The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah
Two French sisters take different paths of survival and resistance under Nazi occupation.
World War II era · Military & war · Family saga
World War II era · Military & war · ~1939–1945
World War II era military & war historical fiction books
Looking for historical fiction in the military & war lane set during the World War II era (~1939–1945)? World War II era military & war historical fiction books collects historical novels that match both filters—Global war, resistance, Holocaust, home fronts. Battles, home fronts, and wartime lives HisFic is a free historical fiction discovery app: open a full reading journey with the same era and story-type filters, then add region, themes, or audience. Shelves mix curated historical fiction picks with Open Library titles so even thin combinations still have books to explore.
Shelf · 18 titles
Curated HisFic picks first, plus Open Library fills for this era + story type.
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
A girl steals books in Nazi Germany; Death narrates a story of words and survival.
World War II era · Military & war · Literary
The Rose Code
Kate Quinn
In 1940 three women—society girl Osla, East End clerk Mab, and shy Beth—are recruited to Bletchley Park to break German codes, then torn apart by secrecy and betrayal. In 1947 an encrypted letter pulls them back together to hunt a traitor still hiding in the rose code—World War II historical fiction of friendship, cryptanalysis, and a postwar reckoning.
World War II era · Cold War · Time-slip · Mystery
The Bronze Horseman
Paullina Simons
In June 1941, Leningrad still has white nights when Tatiana Metanova meets Red Army officer Alexander Belov—then Hitler’s armies close the siege and hunger, secrets, and an impossible love take the city. Paullina Simons’s opening Bronze Horseman novel is World War II historical romance of the siege of Leningrad: war, family, and a passion that has to survive the winter.
World War II era · Romance · Military & war
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
A writer corresponds with islanders who survived German occupation—and finds a home among them.
World War II era · Military & war · Romance
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris
Based on a true story: a Slovakian Jew forced to tattoo prisoners at Auschwitz falls in love against impossible odds.
World War II era · Biographical · Romance
These Days
Lucy Caldwell
Two sisters endure the Belfast Blitz over four devastating days (Walter Scott Prize 2023).
World War II era · Literary · Military & war
Tightrope
Simon Mawer
A female SOE agent’s wartime courage and Cold War aftershocks (Walter Scott Prize 2016).
World War II era · Cold War · Literary · Military & war
Meet Molly
Valerie Tripp
Halloween · Brothers and sisters · World War, 1939-1945 · Fiction
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Open Library
Suite française
Irène Némirovsky
Correspondence · Fiction · World War, 1939-1945 · History
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Open Library
Twenty and Ten
Claire Huchet Bishop
Fiction · Jews · World War, 1939-1945 · History
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Open Library
The Winds of War
Herman Wouk
Fiction in English · Fiction · World War, 1939-1945 · Classic Literature
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Open Library
Salt to the Sea
Ruta Sepetys
World War II · Juvenile fiction · refugees · fiction
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Adventure & epic · Open Library
The power of one
Bryce Courtenay
Fiction · World War, 1939-1945 · Children · Conduct of life
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Adventure & epic · Open Library
So far from the bamboo grove
Yoko Kawashima Watkins
Fiction · Juvenile fiction · World War, 1939-1945 · historical fiction
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Open Library
My Secret War
Mary Pope Osborne
Juvenile fiction · World War, 1939-1945 · Fiction · Diaries
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Open Library
Blackout
Connie Willis
Fiction · World War, 1939-1945 · Time travel · Research
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Time-slip · Open Library
Put your mother on the ceiling
Richard De Mille
Educational games · Imagination · Play · World War (1939-1945)
World War I era · World War II era · Military & war · Open Library
Other story types in World War II era
Looking for a broader list? See World War II era historical fiction or military & war historical fiction.