I've been reading....Nazi Germany

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Death tells this story – the story of “a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter and quite a lot of thievery.”

Death does his job, but is sympathetic to the human souls he collects, especially in this busy period of WWII. The girl is Leisel Meminger, foster child to a working class family in Molching, Germany. The accordionist is her beloved foster father, Hans Hubermann. Some fanatical Germans are the Nazis, including several of their neighbors. The Jewish fist fighter is hidden in the Hubermanns' basement. And thievery sometimes became necessary to survive as money became scarce.

But Leisel, whose story Death takes the time to tell, stole books. She stole her first at her younger brother’s funeral. Another was taken from a Nazi book-burning. Others were taken from the mayor’s wife. The books were Leisel’s comfort, and the comfort of others as they tried to make sense of their world, and survive.


Also try:
Daniel Half-Human by Daniel Chotjewitz. Daniel is half Jewish, making him only half human by Nazi criteria. This changes his life forever when the Nazis come to power, his family is destroyed and his best friend becomes an enthusiastic member of Hitler Youth. Their paths cross again at the end of the war when Daniel must make a decision

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bertoletti. This non-fiction book chronicles the rise of Hitler Youth and uses primary sources and interviews with people who joined as teenagers to get a picture of what it was like to grow up in Nazi Germany. The author focuses on 12 people, telling their stories and portraying their patriotism, belief, doubt and disillusion.

- Jeri