Projekt 1065

The pool hall quickly becomes a “wreck” of “broken bottles” and “bloodied patrons” (158), with Fritz leading the arrests of teenage Pirates. Horst, the Youth leader who was so cruel to Fritz, is beating an unconscious boy with a chair leg, and Fritz calls him out. To Michael’s shock, Horst actually regards Fritz with “a look of fear” (158)—in his new SRD uniform, Fritz has “the power to send Horst to a concentration camp” (159)—but Fritz tells Horst to “‘carry on’” (159). When Michael says they should stop hitting the boy, Fritz tells Michael he’s “‘too soft’” (159).

Approving of Fritz’s ferocity, Trumbauer suggests they call him Quex, German for quicksilver—the same nickname given to Herbert Norkus, “the most famous Hitler Youth ever” (160). Trumbauer says he’s organizing “‘a special team’” (160) he wants Fritz to join, and Fritz should report to him rather than the SRD the next day. Later, Michael points out that Norkus died young, but Fritz doesn’t care—Norkus “‘died a hero’” (160), Fritz proudly responds.

A few days after the pool hall raid, Michael notices more Edelweiss Pirates graffiti and knows “the war against” the Pirates isn’t “over”—and “neither [is] the real war” (161). Germany is fighting on three fronts and losing on all of them, and the German people are suffering through ever stricter rationing amid a bitterly cold winter.

Michael arrives at Fritz’s home before school, but Fritz’s sister Lina answers the door. Fritz has been absent since joining Trumbauer’s special SRD team, and Lina shuts the door on Michael, but then opens it again wearing a winter coat and carrying her knapsack. She walks to school with Michael without saying a single word, even when Michael asks her, “‘Do you ever speak?’” (162).

At school, Michael deposits his essay on Melcher’s desk, which is a “Kuddelmuddel”—“‘a mess’” (163). Michael decides to play “Kim’s Game” with the desk, committing every detail of it to memory, and he notices a paper beginning “‘REGRET TO INFORM YOU YOUR S—’” (163). After checking he’s alone, Michael takes the paper out and reads it, and he suddenly comprehends why Melcher no longer conceals his hatred for the Nazis.

Michael has uncovered a telegram informing Melcher that his son was killed during the German retreat from Stalingrad. Michael plans to show the telegram to Fritz, but before he can, Fritz derides Melcher as a “‘doddering old man’” (165). Michael reflects that Fritz barely wants to talk to him anymore, and he asks Fritz about the special team. Fritz says it’s a “‘science team’” (167), which Michael knows is a lie.

Melcher begins handing back papers, but Fritz pushes his paper to the ground. When Melcher demands he pick it up, Fritz throws back, “‘You pick it up’” (166). Neither teacher nor pupil will back down, and when the professor appears about to slap Fritz, the other SRD members join Fritz in confronting Melcher. Michael realizes he too must stand with the SRD, or else he’ll “risk […] blowing his cover” (167). Before the situation can explode, the air raid sirens wail and the boys walk out.

As Michael hurries to his air raid station, he acknowledges that Fritz has become “colder. Meaner” (168)—and he has to find out the truth behind Trumbauer’s special team.

Michael, his parents, and Simon are gathered in Da’s study, where Michael has updated the others on Fritz’s strange new activities. Ma reveals that they plan to send Simon back to London the very next night, and Michael doesn’t “really want him to go” (170). Michael protests that he hasn’t memorized the last page of the Projekt 1065 blueprints, and Simon says they’ll have to make do with what they have—Simon needs to go “‘home’” (170). Michael understands that Simon needs to get back to his own life and out of danger, even if Michael will miss his new friend.

Da and Ma begin discussing a coded message they’ve discovered, something to do with an assassination plot orchestrated by the Nazis. Meanwhile, Michael realizes he has one day left to get into Fritz’s house and memorize the final page of Projekt 1065.

The next morning, Michael sees Fritz and a bunch of other SRD boys gathered outside school, and he knows “something [is] up” (172). Fritz proudly tells Michael they’re going to “‘get rid of the old relic’” (172)—Melcher. Michael mentions the death of Melcher’s son in Stalingrad, but Fritz responds that the professor “‘should be proud’” of his son’s sacrifice rather than “‘go[ing] soft’” (173).

