Walls: Resisting the Third Reich--One Woman’s Story

Hiltgunt Zassenhaus was 17 when she first resisted the Third Reich by refusing to give the ＂Heil Hitler＂ salute in her high school. Later, as the terrible events of wartime Germany swirled around her, she risked death to smuggle food, medicine, and emotional support to hundreds of political prisoners, ultimately saving them from mass execution by the Nazis. Walls is her story.

For her wartime work, Zassenhaus was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. Walls was named on of the 25 best books of 1974 for young adults by the American Library Association and received a Christopher Award in 1975.

Hiltgunt Zassenhaus (1916-2004) was an interpreter during World War II, well-known for helping prisoners held by Nazi Germany. While she interpreted for Scandinavian prisoners under the guise of censoring their correspondence, Zassenhaus instead added information and documented their locations in journals she later turned over to human rights authorities. She attended the University of Hamburg and the University of Copenhagen, and after the war, completed a medical degree at the University of Bergen. She documented her story in Walls: Resisting the Third Reich--One Woman’s Story.

Katherine Paterson is the author of over 35 books includingthe Newberry Medal-winning titles Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved and the National Book Award-winning titles The Master Puppeteer andThe Great Gilly Hopkins.