Blog 4 - 'Children & Fire' and how it relates to todays cultures- new

I have often wondered what it takes to make a whole country believe and follow one man's theories about religion, power and the human race. I would sit in my history classes, study the war and think, 'how did so many people get brain washed into thinking what was being said was so true? And what was it like growing up around that time?' Reading Ursula Hegi's book has allowed me to understand what it was like growing up in Germany around the time where Nazi's were starting to take over the country and control the minds of people.

The book begins…...

It is February 27th, 1934 and the first anniversary of the burning of the Reichstag. The Fire that has remained in the memory of every German person for the past year that burnt down the parliament building in Germany. This has given the Nazi's an excuse to blame their enemies, the Jews and communists, and consolidate their power over the country. 

It is evident throughout the novel that the German Government has influnced the perople of Germany to thank negatively against the Jews as though they are not supposed to be apart of that culture. This was also shown to other races such as homosexuals, black and Gypsies. This is called Ethnocentrism as it is showing the German Culture thinking that they are superior and above other races.

Many Burgdorf boy's have joined the Hitler-Jugend, which Thekla, the lead character to which the story is told from originally sees as the equivalent to the boy scouts. They have been recruited to eventually join the German Army and fight and die if needed to for their homeland. This is seen a patriotism. 

 Books have been burned in the town square. Jewish families are leaving with the remaining Jewish children now attending a segregated school in the synagogue. The town's once beloved Jewish teacher has been forced out of her job due to ethnocentrism and left. 

 “But within a few weeks after Markus left ,a Jewish family who left Germany for America, despite others saying leaving was premature Jewish children were no longer allowed in her school. Instead, they were taught all their subjects in the synagogue across the street". p22

Her replacement is Thekla Jansen, who is now teaching her 17 boys, who are keen to follow in the Nazi Germany ways. They are keen to be apart of the Hitler-Jugend, which the 'fuhrer' who was Adult Hitler. This was called a folk term, which was know by the people of Germans and spoken every day when mentioning him. This was also shown when saying 'Hail Hitler' which was a common phrase used before school would begin.

Thekla, although happy with the opportunity she has been given, realizes that her happiness is at the cost of misfortune for her previous teacher, inspiration, and devoted mentor, Fraulein Sonja Siderova. 

Thekla persuades herself that what she is doing isn’t morally right, but rationalizes her feelings by seeing it as holding the teaching position until the former teacher returns. As time goes by, what Thekla once thought was helping her students needs, was only pushing them closer to Hitler's Nazi accomplices. Thekla, finally, after going back and forth on the idea, decides to seek out and find her mentor once again to see how she is doing whilst also bringing her up to date about her former class. This is called Cultural Identity. Cultural Identity is the Identity of a group or culture as far as one is being influenced by the group or culture around them. This was shown as the book went from beginning to end, with Thelka once going along with the Nazi rule, soon realizes that what they are doing is morally wrong.

As the book goes back and forth, Theckla starts to realize that what the Nazi's are doing isn't right and that she must not allow herself to believe it like so many others and actually regain her true feelings.

Children and Fire is told over two different periods of time. One is the unfolding of events on that cold February day in Burgdorf. The second explores the first story with a series of vignettes that begin with Thekla's parents' history and then move on to her own childhood. The story aims to show us how one society of educated, cultural, compassionate people can slip into a reality that’s fabricated by propaganda and controlled by fear. How a surge of national unity can be manipulated into the dehumanization of a foreseen enemy and the justification of torture and murder. Hegi uses this book to explain how easy it was to become sucked into Hitler's reign and believe in what he preached the people of Germany.

This book's central question—What can ordinary people do when a monster takes control of their country? This is a question that looks into how people react under certain powers and given situations. Since WWII, the world has grown together to stop such a war from happening again. For thousands of years prior to this, many wars were fought over power, religion and land. Many Christians went on many religious battles against the Jews hundreds of years before Hitler came into power. 

As we have developed as countries since the war, we have grown to realize that such a war cannot happen again. Although we hope that such things will happen in the future, it is never inevitable as seen with many recent wars over religion etc. We must just try and learn from our past mistakes.