Questions for Classroom Discussion

1. Why might Hunt's parents and others who considered themselves moral and honorable people have so fervently
embraced Hitler and the Nazi agenda? According to Hunt, what circumstances and fears prompted the landed
aristocracy, the middle class, and other groups to support Hitler? Why did so many people turn a blind eye to
Nazi violence and atrocities?

2. Of "the average, law-abiding, middle-class German[s] who helped sweep Hitler to power," Hunt writes that "the
seemingly petty details of these people's lives are actually often symbolic and always telling." (p. 1) Which
details of the lives that Hunt presents in her book are symbolic and telling? In what ways do they help explain
the attractions and successes of Hitler and the Nazi movement?

3. Hunt hopes "that young people everywhere learn to recognize the danger signs" of dictatorships in the making
and join her "in the mission to prevent a recurrence" of Nazi rule. (p. 4) What might some of those danger signs
be? What circumstances might make it possible for "average, law-abiding, middle-class" Americans to support
and bring to power a totalitarian, exclusionary government? What could you do to prevent tyranny, a
dictatorship, or a politics of exclusiveness?

4. How might we explain the actions of Hunt's grandfather and people like him, who—during the years of Hitler's
rule—"though basically powerless, had made brave attempts at resistance"? (p. 4) Hunt notes that, during her
mother's childhood, "the ground rules in a German family were the same as in the German state: Punish
independence, rebellion against orders, and speaking up . . . instead, foster unquestioning obedience, submission,
orderliness, and hard work." (p. 15) How might these "ground rules" of German family life have contributed to
Hitler's rise to power and twelve-year rule?

5. How do the details of the childhoods of Hunt's mother and herself compare or contrast with those of your own
childhood and of your parents' childhoods? In what ways might one's childhood influence one's attitudes and
behavior as an adult? How might we, as a society, foster every child's experiences to ensure an adulthood
committed to democracy, toleration, and liberty?

6. Hunt contends that "only Hitler understood fully that playing up patriotism and making false promises to every
interest group would garner a following. And most important, perhaps, he realized that instilling fear of a
vaguely defined enemy . . . would bring a suspicious and traumatized people . . . to his side." (p. 29) In what
ways and to what degree have the efforts of American political leaders, past and present, reflected this pattern,
and with what results?

7. Hunt explains how the Nazis imposed new symbols and meanings on traditional holidays and, in addition,
established new holidays. To what extent do holidays and related festivals and pageants reflect and help to
maintain a country's political philosophy and form of government? What differences and similarities do you note
between holidays (secular and religious) observed in the United States today and those observed in Nazi
Germany?

8. To what extent do you think the German people in general were accountable for the concentration camps and
other Nazi programs and atrocities? What would you do if the government of the United States established
concentration camps for a segment of our population? What actions do you think would be available to you, and
which would you undertake?
 9. Of Hitler's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Hunt writes: "Public protest and open debate were far too
dangerous to contemplate—what could one do but stand with the swastika and march with the firebrands?" (p.
98) Why were protest and open debate too dangerous? How important is it that, in the United States, public
protest and open debate are among the rights protected by the Constitution? How might the defense and practice
of those rights prevent an authoritarian or totalitarian government from coming to power here?

10. Recalling the war years, Hunt notes that, for children, "the adult world of terror, sadness, and sacrifice was only
a part of the experience of that time. The other part was our capacity and urge to escape into play and fantasy . .
." (p. 117) How might that capacity for play and fantasy have helped young Ingrid and other children in coping
with "terror, sadness, and sacrifice"? How might such a capacity have blinded adults to the realities of Nazi
rule?

11. "Accuracy and Ordnung (orderliness) were the key virtues in which we drilled" in school, Hunt explains. (p.
122) She further notes that, despite the school curriculum not including "anything like 'political education,'"
Fräulein Stöhr, the local teacher, "knew how to use occasions . . . to indoctrinate us." (p.118) What have been
the key virtues emphasized during your years of school? In what ways might those virtues be related to
acceptable social conventions and expectations in your community or the nation? To what degree and with what
means might every school "indoctrinate" its students in acceptable, conventional, or politically correct attitudes
and behavior?

