Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis

This chapter describes Germany's preparation for what would become World War II and the part the Hitler Youth played in it. The chapter begins with describing young Henry Metelmann, thirteen, listening to his teacher rant about the evils of the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty that ended World War I. The Treaty forced Germany to accept blame for starting the war, it took away their army, and it caused economic depression due to severe war reparations. Many people in Germany hated the treaty and blamed it for the country's high unemployment and other problems, and the Nazis used this hatred in advancing pro-war policies.

Hitler cured Germany's high unemployment by putting young people to work by the millions, through a program called the Reich Labor Service, started in 1935. It required essentially six months of hard labor from every able-bodied boy after...