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 Summary

This is an informational, or nonfiction, book about the young boys and girls who followed Hitler during his reign over Germany.  Young German children were drawn to Hitler's promises of a great Germany during a time when unemployment and poverty were prominent in the country.  This book shows the readers a day in the life of Hitler's youth army from their early days of outdoor adventures, to their slow take over of Germany, and finally to the devastating days of war and the eventual surrender of Germany to allied forces.  

Critical Analysis

Hitler Youth shows incredible accuracy throughout the entire book.  There is a well documented and thorough bibliography section and quote sources section in the back of the book as well as a note from the author explaining how she researched her book.  Especially impressive is the amount of personal interviews the author conducted with actual former members of the Hitler Youth which are all documented in the book as a bibliographic and quote source.  Photographs throughout the book are also well documented and taken from respectable sources such as the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  

The organization and design of Hitler Youth are also strong aspects of the book.  Each chapter focuses on a different subject of the war yet continues to go in sequential order so the story and facts run smoothly in the reader's mind.  Photographs throughout the book are also very powerful and match faces to names as we get a look at the real life people the book focuses on as well as what every day Germany looked like during this time.  

The style of this book challenges readers to learn new information without being overwhelming.  One way the author does this is by using German words throughout the text along with their accompanying English translations.  En example of this is the German translation of Hitler Youth which the author tells us is Hitlerjugend. The text keeps the reader interested without being too simplistic or condescending.  

Review Excerpts

• Newberry Honor Book
• The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
• School Library Journal-"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."

Connections

*View the DVD titled The Hitler Youth ASIN: B000ARXFMS

*The end of this book asks young readers what they are willing to do as youth to prevent something like the Holocaust from happening today.  Use this as a writing exercise and ask students to comment on what they would do.