Propaganda and The Book Thief Questions
1) Hans Hubermann has been a prominent character throughout the story that has proven to deflect all Nazi propaganda influencing the oppression of Jews. “Immaculate handwriting, sir, immaculate” (Zusak 178). These were the simple words that saved Hans’ life in a brutal war, spoken by his good friend who spread joy with his accordion, and who just happened to be a Jew. He owed his life to the Jew that volunteered his hand. Deep into Adolf Hitler’s reign, it became a recurring event for thousands of Jews to march through Himmel Street, right in sight of the Hubermann house. Hans’ true sympathy for Jews overcame his judgment, as he handed a weary Jew a piece of bread, risking not only his security, but his loving wife and daughter and the Jew he had managed to hide in his basement. The 1937 Hitler Youth booklet asserts, “Then we will clearly recognize the vast difference between those of German blood and the Jews, although their physical characteristics might otherwise suggest that they were both members of the same human grouping.” Hans had defied every belief written into this booklet, viewing Jews as equals,
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not deserving the exploitations valued at their lives by German Nazis. 2) The story’s narrator, Death, has the tendency to refer to Jews in a derogatory context as he leads the audience through the plot. This is purposed to show that the Jews have internalized what is thought about them and for Death to reflect what the German populace has been taught to believe. The influence the Nazi Party had on Germans was so great; it accomplished to manipulate citizens into believing specific races could be inferior and that it was adequate indication of an enemy. Thoughts similar to, “He was a Jew, and if there was one place he was destined to exist, it was a basement or any other such hidden venue of survival” (Zusak 207), were thrown around casually, reflecting Nazi success through ingenious propaganda. Every word posted surrounding Eastern Europe during this time period depicted Jews as “ugly” or “unwanted”, as well as characterizes them as “lazy” or “selfish”, eventually it was hard to not see themselves in the very same light. Max, a Jew who had been living in the Hubermanns’ basement, felt as a burden for the majority of his time there. He did not even double think the equality between him and the German family that took him in, but that he did not deserve their kind treatment towards him. It was Nazi power that inflicted this social struggle, where an individual race can risk a whole family. 3) No German citizen underestimated the power of the Nazi Party. With an intense, influential leader to command, they had the ability to create an elaborate plan for invasion and eradication that would be pursued through a number of patient years. Germany’s sinking economy after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles gave the Nazis opportunity to win power. They had bought citizens’ loyalty with promises of returning Germany back to its state prior to the war. Many characters like Alex Steiner believed they were obligated to agree with the Party. Death narrates, “Secretly, though, he couldn’t help feeling a percentage of relief (or worse – gladness!) when Jewish shop owners were put out of business – propaganda informed him that it was only a matter of time before a plague of Jewish tailors shows up and stole his customers.” (Zusak 59). Propaganda served as a major method in maintaining German support. Posters, art, booklets, and an endless list more of techniques dehumanized the Jewish race, and unified citizens through brainwashing. Children were taught by zealous Nazi teachers, and were fed short stories that would later translate into their enrollment into the military under the reign of Adolf Hitler. The fear of what would happen to these families if they did not abide by the rules of the Party was too great to risk by rebelling. 4) The influence Jew propaganda had on Max reflects on his imaginary fight scene with Hitler. He creates an image where no matter his might, the Führer could have an entire nation up against him with just a few words. As readers, it is transparent that Max has lost a large majority of his morale; his current fight was too immense. Just as the propaganda we have read in class, Max imagines Hitler forming words that persuade the audience that Jew innocence is only but a facade, and their greater evil would soon appear. In the end, Max finds hope through Liesel. Her kindness leads him to believe there are Germans out there like the Hubermanns, truly good people. He dreams of the courage that one day his imagination will become reality, where his strength would be enough to knock out Hitler. 5) Propaganda was relevant in the times of Nazi reign, but is also very well relevant in the present.
