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This title in other formats:Other titles in the Richard Jackson Books series:
Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi (Richard Jackson Books)by David Chotjewitz
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:All his life, Daniel has been hiding. He just doesn't know it.
Until the spring of 1933, he's enjoyed a comfortable German boyhood with his well-to-do family, in school, at soccer. Daniel's even enjoyed jail — for one exciting night — with his best friend, Armin, after they've been caught painting a swastika on a wall in the hated Communist section of Hamburg. In their cell, the boys cut their wrists, mingle blood, and swear lasting brotherhood. Then, a thunderclap: Daniel learns to his horror that his mother is Jewish, that he is therefore half-Jewish and, in Aryan eyes, half-human. Daniel keeps the truth a secret. He and Armin still talk of joining the Hitler Youth. But Armin's father, an out-of-work longshoreman and a Socialist, forbids it. Armin joins anyway, with fateful consequences for Daniel's family. Throughout World War II, and until the story's haunting final scene, each friend holds the life of the other in his hands. Review:"Daniel Kraushaar, only child of a prominent Hamburg attorney, leads a cushy life compared to his best friend, Armin, a scholarship student at the boys' 'elite Gymnasium.' But as the Hitler regime's grip grows tighter, Daniel's parents are forced to tell him the truth: his mother is Jewish, making Daniel 'half-human' in the Nazis' eyes. Armin begins to rise through the ranks of the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth), and the secret about Daniel's heritage leaks out, making him an outcast with everyone but Armin, who pledges his loyalty to his friend. Chotjewitz finely etches Daniel's journey from spoiled naf to older-and-wiser teen. Since much of the drama derives from wondering how the Kraushaars will survive, the author undercuts the tension by opening with a prologue narrated by the adult Daniel in 1945, now a U.S. Army officer, as he walks through the ruins of his former home. The story then flashes back and forth from the 1930s to 1945, with the point of view shifting among Daniel, his parents and his cousin, Miriam. The structure demands a sophisticated reader. But the author intelligently presents the complexity of the dissent within the German population, as Hitler's ascension begins to look inevitable — especially well limned in the friendship between the titular boys, who grow up before readers' eyes. This absorbing family portrait is intimate despite its well-known historical backdrop; the stunning conclusion will spark debate not only about what happened but about the collision of duty and friendship. Ages 12-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.) Synopsis:In 1933 Germany, Daniel Kraushaar is horrified to discover that his mother is Jewish. Daniel realizes he is half-Jewish — and half-human in Aryan eyes. Daniel keeps this secret to himself. But when his friends join the Hitler Youth, it carries fateful consequences for Daniel's family.
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