Download Europe c. 1900

Cover Design
In small groups discuss the picture on
the cover of the novel:
- What might the symbol of the dominos
represent?
- What colours are used? What feelings
or connotations does this “look” evoke in
the reader?
Summary
A young girl, Liesel Meminger is sent to live
with a foster family in a German town called
Molching in 1939. She develops a passion for
words and has an impact on many. Her life is
forever changed by the people of Himmel
Street and her experiences during this
dangerous time.
Before reading The Book Thief it will be
important for you to get a sense of the setting.
Many significant historical developments and
setbacks happened during the late 1930s and
early 1940s.
As you know, every story has an antagonist...
ADOLF HITLER
ADOLF HITLER
 German politician and leader of the Nazi Party
(NSDAP)
 He believed in “Social Darwinism” (survival of
the fittest). With the destruction of inferior
races, would come the preservation and
strength of the German race.
Hitler
Believed Aryan race was the Master
Race
Nordic Race – Characterized by fair
skin, light hair and light eyes, tall stature
Nazi’s believed Aryan’s were ideal and
superior to all other races
Why did he target Jews?
There is not one distinctive
answer to this question. Many
factors contributed to Hitler’s
desire to annihilate the Jewish
population.
Conspiracies against Jews
 There had been much anti-Jewish prejudice in
different parts of Europe at the time.
 It was believed that the Jews had caused Germany’s
defeat in WWI.
 Some common misconceptions were:
 They were not as patriotic as other Germans
 They didn’t fight in the war, they were all business men
Why did he target Jews?
 Jealousy - some Jews were successful and held
respectable positions in parts of Europe while
much of Germany was unemployed and
impoverished at the time.
 Believed that Jewish businessmen and bankers put
Germany into economic depression for their own
benefit and greed.
Why did he target Jews?
Jews did not integrate – they maintained
their own beliefs and traditions within the
German society
At the time other Germans saw this as a lack
of patriotism and harboured resentment as a
result
Mein Kampf - My Struggle
 Autobiography and manifest of Hitler’s
political views
 Discusses an alleged Jewish conspiracy for
world domination
 Communism and Judaism – the world’s two
evils
Ignoring Human Dignity
The Ghettos
 Confining Jews in ghettos was not Hitler's
brainchild. For centuries, Jews had faced
persecution, and were often forced to live in
designated areas called ghettos.
 The arrival of the Nazis in September 1939
changed the situation completely, however, in
that they were a preliminary step in the
annihilation of the Jews, rather than a method
to just isolate them from the rest of society.
 As the war against the Jews progressed, the
ghettos became transition areas, used as
collection points for deportation to death
camps and concentration camps.
Population Density in the
Ghettos
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, 230,000 Jews
were forced to live in a ghetto in Lódz, Poland. By the
end of 1939, the 4.3 square kilometer ghetto was
occupied by an average of 3.5 people per room. In 1941,
25,000 additional people were brought to the ghetto to
live. By October of 1940, Nazis had confined nearly
400,000 Jews in a 3.5 square mile area of Warsaw which
normally housed about 160,000. The area was
surrounded by a wall 10 feet high and was sealed off on
November 15, 1940. Jews were forbidden to go outside
the area on penalty of being shot on sight. No contact
with the outside world was allowed.
Jews in the Ghetto, whatever their
profession, were forced to engage in all
sorts of menial tasks to support their
families. Many worked for the Nazis,
producing supplies needed either for
the war front or for Germany. Many
others worked as peddlers, selling
whatever they could. It was an entirely
miserable, hand-to-mouth existence.
 Living conditions were terrible.
Between 7 and 9 people lived in each
room, so lack of privacy, bad sanitary
conditions, disease and a high death
toll all made life for the Jews simply
appalling. The mortality rate amongst
Jews in Warsaw before the war was
about 350 a month. By June 1941,
when supplies ran out, the rate
reached between four to five thousand
Warsaw ghetto, 1941.
Homeless children.
Food in the Ghettos
 Before the war, estimations had suggested
that a laborer required 2380 calories per
day. The official ration actually received in
the ghetto in January 1941 was 219
calories and in August 1941 it dropped two
calories.
Food smuggling became one of the
most important elements of the daily
struggle for survival. Food was
smuggled in by houses that backed
on to the Ghetto, through holes in
the fence and along the sewers.
Concealment and bribing Nazis was
also common. The heroes of
smuggling were small children aged
between 5 and 13 whose size and
agility were suited to the task.
Children scale a wall to smuggle food into the ghetto. Conditions were so
extreme that they engaged in this activity despite the proclamation issued by
Dr. Ludwig Fischer (Governor of the Warsaw District from October, 1939 to
January, 1945), imposing a death penalty on Jews who left the ghetto and on
those who helped them.
Photo credit: Meczenstwo Walka, Zaglada Zydów Polsce 1939-1945. Poland. No.
124.
Going into hiding...
 Jewish families would slowly be moved
out of the ghettos and brought to the
concentration camps
 They were told they were going to live
in another community
 Many people knew, however, that this
was not the case
Going into hiding...
 Many Jewish families
had non-Jewish friends,
employers or
employees.
 Some of these people
were willing to hide
their Jewish friends in
their basements,
attics, barns, etc.
 However, there were
strict penalties for
people who did this...
From US Holocaust Memorial
Museum Website
 Jews in hiding and their protectors
risked severe punishment if captured.
In much of German-occupied eastern
Europe, such activities were deemed
capital offenses.
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hiddenchildren/difficult_choices/
Hiding Jews
 This September
1942 German poster,
issued during mass
deportations to the
Treblinka killing
center, threatens
death to anyone
aiding Jews who fled
the Warsaw ghetto.

