Hitler's Attitude In The Book Thief

Gaston Leroux, the author of The Phantom of the Opera, once wrote, “Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him?... He asked only to be 'someone,' like everybody else. But he was too ugly!… He had a heart that could have held the entire empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to content himself with a cellar.” The Phantom of the Opera, or Erik, was disfigured and because of his face the rest of the world shunned him. Beauty and charm often propel a person in the social world, and as Erik had neither he was deemed an outsider. Through his obsession with a young opera singer, he was able to use her to connect with the rest of the world through music. His perspective was forever altered through the way he was ignored and pushed aside by others.

Death was able to be everywhere at once, and as he said “... in all the years of Hitler’s reign, no person was able to serve the führer as loyally as me” (pg 491), his caustic tone is evident. He is an effect with the soldiers and the Führer the cause. Hitler wanted to annihilate the Jews and with an entire country behind him, he was almost impossible to stop. Although Death was the “bringer of death” it is clear that he was just doing his job. He didn’t wish for people to die, it wasn’t his fault. Markus Zusak’s imagery of the bombs that pummeled Himmel Street and the devastation left in their wake is truly awe-inspiring. The bombs hit while they were asleep with no time for goodbyes or prayers, the innocent dreaming on. Death tells the audience in a final adieu that he is “haunted by humans” (pg 550). Through this we see his ultimate sacrifice for his job and the heartache that comes with

In a fight you want to have more people on your side than the other guy. For protection, security and power, the more people you have the better. Hitler had millions of followers who blindly believed and followed what he said. Through the Nazi’s hate, 6 million Jews were murdered- all because he had the people and soldiers to back him up. Likewise, after France created a wonderful world fair, America decided that the humiliation of being outdone could not be tolerated. Larson wrote, “America’s pride in its growing power and international stature had fanned patriotism to a new intensity.” (pg 33 LP), and through this they decided to “out-Eiffel” the Eiffel Tower. Even H. H. Holmes had a posse of henchman to do his bidding and help him commit crimes. When Hans Hubermann gave a Jewish man bread, he kept asking “What have I done?” (pg 396), as he realized he had put Max in danger and that many people would begin to hate him through their “patriotism”. When someone stands alone like Hans they tend to accept that they cannot create change through one action and as only one person. Perspective can easily be changed by having a group of people with you or against