Drama of Wold War II in The Book Thief

As the world changes, so does language. Words are essential to human communication, but over time meanings evolve. Humans are like animals, but it is our ability to master the art of communication and speech that truly separates us from animals. The old cliché of “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt,” was something we believed in as kids to ease the pain of bully’s, but as we got older we realized that words can do damage and sometimes it is more traumatic that physical damage.

Words are powerful, they can motivative people and encourage someone to follow their dreams, but they can also destroy a person’s self-esteem just as easily. Zusak shows in The Book Thief we how see how words shaped the reality of millions of innocent people caught in the drama that was World War II.

World War II was not just a war, it was a war of atomic bombs, death, and a war of words.

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Both the Allied and Axis powers relied on mass communication, media, and propaganda to display each of their individual agenda’s rather if it was of hate, hope, or nationalism. Nations around the world during that time used the advancement in communication technology to further their agenda. Throughout the story, the reader sees all types of examples of how powerful words can be. World War II was notorious for being destructive and also for the inhumane acts committed during this time. The main catalyst for the war was Adolf Hitler.

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Hitler was an avid reader starting in his younger years and through his readings, he developed an animosity toward the Jews and toward anti-democratic beliefs. After serving the first World War, joined the Nationalist German Worker Party which would later become the Nazi or National Social German Workers Party. Adolf Hitler was a great orator, he was able to captivate the public through his speeches and debates, but also through propaganda.

As his popularity rose, he managed to consolidate his power and make himself Dictator of Germany. Hitler understood the importance of getting his words to the masses because he knew that could make or break his political beliefs so established the Reich Chamber of Commerce. The Reich Chamber was responsible for the media that was broadcasted in Nazi Germany. Hitler also implemented a censorhip policy. Only Nazi broadcast and newspapers were allowed in Germany and the people who disobeyed this censorship were punished harshly. Because of the fear instilled by Hitler, many of the German people followed his ideals because they either had no other choice or they felt it was the patriotic thing to do. However, there were people against Hitler, but they were few and they were easily executed or punished as to silence and discredit them.

From the start of the Book Thief, Zuckas uses words creatively to convey his message. Even though the writing is simple, it conveys the themes of political conflicts, family separation, and death effectively. Words are also important especially when Liesel learns how to read. As she reads more and more he thirst for knowledge becomes bigger. She realizes how important it is for people to be able to communicate their thought effectively and because of this realization, she understands the power behind words. During the funeral of her baby brother, Liesel finds a copy of the Grave Digger’s Manual. Even though she cannot read at the moment when she found the book, she understands that the book holds memories. Liesel is first described as almost illiterate because of her lack of reading comprehension. In the book is says that “At school she is the center of attention because she cannot read well and is surrounded by younger children.” Through hard work and determination, Liesel improves her reading and is able to move into her appropriate grade level. As she becomes better at reading, she learns how the propaganda has affected the people that surround her. She starts to hate the Nazi’s and because a combination of different political beliefs and disputes, she concludes that she is an orphan. a eagerness to learn and read leads Liesel to started stealing books.

In 1933, a Nazi student organization and the Reich Chamber of Commerce organize rallies and parades to purify German literature. Thousands of German Nazi’s helped libraries and school and they marched with torch’s as to make huge bonfires of books from writers deemed unfit for the German society. These writers were usually either foreign or Jewish. Over 25,000 books were burned killing millions of ideas and stories. Over in the United States people started a protest of their own against the burning of the books. In the minds of the United States citizens, the burning of books was an abuse to the German’s people free speech. During one of the book burnings on Hitler’s birthday, Liesel manages to steal a book called The Shoulder Shrug. Her motivation for stealing the book is because of her “anger and hatred” (138). After she steals the book, she becomes “a girl made or darkness” (138). After she gets the book, she manages to escape the book burning with the book that becomes useful later when she wants to distract herself from the cruel reality she is in.

Max Vandeberg arrives in Himmel street with a book and he and Liesel begin a bond. Max says that “ It’s the best book ever. It saved my life” (217). Books can change lives through words and motivations. Not only is reading important, but teaching is as well. Liesel’s adoptive father teachers her how to read at her own pace and she starts to trust Hans more. She starts to like him more because he makes her feel like “she was the only one there, and she was not gigantic” (67). She could have succumbed to the harsh words of the bully’s, but she perservered and began to make progess. Han’s love for Liesel saves Liesel when she is having one of her nightmares, as Hans defends her without uttering a single word.

In conclusion, Markus Zusak shows how powerful words are in the novel. Both of the main characters, Liesel and Max, both use their common love of books and words as a way to bond. Throughout the war, both Max and Liesel use books to manage through the rough times. Death is constantly questioning the worth of humanity. He says, “I am haunted by humans.” Death revelation to Liesel makes Liesel understand that Death think of humans in the same vein as humans think of Death. We know that it is inevitable and there is nothing we can do to stop the outcome, but it is always on our minds. Humanity is another important theme in the book. We see both kindness and cruelty in the times of the Nazi’s and with the authors use of Liesel, we understand the power that words, and books have upon us.

Updated: Aug 17, 2022
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Drama of Wold War II in The Book Thief. (2022, Feb 07). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/drama-of-wold-war-ii-in-the-book-thief-essay

Drama of Wold War II in The Book Thief essay
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