“‘Book burning’ refers to the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials. Usually carried out in a public context, the burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question.” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
The night of May 10, 1933, German students from some of the best universities in the world, gathered in Berlin to burn books with un-German ideas. The students, along with Nazi officials, threw hundreds of books into a bonfire while giving the Hitler salute and singing Nazi anthems. The students gave up everything that they had believed in due to their unwavering adoration for Hitler and his beliefs.
Germany was now being led by Adolf Hitler, a high school drop out who aspired to become an artist and was strongly anti-intellectual. Before Hitler, German universities had been considered some of the best in the world, but under Hitler’s rule, many young people living in Nazi Germany where very hard behind their peers from other western countries. Western education became secondary to teaching the youth mysticism, speculation and collective thinking toward a common goal and of course, the pursuit of a glorious future for Germany.
People that did not follow Hitler and the Nazi Party who remained behind in Germany only managed to escape through hiding their true feelings. The Nazis could never actually know one's thoughts as long as one maintained a poker face and didn't reveal those private thoughts. This can be seen in “The Book Thief”.
Liesel Meminger was a very bright girl that didn’t have the resources to flourish. Her mother must hide from the Nazis because she is a communist and sends Liesel ...
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...on of words and their power.
Works Cited
Losowsky, Andrew. "Book Burning In History: Martin Luther To Harry Potter (PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 May 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. .
"Adolf Hitler." Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. .
"Book Burning." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
"Nazi Propaganda and Censorship." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
Liesel Meminger, the protagonist of the story is an adopted girl with blonde hair and a frightening pair of chocolate brown eyes. She is fostered by the Hubermanns when her father abandons her family and her mother is forced to give her up for adoption. She is very close to her foster father, Hans Hubermann, and has a rough but loving relationship with her foster mother, Rosa. She befriends Max and the mayor's wife. The mayor’s wife allows Liesel to read, borrow, and "steal" books from her home library. Liesel also befriends other children of Himmel Street. Liesel eventually marries Max and moves to Australia. She has several children and grandchildren. Liesel dies in Sydney.
Throughout time, children have read stories of brave knights, running into battle with their swords ready to defeat the invader. They have read tales of everyday girls turning into princesses by kissing a frog or wearing a glass slipper. Also, some of these stories contain accounts of historically poignant moments. For example, the novel The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak takes place during World War II. It gives a lasting impression on what this time was like for everyday people and the impacts the war had on them. The author does this through the many storytelling elements incorporated into the book. Also, Zusak displays how people respond to changes within their lives during these taxing times. For instance, the main character, Liesel
The setting was perfect as the people of Germany were primed and ready for any leader that would tickle their ears with what they were wanting to hear. World War I was over (#4) and the people of Germany were in an economic depression that crippled the country. The German mark had lost so much value that it took a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread. A good portion of the youth in Germany were raised in fatherless homes. In an article written by Dr. Alice Hamilton, she says this about Hitler's youth: "They were children during the years of the war when the food blockade kept them half starved, when fathers were away at the front and mothers distracted with the effort to keep their families fed. They came to manhood in a country which seemed to have no use for them. Even compulsory military training was no more and there was nothing to take its place" (Perry et. al 358). Hitler, being the sleazy opportunist that he was, capitalized on this state of affairs. In ways that were not politically correct, he was able to influence this segment of the population and hold them in allegiance to his agenda. "Hitler made each insignificant, poverty stricken, jobless youth of the slums feel himself as of the great of the earth, since the youth was a German, a Nordic, far superior to the successful Jew who was driven out of office and counting house to make place for the youth and his like" (Perry et. al 359). The following is an example of how Hitler coerced and manipulated people and how we as managers and leaders can learn from his mistakes. This essay will also address how we can effectively influence people and earn their loyalty. In order to effectively influence peopl...
During the Holocaust, around six million Jews were murdered due to Hitler’s plan to rid Germany of “heterogeneous people” in Germany, as stated in the novel, Life and Death in the Third Reich by Peter Fritzsche. Shortly following a period of suffering, Hitler began leading Germany in 1930 to start the period of his rule, the Third Reich. Over time, his power and support from the country increased until he had full control over his people. Starting from saying “Heil Hitler!” the people of the German empire were cleverly forced into following Hitler through terror and threat. He had a group of leaders, the SS, who were Nazis that willingly took any task given, including the mass murder of millions of Jews due to his belief that they were enemies to Germany. German citizens were talked into participating or believing in the most extreme of things, like violent pogroms, deportations, attacks, and executions. Through the novel’s perspicacity of the Third Reich, readers can see how Hitler’s reign was a controversial time period summed up by courage, extremity, and most important of all, loyalty.