12. Hunt refers to herself and the other young children of Berchtesgaden as "Hitler's children." (p. 127) What
circumstances can you imagine that would prompt you to refer to yourself and your friends as the children of a
political leader? What dangers might result from a group of children, or even adults, pledging allegiance to a
political authority who takes precedence over their parents?

13. What events and people influenced young Irmgard's increasingly critical view of the Nazi regime and practices
and individual Nazis?

14. In what instances and in what ways was young Irmgard a victim of "these conflicts forced on me by adults" (p.
157)—Fräulein Hoffmann's grilling her about her grandfather, for example? Can you recall similar incidents—
however less critical the possible consequences—in your own life? How might those incidents reflect an
ongoing effort by adults to enforce their beliefs, attitudes, and allegiances upon children?

15. Of her induction into the Hitler Youth, Hunt recalls that she "was completely seduced by a feeling of belonging,
of being united with all young Germans wearing this uniform . . ." (p. 172) And she later writes that, at war's
end, she "felt adrift in the wake of the collapsed Nazi belief system. I needed to belong somewhere . . ." (p. 227)
What might be the benefits and the hazards of this seductive sense of belonging, of "being united" with one's
peers in a common endeavor? In what ways might such a need make a person vulnerable to the lures of a
charismatic leader, a cult, a political party, a religious sect, or a high-school club?

16. In 1944, as bombing destruction increased throughout Germany, Irmgard's Pöhlman grandfather, a master
carpenter, was no longer eligible for restoration and reconstruction work "since he was not a member of the Nazi
Party." (p. 181) How would you feel and what do you think you would do if you, your parents, or your
grandparents were denied work because of a political affiliation or lack of the "correct" political affiliation?
What steps can be taken to ensure that this does not happen in the United States?
 17. "We never talked or heard about the suffering women and children in the countries we had conquered, much less
the victims of concentration camps and genocide," (p. 188) Hunt contends. And later she reports that the
broadcast of the International High Tribunal for German War Crimes from Nuremberg "was the first time that
the vast majority of the German public heard about the enormity of the crimes the Nazis, and therefore Germany,
had committed." (p. 238) Elsewhere in her narrative, however, she refers to reports about the concentration
camps, forced labor, and the Nazi-occupied countries. What do you think the probability is that most of the
German people were not aware of the enormity of Nazi crimes and atrocities? To what extent did the German
people of that time share in the Nazi guilt?

18. On the basis of Hunt's narrative and other sources, what conflicting reactions did the people of Berchtesgaden,
and throughout the country, have to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the arrival of Allied occupying forces?
Why might even those who celebrated the Nazi defeat have felt anger and sadness in the face of Germany's
humiliation?

19. After the fall of the Nazi regime, Hunt writes, "many tried to hide their Nazi past beneath the mantle of
religion…" (p. 228) She later notes that "patriotism, that misused word that I began to hate, became the excuse
for almost everything that had transpired." (p. 239) In what ways and to what degree might religion and
patriotism serve as a shield for those who refuse to admit their leaders' wrongdoings? How might patriotism also
become a cloak for, or a cause of, crimes and other immoral activities?

20. Of her mother, eight years after the end of World War II, Hunt explains: ". . . she was still thoroughly
conditioned to look to leadership, to the government, rather than to her own individual responsibility . . . to
guard the freedoms and guide the politics of the new republic." (p. 269) What might be the dangers of relying
solely on our political leaders and state or federal governments to safeguard our freedoms and rights? What
individual responsibilities might you take on in order to ensure the continuation of democratic freedoms in the
United States?

21. During her stay with Irmgard in New York City, Mutti asked, "Could the U.S. ever become a dictatorship?"
"Never," Irmgard replied, and tried to explain her answer. (p. 270) How would you answer Mutti's question
today? How would you explain your answer, whether affirmative or negative? How does your explanation differ
from Irmgard's? What might be the moral and ethical dilemmas of acting in obedience to orders that are
disagreeable, immoral, unethical, or illegal? How might a person rationalize or justify acting in obedience to
such orders? How did the German people of the 1930s and early 1940s justify such actions?

