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Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow is the riveting and often chilling tale of a generation of young people who devoted their energy and passion to the Hitler Youth organization and left an indelible mark on world history. Award-winning author Susan Campbell Bartoletti infuses the work with the voices of both former Hitler Youth members and young people who resisted the powerful Nazi movement. These voices stand alongside those of Jewish youths and others who were senselessly and brutally targeted by the Third Reich. What emerges is the story of average children and teenagers faced with extraordinary and unenviable choices. The paths taken by the Hitler Youth and their struggle to come to terms with their actions at the end of World War II are sure to spark debate among young readers faced with the question of whether the horrors of Hitler’s Germany could ever cast dark shadows again.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
October 24, 2006 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739348352
- File size: 128716 KB
- Duration: 04:28:09
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Text Difficulty: 7-12
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Reviews
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This Newbery Honor book is enhanced by the narration of Kathrin Kana, who voices the facts and information as a compelling story and leaves the listener to gradually become aware of the implications of Hitler's plans for Germany and the Hitler Youth. Hitler's exploitation of Germany's young bought their devotion to the Nazi cause while blinding them to the true motives behind his quest for power. Kana's steady voice propels the narrative to its conclusion without diminishing the story's brutality. A concluding slideshow of photographs (to be viewed on computer) adds an important dimension to the narrative and demonstrates a meaningful innovation for audiobooks. An added bonus is an introduction and epilogue spoken by the author, which add power to the presentation. L.D.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from May 23, 2005
Bartoletti (Kids on Strike!
) offers a unique and riveting perspective on WWII by focusing on the young people who followed Hitler from 1933–1945. The narrative primarily focuses on members of the Hitler Youth, but also profiles some of the group's dissidents and its Jewish targets. Hitler began his quest for dominance with young people, recognizing them as "a powerful political force" and claiming, "With them I can make a new world." Bartoletti describes how the propaganda of the Hitler Youth attracted children: "The overnight camping trips, campfires, and parades sounded like a great deal of fun," said one 12-year-old. But the organization also emphasized loyalty to the Third Reich above all (including family—one eight-year-old, Elisabeth Vetter, turned in her parents to the Nazis). The author personalizes the war by placing identifiable individuals at the center of the events, such as Sophie Scholl, who moved away from Nazi ideas as a teen and in college joined the "White Rose" group that published pamphlets detailing Nazi evils and urging resistance—a crime for which she and others were executed. Powerful black-and-white photographs testify to the lure and also the cruelty of the Nazis. Bartoletti's portrait of individuals within the Hitler Youth who failed to realize that they served "a mass murderer" is convincing, and while it does not excuse the atrocities, it certainly will allow readers to comprehend the circumstances that led to the formation of Hitler's youngest zealots. Ages 7-10.
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