Book Thief Sacrifice
I was once told that what we value in life can be judged and shown based upon the things we sacrifice, and what we sacrificed them for. The idea behind it was pretty simple: if you give something up in favor of something else, then you value the latter more than the former. A very interesting book that was imbued with this theme is The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. At first glance, it may appear to simply be a book written for the sake of entertainment, but looks, however, can be deceiving. It is actually full of themes that could potentially be pertinent to our lives, made clear through the mistakes and actions of a past generation. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, many sacrifices are made for the sake of others and for one’s own survival.
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In WWII Germany, which was under Nazi authority, being a Jew was essentially illegal. You could be imprisoned and often even killed solely due to your religion. In fact, Hans was punished twice. Not for being a Jew, but being nice to one by his own free will. One time, a Jewish shop had the windows broken and malicious, vulgar graffiti spraypainted onto the door. Hans then offered to fix the door and did so the next morning. Because of this he was labeled a “jew-lover” and his painting business plummeted. Another such incident was when the Jews were being marched to Dachau through the town. Hans offered an elderly, emaciated man a piece of bread. Upon this being seen, the man was whipped for accepting the bread, and Hans, whose back was burning with four lines of fire, was whipped four. The nazi officer was symbolic of cruelty here, the jewish man symbolic of need, and Hans was symbolic of charity and kindness. Max Vanderburg was Jewish and in hiding. Himmel Street was a very poor place, where many people were starving and there were nearly always too many mouths to feed. By taking in Max, Hans not only risked persecution for harboring a Jew, but also risked starvation and increased destitution, despite already having so little and recently taking in young orphaned Liesel. Hans’s willingness to help the less fortunate in spite of his own needs expresses a clear care for the well-being of
In WWII Germany, which was under Nazi authority, being a Jew was essentially illegal. You could be imprisoned and often even killed solely due to your religion. In fact, Hans was punished twice. Not for being a Jew, but being nice to one by his own free will. One time, a Jewish shop had the windows broken and malicious, vulgar graffiti spraypainted onto the door. Hans then offered to fix the door and did so the next morning. Because of this he was labeled a “jew-lover” and his painting business plummeted. Another such incident was when the Jews were being marched to Dachau through the town. Hans offered an elderly, emaciated man a piece of bread. Upon this being seen, the man was whipped for accepting the bread, and Hans, whose back was burning with four lines of fire, was whipped four. The nazi officer was symbolic of cruelty here, the jewish man symbolic of need, and Hans was symbolic of charity and kindness. Max Vanderburg was Jewish and in hiding. Himmel Street was a very poor place, where many people were starving and there were nearly always too many mouths to feed. By taking in Max, Hans not only risked persecution for harboring a Jew, but also risked starvation and increased destitution, despite already having so little and recently taking in young orphaned Liesel. Hans’s willingness to help the less fortunate in spite of his own needs expresses a clear care for the well-being of