German education in the 1930’s changed dramatically in several ways. First, Hitler was inserted into every classroom. His portrait hung on the wall and “Children were taught to greet each other with ‘Heil Hitler’, swear allegiance to Hitler, and use his name in their prayers” (Bartoletti 40,41). Secondly, two extra classes were added. In Eugenics children were taught to only marry healthy Aryans, discriminating against people of Jewish descent and invalids (Bartoletti 42...
Liesel’s mom leaves her with foster parents because she wishes to protect her from the fate she is enduring. The words Paula, Liesel’s mom, uses go against Hitler because she is a communist which resulted in her being taken away and Liesel to lose her mother and experience the loss of her. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her mother’s disappearance which is caused by the words she openly uses that contradicts Hitler.
One major scene occurs moments before the bonfire of books. A series of events trigger recollections of Liesel’s past family which causes her to construe the reason why her family is separated. Liesel finally asks Hans, “Is my mother a communist?” (115). This question acts as Liesel’s confirmation of her thought that the Nazis has indeed taken her mother away just like how they took her father for being a communist. Liesel is perplexed because she knows her mother is not a bad person at all, yet, her personal experiences with her mother contradicts with the ideals she has been taught; her mother is a criminal for believing in a utopia different than Hitler’s. In the following scene, Liesel is slapped by Hans Hubermann right before he said, “You can say that in our house… But you never say it on the street, at school, at the BDM, never!” (115). It pained him to punish Liesel and he longs to embrace and comfort her, but he was forced to take drastic actions to protect Liesel from being taken away by the Gestapo. Hans understands that he is Liesel’s sole protector and he shall act as a shield along Liesel’s journey to find her truth. Hans’ actions acts as an example for Liesel to follow. He tells Liesel to never admit her thoughts in public but he tells her that she can in private when she is safe from prying eyes and ears. Hans himself is hiding his insurgent activities behind closed doors. He hides a Jew in his basement, fully knowing it could very well kill him and his
After Germany lost World War I, it was in a national state of humiliation. Their economy was in the drain, and they had their hands full paying for the reparations from the war. Then a man named Adolf Hitler rose to the position of Chancellor and realized his potential to inspire people to follow. Hitler promised the people of Germany a new age; an age of prosperity with the country back as a superpower in Europe. Hitler had a vision, and this vision was that not only the country be dominant in a political sense, but that his ‘perfect race’, the ‘Aryans,’ would be dominant in a cultural sense. His steps to achieving his goal came in the form of the Holocaust. The most well known victims of the Holocaust were of course, the Jews. However, approximately 11 million people were killed in the holocaust, and of those, there were only 6 million Jews killed. The other 5 million people were the Gypsies, Pols, Political Dissidents, Handicapped, Jehovah’s witnesses, Homosexuals and even those of African-German descent. Those who were believed to be enemies of the state were sent to camps where they were worked or starved to death.
Liesel steals the books she is ,at the same time, liberating them from destruction. The whole idea of stealing as a horrible thing to do comes into question. Liesel risks death or torture in doing this as well. Her theft is also a self-education and an act of rebellion against the Nazis. Lie...
Many white collar workers of Germany were fearful the blue collar parties of the left would destroy their government as they knew it (book 161). For this reason, many German’s turned to Hitler for political Stability (cite 161). After being put down so many times by the rest of the world, Hitler offered a refreshing pro German view citizens were looking for. In fact, it was Hitler’s plan that the Treaty of Versailles count be contested by taking up arms (book 163). To many Germans this seemed like a great idea, as they were still loathing from the strict punishment from the
...by American bombers and everyone but Liesel dies on the street. Liesel only survives because she was writing a book of her own, and was in the basement when the bombs struck. When she is rescued by the police, she rushes to find her parents and Rudy, but only finds them both dead. The story ends with her being adopted by Ilsa Hermann. Of course, this does not mean the story is over; there is an epilogue. Max survives the war and later finds his way back to Liesel, who rejoices when they finally meet. When Liesel finally dies, death takes her away from the others and shows her the book that she was writing when the bombs fell. She asks him if he understood the meaning of it, to which he responds with his own sage advice. When death takes her soul away for good this time, and takes one last look at the title of the book. The Book Thief by Liesel Meminger.