22. In what ways might Americans' notions of what makes them special be similar to or different from Nazi ideas
concerning Germans and Germany? Have Americans' sense of themselves ever been harmful to others, either in
the U.S. or elsewhere?

Classroom Activities
1. Prepare an underground or opposition newspaper with news articles and features that would have been
appropriate inside Nazi Germany.

2. Using as many resources as possible, compile a list of between fifty and one hundred facts about life in Nazi
Germany, from 1934 through 1945. Collect the facts and their sources in a binder or a display (illustrated, if
 possible).

3. Divide the class into an appropriate number of groups and assign each group specific chapters of On Hitler's
Mountain. Each group should then brainstorm discussion questions for its chapters and submit at least five
questions that focus on critical aspects of those chapters. After consolidating the best of the questions into a
master list, distribute to all members of the class, and undertake a discussion. Each student should be encouraged
to respond once to each question. Response might be recorded, transcribed, and collected in a binder.

4. Individually or in small groups, research a holiday observed in Nazi Germany. Prepare an illustrated report on
the purpose, symbols, and ceremonies of each. If a traditional holiday, what new symbols and meanings did the
Nazis impose upon it, and how? If a "new" holiday, what symbols and ceremonies did the Nazi leadership
decree, and what were their sources. Describe each holiday's impact on the German people. Collect reports in a
shared "Nazi Holidays" binder.

5. In what ways might Martin Boorman's confiscation of properties on the Obersalzberg and his destruction of
long-established communities differ from or be similar to present-day Eminent Domain policies and practices in
your community? As a class, research present laws and regulations governing Eminent Domain in your
community, county, and state. Prepare a joint report on the similarities and differences between Eminent
Domain in America today and property confiscation by the Nazis.

6. Prepare a picture-and-text display showing Berchtesgaden and the Obersalzberg, the buildings and other
components of the Führergebiet, and the layout of Hitler's residence, the Berghof. The display should clearly
identify the residents and purposes of each building.

7. In groups, research and prepare a report on the role of children in specific wars—from World War I through the
Iraq War—or on the impact of specific wars on children. Gather the reports together in a Children and War
binder and place copies in the school library and local public libraries.

8. Separate the class into those with a shared distinguishing feature (blue eyes or left-handedness, for example) and
those without. Those without: discuss and write down all the differences between them and the others and what
those differences might indicate. Those with: discuss and write down their feelings and thoughts vis-à-vis being
singled out as inferior. The two groups should then share and discuss their feelings and observations.

9. As a class, collect information on the Nuremberg trials (the International High Tribunal for German War
Crimes). Discuss the issues involved and the appropriateness of the trials themselves and of their outcome.

10. Assign roles based on the participants in and procedures of the Nuremberg trials and re-enact a single trial or a
distinct segment of the trials. (Go to: Famous World Trials, Court TV, and The Nuremberg Trials at Yale Law
School for information on each of the trials.) What might we learn from such a re-enactment?

11. Collect news articles on the rise of the Nazis in 1930s Germany and on the rise of neo-Nazi movements today-
in Germany, Great Britain, France, the United States, and other countries. Compare and contrast the contributing
factors in each instance. List ways and methods by which such movements might be countered or prevented.
Essay and Research Assignments
1. Select a Nazi official other than Hitler, research that person's involvement in Hitler's regime, and present a
written or oral report. (If this is completed as a class activity, the various reports may be gathered together in a
"Friends of the Third Reich" binder or display.)

2. Research and report on the statements and activities of an individual who actively opposed the Nazis and their
programs. The report should also include an examination of the reasons for that individual's resistance, the
beliefs and character traits that prompted resistance, the impact of the individual's opposition.

3. Write a story or essay that examines the emotions, thoughts, moral choices, and behavior of yourself, family, and
friends—as if you had grown up in Nazi Germany.

