Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow

Bartoletti, S.C.  (2005).  Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s shadow.  New York:  Scholastic.

The Hitler Youth was created when Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933.  This informational text tells of how the organization came to be, which was from youth that believed and trusted in Hitler’s ideals of how to make Germany the greatest nation anyone has ever seen.  The experiences of certain Hitler Youth survivors are shared as they all reveal their reasoning for joining Hitler Youth and how the creation of organization impacted their lives and the lives of others around them.  These survivors then tell about their struggles with coming to terms of how blindsided they were to the truth once the organization 1disbanded.  The historic black-and-white photographs expose the life that many of these youths had under Hitler’s regime.  And though many of these photographs capture smiling individuals, it is easy to see how people became ignorant to the reality of what was really going on within Germany.  With the provision of more informational resources, such as what became of those who shared their experiences, is an excellent resource for history teachers or those researching the effects and aftermath of Hitler’s rule.  And though Elie Wiesel’s Night is an autobiography about his survival of the Holocaust, English teachers may use this information text to add more background information of life during that time.  With themes about morality and loss of innocence, this is a read for secondary grade kids.  This is a 2006 Newbery Honor Book and a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book.