Fritz and the rest of the SRD “blitz” into the classroom “like the Third Army invading Poland” (173), throw Melcher to the ground and attack him “like wild dogs” would “a piece of raw meat” (174). Michael wants to “defend” (174) his teacher, but he can’t get through the crowd of boys destroying the classroom. Instead, he runs outside and calls the city police, hoping they’ll arrive in time and arrest the boys—because if they don’t, he’s sure the SRD will kill Melcher.

As the boys drag Melcher out of the school, the police finally arrive. However, when Fritz says Melcher is a “‘defeatist’” (175) who must be delivered to the Gestapo, the police appear scared, worrying the SRD will turn on them next. Michael angrily thinks that this attitude of self-preservation caused the Nazis to rise to power “in the first place” (175). He wants to stand up for Melcher, but then considers that if he himself is targeted, he might jeopardize his parents’ and Simon’s safety, and the plan to get the Projekt 1065 blueprints to England. Michael remembers Kristallnacht, when he couldn’t comprehend why his parents ignored the plight of an innocent man; now, Michael understands his parents’ choice. Though his heart is “eating [him] up from the inside” (176), Michael realizes he must sacrifice Melcher for his larger mission and for the greater good.

Michael and Melcher share a look of desperation, both acknowledging that the other has hated the Nazis all along, and Michael “lock[s] [his] heart away in a wee iron coffin and swallow[s] the key” (176). Knowing he’s doing nothing to save Melcher from death, Michael “die[s] inside a little” (177).

Michael follows the SRD and Melcher to Gestapo headquarters, where an SS officer assures the boys that they’ll “‘take care’” (177) of the professor. He adds that the boys won’t have time for school anyway, as more soldiers have been deployed and the Hitler Youth must take over their roles. Specifically, the Youth will now be expected to man guns against the Allied aircraft during raids.

The same day the boys turn their professor in to the Gestapo, they begin training to man the huge antiaircraft guns. Michael is still hoping to go home with Fritz and get a last look at the plans, but Fritz is surrounded by new admirers after leading the crusade against Melcher, and Michael can’t get close to him. Michael goes to Fritz’s house anyway, and once more Lina answers the door. She lets Michael in to wait for Fritz inside, and Michael enters Fritz’s father’s study, only to find all the blueprints are gone from the walls.

Michael can’t find the blueprints anywhere, and he decides to deal with the situation by playing a “giant Kim’s Game” (181), figuring out what has changed about the room’s layout. He notices a folder by the door, opens it and sees the blueprints inside. He considers stealing them all but knows that will make Fritz’s dad suspicious, so he unfolds the last page and starts to memorize it.

As the chapter ends, Michael looks up to see Lina standing in the doorway, watching him.

Michael is sure he’s “busted” (182), but to his shock, Lina tells him “‘You and I can get married’” (182) and “‘have lots of babies for Hitler’” (183). Michael can’t believe Fritz’s strange younger sister has a “crush” (184) on him, but he plays along, hoping he can still make it out of Fritz’s home with the blueprints. He tells Lina they’ll wait until they both graduate to marry, and she leaves the study. He memorizes the plans, puts them back, and leaves before Lina can start planning their honeymoon.

Simon and Michael reconstruct the final page of the blueprint from Michael’s memory, and Simon praises Michael for “‘a swell piece of work’” (185). The entire family meets to go over Simon’s escape plan: When the air raid arrives as it does every night, Simon will wait until 3:45 a.m. and head to an alley, where Michael will meet him. Michael is surprised to hear this, as he didn’t realize he would play a part in Simon’s escape. Ma explains that if she or Da leaves the air raid shelter, their absence will be noticed, but Michael can more easily lead Simon through the city—as an SRD member, he’ll be patrolling during air raids anyway.

Michael drops a bombshell of his own: The SRD are now supposed to control the antiaircraft guns rather than patrolling. All three adults are horrified that the Nazis would assign this “‘death sentence’” (186) of a task to 13-year-olds, but Michael thinks he can sneak away for long enough to guide Simon. Da, aware of the growing danger for Michael, thinks the entire family should return to Ireland, but Ma reminds him they need to help Simon first. Ma gives Michael a location and a “‘pass phrase’” (187) to exchange with an agent in her network, who will then take over Simon’s escape.

That night, sirens wail as Michael and the other SRD troops stand “right in the middle of the street” (189), preparing to shoot down the British aircraft with their giant guns—really, “cannons” (189). The massive weapons stand on four legs that make an “X,” a “perfect target” (189) for bombers—which means the boys are targets as well.

