The Book Thief: Review

In this article, Kenlee reviews the novel The Book Thief and provides background on World War II and the devastation that came along with that war.

A Review Of the book thief: Words and war

By: Kenlee Rapport

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a bestselling historical fiction novel. It represents the impact and devastation of World War II. This book shines the truth on how every group was affected amidst the suffering of the rule under the Nazi regime. People were forced to comply even if they did not want to, lives were lost, love was strong, and sacrifices were high.

Hitler and The Holocaust

World War II began in 1939 and ended in 1945, and is one of the most renowned recent wars. Before the war took place, the Great Depression was at an all-time high. The economy was failing and many were living in poverty without access to well-paying jobs. According to the National WW2 Museum in New Orleans, “Upon achieving power, Hitler smashed the Nation’s democratic institutions and transformed Germany into a war state.” Hitler invaded Poland, which triggered the World War II outbreak. During this time, his brainwashed Nazi army executed over 11 million people. These people were captured and sent to concentration camps, where they were treated horribly and were ultimately persecuted using various torture methods. These people were like others, except they were part of a minority group. The Jewish race was mainly targeted along with other groups, like homosexuals, people of color, and other religious groups.

Image by: BBC

Hitler, known as the Fuhrer, militantly took away all democratic rights from his people, manipulating them to obey him and his rules. He aimed to have a pure Aryan-led race, leading him to eventually execute and ethnically cleanse many people in Germany. This was an attempt to conquer the world. How did Hitler come to power so easily and manipulate a whole continent to obey him? The one answer to this is: Words. Hitler was known for his powerful right-wing ideas that swayed others to think alike. Hitler was aware of the power behind words and politics. He used this to his advantage when he wrote a book, according to the University Of Kentucky, which states that “In prison, Hitler writes Mein Kampf, setting out his ideas.” This book was how he first started to indoctrinate European readers.

The Book Thief

Image by: Amazon

The historical novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak takes the reader through what it was like to be a German and see the horrific deeds their people were doing during the Holocaust. The narrator is a so-called “soul saver” who gracefully takes the souls in his arms from passed-on bodies. The narrator, as seen in the book, has an odd obsession with colors: the colors of the sky, the colors of war, and, the colors of death. Truthfully, the narrator guides readers through the story of a young German foster girl who is known as “The Book Thief”. During the Holocaust, a form of brainwashing was to burn any existing books that included content that might sway the brains of the people to retaliate against Hitler, since he was aware of the power words held on people.

There are several characters that are important to the flow and themes throughout The Book Thief. Leisel is a witty, scrawny, outspoken young girl who is the main character. She steals books from all scenes-- whatever she can get her hands on. She deliberately practices spelling and reads these stolen books with her kind-hearted (as Leisel describes him) “silver-eyed” foster papa, Hans Hubberman, who is a local painter. Rosa Hubberman, the caretaker of the house, and Leisel's foster mama, has an obsession with using profanity against Leisel. Hans is appointed, as well, for his lack of money to support the family. A special side character who is important to the whole book's development is Rudy, a neighborhood friend of Leisel's. Rudy is a pure German, lemon-haired boy who would be defined as a rebel in the Nazi's eyes. He and Leisel create a promising friendship, mostly based on bantering and the commonality of retaliation. The whole neighborhood gang plays neighborhood soccer together, oblivious to the events happening around them. Rudy, intrigued by this skinny but fierce girl, tries to make a bribe, which always ends up in Rudy asking, “Will you give me a kiss now?” Oh, Rudy and his youth…

There are so many more important elements that are included in this book, like the scene where the Hubberman family is in angst because they lost their Nazi flag. During the Nazi parade, everyone was subject to putting out a Nazi flag and the children in school had to dress up in their Hitler Youth uniforms. The amount of control from Hitler was so severe, as shown in the book; every citizen was watched closely, any amount of suspicion of rebellion was questioned, and houses were searched. The normal welcoming hello was replaced with “Heil Hitler” with a stomp and a salute. Those who did not follow this mandatory greeting were sure to endure punishment.

Image by: Holocaust Encyclopedia

During this story, the Hubberman family wraps themselves up in a death-promising situation. Hans Hubberman has kept a promise to a man who saved his life during a battle. The problem is this secret shows up on his front doorstep unexpectedly. Hans is not one to break a promise, so now the whole family is rolling a “seven die”. Leisel forms a relationship and this hidden secret finds reprieve from the outside world in Leisel. They end up drawing, reading, and using Papa's paint on the basement walls together, leading them to a long-lasting friendship full of loss and grief.

Ultimately, Markus Zusak did a wonderful job on informing readers around the world on what life was like during the uprise of World War ll and the effect it had on humanity. He analyzes how words are one of the most powerful tools, where Hitler uses them to gain ultimate power, and where Leisel uses them to distract herself and others from the war. Like Markus Zusak said, “ I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

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