4. Research conditions in Germany prior to the rise of Hitler and the National Socialists. Attempt to explain how a
civilized country could rally behind a man like Hitler and his policies. Could it happen again given today's
global political conditions?

5. Recounting her mother's decision to leave the Waldow estate and hike through Finland, Hunt notes that "she felt
herself to be a Wanderer (wayfarer) who goes on a pilgrimage looking for 'die blaue Blume,' a mythical blue
flower that transformed the seeker and provided insight into the oneness of humans with nature." (p. 26)
Research and report on the significance and meaning of die blaue Blume (the blue flower) in German
Romanticism and folklore. Mature students might read Penelope Fitzgerald's, The Blue Flower (Mariner Books,
1997).

6. In an essay, compare and contrast the key events and components of your childhood with those of Irmgard Hunt.

7. Research one aspect or area of the Nazis' euthanasia program, breeding program, medical experimentation
program, extermination program, or other program or policy. Prepare a report illustrating the impact of the
program and the attitude of the German people toward it? What similar programs or theories have existed
elsewhere?

8. Research and report on one of the Nazi concentration, extermination, or labor camps-the circumstances of its
establishment, its inmates, etc. (Go to Middle Tennesse State University's Holocaust Archives, Jewish Virtual
History, A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust, and other Websites for lists of the camps and information on them.)
Pay particular attention to the establishment of the camp and the status, condition, and activities of children and
adolescents.

9. Which incident, episode, or event described by Hunt struck you as particularly significant in terms of its impact
on young Irmgard or her family? In an essay, summarize the incident, episode, or event, describe its impact, and
explain why you consider it to be of particular importance.

10. Select a person in your life who has exhibited an "equanimity and undiminished sense of self" (p. 163) similar
to those displayed by Hunt's Pöhlmann grandfather, and write an essay explaining the importance of those
characteristics and the effects on yourself and others.
 11. Hunt refers to "the complicated, uneasy accommodations that Hitler and the Catholic church had made for each
other" (p. 173) and to a delayed assault on the Catholic and Protestant churches. What facts in her narrative
contribute to an understanding of the relationships between the Nazi regime and the various Christian churches
in Germany? Research and report upon the statements and actions of Catholic priests and bishops or the pastors
and authorities of a specific Protestant denomination regarding the Nazi regime and its programs. To what extent
did the church or denomination you chose profit from accommodations with the Nazis? To what extent did it
speak out against the Nazis?

12. Make a list of the actions, feelings, emotions, and statements reported by Hunt in reaction to the defeat of Nazi
Germany and the arrival of Allied troops. What were the chief manifestations of and reasons for each?

13. Research the history of demagogues in Unites States history, compile a list of list of those demagogues, and
explain the issues that each promoted and the prejudices to which each appealed. Also describe the degree of
success that each demagogue had in imposing his or her ideas and values on American society.

14. Compare and contrast the values that we and others hold important as citizens of democracies and those values
that have been important to Adolf Hitler and other tyrants. What are the consequences of each set of values for
groups and individuals?

15. Compare Hunt's account of growing up in Nazi Germany and of the impact of Nazi rule on people's daily lives
with another nonfiction or fictional account selected from the list below or recommended by your teacher or
librarian. What similarities and differences between the two accounts do you find?

Additional Resources
Your school and public librarians will be able to assist students in finding appropriate books and Websites concerning
Hitler, the Nazi regime, World War II, and life in Nazi Germany. Among the numerous books and Web sites, the
following are among the most representative and interesting. Web sites cited in previous sections of this guide are not
repeated here. (Neither HarperCollins nor any other individual or organization involved in the production of this
teacher's guide is responsible for the content of the books and Web sites listed here.)