It is natural to begin to see ideas like propaganda in the past, as we cannot imagine something as devastating as the annihilation of over seven million lives occurring in our society again. Despite this, we need to remember the significance propaganda can lead on our minds. We encounter a whole range of propaganda techniques everyday from the news channels and television commercials playing in the background constantly to posters hung around our schools and neighborhoods serving some sort of message. Although these examples do not hold half the weight of Nazi Propaganda, they have the ability to. The common phrase, “History repeats itself”, can cause our world a lot of pain if we lose sight of acknowledging the power
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Prologue: On page 4 the narrator says, “Personally, I like a chocolate- colored sky. Dark, Dark chocolate. People say it suits me.”(Zusak 4) This led me to believe the narrator is death. He sees life in color because he appreciates color more because his life is so dark and filled with death, color is in our lives and our souls will soon be filled with darkness and him and not have a colorful life.
In The Book Thief, author Markus Zusak tells the tragic story of Liesel Meminger and her experiences in 1939 Nazi Germany. Zuzak incorporates compelling literary devices such as toe curling foreshadowing, personification, and vivid imagery in the form of simile and metaphors to grasp the readers’ interest. Zusak’s use of various literary devices helps to deepen the text and morals of the story, and makes the dramatic historical novel nearly impossible to put down.
Hans supports the Jewish community, who are viewed as ‘undesirables subhumans’ by society. The ethical values which Hans holds are apparent in the way he treats starving and helpless Jews traveling through Molching, “The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of derision, but he watched with everyone else as Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread” (Zusak 395). As a consequence of rejecting societal expectations and ideologies, the character Hans Hubermann solidifies the notion that every individual deserves basic human respect. Therefore, Hans develops a love for humanity and the individual he is helping through refusing to obey corrupt societal expectations. Aiding those who are injured is a gateway to love as it changes the world for the individual one is
Society teaches that everyone is equal; however, between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi party deemed Jews inferior. Some people agreed with the party, other silently rebelled. Either way, in 12 years around 6 million Jews were systematically murdered. One person who silently rebelled was Hans Huberman. In “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, Hans Huberman’s compassionate actions and beliefs are influenced by the Nazi party’s treatment of Jews.
The Book Thief and Nazi Germany The heavily proclaimed novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is a great story that can help you understand what living in Nazi Germany was like. Throughout the story, the main character, Liesel goes through many hardships to cope with a new life in a new town and to come to the recognition of what the Nazi party is. Liesel was given up for adoption after her mother gave her away to a new family, who seemed harsh at first, but ended up being the people who taught her all the things she needed to know. Life with the new family didn’t start off good, but the came to love them and her new friend, Rudy.
In conclusion, even though the Nazi political party was known for their constant dependence on advertising, throughout the World War II and all history this king of propaganda has been no stranger to any type of government. Its power should never be underestimated since it has the ability to be used as a weapon of political warfare and determine the magnitude of the sovereignty of a particular government, in other words, it can make or break a social movement. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_propaganda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_propaganda_during_World_War_II http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_effective_was_Government_propaganda_in_World_War_1 http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/voices/testimonies/life/backgd/before.html http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/propaganda_in_nazi_germany.htm http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb36.htm http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/statements.htm http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/statements.htm https://www.msu.edu/navarro6/srop.html The Hunger Games Left to Tell Enciclopedia Salvat
In the novel The Book Thief, setting and point of view affect the theme and book a lot. The point of view of this novel is third person omniscient and a little bit of second and first person when the narrator talks about himself or to the reader. The setting of the story is Nazi Germany and it is based on a young girl named Liesel Meminger and what her life was like during this time. Her story is told by the narrator, death. Mark Zusak, the author, uses setting and point of view to express the theme of the novel because there was so much death happening, Liesel encountered him so many times, causing him to be able to tell her story; without this setting and the narrator, the theme story would have been different.
