Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jan 28, 2015 Jaret rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-5-star-books

This was a very well-written and researched book about growing up as a German under Hitler. Bartoletti described how the Hitler Youth began almost as a "scout troup" that all youths wanted to join, including Jewish youths. Then she described how Hitler used the youths and laws to force parents to bend to his will. The personal stories and accounts made this story worth reading. You definitely felt how some of these children were brainwashed and felt trapped by the world around him. There were al ...more

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Aug 23, 2017 Kathryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: overdrive-libby, under-300-pages, non-fiction, audiobooks, library, young-adult, read-in-2017

Listened to this one. I can see some parallels between what happened very early on as Hitler was gaining power and what is happening now with Trump. Extremely unsettling! Very well researched by the author. 3.5 stars.

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Aug 13, 2017 Rusty rated it liked it

Shelves: history

I found this book enlightening and frightening. Hitler's campaign to recruit the youth of Germany was brilliantly thought out and executed. As evil as he was, Hitler was able to fool almost the entire German population and convince them that he could lead them to properity and a good life. The Versaille agreement following the WWI was harsh and put Germany into a dire situation. The economy was failing, debt was rising, the people were starving and jobs were scarce. No wonder they rallied to his ...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Kate rated it it was amazing

LOVED THIS BOOK. Oh my goodness, I feel like this should be required reading for everyone. Until I read this, I honestly didn't know how involved the youth were in Nazi Germany. They were completely brainwashed, on one level. The lengths they were willing to go to for the cause they believed in... it was incredible in its dedication. Imagine if we could get youth that dedicated to their studies?

And Hitler had the perfect plan. The Hitler Youth started in the early 1930s. They were immediately t LOVED THIS BOOK. Oh my goodness, I feel like this should be required reading for everyone. Until I read this, I honestly didn't know how involved the youth were in Nazi Germany. They were completely brainwashed, on one level. The lengths they were willing to go to for the cause they believed in... it was incredible in its dedication. Imagine if we could get youth that dedicated to their studies?

And Hitler had the perfect plan. The Hitler Youth started in the early 1930s. They were immediately taught to go to extreme lengths for their beliefs. They began military training and exercises in their early teen years. Then, by the time WWII came along, Hitler had millions of Hitler Youth graduates at his disposal who were so dedicated to the cause that they GLADLY went to their death for the cause. In one story, we find out about a young soldier (not even 18) who was trying to blow up an Ally tank. The bomb wasn't sticking to the tank so he held it onto the tank until it exploded. That is dedication. Frightening in its extremity.

This book also opened up my eyes a lot more to what German life was like during the war. In some ways, most people had few choices in what went on. Young woman were required to serve two years doing labor or working in the factories. Many were sent for a couple years into Poland and Austria and other places where Ethnic Germans lived and they farmed their farms and cleaned their houses and such like that. I honestly never knew that. I never knew about the SS HJ which was like a junior league of the SS. 17 year old boys taken away from their families and put into intensive training for 5 months before they were sent to the front lines in France and Hungry (I believe) and then to slow the advances of the Russians in the vain hope that the Americans would make it to Berlin before the Russians. Almost all of these young men lost their lives, but the lengths to which they went to achieve their mission is truly frightening. They were happy to die for Hitler.

As I read this book, I was just filled with wonder (and not in a good way) how the youth could be so easily brain washed and could follow Hitler so unquestioningly. How they could be made to believe things so passionately... I really hope that history never repeats itself in this respect. And this book has taught me how important it is to keep an eye on the youth. ...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Sue rated it it was amazing

Shelves: juvenile, newbery-honor, wwii, history, library

This book written for young audiences is well-done and objective. It is difficult to write anything about this subject because it comes laden with judgments and minds made up by readers. But the author has managed to show how bright, intelligent young people lived in a time and place where their involvement in this organization was not only acceptable but logical. She shows the conditions of the period, how some were ultimately led to dissent and why, and also how some stayed the course and why. ...more

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