The_Book_Thief_-_Ideas

Writers often set out to encourage readers to look at controversial issues or ideas in a new way. Analyze how the writer of a text you have studied made you think about an issue or idea in a new way. In our society, where we are influenced by the British empire and Hollywood, our view on Nazi Germany is prejudiced. We stereotype all Germans to be as ruthless as Hitler. When reading books like the Diary of Anne Frank, everyone remembers the perils Anne faces but many of us forget the name of the lady who helped the Franks. Australian author, Markus Zusak has written a story about the holocaust but in a totally new way. “The Book Thief” shows Germans in a new light. The book shows them as humans whose nation was also torn apart by Allied bombings. The novel is centered and follows the story of a young German fostered girl named Liesel. Liesel’s best friend is the all German boy Rudy. Rudy is a charismatic boy who “...isn’t afraid to make decisions.” He is athletic and smart. He was even selected to join an “..elite force of Germans...” But his parents decided against it. However, Rudy knew that what was happening to the Jews was bad and unfair. So, when a group of dying, hungry, barely human Jews were being marched to a concentration camp, Rudy and Liesel risked it all to lay out some bread for the prisoners. As Liesel watched Rudy lay out the bread, she asked herself; “Was this Germany'” When she heard Rudy’s stomach rumble she repeated “Was this Nazi Germany'” Rudy was a boy who never had enough to eat, he was one of eight children in a poor family. He stole food, his stomach was grumbling and yet he was giving away bread to the “..nasty Jews..” He did this because he knew that those people were Jews and prisoners, but they were people first and foremost. The author made me think about how wrongly we stereotype all Germans by showing Rudy as compassionate towards the Jewish prisoners. Hans Hubermann, Liesel’s foster father, was a middle class German whose job was almost non-existent. He hardly had enough money to support his family. This was because he was sympathetic to Jews, painting over anti-Semitic slurs for free, so he wasn’t granted access to the Nazi Party, leading to his lack of customers. He had an uncanny ability to fade into the background and wasn't thought too important to notice. However, in the words of the narrator “..he was very special indeed..” In WWI a Jewish man saved his life, in return, during WWII he hid the man’s son in his basement. Hiding a Jew in your basement while living on an almost non-existent job in Germany is very risky. Also, Hans watched more dying, hungry Jews being marched to a concentration camp. He knew that being against Hitler’s views was like inviting trouble to your doorstep, his family’s shortage of money was a testament to that fact. However, Hans knew he had to do the right thing. So when an old dying Jew collapsed at Hans feet, Hans fed the man his bread. Although he was severely whipped by soldiers, castigated by his neighbors and later sent to the war front, he knew feeding a barely human man and reminding him that he was a human wasn’t wrong. Rudy and Hans decisions made me think about the idea of Germans in Nazi Germany in a new way. Zusak highlighted that not all Germans were happy with what was going on in Germany at that time. Rudy was an all German, hungry but giving away bread. He didn’t look and see Jewish prisoners but he saw instead suffering humans. Hans saw the same thing when he helped the dying man. He and Rudy extended a hand of humanity to those suffering people, so at least, if they died, they had the revenge of dying like human beings. Zusak also admitted that the incident with Hans was a true story that his grandparents witnessed when they were living in Germany. This made me think about Germans in Nazi Germany in a new way because it shows that not all Germans were heartless towards the Jews. Many were afraid to show their true emotions but some were courageous enough to fight for what they knew was wrong. The novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak casts a new light on the story of the Holocaust. It shows that some Germans tried to help the Jews as much as they could. They understood that the Jews were still humans first and lend a helping hand. Like in Lois Lowry’s book “Number the Stars” the whole of Denmark rose to the challenge of protecting their fellow Jewish countrymen, some of the Germans in Nazi German did rise to the challenge of protecting their Jewish countrymen.