Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Bartoletti

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell.  2005.  HITLER YOUTH: GROWING UP IN HITLER'S SHADOW.  New York: Scholastic Inc.  ISBN  0439353793

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Bartoletti's book examines the role children and teenagers played during Hitler's rise to power and rule over Germany between 1933 and 1945.  Specifically, she focuses on an organized group which was established in 1926, known as the Hitler Youth.  While boys were trained for the hardships they would endure in the German military, the girls were educated on how to be good caretakers and wives.  Life in the Hitler Youth included a Nazi education, activities such as camping, hiking, and field exercises, and meetings in which they listened to Hitler's broadcasts and discussed how to better serve the Führer.  Bartoletti balances these Hitler Youth accounts by also including information on the lives of children who resisted the Nazi regime, as well as the lives of Jewish children and families.

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This well-written and thoroughly researched book draws the audience in as Bartoletti reveals a side of the Third Reich that is often overlooked: the role of children.  Through compelling first-hand testimonies and interviews given by Hitler Youth, readers begin to understand the mindset of the children who pledged their allegiance to Adolf Hitler.  As one former Hitler Youth recalls, "I can remember the feeling I had when he spoke...At last, here's somebody who can get us out of this mess," citing the difficult economic depression Germany found itself in.  Another former Hitler Youth, Alfons Heck, describes how he felt the first night Nazis began to persecute the Jews: "The brutality of it was stunning... but I also experienced an unmistakable feeling of excitement."  These quotes provide compelling insight on the motivations that drove the Hitler Youth.  Bartoletti also uses excerpts from the personal diaries and letters of a young girl named Sophie Scholl to show readers that not all German youth bought into the Nazi's beliefs. In a diary entry, Scholl writes, "One should have the courage to believe only in what is good.  By that, I do not mean one should believe in illusions.  I mean one should do only what is true and good and take it for granted that others will do the same."  Testimonies, interviews, diary excerpts, and letters are flawlessly woven together to provide readers with insight on how children lived through one of the most difficult time periods in history.  These primary sources also serve to strengthen the credibility of the stories described within the text; all are credited in great detail in both the "Quote Sources" and "Bibliography" sections found at the end of the book.

Extensive use of black and white photographs personalize many of the stories and events discussed in the book.  As readers flip through the pages, they see images that capture the innocence of a class of young girls dressed in white standing with their teachers giving the Nazi salute; the focused determination on the faces of a group of Hitler Youth boys marching in formation; and the anguish experienced by a German soldier who returns home to find his home completely destroyed. To balance these images of Hitler Youth, Bartoletti also incorporates appropriate photographs that capture the devastation suffered by those they oppressed.  Readers see powerful images of a torched synagogue in a pile of ruins, exhausted concentration camp prisoners wearily standing in their striped pajamas, and the tear-streaked face of a terrified Frenchman as German soldiers overtake his city.  It is through photographs that young readers begin to understand the profound impact the Nazi regime had on human history, with each photo effectively triggering a myriad of emotions.  

Bartoletti's lively writing style is objective, with no hints of bias or prejudice towards any of the individuals discussed.  Descriptive sentences and detailed explanations are used to describe the different branches of the Hitler Youth as well as the events that transpired during World War II.  She also incorporates  German words throughout the text to expose readers to the German language, adding to the book's cultural authenticity.  The author's passion and enthusiasm for the subject matter are evident in the "Author's Note" and the "About the Photographs" sections where Bartoletti reveals to readers the lengths she went to to conduct extensive research:  visiting libraries, museums, archives; conducting personal interviews with former Hitler Youth and concentration camp survivors; and traveling to cities like Washington, D.C, Berlin, and Nuremberg.   She encourages readers to learn more about the Hitler Youth and World War II events by directing them to access the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration's online photography collections.  Specific book titles and appropriate resources for young readers are also found in the "Bibliography" section.  To get her readers to contemplate and reflect on the tragedy of events that occurred during the Third Reich, Bartoletti  poses a series of thought-provoking questions at the book's conclusion.  She asks "Could another despot like Hitler rise to power on the shoulders of young people?" and  "What are you willing to do to prevent such a shadow from falling over you and others?"  The answers to these rousing questions will encourage critical thinking and inspire readers further their understanding.  

The book's design is inviting and attractive to readers, with cream-colored pages, use of different fonts and formats, and appropriate line spacing for easier reading.  Carefully selected photographs that are suitable for young readers relay the truth of the events that occurred without overwhelming them with scary and unpleasant images.  Each archived photo is fittingly arranged to complement the text, with each image containing a brief explanation and source from which it was retrieved.  The book is organized in chronological order, beginning with the Hitler Youth's formation in 1926 and ending with Nazi Germany's collapse in 1945.  A table of contents page as well as an index are included to allow readers to easily locate people or events mentioned in the book.  A helpful "Timeline of the Hitler Youth" provides an outline of major events that occurred in the organization's history.  An epilogue provides a fitting conclusion with details of what became of specific individuals mentioned throughout the text.

4.  REVIEW EXCERPTS

Newbery Honor Book

Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

BOOKLIST: "The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative."

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: "Bartoletti is quickly becoming a nonfiction writer who tops lists with her engaging writing, viewpoint, obvious dedication to research and knowledge of how important pictures are to the telling for this audience. Her book is filled with chilling quotes, anecdotal stories derived from research and interviews, and stories about how Hitler’s young were manipulated and used as a primary source of his power and vision for the future."

KIRKUS: "Case studies of actual participants root the work in specifics, and clear prose, thorough documentation and an attractive format with well-chosen archival photographs make this nonfiction writing at its best."

5.  CONNECTIONS

Have students continue to study about the Hitler Youth by using the following books:

Heyes, Eileen.  CHILDREN OF THE SWASTIKA: THE HITLER YOUTH.  ISBN  1562942379

Keeley, Jennifer.  LIFE IN THE HITLER YOUTH.  ISBN  156006613X

Have students read books about children in the Holocaust to balance out perspectives:

Gottfried, Ted.  CHILDREN OF THE SLAUGHTER: YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE HOLOCAUST.  ISBN  0761317163

Holliday, Laurel.  CHILDREN IN THE HOLOCAUST AND WORLD WAR II.  ISBN  0671520547

Have students discuss and answer the questions posed by Susan Bartoletti:  "Could another despot like Hitler rise to power on the shoulders of young people?" and  "What are you willing to do to prevent such a shadow from falling over you and others?"