Exploring Hitler's Propaganda through The Boy Who Dared by Bartoletti

Jewish people were not the only people affected by Hitler during World War II. Germans were also greatly affected and influenced by the Nazi propaganda. Hitler spread his message by integrating propaganda into schools to influence and manipulate children. The Peoples Radio was another tool used by the Nazis to spread their ideas. Those who did not conform to Hitler’s ideology were persecuted and punished severely. In the The Boy Who Dared, author Susan Campbell Bartoletti introduces several fictional characters to demonstrate how easily the Germans were manipulated into supporting Hitler’s ideology about Germany and its future.

Helmuth is the main character in this book. He is a young boy who lives in Hamburg, Germany along with the rest of his family. Throughout the book, he is reflecting on his past as a child when Hitler was the ruler of the fatherland. He is conflicted between following Nazi propaganda that he questions, or taking a stand for what he believes in which may result in dire consequences.

In The Boy Who Dared, Helmuth dared to speak out for what he believed in even if it meant walking into the hands of death. Helmuth decided to spread his views on the way the Nazi Party deceived and manipulated the Germans. The Nazi Party started indoctrinating the youth of Nazi Germany by teaching the Nazi ideology at a very young age. One major ways Hitler did this was through the Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth was founded in the 1920’s. The main goal of this organization was to eliminate the inferior and strengthen the youth. In Hitler’s words, “The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp’s steel.” (“Hitl...

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...trates how easily the Germans were manipulated and persuaded into supporting Hitler’s ideology about Germany and its manifest destiny through the use of many fictional characters.

Works Cited

“Antisemitism” Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Museum.10 June 2013 Web. 7 April 2014.

Bartoletti, Susan. The Boy who Dared. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Print.

Koch, H. The Hitler Youth: Origins and Development 1922-1945. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1975. Print.

Noakes, Jermy. “Idea of Lebensraum” History. British Broadcasting Corporation. 30 March 2011. Web. 7 April 2014.

Trueman, Chris. “Hitler Youth Movement” History Learning Site. Harvard. Web. 7 April 2014.