The White Rose and the Swastika is a play written by Adrian Flynn, it is based on the true story of a brother and sister and how their initial enthusiasm for Hitler and the Nazi regime turned to brave resistance. In Munich, Hans, Sophie and their friends form "The White Rose", producing leaflets which fiercely attack Hitler's Government. If the Gestapo find out who is responsible, they will undoubtedly be killed. As the leaflets appear far and wide, dissent begins to spread among students. The White Rose work tirelessly, determined to oppose Hitler at all costs, but at the end, all hope and love are lost by the children of Robert and Magdalene as they are driven into the shadows of death. In this essay, I shall be discussing the characterisation …show more content…
During Act 1, Scene 1, Hans is portrayed as an obstinate and unshakeable boy. The author highlights these characteristics very clearly, this quote illustrates Hans’ stubborn attitude very well, when he says “ [Moving off] And I won’t listen to any more cynical rubbish about Hitler. [turns to Werner and Sophie] Coming? ” Firstly it is worth considering what effect as a reader this quote has on us. The word cynical tells us that Hans’ does not tolerate any false and dishonest actions or words against Hitler. This behaviour tells us, as readers that Hans feels very strongly about Hitler and has a lot of respect for him. This attitude can be seen similarly in Act 1, Scene 5 when Hans says “ Hitler’s not a madman. He’s a visionary. ” This quote evidently indicates that Hans does not approve of any misanthropical behaviour towards Hitler. As readers the effect is that we build up a strong understanding that Hans is a very potent ally to Hitler. Likewise, Hans’ supportive attitude to Hitler can be seen in correspondingly in Act 1, Scene 5 when Hans says “ No! That’s simply foreign propaganda. The Fuhrer has promised we won’t take any more land. But we need a proper army, so that France and England won’t pick on us. We’re becoming strong again. We can be proud of our country. And that’s all because of Hitler.
...trates how easily the Germans were manipulated and persuaded into supporting Hitler’s ideology about Germany and its manifest destiny through the use of many fictional characters.
Hans is a very caring and selfless father figure in Liesel's life. He treated her with plenty of care and affection.’Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning.’’(Zusak,30) Hans would get up to read to Liesel when ever she would have nightmares which would then lead to their late reading sessions in the basement. No matter how tired he was, he would always make
Hans Hubermann was directly described as a lover of Jews, because he did not believe that Jews were being treated fairly, in fact they were treated as less than animals being whipped, malnourished, and forced to work in harsh conditions. Hans treated Jewish people just like everyone else, he showed fairness to everyone, death said, “ He was a man who appreciated fairness” (Zusak 180). He put his life on the line many times trying to stand up for Jews. When there was a parade of Jews walking down the street, the brave Hans Hubermann tried to give one of the Jews a piece of bread, and instead of being applauded for this good deed he he got a flaming whip on his back. Even though Hans was whipped, death said, “If nothing else, the old man would die like a human. Or at least the thought that he was a human” (395). Hans was very secretive about his life during World War I, so without knowing the story about how Erik Vandenburg saved Hans’ life, one would not understand just how much equality and fairness meant to Hans. It was Hans’ fairness, generosity, and loyalty that made Hans different from all of the other characters in The Book Thief, as he remained the same while true to
Within the experts of Schindler's List and add At the Heart of the White Rose; Letters and Diaries of Hans Sophie Scholl, both experts demonstrate courage and the ability to be an upstanding are by standing up for the Jewish racing and defying Nazi commands. To begin with, Schindler was the ideal Aryan, to avoid military service he joined the German intelligence and traveled to Poland following the invasion. In 1939 Schindler acquired a contract for supplying kitchenware to the military and opened a manufacturing plant in cracow. He moved his shoe is labors to a remote and safe location away from enemy lines and treated them well until the war was over. The narrator states, “At his own expense he provided did his Jewish employees with the life suspicion diet, unlike the starvation-level rations mandated by the Nazis” (2).
...o fulfill his purpose in life made him an easy target and simple to influence. Heinrich found the structure and purpose society told him he needed by “following Hitler with an unwavering loyalty” (250).
When Mein Kampf was first released in 1925 it sold poorly. People had been hoping for a juicy autobiography or a behind-the-scenes story of the Beer Hall Putsch. What they got were hundreds of pages of long, hard to follow sentences and wandering paragraphs composed by a self-educated man. However, after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, millions of copies were sold. It was considered proper to own a copy and to give one to newlyweds, high school graduates, or to celebrate any similar occasion. But few Germans ever read it cover to cover. Although it made him rich, Hitler would later express regret that he produced Mein Kampf, considering the extent of its revelations. Those revelations concerning the nature of his character and his blueprint for Germany's future served as a warning to the world. A warning that was mostly ignored.