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hiddenchildre
n/difficult_choices/
Translation
 Death Penalty for Aid to Jews who have
left the Jewish residential areas without
permission
 Recently, many Jews have left their
designated Jewish residential areas.
For the time, they are in the Warsaw
District.

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hiddenchildren/difficult_choices/
Translation
 I remind you that according to the Third
Decree of the General Governor's concerning
the residential restrictions in the General
Government of 10/15/1941 not only Jews
who have left their designated residential
area will be punished with death, but the
same penalty applies to anyone who
knowingly provides refuge (a hiding place) to
such Jews. This includes not only the
providing of a night's lodging and food, but
also any other aid, such as transporting them
in vehicles of any sort, through the purchase
of Jewish valuables, etc.
Translation
 I ask the population of the Warsaw Destrict to immediately
report any Jew who resides outside of a Jewish residential area
to the nearest police station or gendarmerie post.
 Whoever provided or currently provides aid to a Jew will not be
prosecuted if it is reported to the nearest police station by 4 pm
on 9/9/42.
 Likewise, those who deliver valuables acquired from a Jew to 20
Niska Street or the nearest police or gendarme post by 4 pm on
9/9/42 will not be prosecuted.

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hiddenchildren/difficult_choices/
 The problems were...why we couldn't stay in any
place too long. The reasons were very obvious.
Number one, in those parts of the country people
know one another ... When a farmer comes to buy his
supplies he used to buy for years and years the same
amount of supplies. Suddenly he buys three times as
much. So, it raises suspicion ... Problem number two,
visibility. Uh, you always had to stay away from
windows because somebody may see you through
the window ... The people know one another to such
an extent that they know exactly in which room you
are heating your stove. Suddenly through a chimney
that was not used for years, smoke comes out. So,
these were all signs that some unusual activity is
taking place in the house, and therefore to, uh, lower
the level of suspicion we had to be continuously on
the move.
 Discuss in small groups:
 Would you take the risk of hiding your best
friend, neighbour, employer, nanny, etc.
knowing what the penalties are?
Hitler Youth


Many Germans were forced to comply and
demonstrate support for the Nazi’s even if
they did not agree with what the Nazi party
did and stood for.
The punishment for a German in opposition
with the Nazi Party was similar to the that
inflicted upon Jews for simply being Jewish.
Hitler Youth

To ensure the continuation of support for
the Nazi Party, all children between the
ages of 10 and 18 were expected to be part
of “Hitler Youth”

It was kind of like Nazi Boy Scouts and Girl
Guides
Hitler Youth





For Youth between ages of 10-18.
Nazi rules and doctrines taught at weekly meetings.
Boot camp – exercises, marching, harsh and cruel
treatment by older boys to younger boys to identify the
strong.
Wore uniforms
Girls learned skills to help with the war effort and train
them to be wives and mothers
Hitler Youth



It was a stepping stone to become a future SS
Officer (Nazi Police) or member of the NSDAP
(Nazi Party)
All German children must attend or the family
would be blacklisted and considered in
opposition to the Nazi Party
How do people begin to live normally after living
like this for years?