Parallel Journeys

Eleanor Ayer puts Alfons’s and Helen’s stories in a greater historical context. She notes Germany’s humiliating World War I loss and connects the dejection and disorder to the emergence of the Nazi leader (the Führer), Adolf Hitler. She shows how Hitler creates a compelling narrative that falsely blames Germany’s problems on many groups, especially Jews. Hitler takes Germany from a democracy to a totalitarian state, where he possesses absolute, unquestioning authority. He starts World War II and a genocide machine that aims to erase political enemies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, people with physical and mental disabilities, and Jews. The multiple genocides become known as the Holocaust, and 11 million people die—six million of them are Jews.

Ayer doesn’t say that the Nazis gained control of Germany through fair and free elections. They were one of many political parties, and when Hitler became the leader, he made them popular, compelling the other politicians to name him Chancellor. The veteran politicians thought they could manipulate the politically inexperienced Hitler, but they were wrong.

Ayer also omits the Reichstag Fire. On February 27, 1933, nearly a month after Hitler became Chancellor, someone—likely a communist acting on their own—burns down the Reichstag, the German parliament building. Using manipulation and misinformation, the Nazis present the fire as a coordinated attack against Germany. To protect the nation, the parliament passes the Enabling Act on March 23, 1933, giving Hitler dictatorial powers.

Hitler used his power to control young people like Alfons. The Hitler Youth is the official Nazi organization for young people. Its explicit purpose is to produce future Nazi leaders. In The Third Reich in Power (Penguin Books, 2006), the contemporary European historian Richard J. Evans describes the Hitler Youth as a “relatively unsuccessful branch of the Nazi movement before 1933” (p. 271). Other youth groups were much more popular. Once the Nazis gained control of Germany, they banished these groups and forced young people to join the Hitler Youth. It was the most popular youth group because it was the only youth group.

Though Alfons excels in the organization and obeys its harsh edicts, many young people, in Evans’s account, disliked the strict, abusive atmosphere and did the bare minimum needed to avoid punishment. While Nazis forced young people to join Hitler Youth, they couldn’t mandate enthusiasm. Alfons dedication to Hitler and the Hitler Youth sets him apart and leads to constant promotions.