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Racism and literature
How the great depression contributed the rise of hitler to power
Racism and literature
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Stand Up Throughout Europe, during World War II, fear abided in many people causing closed mouths and the idea of individuality and absurdity. Opinions were kept silent and the dictatorship in Germany persevered and became prosperous. Though many people were hushed by the fear of what could happen, few did stand out for their beliefs. Although many people did not voice their opinions, people like Raoul Wallenberg and Irena Sendler bravely hid and saved many Jewish people. Similar to Hans in The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, he too helped harbor a Jewish man named Max in their basement.
Hatred of the Jewish population was spreading from France, and it began to infiltrate Germany. Hitler utilized this by aligning himself with the Catholic Church and creating a negative image of the Jewish population. Christianity was beginning to break away from Judaism, so Hitler began to portray the Jews as the killers of Jesus. Hitler also blamed the loss of World War I on the Jews, as well as blamed them for the economic turmoil that Germany was facing after the Treaty of Versailles. He labeled Jews as money hungry individuals since they were able to have well-paying occupations that were outside of Christian law.
Some people would assume no Jew would oppose Hitler’s ideology because it completely removed any notion of individuality. The ideas he enforced were terrible and made people conform to everything he said. Even though many people lost their lives, Germans resisted the National Socialist ideology. When Hitler established his reign in 1933 over the people of Germany, the younger generation became indoctrinated. Children conformed to Hitler’s plans without questioning them.
He believed that the Jewish people killed Jesus. A lot of Christians would said that Hitler was not a Christian because he did not follow the New Testament writings nor did he follow Jesus. Cory Booker said, “It is okay not to like someone, but it is never okay to try and degrade, humiliate, or dehumanize them”, Hitler dehumanized Jewish and other people because they did not have the characteristics that he was looking for (Booker). According to the first clause of the Declaration of Independence it says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”, there are no different laws for different classes everyone will follow the law no matter who that person is. Some believe dehumanization is done as revenge for a wrong done.
In the autobiography Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, he expresses his political ideologies and strategies in ruling over millions of people. He mostly reveals his perspectives on racial matters, asserting that the Aryan race is dominant over any other ethnic groups. Although Adolf Hitler’s statements successfully convinced and appealed to almost all the people in the Germanic nation, his arguments, however, are undoubtedly loaded with logical fallacies. In Chapter 11 of the autobiography, Hitler mainly focuses on his notions regarding racial superiority.
“https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html .Hitler, the leader of the nazi party, called apon a plan to get rid of jews. After the horrible idea was created, he accepted the idea and made it happen, he was the say in the final preps of the jewish problem. Secondly, “Once in power, he eliminated all opposition and launched an ambitious program of world domination and elimination of the Jews, paralleling ideas he advanced in his book, Mein Kampf. His “1,000 Year Reich” barely lasted 12 years and he died a broken and defeated man”. “http://remember.org/guide/facts-root-hitler .
Before the Holocaust, Germany was in the process of recovering from the ruins and destruction of WWI. In the 1930s, desperate for a leader, Adolf Hitler was starting his journey of becoming a dictator and trying to gain power. Using propaganda, Hitler was able to get support from millions of Germans making him rise toward leading Germany (Holocaust Encyclopedia). Adolf Hitler at around the age of 20 hated Jews due to him not making an art school due to his art being a “degenerate product”. As Hitler rose to power, he began to spread his hatred of Jews and started to traumatize and kill Jews.
Growing as a Character Every event in our lives happens for a reason, whether it is to learn from our mistakes or to gain experience from them. In Markus Zusak's novel “The Book Thief,” Liesel Meminger uses her experiences with living in the 1940s to learn life lessons and experience first hand the many terrible things Hitler is doing to people around her. She learns how to deal with the many obstacles that are thrown at her. Liesel grows as a character by following her step-father’s footsteps in being a kind and generous person, going through childhood with her best friend Rudy, and being aware of what is going on around her by learning from Max.
Markus Zusak has assembled ‘The Book Thief’ using a variety of narrative conventions. These include a unique narrative viewpoint, plot structure and use of imagery, all of which provide meaning to the reader. (33 words) A narrative’s point of view refers to who is telling the story. In this case Zusak’s narrator identifies himself as Death.
Developing Friendship through Justice, Love and Humanity Human relationships break or develop depending on the circumstances. The values that creates a stable relationship may vary on historical setting or the characteristics of each person. The novel, “The Book Thief” written by Markus Zusak shows justice, love and humanity through the friendship Liesel and Max developed during the time of the Holocaust.
Humans lie and steal without hesitation to survive. That is how man is. However, human nature does not allow for cruelty to exist without the other end of the spectrum - kindness. In his novel, The Book Thief, Markus Zusak reveals the extreme malice possible in humans, along with the tenderness that stems from it. In times of hate and paranoia in Nazi Germany, ones who live morally are rare.
Most people say that blood runs thicker than water, but in this book that is not the case. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, family is shown in an extremely unique way. Generally, when people imagine the average model family, they see a family that has money, a family that is prim and proper and usually, a family that is biologically related. Though, family in this book is based on shared hardships and having faith in each other, not by blood relation. Hans and Liesel’s relationship is a great example of trust.
Friendship is the medicine for a wounded heart and the vitamins for a hopeful soul. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a girl named Liesel suffers through many losses. She is taken to a new home where she developed friendships that helped her heal her wounds and survive World War II. Friendship is portrayed through her connections with Hans, Rudy, and Max and it is learned how essential these friendships are to her survival. At the beginning of the novel, she developed her first friendship with Hans.
The theme of this book is learning to love and care for the people around. How I came to this conclusion is by how Liesel acts towards Max, her foster parents, Rudy, and her neighbors. Liesel cares for people even if they weren't like her and she doesn't understand why there is hatred in this world. She wanted the world to be a happy place for everyone including Jews to be friends with one another. On page 426 in ‘The Book Thief’, when Rudy’s father went to war Liesel could relate to Rudy because “her mother.
Guilt: one of the strongest emotions, the cause of grief and sadness everywhere. In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, characters such as Liesel Meminger, Hans Hubermann, and Michael Holtzapfel, are only a few who experience this intense emotion. Whether it stems from death, survival, or thievery, guilt finds it’s way into affecting each character’s lives, making it a main theme. The most popular type of guilt throughout the book is survivor’s guilt.
