The Book Thief

What is Hans like as a person? How would you describe him?

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Hans Hubermann is a house painter. Hans has trouble finding work during the time in which Liesel lives with him because he once was kind to a Jewish family shortly after laws were passed that made aiding the Jews an unwise thing to do. Customers loyal to Hitler do not want a Jew-lover to paint their houses. Hans does not let this situation get him down, however. Hans likes to play the accordion and spends most of his evenings playing it at a local club. Hans learned how to play the accordion during World War I from a fellow soldier. One day, this same soldier volunteered Hans to remain in camp to write some letters while the rest of his squad went into battle. Hans was the only man to survive that day. Hans believes that the soldier saved his life and he made a promise that if the man's wife and son ever needed his help, he would provide it. Then, one day after the war begins, Hans is approached by a young man who is friends with the soldier's son, Max. Max needs a place to hide. Hans agrees to take Max into his home.

Hans, Rosa, and Liesel hide Max in their basement for more than a year. However, one afternoon Hans is watching as a group of Jewish prisoners are marched through town on their way to a nearby concentration camp. Hans has pity on one of the prisoners and offers him some bread. This act is witnessed by many people in town. Afterward Hans is frightened that he will be arrested and his home searched, so he sends Max away. Hans is not arrested, however. Instead, Hans is forced to join the military. Once in the military, Hans becomes a member of the LSE, a group of soldiers who go into bombed towns to put out fires and attempt to reinforce damaged buildings so that they will not fall on victims. This is a dangerous job, but Hans proves to be a competent member of the squad. One day Hans is in a car accident when returning to base from one of these bombed cities and breaks his leg. Hans is sent home. However, an ally air raid squad mistakenly drops their bombs on Himmel Street six months later and Hans is killed.

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