Thousand Shall Fall: The Electrifying Story of a Soldier and His Family Who Dared to Practice Their Faith in Hitler's Germany Book

"A Thousand Shall Fall" is an incredible, electrifying story that takes place during World War II. It was obvious that being an Adventist during the war would be extremely complicated, but the minute the war began, Franz Hasel and his family were determined to stay faithful, even to the point of death. However, it didn't take long before a difficult, life-changing moment took place: Franz Hasel's draft to the army. He was assigned to Pioneer Company 699, which meant he'd be building bridges at the front lines. Though it seemed impossible, God always opened a door for him, so that he could continue keeping the Sabbath and eating clean foods, without losing his life. However, that didn't stop the other men from ridiculing him for being a "religious nut". Just before going into dangerous territory, Franz made sure to discard his gun, so that he wouldn't be tempted to kill another man.
When Franz was drafted to the army, he left behind his wife, Helene, and three children: Kurt, Lotte, and Gerd. At home in Frankfurt, they were fighting their own battles. They were constantly suffering from food shortages, being pressured to join the Nazi Party, threatened to attend school on Sabbath, and trying to survive from the Frankfurt bombings. Thankfully, twice through the war Franz was able to go back and visit his family for very short periods of time. Sometime during the war, baby Susi was born. Because of the bombing dangers, the family fled to Eschenrod, where they stayed with a kind elderly couple.
After Hitler's sudden suicide, the war ended and Franz was finally allowed to go home! Out of the 1,200 men in his unit, only seven survived, including him.
He never killed a man.
He warned Jews to flee their towns before the SS soldiers came to savagely murder them.
He frequently snuck some food into a concentration camp.
Throughout all these events and many, many more, God watched over Franz.
However, the family's struggles weren't over after the war. They constantly suffered from food shortages, and Kurt was failing his high school classes due to the fact that he wasn't attending school on Sabbath. Realizing that this wasn't going to work, Kurt decided to learn a skill as an apprentice instead, remaining faithful to God's commandments. Also, mysterious packages from America started appearing - with food! Whenever the family was about to starve, or desperately needed new clothes, "coincidentally" a package came a day or two later with exactly what they were lacking. All throughout the war, God protected his faithful followers, every step of the way.
This was the best book I've read this whole school year! With each passing chapter, I grew more and more inspired and intrigued by the family's faith and courage to stand up for the right thing. I was fascinated by the multiple miracles God provided, and how he spared each of their lives.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who needs to strengthen their faith, and enjoys nonfictional history. This is no ordinary book - It's life-changing!