The Nazi Party, controlled by Adolf Hitler, ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. In 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and the Nazi government began to take over. Hitler became a very influential speaker and attracted new members to his party by blaming Jews for Germany’s problems and developed a concept of a “master race.” The Nazis believed that Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jewish people were a threat to the German racial community and also targeted other groups because of their “perceived racial inferiority” such as Gypsies, disabled persons, Polish people and Russians as well as many others. In 1938, Jewish people were banned from public places in Germany and many were sent to concentration camps where they were either murdered or forced to work. Many individuals and groups attempted to resist Nazism in Germany, but were unsuccessful. The White Rose, The Red Orchestra and the Kreisau Circle all advocated non-violent resistance to oppose the Nazi regime and even with the high risk of getting caught and potentially killed, the courageous members of these groups went after what they believed was right despite the serious consequences.
The 1940’s was a time of great conflict between the United States and Europe. This led to World War II, which began on June 14th, 1940 when German troops were sent to France to occupy Paris (Nash 500). Before the United States entered World War II many conflicts erupted throughout Europe such as the advancement of German troops into various countries (Nash 501-502). The main source of these conflicts was a man by the name of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was a power hungry man who had the drive to become a political leader (Nash 492). But, the ways by which he obtained leadership were repulsive. He struck fear into the eyes of those in which opposed his teaching and killed whoever stood in his way (Nash 493). Germany faced troubling times after World War I. Hitler looked at this as the perfect opportunity to rise to power. He turned a party that consisted of a small amount of workers into the National Socialist German Workers’ party, which later became known as the Nazi party. During the 1920s, Hitler performed many speeches in order to make the Nazi party better known. In his speeches he talked about eliminating the differences between the rich and poor in order to prevent divided social classes. This made his party strong, attractive, and it quickly gained many supporters (Nash 494). By August 1934, Hitler became the Dictator of Germany and began mass takeover of Europe and World War II began (Nash 495). It was at this point when he began mass takeover of Europe and World War II began (Nash 500). He sent Nazi troops to take over nearby land, which made neighboring countries nervous. One of these countries, Russia, made a non-aggression pact with Hitler as a way to try to protect their country. Even though H...
Many people, such as Liesel, conform to societal expectations in public while keeping their rebellion in private most of the time. They do this to survive in a culture that persecutes anybody that they disagree with or disagrees with them. For example, “‘I hate the Führer,’ she said. ‘I hate him.’… ‘Don’t ever say that!’… ‘You can say that in our house,’ he said, looking gravely at Liesel’s cheek. ‘But you never say it on the street, at school, at the BDM, never!’’ (p. 115-116) This was when Liesel found out that the Nazis took away her mother for being a communist and was naturally upset. Her foster father, Hans Hubermann, slapped her for saying that, at
The main character Liesel, known as “the book thief” is who Death is looking over. Liesel, her mother, and brother are on a train to Munich. On the train ride her brother dies. She and her mother get off the train to bury him. The first book Liesel steals is from the gravediggers. They continue the journey to a town called Molching, where Liesel will be raised by foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel adjusts to her new home life. Hans teaches Liesel how to read. The war is escalating in Germany. The town holds a book-burning to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. That’s when Liesel steals another book from the flames. Liesel’s job is to deliver laundry to the Hermann family. The Hermanns’ have a library full of books. Liesel is allowed to read them in the study. Meanwhile, a German-Jew named Max needs help, so he seeks out the Hubermanns. Max hides in the basement, so he is safe from the Nazis. Liesel begins stealing books from the Hermanns. The Nazis parade the Jews through the town of Molching on their way to the concentration camp for everyone to see. Liesel is given a blank notebook to write her own story. One night the neighborhood is bombed. Hans, Rosa, and the rest of the neighborhood is killed. Rescue workers find Liesel under the rubble. She leaves behind her finished book, called The Book Thief. Death, who has been watching, rescues the book. Liesel ends up living with the mayor