Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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Book Summary Information
Author: Susan Campbell BartolettiBrand: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-01
ISBN: 0439353793
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780439353793
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
Book Review: Horror without context
Summary: 3 Stars
A fascinating topic, a collection of amazing photographs, and a uniquely squandered opportunity. That, my dear ladies and gentlemen, is the only way to describe Susan Campbell Bartoletti's gorgeous and skin deep treatment of what could well have been a fascinating topic. Consider the children that grew up under Hitler. What a great series of true-to-life stories! Before our eyes we see what happens when propaganda and misplaced nationalism combine to bring to power an evil man. But does that, by association, make the kids who belonged to the Hitler Youth evil as well? Does it mean that they carried some of his guilt or were they victims? Could it happen again? To what extent is a person responsible for their actions in an totalitarian government? Well I sure as heck don't know cause Bartoletti, while she may be many things, is fond of facts and deeply afraid of context. So instead of a truly intelligent look at how a single instance in history affected humanity as a whole, we get a nice series of interesting stories without any insight whatsoever. This is obviously a great idea for a book. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't live up to the reality.
The books says it right from the start. "This book is the story of the millions of boys and girls who belonged to the Hitler Youth and bore the name proudly". Opposite this page a preschooler stands in full SA dress, his right arm raised in a salute to Hitler. From there on in we meet a wide variety of young people. The book follows their lives as Hitler rises to power and the organization known as the Hitler Youth grows in importance right alongside him. Much of this information is completely new and surprising. At first, kids were heavily encouraged to join various organizations with ties to the Nazi government. Later on, they were forced to join and severely brought to heel if they refused. We read about a lot of boys and girls who became convinced that Adolf Hitler was the only way to go. Some reported their own parents to the government. Others became fighters in his army. Still others joined the Hitler Youth and then became rapidly disillusioned with the oppression that came with it. We read about Jewish kids and teens and how the Hitler Youth affected their lives. We even learn about those kids who fought back against the government, including the heroes behind the White Rose organization and their eventual fates. Filled to brimming with information too little known and photographs that bring about a dropping of the jaws, some of the most interesting information comes when the war was lost and the youth had to be reeducated in some manner. Bartoletti ends with an Epilogue that tells what happened to some of the kids in this book, a Time Line, an Author's Note on how she got her info, photograph notes, Quote Sources, and a complete Bibliography.
So what kind of a loon am I to give this book three stars? Am I completely insane? Not so much, I'm afraid. My objection, as you've noted from my earlier words, is that Bartoletti refuses to look at the bigger picture. Talented authors tend to finish their books with some telling words. These include thoughts that are meant to leave the reader pondering over what they've seen and read. Bartoletti does this too. She devotes all of seven sentences at the end of her story to the momentus information already presented. Already I can hear echoes of people telling me that I'm being too harsh on this book. After all, it was written for kids. It's not like this is some adult text, right? Of course it isn't. But just because a book is written for children, that doesn't mean it should settle for being second-rate. Consider James Cross Giblin's, "The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler". Written for the same age group as, "Hitler Youth", Giblin's book is obviously the superior of the two. Not only do we see the rise and fall of a dictator, but we get a little context mixed in there as well. What makes an average joe so very very evil? Why did the Germans go along with Hitler's crazy schemes? All these questions are worked into the book with a skilled hand, making Giblin one of the best children's biographers working today. Bartoletti has a lot to learn at this point. Her book's Forward mentions that this isn't a Hitler book but a story of the common German people and that this is "their story". Unfortunately, the Forward is about one page long and doesn't even attempt to give the kids any additional insight into the implications inherent in living under an oppressive government. If there is any premise here at all it must be something along the lines of propaganda-made-kids-love-Hitler-but-not-all-of-them. Which is a good idea for a book and all, but it's something you'd expect in a story written for fourth graders. This title is written with sixth graders and up in mind. The kinds of kids who could identify with a sixteen-year-old going off to war. You want Bartoletti to play with her material some more. How much better this book would be if she got the kids thinking about what evil really comes down to. She could've made one of the staunchly pro-Hitler Youth members seem friendly and fun, then hit the reader over the head with their awful politics and even worse actions. Instead, she just kind of throws the story out there, gives us a lot of pretty pictures, and doesn't bother to interact with her readership in a meaningful way.
Here's an excellent example of how Bartoletti ignores moments in her book that could really make an impact but, due to a lack of attention, fizzle out and die instead. In one instance we learn that the Hitler Youth were (as the war went on) increasingly recruited into the armed forces at earlier and earlier ages. The book says, "It seems ironic that the commanders considered the boys old enough to fight but not old enough to smoke: The youngest recruits were given candy instead of the usual cigarette ration that older soldiers received". Granted, Bartoletti points out the dichotomy of thinking kids old enough to kill and not old enough to destroy their own lungs. Then again, that wonderful image of sixteen-year-olds being given candy on the fighting fields is open to all kinds of comments. The innocence inherent in such an action. And how evil could you call these kids when all they wanted was some bubble gum? The word "evil" never appears in the text. Bartoletti doesn't want to deal with extremes or moral implications. Sometimes this works, but mostly it casts the reader adrift. Some context, some context, my kingdom for some context.
So who am I to say that this book's not peachy keen when obviously the Newbery committee awarded it an Honor medal for a reason? Well, I'm afraid the old Newbery folks were fooled by Scholastic's primo packaging on this puppy. Having obviously spared no expense, the book is a truly beautiful thing to behold. A kiddie coffee table tome. The photographs are numerous and perfect (in spite of their often odd captions). The book is bound into an interesting size with lots of glossy shots and interesting tidbits. Bartoletti has done her research and transposed her facts into understandable terms for kids, and no one is going to argue that the book isn't incredibly interesting. In the realm of children's non-fiction, however, it has as much depth as your average high school social studies text. If you want a children/teen non-fiction title that will encourage your kids to think, check out "The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler" by James Cross Giblin. If you just want them to know some facts but you don't care if they think about them too deeply, "Hitler Youth" is the book for you.
Summary of Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
In her first full-length nonfiction title since winning the Robert F. Sibert Award, Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores the riveting and often chilling story of Germany's powerful Hitler Youth groups.
"I begin with the young. We older ones are used up . . . But my magnificent youngsters! Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can create a new world." --Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933
By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.
"I begin with the young. We older ones are used up . . . But my magnificent youngsters! Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can create a new world." --Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933
By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.
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