Essay On The Book Thief

The idea of books and their role in the “The Book Thief”, and overall the Holocaust, is seen many times over in the novel. This is certainly not only shown by serving as saviors of multiple characters, but by being providers of the power of words and supporting the spread of ideas.

Books themselves served as lifesavers for some of the most important and main characters in the book. An example is Liesel's survival during the bombing of Mochin, Germany. Right before the bombing, Liesel decided to go to the basement and continue finishing and editing a book she was writing with her life experiences, keeping her safe while the city above was turned to ashes. A more realistic approach of this idea is that of the reading done by Liesel to the people. While families like the Steiner’s took shelter, Leisel read in order to keep them calm, sane and distracted. When reading, “the youngest kids were soothed by her voice,” (Zusak 381) and “by page three, everyone was silent but Liesel.” (Zusak 381) It would be very likely that during the war, parents read to children for the same purpose. This showed the impact and role of books concerning lives in the novel and Holocaust.

A lot of these ultra-nationalist peoples emerged from the “moving” speeches delivered by Hitler at the time, and as described in The Book Thief, “the Fuhrer had decided he was gonna rule the world with words.” (Zusak 445) He did. He organized many rallies like the 1927 Nuremberg Rally in Munich, that brought out as little as 300,000 Nazi supporters (Bytwerk). His words had such a great impact in the people of Germany, and continued to gain followers year after year. So much were his ideals praised that a book was published, Mein Kampf, containing all of his future plans and autobiography. This book further shows how the power of words were being carried by books, not only in the novel but during Hitler’s