Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 

Bibliography

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. Hitler Youth: growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction.

ISBN: 978-0439353793

Plot

Bartoletti uses the voices of twelve people who were youth during the years of 1933-1945, the years of the Third Reich in Germany. The voices of these youth, whether they were actively involved in the Hitler Youth, opposing to Nazism, or persecuted by the Nazis and Hitler Youth Group as a Jew, give shape to the rise of Hitler’s Regime. It is through these stories that Bartioletti weaves the story of Hitler’s rise to power, the organization of Hitler Youth, their participation in the persecution and eventual Holocaust of the Jews and other minorities, their aid in the War, and even their resistance to the Nazi cause. The book shows clearly that many Germans were swept into the regime blindly, and without education on the truth of the events surrounding them. The story also shows the Youth’s dedication to their country above all, and their wish, whether for or against Hitler, that Germany would be made a better country.

Critical Analysis

In Hitler Youth, Bartoletti brings the voice of the youth of Germany during WWII front and center, letting them tell their story. Detailed source notes and a bibliography cite the writings, interviews, and words of twelve young people as they lived through the regime, and the impact this had on their lives. Bartoletti demonstrates precise work in the flow of the book, which is written heavily in quoted dialogue from her interviews and research. Each chapter is devoted to one aspect of the life of the young people, and all the chapters build through the years towards the culmination of the war and its conclusion. The surprising, and often unknown, ways in which Hitler used the young people of Germany are included, as well as ways in which young people stood against Hitler. Throughout the course of the book, the clarity of writing gives the reader an understanding of the uncertainty that many Germans had, and the misplaced trust in a regime in which they were often blinded. Writing about both sides of the concentration camps, or the initial surge of youth into the youth groups, for example, causes the reader to see that not all decisions were clear to the people who were living through them. While some youth initially joined the group, they became dissillusioned and later fought against the Nazi’s. Historically accurate pictures, photography from Germany in WWII, and portraits of each of the twelve youth create visualization of the setting and events. The organization through the timeline of WWII, aided by detailed quotation notes, bibliography, and index, provide structure to the information when multiple stories from the twelve youth are interwoven. Hitler Youth illustrates what it means to be human, in its complexity and yearning for what is right, as well as the horrors of war and the impact of following without question.

Personal Response

The repeating and interweaving stories told in this book were moving in that they caused me to think of the Germans as united, even in their differing points of view through the war. Each German, whether for or against the regime, was shown as a complex individual who desired above all to do their best for their country. The horror and grief of the time in which they lived was clearly displayed for me as a reader, through their own words and the story which Bartoletti tells in each of them. For the German youth, many of them were caught up in a movement at a time when they were still learning how to discern between what is right and wrong. The deception of the Nazi regime took hold of their youthfulness, their strength, and their energy; this fulfilling Hitler’s dream of ‘making a new world’ through the enthusiasm of young people. I found this book compelling in its depiction of everyday life decisions that each German had to make during the War, and also in its end when the blindfolds came off and many Germans stood for what is right.

Excerpts of Reviews

"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...Superb."

Kirkus Reviews

"With clarity and apt quotation (scrupulously sourced), Bartoletti takes readers from the prewar beginnings of Hitler Youth, through its significant role in gaining Hitler the government, to its ultimate position as a feeder for the German war machine….The power of the account is matched by the many period candid and propaganda photographs, well-married to the text by strong captions and placement and an unobtrusive but period-evocative Art Deco page design."

The Horn Book

"Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth....Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has."

School Library Journal

Connections 1. Invite a person who lived during WWII to come speak to children about the time in which they lived. 2. Children can perform additional research of one of the twelve young people depicted in the book online and through other non-fiction books. They can write a report or create a biography page on their research. 3. Read other books about WWII, such as Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust by Susan D. Bachrach, Remember D-Day: The Plan, the Invasion, Survivor Stories by Ronald J. Drez, Growing up in World War II, 1941-1945 by Judith Pinkerton Josephson and The Hidden Children by Howard Greenfeld. 4. Have children create pictures for each of the events on the “Timeline of the Hitler Youth” on page 160. They may then put their visual timeline in order and explain what happened, reading excerpts from the book. 5. Read other books on the resistance against the Nazi’s mentioned in Hitler Youth, such as The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport, or The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb.