Hitler Youth

On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, thanks largely to the efforts of the Hitler Youth, whose organised propaganda marches throughout Germany helped the Nazi Party grow in strength. By 1939, it is estimated that more than seven million boys and girls belonged to the Hitler Youth. 'Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow' is the riveting and often chilling tale of a generation of young people who devoted their energy and passion to the Hitler Youth organisation and left an indelible mark on world history. Award-winning author Susan Campbell Bartoletti infuses the work with the voices of both former Hitler Youth members and young people who resisted the powerful Nazi movement. These voices stand alongside those of Jewish youths and others who were senselessly and brutally targeted by the Third Reich. What emerges is the story of average children and teenagers faced with extraordinary and unenviable choices. The paths taken by the Hitler Youth and their struggle to come to terms with their actions at the end of World War II are sure to spark debate among young readers faced with the question of whether the horrors of Hitler's Germany could ever cast dark shadows again.

Winner of Carolyn W. Field Award 2006
Winner of Parents Choice Award (Spring) (1998-2007) (Gold) 2005
Commended for Newbery Medal (Children's) 2006
Commended for Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award 2006
Commended for Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (Fourteen and Up) 2006
Commended for Orbis Pictus Award 2006
Short-listed for Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Young Adult) 2007
Short-listed for Virginia Readers Choice Award (High School) 2007
Short-listed for Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (Upper Grades Nonfiction) 2007

“ "Bartoletti offers a unique and riveting perspective on WWII by focusing on the young people who followed Hitler from 1933-1945....Bartoletti's portrait of individuals within the Hitler Youth who failed to realize that they served "a mass murderer" is convincing, and while it does not excuse the atrocities, it certainly will allow readers to comprehend the circumstances that led to the formation of Hitler's youngest zealots." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth....Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has." -- School Library Journal , starred review "The handsome book design, with stirring black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will bring in readers and help spark deep discussion..." -- Booklist , starred review "With clarity and apt quotation (scrupulously sourced), Bartoletti takes readers from the prewar beginnings of Hitler Youth, through its significant role in gaining Hitler the government, to its ultimate position as a feeder for the German war machine....The power of the account is matched by the many period candid and propaganda photographs, well-married to the text by strong captions and placement and an unobtrusive but period-evocative Art Deco page design." -- The Horn Book , starred review”

* "Bartoletti offers a unique and riveting perspective on WWII by focusing on the young people who followed Hitler from 1933-1945....Bartoletti's portrait of individuals within the Hitler Youth who failed to realize that they served "a mass murderer" is convincing, and while it does not excuse the atrocities, it certainly will allow readers to comprehend the circumstances that led to the formation of Hitler's youngest zealots." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

• "Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth....Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has." -- School Library Journal, starred review
• "The handsome book design, with stirring black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will bring in readers and help spark deep discussion..." --Booklist, starred review
• "With clarity and apt quotation (scrupulously sourced), Bartoletti takes readers from the prewar beginnings of Hitler Youth, through its significant role in gaining Hitler the government, to its ultimate position as a feeder for the German war machine....The power of the account is matched by the many period candid and propaganda photographs, well-married to the text by strong captions and placement and an unobtrusive but period-evocative Art Deco page design." -- The Horn Book , starred review

Susan Campbell Bartoletti is the award-winning author of several books for young readers, including Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal. She lives in Moscow, Pennsylvania.

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