Michael’s job is to carry artillery shells to the guns for reloading, a terrifying task as explosions and “orange eruptions of flame” (190) surround him. At 3:15 a.m., he sees a plane “plummet[ing]” (191) from the sky—the boys have successfully hit a target.

Michael feels “sick” (192) with guilt over his role in shooting down a British aircraft, and either killing the soldiers outright or sentencing them to death as prisoners of the Germans. While a nearby explosion distracts the others, Michael sneaks up to the radar machine and twists the dial so the aim will be off. Fritz, who is manning the guns, starts missing, and another boy asks how he “‘expect[s] to kill that scientist’” (193) if he can’t even shoot straight. Michael suspects the comment is connected to Fritz’s mysterious “‘science team’” (194), and that perhaps they’re part of the assassination plot that Michael’s parents are investigating.

Michael’s thoughts are interrupted when another SRD member, Max, accuses him of “‘sabotag[ing] the radar machine’” (194).

Max and Michael are concealed from the other boys by the huge gun, so Michael grabs Max’s arm, twists it and threatens to break it. He asks Max what scientist they’re supposed to kill, and after a few more twists to his arm, Max admits it’s a Jewish scientist named Hendrik Goldsmit, and the assassination is planned for “‘some science conference somewhere’” (196). Michael, overwhelmed by the information, is momentarily distracted, and Max takes the opportunity to free himself.

Michael draws out his Hitler Youth dagger, wondering if he’s capable of killing Max “in cold blood” (197) to preserve his secret, and Max pulls out his dagger as well. Before either can attack, a piece of shrapnel falls on Max, “ripp[ing] [him] in two” (197). The “horror” (198) of the sight, and of the thought that Michael’s “wishing [Max] quiet” (198) somehow caused his death, nearly overcomes Michael. He suddenly sees its 3:40 a.m., and he’ll be late to reach Simon.

At that moment, the Edelweiss Pirates arrive and attack the SRD.

The Edelweiss Pirates come at the SRD “with clubs and broken bottles and daggers” (199), singing a song with lyrics about “smash[ing] the Hitler Youth” (199). A Pirate clubs Michael’s back with a table leg, and Michael snaps out of his trance of horror. Michael knocks the boy out, then recognizes him as the asthmatic boy who failed the Hitler Youth trials.

It’s now past the time Michael should have met Simon, but before he can leave, he sees Fritz struggling to fight back against three Pirates, one of whom has a knife. Despite all the awful things Fritz has done, Michael also remembers that Fritz “saved [Michael’s] life” (201), and Michael jumps in to defend Fritz. Once all three Pirates are felled, Michael looks into Fritz’s face and finds his former friend has become “cold. Hard” (201). The two boys thank each other, and seeing it’s now 4:02 a.m., Michael runs off to find Simon.

Ten minutes later, Michael reaches the meeting point to find that Simon is gone.

The next morning, Simon hasn’t returned to the embassy, so he’s either attempting to get out of Germany on his own, or he’s been captured. Michael and his parents are gathered in Da’s study, worried about both Simon and Hendrik Goldsmit. According to Ma, Goldsmit, a Dutch physicist, is “‘in some secret military laboratory in the States’” (205), helping to develop the atomic bomb.

Da finds a newspaper article stating Goldsmit will attend a conference in the Swiss Alps, to be held in two days. Ma thinks Goldsmit is part of “‘Operation Paperclip’” (205)—an Allied attempt to “‘recruit,’” or even “‘kidnap’” (206), German scientists. Ma and Da realize that because neutral Switzerland won’t allow Nazis within its borders, they’re trying to smuggle in the supposed “‘science team’” (206) of German children. They wonder how to alert British Intelligence in time, when suddenly the phone rings.

After a coded phone call with her agent, Ma reports that Simon wasn’t on the riverboat he was meant to take, so the Nazis must have captured him. Michael, sure it’s his “fault” (208), cries with grief and guilt. The air raid sirens “howl” (209), and Michael must leave to join the other SRD members, but in the alley behind the embassy a “dark figure” (210) grabs him—Simon.

The house staff have already left for the air raid bunker, so Michael leads Simon back to the study closet and goes to retrieve his parents. While Ma continues to the bunker with the staff, making sure none of them see Simon, Da hurries to the study. Simon explains that when he heard a German patrol coming, he tried to make it out of the city on his own but was chased by a group of Hitler Youth. A boy who “‘couldn’t have been more than ten’” (213) followed him into an alley, and Simon couldn’t bring himself to shoot him—but the boy stabbed him in the stomach. However, Simon managed to hold on to the Projekt 1065 plans.

