The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

Hitler Youth was significant enough to be put in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak because of the impact it has on the characters in the novel. One of the ways that Hitler Youth influences the characterization in the novel is through showing Liesel’s resilience to hold her own opinion. For example, Liesel’s best friend, Rudy, is blonde in the book. This is what the Nazis considered to be the ideal person. Rudy and Liesel stay strong even with the hate being shared by Hitler and the Nazis. This can be seen in the article, Teenagers, when it says, “As the future of a “superior German race,” young Germans were taught by their leaders to hate and persecute Jews and other “inferior races.”” (Teenagers). This quote shows how teenagers were encouraged to be a part of the Hitler Youth.

This is an example of shared hatred because the leaders taught all of the children and teenagers to hate Jewish people. Similar to history, Max refers to this in his book The Word Shaker. He says, ”They were all placed on a conveyor belt and run through a rampant machine that gave them a lifetime in ten minutes. Words were fed into them. Time disappeared and they now knew everything they needed to know. They were hypnotized” (Zusak 446). This is a clear example of characterization because it refers to the majority of people in Hitler Youth and says they are being hypnotized. This quote also shows how it didn’t even take very long for the people’s opinions to change. The people didn’t even give it a second thought that Hitler was saying all of those evil things. This shows characterization for Liesel because she was persistent enough to not let those hateful words get the best of her. The book says, “Liesel Tried on her new uniform. Ten years old meant Hitler Youth. Hitler Youth meant a small brown uniform. The first thing they did there was make sure your ‘Heil Hitler‘ was working properly“ (Zusak