The Final Chapter

"You save someone. You kill them. How was he supposed to know? The only thing he truly did know was that he'd have done everything to have been on Himmel Street that night so that Rudy survived rather than himself. (Zusak,547). The Steiner blamed himself for Rudy's death, but in the end it was the least cruel of the fates he was dealt. Either he went to the German Special Forces school and endured years of torture, or he stayed, and would die in the air raid of Himmel Street. I thought Rudy was the best character and deserved a better fate than he was given. Rudy was destined for a life with Liesel. With his athletic ability and his intelligence, Rudy probably could have gotten a student visa into the United States. He could bring Liesel with him, and they could grow older together. "That day on the steps Alex Steiner was sawn apart. Liesel told him that she had kissed Rudy's lips. It embarrassed her but she thought he might like to know." (Zusak,547). Instead of living the life he deserved with Liesel, he was left with a small token of her devotion, and was not even alive to recieve it. It is further proof of life's irony, knowing that you only truly get what you want once, once you can not have it. The only thing Rudy ever asked of Liesel was a kiss. He even was willing to suffer death from hypothermia, after jumping in the Ampere River when it was freezing in the winter to retrieve her book The Whistler. Rudy did deserve a life with Liesel, but sometimes life does not work out, and Death would know.

Works Cited
Zusak,Markus. The Book Thief. New York City, NY: Alfred A Knoph. Print 2005.

Rudy's Mistake

Rudy Steiner was in trouble. It is ironic because for once he was in trouble for doing something right, instead of doing something wrong. Two men in suits had arrived, men from the Gestapo, Hitler's presonal police. They came for Rudy Steiner. Rudy had proven that he was smart, intelligent, and happened to be a good athlete. He unfortunately proved this skill to the wrong people. The Gestapo wanted him now, for a special school where they trained young German men to be the perfect soldiers fighting for Hitler's cause. The soldiers try to pass off the school as a perfect establishment, that Rudy will not be subjected to harsh conditions with commanding officers screaming in his face every minute of every day. Alex Steiner, Rudy's father, obviously thinks differently because he refuses to let the soldiers take Rudy. Rudy had listened to bits and pieces of the conversation, silently cursing to himself for doing well at the carnival. "Not to mention his athletic ability.'Damn it, why did he have to win all those races at the carnival?" (Zusak, 408). I have to agree with Alex Steiner on not subjecting any child or relative of mine to the atrocities they would have seen if they had gone to the school. The Nazi's were known for attempting strange experiments on Jewish prisoners to try and create a formula for a German supersoldier. I myself have never been in a situation where I have had to stand up for myself and then been published. I know that many people in history, many of them famous for it, that have stood up for what they believe, the most notable to me are Martin Luther King Jr, and Nelson Mandela.

Works Cited
Zusak,Markus. The Book Thief. New York, NY. Alfred A. Knoph. 2005.Print.

The Raid

An air raid was the single greatest fear for the average German citizen, other than being sent into the war. Liesel and her family react to the threat the same as everyone else. Hans spent a small amount of money to buy a radio. "This way, he said, we can hear when the raids are coming even before the sirens start. They make a cuckoo sound and then announce the regions at risk." (Zusak, 371). The first air raid on the Molching region was in September, 1942. The Hubermanns had discussed weeks before that Max would stay in their basement, while Hans, Rosa, and Liesel go to the Fiedler's basement. Hans felt it was not right to leave Max in danger, but Max, in true recognition of his situation, convinces them to go. The Hubermann family makes their way to the Fiedler's house, where the rest of Himmel street had converged making their way down into the small basement. (Zusak,153). Death's presence was felt that night, each person knowing that the next moment could be their last. Nobody was taken, but they knew he was there. In the moments before the sirens ring to signal the end of the raid, the people of Himmel street form a living circle of prayer, each person hoping to survive that night. Meanwhile, Max did something very dangerous, which threatened not only his safety, but the safety of the Hubermann's. "I...' He struggled to answer. 'When everything was quiet, I went up to the coridor and the curtain in the living room was open just a crack...I could see outside. I watched, only for a few seconds."           (Zusak, 377).
I have been treated unfairly a few times, but the one time that sticks out to me the most was back in eighth grade. I was in a group in science class, we were given a project on an element. I ended up doing all the work, we got an A on the project, but my two group members got the same grade as I did.

Works Cited
Zusak,Markus. The Book Thief. New York City, NY. Alfred A Knoph. 2005.Print.

