1. I think the audience meant to enjoy this book are young adults that may be interested in the Holocaust. They don’t have to be interested but I do think that that’s the target audience. I think because his interest in the Holocaust came from his parents, M. Zusak tried to relate the experiences of his parents growing up during World War II for an adult audience.
2. The reasoning for Markus to write such an amazing novel is because he was looking for a more mature, bold way of approaching his next book. He wanted something different that showed his more serious side. He used the stories his parents told him as a kid for influence. I guess he just felt his writing style needed a change.
3. Liesel Meminger is nine in the beginning. Her younger brother died and her mom gave her up to go live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel is hurt by her brother's death, but Hans ends up being a decent foster father. Actually, with his help, she learned to read and eventually found happiness in reading books. Many of the people she loves eventually leave her life because of World War II and the Holocaust. Basically, Liesel learns to use words to influence humans to act towards both good and evil as she experiences the good and bad in society. Max Vandenburg is a 23-year-old Jew who hid from the Nazis in the Hubermanns' basement. Max was a fighter growing up, and as a teenager he refused to die without a fight. Max was upset because of his decision to save himself over his family, but when he meets Liesel they both become friends who each share a broken past. As their friendship grew, Liesel starts reading to Max every night. Max made two books for Liesel; both had mini stories about their friendship and Nazi Germany. Max leaves the house af...
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...ew minutes later, I took my chance. The time was right". This quote foreshadows the time when Rudy Steiner got on the plane with a toolbox in hand. He saw the pilot and just like the quotation explained, placed a smiling teddy bear with the pilot before he had died.
9. I think The Book Thief is a perfect title for the story; there are many “book thieves” in the book including Liesel and death. It’s not about stealing the books, it’s about why they did it, Liesel wanted trying to be rebellious, and she was using words to express her feelings. Books were also good for learning.
10. I wouldn’t recommend this book to a friend because teens my age don’t like reading; they only do it for school projects such as this one. Now if I were o come across someone interested in the holocaust and how people rebelled then yes I would recommend it.
It has moments of weakness due to the period between Heck’s childhood and when it was published. But it also has many more strengths than weaknesses; the first person perspective immerses you into the novel, the emotional appeal tugs at heart strings. The reader rides and feels Heck’s initial steps toward loyal Nazism and his devastation at the failure and deceptions committed by his party. Heck’s admissions of his experience with the Hitler Youth lend the autobiography a unique perspective. A Child of Hitler blatantly points toward how the Nazi regime victimized not only jewish men and women, homosexual, or asexual citizens, but also how it devastated and destroyed a whole generation of children. Childhood was revoked an the burdens of war were placed directly on the shoulders of boys and girls just like Heck. This develops a new understanding of World War II that is not often disclosed. By addressing Nazi Germany from an insider’s view, Heck develops an argument against propagandizing children. He proves that the blank slates of childhood should not be chalkboards for politics and that children should be exactly what they are – children. While the text certainly has some dark undertones, it would serve as an excellent foil for high school readers of Night. That said A Child of Hitler is still a must read for adults and college students regardless of their age, poignant and direct it provides a perspective that all people should have when trying to understand World War II and the rise and fall of Nazi
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a very famous historical fiction book in this decade. This 550 paged book has encouraged many teens to know more about the Holocaust, a genocide that took place during World War II. Markus Zusak wrote this book based on information from his parents’ memory, not based on a modern day conflict. His parents’ experience during the war greatly influenced him. Even though many of the characters in this book are fictional, the origins, the towns, the events and the actions are historically accurate. Although The Book Thief was not written during World War II, Zusak was still around people who had been there to witness it.
This book is very educating about the history of the concentration camps and Holocaust. “…The spectators observed these emaciated creatures ready to kill for a crust of bread...the old man was crying, ‘Meir, my little Meir! Don’t you recognize me…you’re killing your father…I have bread…for you too…for you too’ He collapsed…there were two dead bodies next to (Elie), the father and the son.” (Page 101 of Night) Concentration camps were terrible. The prisoners/Jews were so underfed that they were willing to kill their own family members for a slice of bread. The Jews would go to extremes in order to get a bit more food to line their stomachs. Concentration camps, Gestapo, and SS transform the prisoners’ morals and their lives. “My father suddenly had a colic attack. He got up and asked politely, in German, ‘Excuse me…could you tell me where the toilets are located?’ (Night page 39) …Then, he slapped my father with such force that he fell down and then crawled back to his place on all fours.” This also shows the brutality of the German Kapos and the Nazi Staff. This is very educational for the world about the brutality and unpleasantness of the concentration camps. Educating people about the holocaus...
The Holocaust was a terrible time, where the Nazis were eliminating Jews due to a misunderstanding that was passed down from Adolf Hitler to the Germans. Hilter filled the minds of Germans with hatred against Jews. Books such as Maus and Anne Frank has been able to suppress the horror of the holocaust. Maus, by Art Spiegelman, is about Art Spiegelman’s father Vladek Spriegelman and his experiences enduring the holocaust. Anne Frank, by Ann Kramer is about Frank and her friends and family struggling to survive the holocaust, yet in the end only her dad, Otto Frank is the only survivor. The author of the book Anne...
