Depicting interwar Germany’s rising Nazi party, new kids novel teaches history, morality

In a career spanning decades, Michael P. Spradlin has penned more than a dozen popular books for children of all ages — from wartime novels to tales of medieval knights, a series starring a teenage girl-spy, and an array of picture books.

With “Rise of the Spider,” out last month, The New York Times bestselling author returns to World War II in an action-packed novel that introduces readers to the rise of Nazism in the years before the war.

Spradlin’s latest novel — recommended for ages 8-12 — is a gripping read that brings history alive and will capture the interest of even kids who shy away from history.

“Rise of the Spider” is the first in a planned six-book series, titled “The Web of the Spider.” “Threat of the Spider,” the second, is expected in August of 2025.

The work of historical fiction is set in the years between the two world wars, in Heroldsberg, Germany — a quaint Bavarian town just a few miles from Nuremberg where the ruling Nazi party announced its 1935 laws targeting Jews and other minorities.

In the first scene, readers meet Rolf and his best friend Ansel, a pair of 12-year-old pals who spend their after-school hours and summer days kicking around a soccer ball on a cobblestone street near the market in the lively center of town.

Rolf and Ansel are convincingly portrayed pre-teens who dream of becoming players for Germany’s winning national soccer team.

The book opens in the spring of 1929, and readers learn that it’s been more than a decade since Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending the destructive and deadly Great War that took the lives of 20 million soldiers and civilians.

The friends have heard that Adolph Hitler and his Nationalist Socialist Party are out to topple their country’s political leaders at a time when Germany is suffering massive unemployment and food rations. Many Germans blame the harsh conditions on the high war reparations the Allies have imposed on them.

Michael P. Spradlin, author of ‘The Rise of the Spider.’ (Courtesy)

Enter Hans and Nils, two older boys who are determined to attract Rolf, Ansel and others to the Nazi party’s youth movement.

From the start, Rolf and Ansel show no interest in joining them.

Ansel likes to challenge Hans about the Nazis; Rolf is more cautious, sensing danger.

But tension builds as Rolf’s older brother, Romer, is attracted to their sinister message that scapegoats Jews and other minorities.

A menacing scene at the market takes a surprising turn when Mrs. Hufnagle, an elderly Jewish baker who has a popular market stall, springs into action when Hans threatens to harm Ansel.

“I’ve seen men like you all my life,” she hollers at Hans and Nils.

“You came here to stir up trouble and we will not have it,” she warns them, calling them Cossacks.

Spradlin’s diverse array of genres reflects the subjects that have always interested him, with a particular passion for history, Spradlin told The Times of Israel in a phone conversation from his home in Michigan.

“I try writing books that I like to read,” he said.

He’s drawn to adventures that keep the story moving.

Michael Spradlin standing on the Great Road outside the Nazi Rally Grounds in Nuremberg. It was designed by Albert Speer and intended to run from the train station to the coliseum on the grounds, but was never completed
and was later used by the allies as a landing strip (Courtesy/Michael Spradlin).

Though many Holocaust-themed books focus on the war and the Nazi concentration camps after Hitler has already taken power, Spradlin said he prefers writing about the interwar years.

“I’ve always been interested in how things get to where they end up. What is the background?” he said.

“I think it’s important that young readers know these stories that shed light on how people lived,” he added. “Fiction is a great way to get them to understand and learn more.”

Spradlin digs deep into research to ensure he gets the history as accurate as possible.

For this series, Spradlin spent time in Heroldsberg and traveled to Nuremberg and across Bavaria to get a feel for the place where the Nazi party first took root.

At the back of the book, there’s an author’s note, historical timeline and glossary for readers and educators.

One of the entrances to the old town marketplace in Heroldsberg, where much of the action in ‘The Rise of the Spider’ takes place (Courtesy/Michael Spradlin).

But conveying the historical context for the war’s atrocities does not spare the Nazis for their heinous actions, Spradlin emphasized.

“There’s no redemption for the people that promoted it and did things in the name of Nazism. They may have been flawed human beings. But, they don’t get a pass,” he said.

Growing up in a small Midwestern town, Spradlin’s exposure to the Holocaust was limited. He doesn’t recall meeting anyone Jewish until high school — but many men and women in town were war veterans, including his father. His uncle perished on Omaha Beach in France on June 6, 1944.

The impact of the war on their close-knit community was palpable, Spradlin said. He heard their war stories including the liberation of the camps.

But his dad held back about his experiences.

“I believe there was the trauma of what he saw plus a bit of survivor guilt about his brother,” Spradlin said.

Spradlin said he thinks there’s a pressing need for more Holocaust education.

“There’s a danger, the further we get away from it, that the firsthand accounts will be forgotten,” he said.

“I can do my part in telling these stories,” he said, using historical fiction as a way for young people to learn and understand history. “It makes me happy to get emails and letters from young readers who tell me that one of my books inspired them to learn all they could about a topic.”

Spradlin asserted that is not out to convey a heavy-handed, preachy message. He hopes readers take away the idea that it’s ordinary people who change the world.

“The story of World War II is no story without the millions of men and women who put their lives on the line,” he said. “You can do that. You can change the world.”