Death in Overtime

Many people would say that war is Death's best friend. Death would disagree, however, saying that war only brings a slew of back breaking jobs, especially the concentration camps of World War II. " 'I'll never forget the first day in Auschwitz, the first time in Mauthausen. At that second place as time wore on, I also picked them up from the bottom of the great cliff,when their escapes fell awfully awry." (Zusak, 349). The concentration camps were where the majority of the six million Jews who died were killed. The Jews chosen that day were told to strip, thinking they were going for a shower, would file into a dark room. The door would suddenly slam shut behind them, and the gas would come pouring in. Everyone would die, including the women and children. Death describes the sky as the color of Jews because of all the souls floating around, waiting to be taken to the afterlife. He even goes into specifics describing a group of French Jews who were sent to the gas chamber. "On Jun 23, 1942, there was a group of French Jews in a German prison on Polish soil. The first person I took was close to the door, his mind racing, then reduced to pacing, then slowing down, slowing down..."(Zusak, 350). Death goes into the specific details of how they die, describing the man slowly sucumbing to the cynanide gas' deadly embrace (Zusak, 220). Death believed he was doing the Jews a favor, by taking them into his wide embrace, freeing them from their pain and hardships. Dying in the concentration camps was probably preferable to living in the work camps, living under the reality of starvation and torture. Death was actually being kind to them by freeing them in the only way he knew how to.

Works Cited
Zusak,Markus. The Book Thief. New York City, NY Alfred A. Knoph. 2005.Print.

Three Minutes

     The Hubermann's have a terrible secret. They are hiding a Jew name Max Vandenburg. Hiding a Jew was against the law, and if caught they would be punished severely, possibly even with death. The Hubermann's faced the longest three minutes of their lives when the Nazis came. The Nazis, as previously stated, were very concise, and were master tacticians, which they used to defeat their enemies. They knew that the Allies, mainly the British, would lead air raids against them. They would bomb the various towns and cities that made up Germany, hoping to inflict some trivial damage against the Nazis. To defend against the air raids, the Nazis installed sirens that would go off once the government knew the planes were coming, so the people of Germany would know to go the designated air raid shelters in their towns, and hide there until the raid was over and the planes were gone. The Nazis went around to each house in the towns and cities, and measured the basements to see if they were deep enough to protect the people inside from the bombs. When the Nazis arrived in Molching, they of course came to Himmel Street, and in turn to the Hubermann's house. The Hubermanns were completely unaware that the party members were coming to their house, that is until Liesel noticed the Nazis going from home to home. To avoid suspicion of going to warn her adoptive parents about the impending threat, Liesel intentionally hurts herself in her game of soccer, and goes back to her house for treatment. "The boy turned with the ball just as Liesel arrived, and they collided with such force that the game stopped automatically. As the ball rolled off, the players ran in." (Zusak, 340). She manages to warn Hans Hubermann, who decides they should do nothing about the Nazis. He suggests that they act like nothing is amiss. "Papa was strict.'Nothing. We don't even go down there- not a care in the world.' Everything slowed. Rosa accepted it." (Zusak, 343). When the Nazis come to inspect their basement, the Hubermanns manage to pass the inspection without the discovery of Max. The Nazis announce that their basement is too shallow to act as a shelter, and go on their way.
     The scariest time in my life when I had to act bravely was when my grandmother died. My siblings wre scared of seeing their grandmother hooked up to the various machines keeping her alive. I had to put on a brave face to show them that everything was going to be alright. I have never really had to make an important decision to make sure that the ones I loved were safe. My parents have had to make those kinds of decisions, so I can only rely on their opinion.

Works Cited
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York City: Alfred A Knoph. 2005. Print.

Max's Story

     While living in the basement of Hans and Rosa Hubermann's house, Max Vandenburg, who has been kept hidden from the watchful eyes of the Nazis, decides to write his life story. He does not know how it will end, but he starts on what turns out to be an entirely different story anyway. Max's first step in writing his story is to procure paper on which he can write. He does this by taking the remaining pages from Mein Kamph , which ironically is Hitler's life story detailing his supposed struggle against the Jewish people, and paints them over with white paint. Max decides to keep the story a secret from Liesel, because he is not sure she could handle the somewhat mature subject matter. As hard as Max tried to keep his story from Liesel, she discovers his secret drawings and they do scare her. The first picture is one of Adolf Hitler being praised by the German people, not as the Fuhrer, but as a conductor of the masses. The next picture, which is the one that scares Liesel, shows Max and Liesel standing on a pile of dead bodies, with a Nazi sun shining in the background, commenting on what a lovely day it is.
     "Frightened by where she saw, Liesel placed the book back down, exactly as she found it, against Max's leg." (Zusak, 281). Liesel manages to find the pictures while Max was sleeping, and he startles her by briefly waking up, saying "thank you" and falling back asleep. " 'Danke schon,' it said, and when she looked across, following the trail of sound to its owner, a small sign of satisfaction was present on his Jewish lips. 'Holy Christ,' Liesel gasped. 'You scared me Max.' " (Zusak, 281).
     For my life story, my fear is of driving. I have a phobia of driving because I do not want to damage any property, or hurt anybody. My family has a history of bad car accidents, and I do not want to add to the record. I have already damaged my grandfather's garage door, which was costly enough. The only way I can conquer my fear is to get out on the street and drive.

