‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak is the featured book on my blog today for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge – April 2018. This also goes towards Day 1 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge – April 2018.
Within ‘The Book Thief’ are many real historical facts portrayed in the fictional narration by Death himself. Today’s post is about one of those of those – the Hitler Youth program. When I first read it, I also went and reread Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl and also did some further reading about WWII. You can read my review of ‘The Book Thief’ here.
Liesl and Rudy are both members of the Hitler Youth. This was very much a reality in Nazi Germany. The Hitler Youth was a program established by the Nazi Party to educate and train German boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 with Nazi values. It was made mandatory after attendance in the program dropped drastically, and all other youth programs were abolished making this the only option for children. For boys, skills taught prepared them for military service and included marching, trench digging, and map reading among others. While girls were taught skills that prepared them for motherhood, they also had to master physical skills including swimming, marching, and running.
Liesl (like many kids at the time) joins the Hitler Youth when she turns 10 as mandated and takes part in meetings and training while Rudy is also a active member of the same. He is ridiculed for his idolization of Jesse Owens and that is one of the turning points for him to understanding the darker truths of the Nazis; while for Liesl, the turning point was the book burning she witnessed point (and am guessing might have been for many at the time of the massive book burning ordered by the Nazis in real life in early 1933).
While many other events and places mentioned have some historical significance, the fictional narrative helped to take readers along a journey into Liesl’s world (both the fictional and real aspects) and to underscore the power of words. One other important aspect of the story was ‘the hiding of Max’ in the Hubberman’s basement – many Jews did hide in someone else’s home or offices, like Anne Frank.
Good Title. Power of words. Nicely done. Enjoyed your blog.
Best,
thank you Mit!
I have not read the book thief but I know it is quite popular and it looks like an interesting read.
I have not read the book, but your review made me think. While Liesl at the age of 10 was joining the Hitler Youth, Ann Frank was struggling. It is all thought provoking…
I never read the book, but i did see the movie. It provides valuable information.
I read this book as a kid. I loved everything about it. I remember the day I first read it. I was under the impression that it would be a funny take due to the fact that it had death as an actual character. This was well before I knew anything about the holocaust. I was gravely mistaken. I spent the whole class period with a face full of tears. This was one of the first books I have ever read that made me feel.
The loss of a friend really spoke to me. The little girl lost so much and at such a young age. Many many children experienced that and can relate to everything she felt.
That is true.. it is now one of my son’s favorite books too (he asked me why I never told him how sad it was when he started reading it)..
This looks like a book that is very interesting. I’ll have to add this to my list of books to read. Thanks for sharing.
It is indeed a beautiful, powerful book, Martha..
Ashamed that I haven’t read this yet. Thank for sharing!