Hitler Youth Growing up in Hitler's Shadow

Campbell Bartoletti,Susan.Hitler Youth Growing up In Hitler's Shadow.
Scholastic Inc., 2005

Annotation: As Adolph Hitler rises to power he has a plan to create a Nazi war machine. He knows that using the children will create the dedication he will need to forward his agenda. The Hitler youth is created. From politically organized children, to Nazi watch dogs, to zealous fighters, the Hitler youth are used to the advantage of Adolph Hitler through out at his reign.

Defence of Nomination:

In the beginning of this work we are told that it is not about Adolph Hitler but, about the Hitler youth that served him. Instead of the same information documenting the rise and fall of Hitler we are introduced to the vehicle of his rise to power. Through general history and the specific example of twelve members of the Hitler youth we are introduced to the phenomena that was the Hitler Youth. Young readers will be drawn into the parallels between their live as they know them and the regimented lives of the children of Nazi Germany.

Through studies of individuals and the pictures that accompany these stories we get a sense of the life of a young German before, during and after Hitler's rise. As would be expected there is a glossary that defines German terms as they apply to the story. We are taken systematically through an important time in history. The stories are factual and are able to create an emotional ties to the events that still haunt the world.