Doses of Nazism (Symbol)
The author uses depictions of Nazism to refer to political ideologies of National Socialism and beliefs of the ruling political party in, which gains its power in the early 1930s. The author states that young people during this time are made to believe that the ruling party is a blessing to Germans because it means good for them. Children and the youth are brainwashed to believe everything they are taught in school regarding Nazism. Nobody dares to question what the teachers are teaching. The author says that they are given doses of Nazism and they drink them as natural milk. He writes:
“From our very first year in the Volksschule or elementary school, we received daily doses of Nazism. These were swallowed as naturally as our morning milk. Never did we question what our teachers said. We believed whatever was crammed into us. And never for a moment did we doubt how fortunate we were to live in a country with such a promising future.
The symbol of the beast
The narrator is using the beast symbolically to refer to inhumane leaders who do not care for the wellbeing of the citizens. The beast is also used in the Holy Books such as the Bible to mean the evilest one, Satan. When referring to the communists as beats, Herry Kaspar implies that it is good to have Hitler who only hates the Jews rather than having communists who are corrupt and always putting their interest ahead of the nation. Alfons’ grandfather also agrees that it is better to have Hitler despite his flaws than have the beastly communists. Alfons’ grandfather says, “Well, he isn’t going to perform any miracles, but it’s better than having the beastly communists over us.”
The Symbol of Israel
The Narrator says that their teacher called Becker is very strict and scary. If one misses his assignments, will face the fire. When he talks, students wet their pants. Whenever students are on the wrong side, he orders them to bend over and get whipped seriously by him. Strangely to Alfons, they never see the teacher whip the Jew students. Instead, he asks them to sit in a corner called Israel. The term 'Israel' is symbolically used to refer to the holy people. The teacher does not beat the Jew children because he fears that God might be annoyed at him. Israel is a Holy nation according to the Bible. The teacher is keen not to anger God. The Narrator says:
"Strangely, though, he never whipped the Jewish kids as he did us. He had a special punishment for them – he made them sit in a corner, which he sneeringly called "Israel."
The Symbol of Hitler’s Picture
The narrator says that in every classroom across country, there is a picture of Hitler hanged on the wall. The narrator uses Hitler's picture as a symbol of National Socialism ideologies. Hitler is the pioneer and champion of National Socialism and he wants to do everything possible to bury communism that was practiced before his reign. Hitler treats native youths as heroes and the most trusted friends. He wants to ensure that the Youth are behind him and they can do anything to defend him, even if they are killed. The primary goal of Nazism is to brainwash young people into believing that their problems will be only be solved by Hitler’s reign. To achieve this goal, youths are promised a better future in all aspects and they are treated with the utmost respect. The narrator says:
“A picture of Adolf Hitler hung in nearly every classroom in the country. Boys and girls by millions were joining the Hitlerjugend. Adolf Hitler treated young Germans as his trusted helpers. They, in turn, promised to do anything for him – even die.”
Red Flags and Buntings
The red flag symbolized the death of the Jewish people. The Nazi Party ended up killing any Jewish that tried to go against the set rules, which oppressed the Jews. Even Christians who believed that the Jews killed Christ were in the frontline in eradicating the Jews. Being a Jew became a curse because Jews, under this prejudice, became unwanted people across the world. The narrator says:
“The streets were draped with red flags and buntings. What would later become a symbol of death – a black swastika within a white circle – was then still new to most of the people in Wittlich.”