The next day, Hitler said that the English response meant that the German attack would commenec on Britain in a few days. Looking back at how these events unfolded, everyone should be glad that Hitler made such a mistake. I, for one couldn't believe that Hitler made this mistake. Throughout reading this entire book Hitler usually makes swift, decisive actions that get results and that is why Lukacs stresses this string of events in the book.Overall, this book is wonderfully written on a very interesting topic. The reader is put in the middle of a war of nerves and will between two men, one of which we have grown up to learn to hate. This only makes us even more emotional about the topic at hand. For a history book, it was surprisingly understandable and hard to put down. It enlightened me to the complex problems that existed in the most memorable three months this century.
...er of dividing and attacking his enemies one by one. He would win over people with tempting promises. In conclusion Racism,National pride and peer pressure played a major role in the German peoples participation in or indifference’s towards the state-sponsored genocide and murders in Germany.
After World War I, Germany was in an agonizing crisis. They had lost the war they began, and their economy was a chaos. People were desperate for a rise in politics, for an improvement. So, they introduced, Adolf, who was their secret weapon. He had a significant hatreds, and thoughts, but most importantly he had a special capability. "Hitler had found his great talent for speaking. And he could see immediately that his powerful speaking could be easily bend the people to his will." (Wolosky pg. 16)
One notable assertion about Hitler's life made by Haffner is the fact that his success as a leader in rallying the populous is buttressed on either side by his failures as a young man on one end and his physical and political destruction of Germany on the other. Haffner argues that Hitler's life always lacked what most lives included. The absence of things like love, friendship, parenthood, an education and occupation lent to his one dimensionality. The resulting ignorance and immaturity was always present in Hitler, even at the peak of his political power. Haffner accounts the absence of any real love interest in Hitler's life along with the fact that he had no real friends in which to confide. In place of this void Hitler substituted politics and became a "nothing-but-politician."
The most commonly known fact about the Leader of the Third Reich (Kershaw 1987, 3) was that he was very aware of how important his ‘omnipotent’ image was to his leadership position and the strength of the regime (Kershaw 1987, 3). Hitler, himself as is well known, p...
This society, in which Germans would be the conquerors of the world and the leader of every aspect of society, would be a society in which only German Aryans thrived, Hitler told the masses (Noakes). It was essential in order to have a society that was not tainted, to efface those who could poison this wonderful utopia, and thus crush the German dream. The Jews and other inferior races, Hitler told the population, were the ca...
This declaration was as surprising as the justification behind it, for on page 81, that neighbor explains, “‘I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.’” This moment was something I could only describe as shocking, as it was the truth, or a crooked version of it. Hitler promised to exterminate the Jewish people
I chose this quote because as I mentioned before, it was one that stuck with me throughout the book. Not the direct text of the quote, but what the quote means to me. I understand it as, Liesel does not agree with the Nazi party and how they view and treat Jews, however, to ensure her safety she says a 'hail Hitler'. Actions like these, ones that the Germans do so that they wouldn't angry the Nazi party and ensure they are safe. In the case of the Hubermanns, they are people that do these actions out of an obligation to fulfill their duties as Germans, the leaders of the Nazi party. They are not doing things such as saying, "hail Hitler" to every German they see because they believe in the actions of Hitler, they were doing it to keep themselves and their family safe from the cruel acts of punishment. In the quote and numerous times in the book we can find examples of the hesitation of acting towards the German soldiers, or any other German. With Lisel and the Hubermanns it
This is what had made Hitler one of the greatest public speakers that the world had ever seen from his time and in history. "The German people and it 's soldiers work and fight today not for themselves and their own age, but also for many generations to come. A historical task of unique dimensions has been entrusted to us by the Creator that we are now obliged to carry out." Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany, was a very talented spokesman in ways that leaders today could not even begin to compare with. He was charismatic and bold, making it easier for him to win over the minds of many Germans with these two traits. He believed that during his rise to power, he and the people of Germany had been given a duty by God to purify the nation of its imperfect races and weaker people so as to make the mother country strong again for future generations. "Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live." In many ways, Hitler felt he was justified in what he was doing, and in some