Friedrich

Chapter 6 introduces an aspect of German culture: the Schultüte (school bag), a paper cone, often decorated with favorite motifs. Every German child gets one of these on their first day of elementary school. These scenes show how similar the two boys and their families are, despite their difference in religion and economic status. Both families are most concerned with their children and creating an enjoyable experience for them. The fact that the Schneiders have more money than the narrator’s family and can spend more at the amusement park is not a source of conflict between the two families, though it is a stark difference between them. This scene further illustrates that, although there is no personal tension between these families, there is a growing economic tension and hardship in the country as a whole.

There are two years between the events in Chapter 6 and Chapter 7, emphasizing an important historical event: On the 30th of January in 1933, Hitler is made Chancellor of Germany. On April 1 of that year, when the events in Chapter 7 take place, the Nazis organized a nation-wide boycott of businesses that were owned or operated by Jews. It failed to materialize for reasons that are highlighted in the book: Most people either didn’t take the boycott seriously, didn’t care, or outright ignored it. In 1933, the Nazis were still working on fully taking control of the German government, and the boycott was more of a test to see how much cooperation they could expect from the general population without having to implement new laws that strictly discriminated against Jews.

The young man in front of Jewish shops informing people not to shop there is symbolic of the Nazi party at this time in history: The man is unkempt and disorganized, dressed in shabby military attire, and carrying a haphazardly constructed sign. The scene illustrates the Nazis as cowards and military wannabes—all talk and not much influence.

The situation rapidly changes and escalates in the next chapter. The eighth chapter is titled “Jungvolk,” which was the youngest organization within the Hitler Youth program. The idea behind the youth organizations was a steady indoctrination in Nazi ideology, military training, and loyalty to Hitler. This chapter highlights the excitement that surrounds the energy and sense of belonging in this group of young boys, which captures the narrator and Friedrich in its whirlwind. A certain innocence and naivety are portrayed in this chapter, which is suggestive of the early reception of Nazi antisemitism and propaganda.

Both Friedrich and the narrator are drawn to the camaraderie and excitement surrounding the Jungvolk but are unaware of its true purpose at first. The narrator is aware that being Jewish isn’t a good thing in this group, because he tells Friedrich, “But you’d better not mention right away that you’re a Jew” (33). The “right away” signals that later it might be better, after the leaders have gotten to know Friedrich and that he is a good German youth. Friedrich’s excitement and ignorance of the group’s antisemitism are highlighted by the fact that he has somehow procured a ring for his scarf with a swastika on it. It shows how little he and the rest of the German citizens understood the extent of the antisemitic ideology in the Nazi party. Of course, Friedrich becomes aware of this during the speech given by the man with a hunchback, Special Delegate Gelko.

Not only does Friedrich learn of Nazi antisemitism, but the speech and the speaker serve two other purposes. The speech marks an important turning point in Friedrich’s narrative. He defiantly separates himself from the others when he is forced to repeat the line, “The Jews are our affliction” (38). There is a mistranslation in the text here: Friedrich does indeed repeat the above line by whispering it, however, when the man commands him to repeat it loudly, Friedrich changes an important word. The original German reads, “Die Juden sind – euer Unglück” (49). Friedrich changes “our affliction” to “your affliction.” He marks himself as a Jew and removes himself from the group.

There is one other aspect of the man’s speech that requires clarification. The man illustrates the Jewish ritual of shechita, the kosher slaughtering of animals, as pure bloodlust and cruelty. In reality, the ritual is intended to minimize the animal’s suffering as much as possible. The person who performs the ritual is the shochet, and he is specifically trained to comfort the animal, to use an extremely sharp knife and a single cut, so that pain is barely registered. Special Delegate Gelko’s description is an example of how the Nazis twisted the truth to meet their ideological goals and continued to escalate their claims in the blood libel that Jews are bloodthirsty and evil. This is an important aspect to understanding how the Nazis rose in power in Germany, and it becomes a topic of greater discussion in Chapter 16: “Reasons.”

Chapter 9 illustrates the increasingly strong antisemitism in Nazi Germany. The most important takeaway from this chapter is that despite the truth and all evidence to the contrary, the woman and the police officer both want Friedrich to be guilty of breaking the glass. They have absorbed antisemitic propaganda and are convinced that someone of Jewish heritage can only do wrong; if something bad happens, a Jewish boy must be behind it. The year 1933 witnessed an expansive propaganda effort aimed against Jews; Hitler established the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (RMVP)) in March of that year, headed by Joseph Goebbels. Once again, the novel illustrates how Nazi antisemitism progressed slowly by focusing on small acts of antisemitism in the early stages; the antisemitism in the ball incident is directed at Friedrich, a child, but not Herr Schneider at this point. Herr Schneider, with his affluence and superiority, is still able to cow the woman and police officer.

In the very next chapter, however, the antisemitism escalates when Herr Resch evicts the Schneiders. The purpose of this chapter is to set the scene for Chapter 12: “The Hearing” and to introduce the steady process of legalized persecution. Herr Resch’s character acts as a barometer for Nazi audacity and the strength of the growing movement. As the Nazis gain power and influence in Germany, Herr Resch feels more empowered to confront Herr Schneider. The chapter also highlights Herr Schneider’s politeness and serenity, and the narrator’s father’s unwillingness to engage in antisemitism, which is important not only for subsequent chapters but also to remind the reader that not all Germans living under Nazi rule were swayed by their propaganda.