...ere excruciating but I had no idea the extent of it. The way this book was written gives people hope. After reading this it made me realizes that there are harder things that people go through throughout their life and are still optimistic that everything will work out, while others complain about the everyday things. The author's use of quotations and description of events painted a picture in the reader's mind of the murders of the holocaust. Viktor E. was an amazing author and wrote this book well so that all types of readers would understand the hardship of the holocaust. The book gives the reader a large quantity of important information. The interpretations and ideas do not only apply to those who suffered in a concentration camp, but for all who live trapped behind bars and walls. It helps the reader comprehend and empathize the position of these individuals.
Everybody can agree that the Holocaust was horrible, and that this should never be repeated. This book has gave a realization of the true horrors of war. The world really isn’t a peaceful place. There is always going to be something absolutely disgusting going on. This book is very detail oriented of the death camps. The book gets as personal as “The Diary of Anne Frank.” If a reader wants to really know what its like to be in a Jew’s shoes at the time of the Holocaust. They should read this book because it leaves you almost feeling Wiesel’s loneliness, depression. Elie Wiesel is a fantastic person.
I believe Mr. Hulbert had us read this book, to gain an understanding of darkness of this time. Having a survivors story helps us to gain knowledge of the wrong doings of the Nazis and what the Jews had to go through. This book not only shows us the facts and the steps but also the personal lives of those that were prisoners in these camps. Many prisoners faced the evil of the Nazis and lost family members, and their own peace of mind because of the effects of the camps. The survivors of the holocaust never would be able to be the same because of the darkness of that time, and this story perfectly describes the darkness the prisoners were under and affected by.
At that time it did not seem to "click". Now that I read this story and all of its frightful horrors it all comes rushing back. Now that I think about it, this is actually a great book for young adults to read. It teaches them a little about the holocaust and the terrible tragedies that had occurred. It even teaches them a bit about homosexuality.
... things up to the worst of it all. The readers can take away that just because you believe something different then somebody else, doesn’t make them or you a bad person or different in any way. This topic shows that long before the concentration camps, Jews were being singled out and treated terribly. The study of the Holocaust matters to show people what happened so that others can learn from it and learn to accept people no matter what their religion. It must not be forgotten because the people who suffered in it should be remembered. It was a terrible time that should never happen again. All of the laws passed leading up to the Night of the Broken kept increasing Hitler's power and ability to persecute the Jews because there was little reaction to his actions; the violence and persecution increased leading to the final solution because of this indifference.
...nter. I could not imagine being taken from my family, friends, home and life in an instant, being put on a train bound for nowhere and subsequently living a life of persecution, dehumanization and imminent extinction. I could not envision a world without the simple things that I take for granted like my name, dignity, mind and soul. Being stripped of these things is a death sentence in itself. I am embarrassed and ashamed to admit that this is the first book on the Holocaust I have ever read. I guess I thought if I didn't enlighten myself on the subject, I didn't have to believe that true evil was a part of this world. As difficult as this material is to read, it is important for people to continue to educate themselves on the history of humanity no matter how malevolent it is. If we do not acknowledge it exists, we risk it reeking havoc on the human race.
...y educational, and made me feel so much sadness over the holocaust. It made me pull away with not just a sad story, but also true horror on what has happened so long ago. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is by far the best historical fiction novel I have ever read. In the end, it just makes me happy that times have changed, for the better.
When I signed up for this course, I had limited knowledge of the holocaust and was not very interested in its history. This course ended up being one of my favorites and the most informational courses that I have taken. Other Political leaders such as Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin had committed mass murders that caused a much higher victim rate than Hitler, so my thoughts were that the holocaust was just another tragedy in human history. This class has given me a different perspective in the way I view the holocaust. It has personalized this horrific event in that it begs a person ask themselves how could this tragedy take place? How come the Jews and the world did not do more to prevent it from happening? The course has spiked my interested in the the holocaust in that I have found that if I come across a holocaust program while watching the television, I will stop to watch that show or read a holocaust article that I would not have read in the past. The four books assigned for reading by Browning, Sierakowiak, Lengyel, and Rajchman expounded on the personalization of the holocaust by giving insight into the experiences of
Throughout the book there were two ideas that kept reoccurring: Karl’s comics that he shared with his sister (“Winzig und Spatz”) and also when he realizes that all the people he knew were not who he thinks they were.
A lot of consideration was put into this novels appropriateness for children; it was thought parents might have to explain the Holocaust; however it was decide...
“Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow” -Elie Wiesel. The Holocaust is a very common topic to read and to be taught about, especially in the form of fictional books. It is usually taught to make people remember what really happened in the past so that history doesn’t repeat itself. Often times, people tend to take the Holocaust, a topic that is despicable, not as seriously as it should be taken. It tends to be sugarcoated, or “fictionalized” to the point where it's just inappropriate. Sugarcoating serious matters, like the Holocaust, is surely not acceptable. An example of such intolerability is The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.