Fics that explore the serious side of WWII are common in the Hetalia fandom, but this one manages to do it without veering into melodrama or turning any of the characters into Complete Monsters. There are some Alternative Character Interpretations going on here, especially with Italy (who not only practices Obfuscating Stupidity, but also shades of Clingy Jealous Guy towards Germany), that definitely won't be to everyone's taste, but they're less egregious compared to the majority of WWII Dark Fic (e.g. America and England are still pretty much IC, as are Romano and Spain; Germany and Japan are solidly Anti Villains, and Italy, in spite of his extensive re-interpretation, is still a non-fighter at heart who mainly just wants to be close to Germany). Furthermore, while the author doesn't shy away from tackling the major issues of WWII head-on (which does include concentration camps), there are still enough lighter-hearted moments sprinkled throughout that help prevent the fic from becoming relentlessly angsty. YMMV on how well the characters and history are handled, but this is still one WWII portrayal worth checking out.
Comment by Solandra
Fics that explore the serious side of WWII are common in the Hetalia fandom, but this one manages to do it without veering into melodrama or turning any of the characters into Complete Monsters. There are some Alternative Character Interpretations going on here, especially with Italy (who not only practices Obfuscating Stupidity, but also shades of Clingy Jealous Guy towards Germany), that definitely won't be to everyone's taste, but they're less egregious compared to the majority of WWII Dark Fic (e.g. America and England are still pretty much IC, as are Romano and Spain; Germany and Japan are solidly Anti Villains, and Italy, in spite of his extensive re-interpretation, is still a non-fighter at heart who mainly just wants to be close to Germany). Furthermore, while the author doesn't shy away from tackling the major issues of WWII head-on (which does include concentration camps), there are still enough lighter-hearted moments sprinkled throughout that help prevent the fic from becoming relentlessly angsty. YMMV on how well the characters and history are handled, but this is still one WWII portrayal worth checking out.