Books
Nonfiction

Alicia Appleman-Jurman. Alicia: My Story. Bantam, 1989

Richard Bessel, editor. Life in the Third Reich: 2nd Edition. 1987. Oxford University Press, 2001
Alan Bullock. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. 1951. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.
Kati David. A Child's War: World War II through the Eyes of Children. 1989. Avon Books, 1990. Reprint
Anne Frank. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. Anchor Books, 1996. Reprint
Peter Gay. My German Question: Growing up in Nazi Berlin. Yale University Press, 1998
Alfons Heck. A Child of Hitler. 1985. Bantam, 1986
Jurgen Herbst. Requiem for a German Past: A Boyhood among the Nazis. University of Wisconsin Press, 2002
Eileen Heyes. Children of the Swastika. Millbrook Press, 1993
Michael H. Kater. Hitler Youth. Harvard University Press, November 2004
Guido Knopp. Hitler's Children. Sutton, December 2004
H. W. Koch. The Hitler Youth. Cooper Square Publishers, 2000
Claudia Koonz. Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, the Family and Nazi Politics. St. Martin's Press, 1988
Horst Kruger, Horst. The Crack in the Wall, Growing Up Under Hitler. 1982. Fromm International, 1986. Reissue
Norbert Lebert, Stephan Lebert, & Julian Evans. My Father's Keeper: Children of Nazi Leaders. Little, Brown, 2001
Henry Metelmann. A Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Germany in the 1930s. Spellmount Press, 2004
Stanley Milgrim. Obedience to Authority. 1974. HarperPerennial, 1983
Alison Owings. Frauen: German Women Recall the Third Reich. Rutgers University Press, 1995
Anthony Read. The Devil's Disciples: Hitler's Inner Circle. Norton, 2004
Hans Peter Richter. I Was There. 1972. Puffin Books, 1992. Reprint
Anna Elizabeth Rosmus. Against the Stream: Growing up Where Hitler Used to Live. Translated by Imogen von
Tannenberg. University of South Carolina Press, 2002
Willy Schumann. Being Present: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany. 1991. Kent State University Press, 1993. Reprint
William Shirer. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. 1960. Simon & Schuster, 1990. Reprint
Peter Sichrovsky. Born Guilty: Children of Nazi Families. Translated by Jean Steinberg. Basic Books, 1989
Frederick J. Simonelli. American Fuehrer: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party. University of
Illinois Press, 1999
John Toland. Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography. Anchor Books, 1991. Reissue
Elie Wiesel. Night. 1960. Bantam Books, 1982. Reissue
Christa Wolf. A Model Childhood. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1980
Richard Wright. Black Boy. 1945. Perennial Classics, 1998

Fiction

Philip K. Dick. The Man in the High Castle. 1962. Vintage Books, 1992. Reissue
Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist. Everyman's Library, 1992
Gunter Grass. The Tin Drum. 1959. Vintage International, 1990. Reissue
Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird.
Sinclair Lewis. It Can't Happen Here. 1935. Signet Classics, 1993. Reissue
Jack London. The Iron Heel. 1908. Lawrence Hill Books, 1981
Philip Roth. The Plot Against America. Houghton Mifflin, 2004
Nathaniel West. A Cool Million. 1937. In Nathaniel West: Novels and Other Writings. Library of America, 1997

Websites
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia, "Nazi Germany"
Fairleigh Dickinson University, "Daily Life in Nazi Germany: An Overview"
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust, Teacher Resources
History Learning Site, Hitler Youth
History Learning Site, Nazi Germany
The History Place: Hitler Youth
The History Place, The Triumph of Hitler
The Nazi Children's Home Page
Berchtesgaden, Germany
Lectures for the History of Hitler's Germany
Simon Wiesenthal Multimedia Learning Center Online
PBS, Master Race
Facts The Holocaust-A Guide for Teachers, by Gary Grobman
Spartacus Educational (UK), "Nazi Germany"
Hitler and the Holocaust
Third Reich in Ruins, by Geoff Walden
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, "Nazi Germany [1933-1945]," Internet Links
World War II Multimedia Database, "Germany Under the Nazis"

This Teacher's Guide was prepared by Hal Hager, Hal Hager & Associates, Somerville, New Jersey. He has taught literature at several colleges,
has been active for many years in editing, marketing, reviewing, and writing about books and writers, and is the author of numerous teacher's
guides and reading group guides.