Works Cited
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York City, NY:Alfred A. Knoph, 2005. Print.

Liesel and Max

     Max Vandenburg is older than Liesel, but they many things in common. Liesel lost her mother when she was ten, while Max lost his father when he was four, so they both lost parents at a young age. Neither Liesel or Max has any family left, with Max's family having been taken by the Nazis, and Liesel's parents missing and her brother dead. Liesel and Max have both led depressing lives, yet they have perservered long enough to meet each other. Max's life has been the hardest, with him being a Jew, Max has spent most of his life in the slums, including the ghettos. He has spent the last two years hiding in an abandoned factory, praying that he would not be found, captured, and possibly killed. Max finally came to live with the Hubermann's, and into Liesel's life.
     Liesel is quickly threatened with the destruction of her precious books if she does not keep Max's living arrangements a secret. She is drawn to the young stranger hiding in her house, much like Death is drawn to her. Max and Liesel become fast friends through their love of words and books. Max's arrival gives Liesel's life new purpose by encouraging her to bring him news of the outside world into his little basement corner. Max is not allowed outside, for fear he will be captured and taken away, since he is living in the center of Nazi
Germany. Liesel delights herself by bringing him newspapers with their unfinished crosswords, and a child like view of the world outside, both of which he deeply appreciates.
     When Liesel's birthday arrives, he has nothing to give her, and neither does her parents. Being determined to give Liesel a gift, Max takes his well worn copy of Mein Kamph, repaints it in a story he calls The Standover Man. "During that week, Max had cut a collection of pages from Mein Kamph and painted them over in white. He then hung them up with pegs on some string, from one end of the basement to the other." (Zusak, 223). Liesel was very happy when she received the story, and read it multiple times. The Standover Man turned out to be Max's life story. In the book, Max describes his hardships and his relationship to the girl who turned his life upside down. "Now I think we are friends, this girl and me. On her birthday, it was she who gave a gift-to me. It makes me understand that the best standover man I've known is not a man at all . . .". (Zusak, 235).

Works Cited

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief . New York City, NY:Alfred A. Knoph, 2005.Print.

The Accordionist and The Struggler

     The accordion that Hans Hubermann owns played an important part in his survival of the first world war. He began fighting in the army when he was twenty-two, in France, where he was lucky enough to meet a man named Erik Vandenburg. Erik Vandenburg owned the accordion that would eventually belong to Hans Hubermann. He was a German Jew, who became friends with Hans. "The two of them became friends due to the fact that neither of them was terribly interested in fighting." (Zusak, 175). Both men enjoyed gambling, smoking cigarettes, and a love of playing the accordion.
     One day when the men were once again lounging about, their commander came and asked them who had good handwriting. The men had had experience with this type of situation before. The commander would ask them to volunteer for an innocent task, and whoever would volunteer would end up doing the most menial and disgusting chores. The commander then informed them that the person who did this would not go out to fight that day. "If someone stepped forward now, the platoon would make his life a living hell for the rest of their time together. No one likes a coward. On the the other hand, if someone was to be nominated. . ." (Zusak, 177). Erik Vandenburg save Hans Hubermann's life by volunteering him for that job, because the day Hans spent writing letters, everyone in his platoon was slaughtered, including Vandenburg. Hans took Erik's accordion, and eventually found his wife and son in Stuttgart. A promise was made that if they should ever need help, they should contact Hans Hubermann.
     Max Vandenburg shows up on Hans Hubermann's doorstep, because he is a Jew and needs a place to hide from the Nazis. Max knows that if Hans Hubermann still has the accordion then his father's sacrifice must have meant something to him. Max also understands that it is not necessarily luck that saved Hans Hubermann's life, but his father's intuition. Death nearly had Hans Hubermann that day, but it was the intervention of what some German's would call an enemy that saved the life of one of their own. Death says "I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They're running at me." (Zusak, 174). Hans Huberman had a mixture of luck, and the strength of a good friendship. I consider myself particularly lucky because I have a knack for finding money, and I also got into the Gateway to College program.

