Year 9 pupils have been reading and reviewing books set in the Second World War in their History lessons, using the school’s extensive library and the support of Mr Jones, Senior Librarian, to find suitable matches.
White Rose (Kip Wilson)
White Rose is based on a true story: A young German student with the name of Sophie Scholl. Scholl and several members of her family became members of an anti-Hitler/ anti-Nazi resistance group. They formed a series of leaflets; containing treasonous opinions and messages to the public about their German leader: Adolf Hitler. I enjoyed this book because I believe that it accurately depicted the feelings of many innocent members of the public during the rise of Hitler. It differed from many other World War Two books because it shone a light on the viewpoint of those who were not directly affected by the Nazis, but felt sympathy for those who were and who were willing to contribute their time and effort to help the Jewish people and families at the time.
– Lakshmi Panchalingam
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
I really enjoyed reading this book and really enjoyed the narrator of the book being death which put a really interesting view on the story. Parts of the book were really heart-breaking (especially near the end) and made you really sympathise with Liesel and the many people who endured similar stories in the war. Throughout the book, you could tell Liesel felt more compassion to her new family and friends in the book like her papa & mama, Max and Rudi. Near the beginning she was very hesitant to her new family and life, she started off with a real strong connection with her new dad called Hans and it was amazing to read about their relationship. Her neighbour called Rudi and her also showed an amazing friendship but I think they both knew that deep down they both loved each other. And near the beginning of the book I didn’t like her new mum called Rosa as she was very strict at the beginning, but she warms up to Liesel and her new family. Lastly, I loved the relationship between Max (the Jew that hid in their family’s house during the war), Liesel viewed him as an older brother and always helped her with her reading and her literature.
– Tabitha Hollywood
This is one of my favourite books ever written. I have read it so many times. I have grown up with Liesel and Rudy.
I cannot possible pick a favourite character – Hans Hubermann whose eyes ‘were made of kindness and silver’, who would ‘always appear midscream, and he would not leave’ is so kind and forbearing and courageous and such a good father figure to Liesel, he would do anything for her, and she loved him more than anyone, he taught her to read, is a master player of the accordion, a painter, ’sometimes I think my papa is an accordion. When he looks at me and smiles and breathes, I hear the notes’, ‘Goodbye, Papa, you saved me’.
Rudy Steiner whose hair is the ‘colour of lemons’ (‘he would be a giver of bread not a stealer’, ‘He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It’s his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.’) is brave and good, athletic, rebellious and ruthlessly loyal and deserves so much better than he got, ‘he must have loved her so incredibly hard’, he jumped into a river to rescue Liesel’s book and would forever tease her: ‘How about a kiss, Saumensch?’, ‘The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you’.
Liesel Meminger I have understood more than any other character, a ‘word shaker’, ‘she knew how powerless a person could be without words’, she is intelligent and determined and cares so much for those she loves, the book thief who risks so much to learn, ‘she would wonder exactly when the books and the words started to mean not just something, but everything’, ‘If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter’, ‘As always, one of her books was next to her’.
Max Vandenburg, a Jewish fist fighter who lost everything and who finds a family somewhere he never expected, ‘Max and Liesel were held together by the quiet gathering of words’, each day, without fail, she would tell him the weather, ‘There were stars. They burned my eyes’, Max who is selfless and giving and benign, ‘I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right’, ‘Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands’.
Rosa Hubermann who cares and loves and shows affection in the strangest of ways and who does so much for everyone and who risks so much for someone she barely knows, ‘there was a strange look on her face. It was made up of pride’, ‘from now on you call me Mama’.
Death who has the best lines in the book ‘I am haunted by humans’, ‘I constantly overestimate and underestimate the human race but rarely do I ever simply estimate it’, ‘I wanted to tell the book thief many things about beauty and brutality but what could I tell her that she didn’t already know?’, ‘That’s the sort of thing I’ll never know, or comprehend—what humans are capable of’, ‘I wanted to ask how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant’.
