Why a Booktrail?
WW2 – A poignant tale about a boy who is determined to keep his dog safe from the war in Russia.
Saving Zasha
What you need to know before your trail
Russia
The Second World War has just ended and 13 year old Mikhail stumbles across a dying man and his German Shepherd dog Zasha in the woods. He wants to save the dog but knows that many will say it’s wrong if not traitorous to own a German Shepherd so soon after Germany attacked the country. So Mikhail has to keep the dog safe and secret if he is to keep it alive.
Travel Guide
For more information – The Soviet war dogs of ww2
We’ve read many books children’s and otherwise about the WW2 but never have we come across one which looks at the way dogs were used and abused during the war.
Set in Northern Russia, the use of dogs during the war was widespread – they were used to carry messages through enemy territory, help carry goods, act as guard dogs and were even trained to attack thereby becoming weapons for the army forces.
According to the historical note in the back of the book, many nations including Russia didn’t like dogs bred in the enemy country as they represented the enemy. They didn’t want to ‘waste’ the short supply of food on these creatures particularly as the word German is in their name.
For Mikhail, the threat of discovery could be death. When he confronted about the dog –
“If you are lying, and I find the dog….well let’s just say there are labour camps that could use the help of two string young boys such as yourself.”
After the war, Russia was devastated and there were almost no dogs left alive.
The government then set about creating a ‘superdog’ and the Red Star Kennel was set up in Moscow to take charge of breeding. In 1955, Russia created The Russian Black Terrier, also known as the Russian Pearl.
Against this historical background, a simple sweet tale of one boy’s determination to keep his canine friend safe in war time speaks volumes about the human spirit and man’s best friend.
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