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.