Hitler Youth

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow. Scholastic Nonfiction (2005). ISBN 978-0-4393-5379-3

Plot Summary

                This non-fiction book about the role the youth played in the rise of Adolf Hitler exposes the horrors that occurred leading up to and during WWII.  At first, the Hitler Youth was an optional program for youth that wanted to serve their country.  Soon, it became mandatory for all healthy fully German youth to join and serve Hitler.  But just controlling the teenagers of the Hitler Youth wasn’t enough.  As Hitler rose to become the supreme ruler of Germany, he made sure all children, starting from grade school, were indoctrinated into the Nazi ways.  Anyone who resisted, or who didn’t want to join, were either arrested or, if the parents were the ones resisting, got their children taken away. 

                Before the war began, the youth were used as a cheap labor force to rebuild the damages still needing repair after WWI.  Some of their hard work is still seen today in such landmarks as the Autobahn.  The female branch of Hitler Youth were tasked with helping farmers with crops and tending children so adult women could go to work in factories.  As the war began, the youth were called upon to fight for Germany.  The boys were sent to the front lines while the girls worked as medics.  Many of the youth didn’t know they were aiding a mass murderer.  Most of the 53 million people who died in the war were in their late teens and early twenties.  This book also notes those youths that fought against Hitler in any way they could.  All of them suffered for it and many of them died doing what was right.  Many of them now have written books about their experiences and have gone on to live their lives despite their guilt at aiding Hitler (or piece of mind for working against him). 

Critical Evaluation

                This book is fascinating.  Hitler truly rode to power on the backs of the young.  They played the role as his everyday thugs.  It was interesting to see how most young people got right on board with Hitler but then, a few years later, felt it was all a bit extreme and they realized they didn’t actually agree with a lot of stuff he was doing.  It was good to read that many Hitler Youth disagreed with the ill treatment of the Jewish people but, because of their blind obedience, figured that Hitler had a good reason for doing it. 

                One thing I will mention that made this book a little confusing was the chronology.  One story would be give about one youth and what they experienced.  Sometimes it would span the entire war time period.  Then, in the next paragraph, the reader would be taken back to several years earlier with no warning.  It made the events sort of hard to follow.  I suppose this may be why there is a timeline of events in the back of the book.  This is helpful since the writing can jump back and forth.  For a non-fiction book, this is a very easy book to read.  Even teenagers will remain interested in it all the way through.

Reader’s Annotation

Find out what an enormous role the youth in Germany played in Hitler’s rise to power and WWII.

Author’s Information

Susan Campbell Bartoletti didn’t think about writing seriously until she was teaching 8^th grade.  She joined a writer’s group and in 1997 she had published short stories, picture books and an award-winning nonfiction book (Hitler Youth – Newberry Honor Book).  Here website and blog can be found at this address: http://www.scbartoletti.com/.

Genre

Non-Fiction

Book Talking Ideas

This book will really get teens thinking about what they would do if put in the situation that the youth in Germany were.  Would they join the Hitler Youth just because everyone else was?  Imagine what might have happened differently if the youth refused to cooperate.  Everyone knows general facts about WWII, the Holocaust, and Hitler.  But they’ve never seen the story told through the eyes of a Hitler Youth before.

Reading Level/Interest

12/14

Challenge Issues

Anytime a book surrounding Hitler is published, there are bound to be parents worried about the content.  The horror that was the Holocaust is, indeed, disturbing but many parents accept the fact that students need to learn about it.  There are no unnecessary additions of violence.  Only the facts are given.  They are gruesome, but they are the truth.

Why Include This Title?

This is a nonfiction book that young adults can really get into.  Learning about the power youth have over what happens is an important lesson for all young people.  They need to be aware of their decisions and what consequences may occur because of those decisions.  This is an extreme example, but an example still the same.