Humanity

In The Book Thief by Mark Zusak, an emerging theme is Humanity since Jews are forced into hiding because of Hitlers reign and many civilians were forced to believe that Jews are horrible people, and that Hitler is right. Because of this “brainwash” over the civilians because of Hitlers speeches and the downfall of Germany after WWI, people turned to any hope, and that hope was Hitler. When Jews were forced out of their homes and were being threatened in Germany, many civilians, deep down, knew that dehumanization isn’t right, and that people shouldn’t be doing this to other people, just like how Hans Hubermann had felt ever since Hitler became the Fuhrer of Germany. When Hitler took it farther by sending Jews out into death marches and concentration camps, Hans couldn’t take it anymore. He knew this was wrong, and that people on the streets shouldn’t just watch innocent people, civilians, be treated like this. On a death march, Hans offered an old Jewish man a small piece of bread, but was beaten by a nearby SS officer who had witnessed such an “atrocity”. Hans was soon forced into joining the German army, and fortunately survived many attacks. This shows more of dehumanization of the humanity in Germany since Hans helped the Jewish man, he was sent to join the German army, even though he didn’t want to. Liesel, Hans Hubermann’s foster daughter, quickly learned that Jews were civilians of Germany as well, and shouldn’t be harmed. After Max’s arrival on 33 Himmel Street, Liesel grew fond of him and a strong bond was created through their love of literature and dialogue with each other. Since Max was a Jew, she realized that Jewish people aren’t different, and that they are just regular human beings. This shows that humanity was disrupted when Hitler became the Fuhrer of Germany. Even though he thought that “brainwashing” civilians into believing that Jews are bad, stronger people made sure others heard their opinions, even if it meant dying for them to be heard.