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[CCBC-Net] Sibert Discussion
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From: MITCHOFF Kate Houston <kateho>
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 11:16:17 -0800
Though the work focused on youth, I very much got a sense that many adults chose to be bystanders as Hitler rose in power. But for the one uproar by the adults (noted in the book) against collecting and removing the elderly from society, the book set the tone that the adults didn't have much inner strength to speak up much less act out against the growing limitations placed upon them by Hilter's regime. That, compounded with Hitler's brainwashing of youth, strengthened his totalitarianism.
This book changed my world view also. As a youth who was an avid holocaust reader, I wanted to know how a people could let those events happen as well. This book illustrated Hitler's calculated and small steps to control body and mind over years, especially the youth's. This book is an incredible tool to help readers of all ages understand and learn from our past. Just fantastic!
Kate Houston Mitchoff
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Kathy Johnson Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 10:39 AM To: ccbc-net at lists.ad.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Sibert Discussion
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
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > CCBC-Net mailing list
> > CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> > Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> > http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>_______________________________________________
>CCBC-Net mailing list
>CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
>Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
>http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Tue 14 Mar 2006 01:16:17 PM CST
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 11:16:17 -0800
Though the work focused on youth, I very much got a sense that many adults chose to be bystanders as Hitler rose in power. But for the one uproar by the adults (noted in the book) against collecting and removing the elderly from society, the book set the tone that the adults didn't have much inner strength to speak up much less act out against the growing limitations placed upon them by Hilter's regime. That, compounded with Hitler's brainwashing of youth, strengthened his totalitarianism.
This book changed my world view also. As a youth who was an avid holocaust reader, I wanted to know how a people could let those events happen as well. This book illustrated Hitler's calculated and small steps to control body and mind over years, especially the youth's. This book is an incredible tool to help readers of all ages understand and learn from our past. Just fantastic!
Kate Houston Mitchoff
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Kathy Johnson Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 10:39 AM To: ccbc-net at lists.ad.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Sibert Discussion
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
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > CCBC-Net mailing list
> > CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> > Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> > http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>_______________________________________________
>CCBC-Net mailing list
>CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
>Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
>http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Tue 14 Mar 2006 01:16:17 PM CST