Death, the Narrator

     Death can be a very scary topic. Many people probably think of Death as the Grim Reaper. The way Death is portrayed in The Book Thief, he is tired and lonely. Death makes for an interesting narrator because he can be everywhere at once, is well versed in the inner workings of people dying, and bears a strange obsession with a book thief named Liesel Meminger.
     Death saw Liesel Meminger three times in her life, each a different color. The first time he saw her the sky was a blinding white. Death had come her brother, who died on a train in a fit of coughing. The sky outside was a blinding white, the blinding white of snow.(Zusak, 6). When Death first met her, he became fascinated, with the person he would come to know as the book thief.
     Death then met Liesel Meminger yet again, years after that first fateful winter night. The sky this time was black, and as he describes it, that moment was that at which it is darkest before the dawn.(Zusak, 9). Liesel comes to see a pilot who has crashed his plane near Himmel Street. Death again takes time out of his busy schedule to watch the book thief as her friend comforts the dying pilot. Death then steps in, loosens the man's soul, picks it up and slowly drifts away, with the sky still a violent pitch of black.
     The final time Death meets Liesel Meminger, known to him still as the book thief, the sky is a deep, dark red.(Zusak, 12). The street on which she lives has obviously been blown to bits by an air raid. There is rubble and debris everywhere, with bodies strewn about. Liesel is holding a book, and Death again stops to study her, even though he has a heavy workload, having hundreds of souls to take to the afterlife that night. He knows that his job that night will be exhausting, yet he still does it. Death is correct on one important point-Who else is going to take his job?

Works Cited
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York City, NY:Alfred A. Knoph, 2005. Print.

Survivor Story

     World War Two officially began in 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. The Polish Army was quickly defeated. The man who I chose to write about was Shep Zitler. He was a Lithuanian Jew who lived in Vilna, Lithuanian. Vilna was a very popular religious town, and was known as the center of Eastern European Jewish culture. In February of 1939, Shep Zitler was drafted into the Polish Army. He was mistreated and discriminated against, mainly because the Polish people did not like the Jewish people any more than the Germans did.
     Shep Zitler's unit fought bravely, but was eventually captured in September of 1939. His unit was sent to a prisoner of war labor camp. Shep Zitler was a prisoner of was for five years and seven months. He was sent around to various labor camps. AS a Jew, he was given the most menial and disgusting jobs. His life was often threatened, but he was afforded certain sanctions under the Geneva Convention. Zitler was liberated on April 22nd, 1945. He found out later on that most of his family had been killed. Shep made it to America on December 23rd, 1948.
     Shep Zitler's story inspired me because of how incredibly lucky he was have survived the combat and labor camps during World War Two. I was also incredibly lucky to get into the Gateway to College program. My story of survival began back in November of 2008. My grandmother died, and the entire world suddenly crumbled around me. She was my entire support system, both in life and my education. When she died, I honestly did not know how I was going to make it through all of it. After my grandmother died, my performance in school began to fail. I started skipping classes, and fell so far behind I could not catch up. I dropped out of school February of this year. Once I came to terms with my grandmother's death, life began to gain back some of its meaning to me. I found out about the Gateway to College program, and my road to redemption began anew.

Here is a link to the website where I found Shep Zitler's story:
http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/

     World War Two was a period of social unrest and violent uprisings. It was a very important time in history for everybody in Europe, especially the people of Germany. Jewish people were discriminated against, and then slaughtered according to the whims of one man, supposedly to purify Europe in preparation for the triumph of the superior Aryan race. This man, named Adolf Hitler, was the leader of the Nazi Party, who, in the end, were responsible for the deaths of over six million Jews and various other ethnic groups.
      I used to think that World War Two was just the Nazi Party going crazy and killing a bunch of people, particularly the Jewish people. While this is true, there is much more method to the madness of the Nazis. After further study of WW2, I found there was much more depth and history to the Nazi Party then just their reign of terror in the 1930s and 1940s. The Nazis originally began as the German Workers Party, which was provided as an alternative to the Communist Party and the German Social Democrat Party. Hitler was appointed to spy on the party by the government, but found the party to his liking. He soon joined the executive ranks in the party, and was appointed propaganda manager. Anti-Semitism was a major point of the Hitler's propaganda and was a founding idea of the party.
     World War Two was the culminating point of years of violence and hatred, and what happened when the men and women who harbored those feelings came into power. Many people came to find out that ethic and religious diversity can often be the most vicious, with people believing that they are better according to the color of their skin and what they believe in. I myself find it hard to believe that anyone could base their beliefs upon such a pompous superiority complex.