do not know why, I just can’t pull the trigger and
press the trigger. I just cannot bear seeing people die! People are
innocent, and I bet they don’t want war. We were invading North
Africa. All I want is to wake up in my room! With my mom calling
me for breakfast and my father going to work. I miss going to
school, I miss doing my homework. I don’t even know if I am going
to see my parents ever again all because I am stuck in this stupid
war situation.
I fell into a trench and I thought I was going to die then
because there were bullets flying everywhere, bullets were flying
upon my head. I closed my eyes ready to get hit by a bullet but my
general pulled me out of the trench and told me to keep fighting. It
felt like a knife was stabbing me in the foot then I realized I broke
my left foot.
Before I realized I was lying in a room. It was like a tent, it
was like my room. But I heard bullets in the air shooting. I knew
immediately that I was still in war. But the nurses called my parents
to come but I do not want them to because they will worry about
me every night every day. I will worry that they will worry about
me and if they worry, my mom did not to eat nor sleep. She will
just cry all night.
I hoped that I broke my leg so I could go home. I was a
disabled then so my words came true! The next thing I know I am
home lying on my bed thinking of all the soldiers dying from war. It
is hard to raise one person but it is really easy to die. One bullet,
only one bullet can take away a person’s life.
I heard the radio say that German people has to go hiding
from France and the USA. My mom was so worried that she didn’t
even eat dinner. My dad said to me seriously that we were going
into hiding.
Just thinking of dying makes me feel sorrow for the ones who
die. We were in an old house in the middle of the forest so the
France and the US would not find us. We had to be quiet everyday.
We ate can food because that’s the only thing we had then. I do not
like taking hostage of the prisoners.
Suddenly an army of soldiers burst through the door and I
knew we were busted. They shot my parents I froze like an iceberg.
But something tells me to run. I ran upstairs and hid.
When the soldiers went I ran to an orphanage. Year after
year, I missed my parents. But I slowly got used to being an
independent person.
I missed both my parents, but I still learn to do everything
myself. I often tell myself that if I cry, it is not going to help me. It
is just making me feel depressed and I can’t do anything. Crying is
not going to do any help, my parents are not going to come alive
again, and so what’s the point of crying?

3. Finally, the war ended in 1945 this life taking war lasted 6 years.
Eventually many have died from this long lasting war. I hope there will
be no more wars. Who likes war?
To this day, I still miss my parents but I learn not to because
I do not want to make my parents worry about me in heaven. I like
being independent sometimes and but I don’t like being alone
I realize that war is so cruel. I grew up and learned about UN
convention. Then I thought about my story. The time when I was in
war myself. I would definitely teach the rights to my child. I think
everybody has the right to be safe and not go training in an army
when they are little. Little as in being at an age under fifteen. I hate
war.