I will be analyzing two World War II propaganda posters, Kultur Terror and Liberators. The goal of this propaganda poster from World War II was to instill a mixture of fear and hatred for the United States in the European people. Without getting into the specifics of the art, this large figure is covered in American related stereotypes while destroying a European city. At first glance this appeals to the fear in European people, which is an example of pathos. Europeans, especially Germans during World War II were told that America is an evil country and that they want to erase European culture. Now here is a shocking image of an American beast coming and obliterating everything you know and love. Anyone in their right mind would be scared if this was the information they were being spoon fed by the government. Once the European people saw that America was a scary and evil nation, they felt like World War II was necessary because the Americans had to be stopped. Another propaganda technique used in this poster is known as Big Lie. The phrase was actually coined by Adolf Hitler himself. This technique uses false accusations so enormous so that no one would believe that someone could just make up them up. No one has the audacity to form a lie so large so it all must be true. The Nazi party gained support from their citizens which justified what they were doing, even though in reality what they were doing was inhumane. This shows how the perceived reality has an enormous impact and can occasionally over power the real life truth.
Propaganda is defined as, “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). During World War II, Propaganda was a driving force that kept the battles heated and each nation’s population united for a common cause. When we look back at World War II and the times we were in, how effective was propaganda though? How was it represented, and what images would persuade the people of each country to fight in the war? Both countries, Germany and the United States, created vast promotions during the war that were degrading to their opposing sides. A great sense of nationalism was building up and these propagandists did anythin...
...he case – everybody loved them some Han’s – but because they feared that doing so would have themselves put in that position or get in trouble? Yeah, you know what I’m talking about hey? Another example was during the parade of the Jews, where no one intervened to help the malnourished man, because they all knew that if they did, the Nazi’s would crack the shits and they would suffer the same consequence as Hans or worse. It is clear that the perspectives that were privileged in the 1930s were the Nazi’s and Nazi sympathizers, you’d have to be as blind as a bat to not see that. They possessed the power of fear to enforce and propaganda their discriminative and unjust political agenda amongst the Germans. It was the outcasts that weren’t even given the time of day, whose perspectives were shamelessly ignored, the Jews forced to accept and endure a submissive role…
Death states that, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.
In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, beauty and brutality is seen in many of the characters. Rudy, Liesel, and Rosa display examples of beauty and brutality often without realizing what exactly they are doing, because it is a part of their human nature. Zusak not only uses his characters, but also the setting of the novel in Nazi Germany to allude to his theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature. The time in which the novel is set, during World War II, displays great examples of beauty and brutality, such as the mistreatment of the Jews. As a result of this time period, the characters have to go through troubling times, which reveals their beautiful and brutal nature in certain circumstances. Zusak uses his characters and their experiences to demonstrate the theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature in the novel.
As time evolves, so do the words that are essential for our everyday survival. The most obvious difference between humans and animals is our ability to master the art of speech. Often, people will say the “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”, a simple nursery rhyme that helps ease a bullied child from abusive words and taunts. But does that really help cure the emotional pain? Words can illuminate and motivate the minds of people but can also shadow their self-esteem through psychological trauma. In The Book Thief, we see how fundamental words were to shape the reality of millions of people caught in the fire of World War II.
There are two types of propaganda: sociological propaganda; the spreading of an ideology through the mass media, and political propaganda; efforts that are sponsored by governments and political groups that alter a persons’ interests. All propaganda has a direction, and the overall quality determines whether it will have a positive or negative effect over the masses. Our entire nation is a vast propaganda operational system that is greatly linked to education, consumerism and politics. A great deal of what makes up propaganda and how it is placed among the masses lies in understanding the overall emotional and physical states of these groups of people and in finding a way to draw a persons’ attention to capture their hearts, breaking down any such persons cognizance and any reasoning behind it.
Propaganda is very important issue in our society. The word "propaganda" however, has a very negative connotation. This may happen because people tend to associate it with "the enormous campaigns that were waged by Hitler and Stalin,' (Delwiche 2002). Now propaganda has a different face.