This book is magnificent, and about the power of words and of death. It delves seamlessly into some tricky themes, showing how bad it for Jews and how evil Hitler was, only adding onto the beautiful and tragic and powerful story. They all went through so much and none of their spirits were broken.
– Katie Howells
Over these two weeks I have read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is a great book about a young orphan named Liesel who was fostered by Hans and Rosa. Hans and Liesel bond strengthens, and he teaches her how to read and write. Their situation becomes more precarious and difficult when they decide to help a Jewish man and let him take refuge in their basement. Later on, it is found that the young man’s father once saved Hans’ life meaning that they felt an obligation to help him. Liesel adjusts to her new life and befriends a boy named Rudy who lives in the neighbourhood and together. Later on in the book, their neighbourhood is bombed and attacked, and Liesel finds herself looking for Rudy, Hans and Rosa; discovering that none of them had survived as the sirens to find shelter in bunkers went off too late. Fortunately for Liesel, she was in the basement when the bombing happened which acted as a bunker, protecting her from the bombs. Overall, this book was extremely hard to put down and I really like how it was from the view of someone who was fostered into a German family.
– Cordelia Holmes
When the World Was Ours (Liz Kessler)
The book When The World Was Ours is possibly the best novel I have ever read. I found it utterly captivating and managed to finish it in a week! It tells the story of three childhood best friends, and their separation and lives under Hitler’s power.
Whilst Leo and Elsa were Jewish and had to face extreme injustices from the Nazi party (and in Elsa’s case Auschwitz), Max was a promising young soldier in the German Youth. I think that this book is really good to portray the horrors of Hitler’s supporters and the extent that society will go to when manipulated.
– Holly Peskett
The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris)
I really enjoyed The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris as it lets you see what the lives of people in a concentration camp were like. The story was so sad, and I can’t believe that the real life Lale and Gita had to witness all the deaths around them and put up with the tiny amount of rations. I was very happy at the end when [spoiler!], and it let me put down this amazing book! I would 100% recommend to a friend as it gives you knowledge of how disgusting the Nazis really were.
– Izzy Perry
The Machine Gunners (Robert Westall)
This Second World War is a thriller about a boy called Chas Mcgill who lives in a small town in England called Garmouth who has the second largest collection of war souvenirs in his town. One day he was walking in a forest with his friends when they stumbled upon a crashed German bomber that still has a working machine gun with ammo. They decide to keep the machine gun and things start to get chaotic.
This a intense book that I would recommend if you enjoy intense novels and that you don’t mind the occasional old English.
– Oliver Brooks
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
I really enjoyed this. The English Patient is about these people who stay in an abandoned chapel after the Second World War, and it follows what they went through in the War. It dealt with trauma really well, but I think it could have been more diverse. I love books written in poetic form and all of the characters’ stories were really immersing. I found the ending slightly disconnected as it skipped about 10 years. My favourite character was Kip because he was gentle and brave and did not feel a need to always be around the group. The most interesting story was the Englishman’s because it had twists, I never saw coming. I would recommend it, but it might be hard to follow for some people.
– Katie Howells
Fury (Film directed by David Ayer)
Fury is a film about an America tank crew as they push through Germany to Berlin in their trusty M4 Sherman tank, nicknamed ‘Fury’. The film is set in 1945 at the downfall of the German war machine, this film explores the concepts of war and cruelty with several morbid scenes depicting the brutality of war.
We follow the five main characters as they push through the German heartland, encountering the atrocities of the Nazi regime along the way and encountering multiple enemies.
The film’s underlying message is presenting the bonds and brotherhood produced by the horrible conditions of war and the cruelty inflicted on both sides, additionally it highlights how absurd and disturbing war and conflict can be at times. Where as many war films may romanticize war, Fury is a film the paints it an ugly yet honest shade of dull grey. I recommend this film highly, it has some explicit content but it shows a unique and raw version of WW2 and how it was experienced through the eyes of common soldiers. The film has a bittersweet ending and overall I would recommend it to any WW2 fan; in addition it is also very historically accurate which adds a nice bonus.
Isaac Macallan