From: Kathy Johnson <kmquimby>
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 13:38:41 -0500

Joyce brings up one of the few aspects of this work that troubled me, as someone who works in Holocaust Studies, namely the implication that Hitler rose to power because of his appeal to German youth. It was not simply that the children were brainwashed and turned against their parents. Adults were also brainwashed--because they needed/wanted to believe their problems were someone else's fault, and because they had been raised to be compliant and obedient. As Raul Hilberg points out, German society during those years divided into three general groups--Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders. There were very few Rescuers of any age, those willing to put their own lives literally at risk in order to save others. That speaks worlds to the dangers of totalitarianism in any form, and (I hope) to the merits of democracy, where differences of opinion are welcome. To my mind one of the masterful things about this work is, as someone else pointed out, the way it raises questions that are [very large sigh here] all too valid today. I was extremely pleased to see this book receive well-deserved recognition.

Kathy Johnson

At 12:59 PM 3/14/2006, you wrote:
>Hilter Youth certainly resonated with me. It finally answered the
>question that
>has haunted my mind since childhood (as a child of German ancestry): how
>could a
>whole people do this? Answer: brainwash the kids, and turn them against their
>elders.
>
>Tracking those different young people, who all made different choices, was a
>brilliant stroke of storytelling, and made fascinating reading. I loved this
>book. It was one of those rare ones that changed my way of looking at the
>world.
>
>Joyce Sidman
>
>
>
> > We only have one day left to talk about the Sibert Books--and so far no
> > talk!
> >
> > We've already talked about Hitler Youth on CCBC-Net at other times over
> > the past few months. It's a book that could certainly lend itself to
> > extensive discussion. For me, I not only it found it intruiguing as a
> > work of historical documentation, but it also struck me as a book that
> > resonates strongly in terms of contemporary issues and the contemporary
> > lives of adolescents, who, in one way or another, face many questions
> > about what they believe in and how they will act because of--or in spite
> > of--those beliefs. Hitler's manipulation of the youth of Germany was
> > masterful propaganda. And children and teens today are certainly not
> > immune from the influence of ongoing political propaganda in this
> > country and elsewhere, although it certainly is structured and plays out
> > very differently. Does anyone else see parallels. Has anyone used this
> > books with adolescents--do they see any parallels.
> >
> > And if you haven't yet had a chance to read the Sibert Award Winner,
> > Secrets of a Civil War Submarine, we hope you get a chance to do so.
> > It's a fascinating work that blends fine research and writing with
> > thoughtful design decisions and, like Hitler Youth, is an exemplary work
> > of nonfiction.
> >
> > Megan
> >
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Received on Tue 14 Mar 2006 12:38:41 PM CST