Blog Post #4: Setting and Mood

In the novel Projeckt 1065 by Alan Gratz, Michael O’Shaunnesey needs to get the blueprints for the new fighter jet developed by Nazi Germany. His friend Fritz has these blueprints at his house. However, if Michael wants those plans he needs to stay close with Fritz. If he gets the plans to the Allies in time he might hopefully save the war for the Allied Powers. Fritz has always wanted to join SRD. This is another way of saying the German secret police. If Michael wants these plans he needs to join the SRD also. This requires skillful training that they need to prove they could die for the Nazi’s. One of the requirements is for the person to jump off a two-story building into a pool. Michael has always been afraid of heights. However, if he wants those plans, he’ll need to pass this test of courage. This brings up an interesting seen where Michael is on the top of the two-story building scared to death. Fritz is up there with him encouraging him to jump. Michael helped Fritz pass the boxing test by helping him get back up even when he has fallen down. Now it is Fritz’s turn to help Michael. The only way Fritz knows he can encourage Michael to jump is the worst possible option. Fritz has turned to his last option of pushing Michael of the ledge. One quote says “Michael gonna be sorry for this… no really sorry.” Fritz proceeds to push Michael of the ledge. Michael screams for his life as he plunges into the pool. He never will do that stunt again. However, by him and Fritz doing this, they are now accepted into the SRD. Fritz and Michael are very excited for opposite reasons. Just one push by Fritz, may have saved the Allies World War 2.

Blog Post #3: Characterization

In the story, Projeckt 1065 by Alan Gratz, Michael O’Shaunessey is born in Ireland and then moves to Nazi Germany not knowing why his parents were doing so. A few years later, he realizes that his parents and whole family are spies for Ireland in Nazi Germany and if they get caught, they will be sent to a concentration camp. This is the most horrible thing for a prisoner in Germany besides death. Michael O’Shaunessey is significant in the story since Simon, a Jewish British Pilot (who crashed into a barn where Michael saved him at), discovers that there is a new plane without propellers known as Projeckt 1065. This German effort could change the whole course of the war if the Allied Powers do not figure out how to stop this massive project. Michael is told about this not knowing, his “friend, Fritz, has the blueprints to the plane in his own home. This causes Michael to go on a humongous task to try and find these plans, escape from Germany with Simon and his parents, and report them back to the Allied Headquarters. Michael is the protagonist in the story. He is the person who tries to help the Allied Powers from the villains of Nazi Germany. In addition, he saves Simon from being sent to a concentration camp and is now hiding him in his home in the Irish Embassy. One important quote in the story says, “Because that’s what Nazi Germany was: the bully who found your most painful wound and poked at it with a stick.” This quote shows how hard it was for Michael to sacrifice one man’s life for an entire operation. This is why Micheal still saved Simon in the barn. Michael has one of the best photographic memories for his age. This helps him remember the blueprints from Fritz and save the Allied Powers from Nazi Germany.

Blog Post #2 Historical Understanding-Projekt 1065

The book “Projekt 1065” by Alan Gratz, tells the story of Micheal O’Shaunessey, a boy who discovers that his parents are undercover spies for the Allies during World War 2 in Nazi Germany. Michael keeps this a secret from everyone he knows, and one day he ends up saving a British Pilot named Simon who crashed into German territory. Simon teaches Michael about the existence of a secret Nazi plan code-named “Projekt 1065.” “Projekt 1065” was an effort by Nazi Germany to build a plane without propellers that could fly faster than anyone had ever seen. The only way that Michael can discover more about the project is to prove his loyalty to Hitler and Nazi Germany. He does this by joining a group assigned to assassinate a Jewish scientist who is working on creating an American atomic bomb. He secretly saves the scientist and eventually travels back to Ireland with the details about “Projekt 1065”.

When I first read the title of the book, I realized I was unfamiliar with what “Projekt 1065” was, so I wanted to further understand what it was and the reasons the Germans came up with this plan. I learned that the Germans were working on developing a jet plane that would fly faster than any plane before and would not use propellers. This plane could potentially change the outcome of the war so it was an important project that had to be kept secret. In researching Projekt 1065, I learned that this is the code-name for the first ever jet known as the Messerschmitt Me 262. This plane could fly up to 375 miles an hour. Although in, the story Micheal and Simon are fake, the Allied Powers actually found out about this massive project and figured out a way to stop the German advancement. This project ended up being a failure and crucially helped the Allied Powers in winning the war.

In conclusion, the project was going to be massively successful for the Germans in advancing their territory. However, the Allied Powers discovered the project with their fantastic code-breaking skills and it made a huge impact in winning the remainder of  World War 2.

Sources:

“Messerschmitt Me 262 (Schwalbe / Sturmvogel) Single-Seat Jet-Powered Fighter / Fighter-Bomber Aircraft.” Edited by Staff Writer, Single-Seat Jet-Powered Fighter / Fighter-Bomber Aircraft, 21 June 2019, www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=108.

“Project 1065” by Alan Gratz

Quote: ” ‘Michael, it’s terrible to say so, but sometimes you have to weigh the cost of one man’s life against the value of an entire operation.’ ”

Michael tells his parents he has discovered a Jewish pilot who crashed his plane into a barn on a farm in Nazi Germany. He wants to rescue him, but it is incredibly dangerous. The quote is significant since it shows the terrible choices and sacrifices people were faced with during World War II. It also describes a situation that many people probably found themselves in during this time. It adds a sense of bitterness and melancholy to the literature, and it makes the reader feel like they themselves are having to choose one person’s life over another. Having to sacrifice a life is always a tragic decision for anyone, and in Nazi Germany, many people had to deal with these types of decisions regularly. This quote stood out to me since it shows one of the internal conflicts that Michael, the main character in the book, is going through. In the story, people were suspicious of Michael and thought that he might be a spy. They could turn him in at any moment, so he was always in a risky position. Michael struggles with this because he knows if the pilot gets caught, he will be sent to a concentration camp. The quote foreshadows what is likely to happen to the pilot, and that Micheal is probably going to choose the operation over the man’s life. This quote connects with the larger theme of sacrifice and how people are forced to make terrible sacrifices in times of war. Sacrifices are very hard to go through with especially in times like these. However, in times of war, if it is for the greater good, it has to be done.