Introduction
Perhaps, most of us are too educated about the dreadful account of the Nazi Party rule in Germany and its commander-in-chief Adolf Hitler (aka the “Fuhrer”) who were responsible for dragging the German state into a war with the formidable Allies. Possibly, the history lectures during your schooling would have reflected it to you a few descriptions of how in the Nazi rule, the extermination of the Jews was hailed as a critical nation-building goal, supplemented by the overriding nationalist sentiments which fuelled the German populace to revenge the misdeeds of the world. ‘Misdeeds’ which included the societal and economic incapacitation of Germany by the imposition of restrictions by other countries, for the German state’s involvement in causing the WWI.
But did your school lectures imprint in you an idea (even
blurry for that matter) of how ‘people’ in Nazi Germany would have
interacted, helped, been influenced, got killed or luckily survived, in
the chaotic expanse which just happened to be their country. I think NOT.
The ‘people’ I mentioned earlier would not just include
the ‘superior’ Aryan Race (of which the Fuhrer himself coveted to create
a nation of), not just the Jews (who were the usual blameworthy souls in
Germany in that era), not just the Communists (who, as per Hitler, were a
symbol of threat to the idea of a better Germany), but also teenagers of
differing ages who understood the eerie game of Hitler, the Germans who were
humanly conscious of others’ miseries (the miseries of the Jewish populace) and
lent them a helping hand when it was required. And
the word ‘people’ would also encompass soldiers who fenced the borders of the
state as well as those fighting with the rivals of Germany in the WWII (Shhhh!!…
Yes, many served the army not due to their nationalist character and pride, but
because they did not want the Fuhrer to hurt their families).
This is how Markus Zusak through his historical fictional novel
The Book Thief, strives to picturize a vivid notion of the chaos, which
encapsulated Germany during the WWII.
