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Shattered Youth in Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party's rise to power in the 1930s changed life dramatically for all people living in Germany. Hitler used propaganda, fear, and brutality as his main weapons. Jewish children faced strong anti-Semitism in their schools and on the street, and saw their families ripped apart. Non-Jewish children deemed "undesirable" suffered a similar fate. "Aryan" children were forced to enter Hitler Youth groups or endure humiliation. Told through the words of teenagers, author Linda Jacobs Altman uses primary sources to explore the destruction of childhood in Nazi Germany as the Holocaust took shape in Europe.
* Reviews *
Part of the True Stories of Teens in the Holocaust series, this book presents excerpts of firsthand accounts of youth living during the Holocaust, both Jews and non-Jews, intertwined into cohesive sections. Separated into seven chapters, the Holocaust research done by Margaret Shannon brings out a wide range of voices from a variety of ages and geographic areas. The contents are organized into The Teenage Assassin, The Nazi Racial State Begins, Who is a Jew?, Jews and Other Non-Aryans at Nazified Schools, Gentile Young People: Pressure to Conform, The Hitler Youth, and Coming to the End. The unique presentation of youth and teen voices will add to student researchers appreciation for the time line, glossary, suggested further readings, Internet addresses, and index. The more advanced researcher will benefit from the copious chapter bibliographic notes. Subheadings explain how the excerpts from personal accounts are organized, with introductory and explanatory material. Despite the target level of ages 8 to 12, older readers will benefit from the primary sources presented with explanations and introductions, either as a full resource or as a way to understand the lengthier resources mentioned in the chapter notes., Children's Literature
RL
Grades
9-10 IL
Grades
9-12+ GRL
Z
