Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Great book, learned a lot. Each story from the youth gave a clear picture on what they were going through at the time.

A great text that I used with my 8th graders to help explain how World War II played a role in the lives of teenagers within Germany. It was a great way to help them build connections with historical events.

NONFICTION CATEGORY

Hitler Youth is the nonfiction account of the indoctrination process of the children of Nazi Germany during World War II. Bartoletti uses powerful photos, journal entries, letters, and interviews to bring the accounts to life. I enjoyed that it provides a less black-and-white Nazis-were-all-unmitigatedly-evil point of view by giving voice to the doubts of some of the youth and providing a view into the world of fascism and its effect on children. This is a valuable book for all readers in that it provides a nuanced view of Nazi Germany from a new and fresh perspective: the youth. While this might help YA readers to relate, it's also eye-opening for adults. The photographs are particularly powerful.