Hitler Youth is a book that I would have never thought I would’ve read. I passed over it several times before deciding it looked too non-fiction and historical for me. I was thinking that it was going to be like watching a dreadful show with a boring narration. I was very wrong about my initial assumptions and thoughts. This book turned out to be extremely insightful and fun to read. I became very knowledgeable on the subject of the propaganda and other forms of luring the youth of
To some the German public at the time of the rise of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party also know as Nazism under the lead of Adolf Hitler was not observant, but in all reality it was not their fault. The Nazi party was leading a scandal of propaganda that was so well thought out and deep that it was foolproof. The Third Reich was a smart group of radical reformists who wanted to rid Germany of Jews and bring it back to the power it once was.
Hitler Youth starts out by showing a bunch of different people that were in their youth while Hitler was coming to power and their general backgrounds. Many of the children had been warned by their parents to not fall into this trap that this new radical government was offering. Their parents had told them that it was a bad idea to follow these new customs that the Nazis were offering. The children just thought that their parents were being unrealistic to change and being way too old fashioned. It then shows the things in the children’s daily life that they would do and how these activities were influenced by the Third Reich. Everything from school to sports, from hanging out with friends to leisure time was affected very greatly by the Nazis. The Nazis made sure all the time of the children was devoted to showing and proving loyalty to the Third Reich. The Third Reich wanted loyalty over everyone including family. This is why they were about to corrupt the youth in such a way to spend time away from the family and create a sort of evil brotherhood to return Germany to the kind of power it once was. The Nazis created a sense of pride and nationalist movement that was before abandoned and gone from the German public and more importantly the German youth. This book provides very powerful black and white images which very accurately depict the situations going on and the propaganda methods being created. The way Bartoletti’s words and images are displayed it really shows how the mass youth of a large country was about to provide loyalty to a ‘mass murderer’. Although this does not give way to provide an excuse for the horrible events occurred during this time it does help the readers comprehend the circumstances that were going on. I would recommend this book to almost anyone.
This novel, Hitler Youth, seems very appealing to me, in part from my admiration of all things related to history, particularly the WWII era. Hitler’s use of corrupting the nation’s youth has always been a source of wonderment on my part. How can a human being influence fellow people to join his evil cause with such apparent ease? Hitler was a brilliant mastermind, if corrupt, in utilizing a new generation to carry the weight of his despicable cause.
ReplyDeleteMy household has recently had the privilege of having a German foreign exchange student reside with us. She has provided insight, through her knowledge from school and grandparents recounting tales from their time, that not all Germans are evil, as so wrongly assumed and stereotyped in America. Possibly by reading this book I will be able to gain more insight into the lives of Hitler’s youth during WWII. I strongly believe that not all of the children at this time were bad, but Hitler’s influence was just too strong to resist. I look forward to reading such an obviously fascinating novel!
Hitler Youth seems as though it would be a very interesting historical novel. The historical topic of Hitler and World War II always intrigues me. I find it fascinating how Hitler was able to gain so many followers and how smart he was in doing so. Hitler was also very smart in the way that he slyly corrupted the youth of Germany. He must have known that many of the children would not heed their parents' warnings to not listen to what the Nazis were saying. After all, if one at such young age is told by his parents that he should not do something that he wants to do and that he sees no harm in, won't the child see his parents as unfair and will he not disregard them? One can also see that Hitler was very successful in gaining followers to aide him in his genocide. He knew the exact techniques to use to persuade people to think like him. Many people may only see Hitler as a cruel and an evil creature, but Hitler Youth is a testament to the fact that Hitler was also a very smart and tactical individual.
ReplyDeleteHitler Youth seems to be a very interesting, informative, and captivating novel. I would not hesitate to read this novel.
Hitler Youth was a very interesting book to read. I have always liked learning about this period of history. WWII is a very interesting topic. Hitler was a very bad man, and it amazes me that he had so many followers. A great deal of Hitler's followers were German youth. The way Hitler used propaganda and other tactics is both terrible and genius. The children of Hitler's Youth went so far as turn in and going against their own parents in the support of Hitler. I agree with the writer of this post in that Hitler Youth is a very good book that everyone should read.
ReplyDeleteBy your useful insight, this book seems fascinating and a real page turner. I am very interested in the World War II era, which is another reason why this novel seems so interesting to me. The way that you formated your post, it brought to my attention that I too might enjoy this novel because I have the same view on this novel ( " too nonfiction and historical. " ) I find it very thought-provoking how Hitler was able to attract the entire youth population in Germany, just by spreading lies though mass media. By the writer of this post, I believe that this is a compelling novel that I intend to put on my " book reading list."
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