NONFICTION BLOG #3: HITLER YOUTH

NONFICTION BLOG #3 HITLER YOUTH: GROWING UP IN HITLER’S SHADOW

Bibliographic Data

Campbell Bartoletti, S. 2005. Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic, Scholastic Nonfiction. ISBN: 0-439-35379-3

Plot Summary

In this nonfiction book the reader is taken on a journey through Nazi Germany from the date the Hitler Youth was formed in 1926 to the date Germany collapses as Allies invade in 1945. This book is about the millions of boys and girls who belonged to Hitler Youth. Twelve young people’s personal stories are interwoven in the book; from the story of Elizabeth Vetter who at age 8 told her Hitler Youth leaders on her father, which led to his arrest, to the story of Hans and Sophie Scholl who joined Hitler Youth eagerly as children but later rebelled and joined with other on a dangerous campaign against Hitler, the Nazis, and the War.

Critical Analysis

The author Susan Campbell Bartoletti explains in the Authors Note at the end of the book how she came to research for the book. She researched and read many books on the subject including Hitler’s chilling autobiographical work, Mein Kampf. She continued her research by traveling to Germany and visiting Berlin, Nuremberg, and riding out to the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. She used oral histories, diaries, letters, and other personal accounts. She also met and interviewed former members of the Hitler Youth where they shared stories, memories and photographs.

The layout of the book is visually appealing. The book begins with a table of contents. The next page introduces each of the 12 young people in the book with a picture and a small brief biography. There are ten chapters ranging from Chapter 1: “For the Flag We Are Ready to Die” Hitler’s Rise to Power, to Chapter 7: “Serving a Mass Murderer” The Holocaust Begins to the conclusion in Chapter 10: “I Could Not Help but Cry”. Each page of text includes black and white historical photographs of young people in the book that complement the text and captions are included to further explain the photo. The back of the book contains an epilogue which tells what became of the young people in the book, a timeline, the authors note, information about the photographs, quote sources, a bibliography, and index.

The writing is clear and interesting. Each chapter begins as a personal story of one of the young people in the book while including dates and information on what was happening in Nazi Germany at the time. Quotations and first person accounts are used throughout the book are much more descriptive and moving than the author’s narrative would be alone. The writing is objective and encourages critical thinking skills of the reader. It encourages further reading as well. After reading this I would like to further read and research the topic. It is important to learn and understand history so we do not repeat it.

Review Excerpt(s)

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 5-8–Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. The book is structured around 12 young individuals and their experiences, which clearly demonstrate how they were victims of leaders who took advantage of their innocence and enthusiasm for evil means. Their stories evolve from patriotic devotion to Hitler and zeal to join, to doubt, confusion, and disillusion. (An epilogue adds a powerful what-became-of-them relevance.) The large period photographs are a primary component and they include Nazi propaganda showing happy and healthy teens as well as the reality of concentration camps and young people with large guns. The final chapter superbly summarizes the weighty significance of this part of the 20th century and challenges young readers to prevent history from repeating itself. Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has.–Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. What was it like to be a teenager in Germany under Hitler? Bartoletti draws on oral histories, diaries, letters, and her own extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, Hitler Youth, resisters, and bystanders to tell the history from the viewpoints of people who were there. Most of the accounts and photos bring close the experiences of those who followed Hitler and fought for the Nazis, revealing why they joined, how Hitler used them, what it was like. Henry Mentelmann, for example, talks about Kristallnacht, when Hitler Youth and Storm Troopers wrecked Jewish homes and stores, and remembers thinking that the victims deserved what they got. The stirring photos tell more of the story. One particularly moving picture shows young Germans undergoing de-Nazification by watching images of people in the camps. The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Connections

Ann Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank
Edith's Story: The True Story of a Young Girl's Courage and Survival During World War II by Edith Velmans
A Child of Hitler by Alfon Sheck