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The Book Thief Analysis

Decent Essays

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl living in Nazi Germany through perspective of death. Just nine years old when her brother dies and her mother leaves her in the care of the Hubermanns, Lisel turns to the comfort of books to ease her pain. However, as she grows up the innocent words in her books lead her to discover the immense pain words carry through the horrific doings of Hitler, a man beloved by many Germans. The portrayal of life in Nazi Germany depicted by the Book Thief is accurate due to events in the book such as the book burning, the Hitler Youth, encounters of hate shown to Jews, and Germany’s invasion of Russia.
The Burning of the books in Nazi Germany was a method Hitler used to gain censorship and purify German culture. On May 10, 1933 thousands of German students raided bookstores and libraries, stealing hundreds of thousands of books deemed “Un-German” or “impure” with the support of their leader—Hitler. In The World Must Know, Michael Berenbaum states, “Like many Nazi propaganda efforts, the book burnings were designed as a spectacle featuring torchlight parades, frenzied dancing, ritualistic chants, and massive bonfires. (Bernbaum 24)”. This quote emphasises the importance of the burning of the books due to lavish parades and extravagant bonfires. Similarly, in The Book Thief the burning of the books was a long awaited event meant to be celebrated. During the event a man on the podium stated, “We put an end to this

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