Da goes to the air raid bunker so the staff won’t wonder about him, and Michael and Simon are left alone. Michael tells Simon about the assassination plans, and Simon says Michael will have to go to Switzerland himself.

Simon points out that since Max died, there’s an “‘opening’” (215) on the science team that Michael should take. Max mentioned he was on the team because he speaks English, so Michael should be a natural fit to take his place. Michael realizes if he wants to be chosen, he needs to join the rest of the SRD troop at the antiaircraft gun, and he hurries out.

Throughout the air raid, Michael “recit[es] English limericks” (217), hoping SS-Obersturmführer Trumbauer, who is supervising the boys, will notice his exceptional English skills. Yet in spite of all his efforts, Trumbauer selects the “donkey-faced ogre” (219) Horst as Max’s replacement. Trumbauer announces a “‘very special event’” (220): Hitler is going to speak to the Youth troops.

The Hitler Youth gather outside the Reich Chancellery, Hitler’s center of power, which seems “immaculate” (221) despite the damage to the rest of Berlin. After taking a closer look, Michael realizes that the Nazis have simply placed flags in unusual spots to hide the destruction caused by Allied bombs. Michael is eager to see Hitler, whom he imagines as a “very, very evil leprechaun” who has “bedeviled Europe” (222), and as the chapter ends, Hitler finally appears before the Hitler Youth.

Hitler, with his short stature and “tired-looking” eyes (224), appears to Michael “like a hedgehog emerging from hibernation” (224). Hitler tells the boys that they are part of a “‘magnificent’” new generation of “‘man-god[s],’” “‘destined’” to rule the world (226). Even Michael acknowledges the thrill of hearing such praise, as Hitler goes on to emphasize that the boys must be willing to “‘sacrifice,’” and must possess no “‘weakness’” or “‘tenderness’” (226-27). Michael notices that Fritz, Horst, and the other boys on the science team look willing to “kiss the ground Hitler walked on” (227), and he understands why he wasn’t picked for the team.

Michael rushes home to tell Simon that he’s figured out why the boys were picked for the science team—because they’re “‘fanatics’” (227). To join the team, Michael has to show he’s a fanatic too, and Simon knows how he can do so: by turning Simon in to the Nazis.

Once Michael’s parents arrive, Simon explains his plan to have Michael turn him in so Michael can prove his patriotism and join the science team. Simon points out that Michael can also give Goldsmit the Projekt 1065 plans to take to the Allies. Michael argues that his parents will be implicated if he turns Simon in, but his Ma and Da still seriously consider the plot. Their question, Da says, is “‘whether or not we can put our son in that kind of danger’” (230).

Spying has been “a game” (230) for Michael, but now it’s a question of “real sacrifice” (231) of the people he most cares about. His parents reveal that they will be “‘long gone’” (231) by the time Michael turns Simon in—they’ve already decided to leave Germany for a safer place. If Michael goes through with the plot, his parents will sneak out of the country rather than waiting to leave officially. Simon, however, will have no chance to escape—he’ll certainly be sent to a concentration camp.

Simon tries to tell a joke to soothe Michael’s agitation, but Michael isn’t in the mood. Ma, Da, and Simon all agree that they must save Goldsmit in order to ensure the Allies develop atomic bombs before the Germans do. Michael, however, won’t agree, and he leaves to search for a different solution.

Michael walks to Fritz’s house, hoping that despite how much Fritz has changed, Michael can still find his old friend “in there somewhere” (235), the boy who’d showed Michael his forbidden novels. However, Michael arrives to discover Fritz is burning his detective novels.

Michael tries to stop Fritz from burning his books, but Fritz punches him in the nose, just the way Michael taught him to. Seeing the “fierce cruelty” (236) in Fritz’s eyes, Michael realizes that his former friend wanted to “become the bully himself” (237) all along. Michael tries to convince Fritz that he shouldn’t burn the books he loves, but Fritz insists Michael is “‘treat[ing]’” the war “‘like a game’” (237-38). Michael takes the words to heart, considering how the war has turned 13-year-old boys into men, and it’s “time to act like it” (238). He impulsively tells Fritz his parents are spies.