The Book Thief Literary Analysis

The Aryan campaign against the Jews began in 1933 with a boycott of Jewish businesses (“36 Questions About the Holocaust”). While there was no organized protest, many German citizens refused to comply with the boycott and continued to shop in Jewish businesses. Others carried on in their lives doing what people do every day -- going to work, paying bills, raising children, and occasionally enjoying a celebration. Systematic “desensitization” worked exceptionally well in Nazi Germany and people simply did not ask (Ezard). Because the German government never published its “Final Solution” plans, Germans were not overly concerned about the relocation of Jewish families, and for that, the German people have been treated with derision for

The tall, slender, quiet man with the silver eyes is a quiet Christ-like figure who sacrifices himself over and over throughout the novel. While his role is that of a foster father, Hans might also be considered the literary foil for Liesel. She cannot read; he can, so he humbly teaches her, “ ‘To tell you the truth,’ Papa explained upfront, ‘I am not such a good reader myself ‘ ” ( Zusak 65). Yet, he quietly worked with her night after night, helping Liesel learn to read. Sleep deprived and worried about the future, Hans Hubermann focused what energy he had on a child that was not his -- the daughter of Communist parents. One of the first things Hans teaches Liesel (even before the reading lessons) is how to roll cigarettes. Smoking is a luxury that Hans loves and for her first Christmas with them, Hans trades his tobacco rations to buy Liesel two books. Again, he exemplifies the Christ-like figure in his sacrifices for others in this and in other

Later in the novel, Zusak reveals the motivation behind the re-painted doors and walls. During the first World War, Erik Vandenburg, a fellow soldier and a Jew, saved Hans’s life but lost his own. Hans Hubermann never forgot the debt that he owed this man, and because of this loyalty, Hans risks everything to save Max Vandenburg, the son of the man who once saved him. The irony of this plot twist is obvious, yet totally believable. Escaping Berlin just before the Gestapo came for him, the only refuge that Max had was the cold floor of the basement on Himmel Street. There is so much that could be explored in this section of the book, but it all boils down to the fact that to hide a Jew was treason of the worst sort, “ ‘They’ll [the Gestapo will] drag that man up there away, and maybe Mama and me too - and we will never, ever come back’ ” (Zusak 204). Most likely, Hans and Rosa would be shot in on Himmel Street if Max was