The Book Thief

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. The destruction of books by governments is a common occurrence in history. Brainstorm different reasons why a political party, government, or ruling group might choose to destroy books.

Teaching Suggestion: This question will orient students to one of the themes of the book: compliance with and resistance to the Nazi Party. Some students might not be aware of the frequency of book burning by different ruling governments in history. Use this question to cite specific historical political parties and groups that limited free speech through the destruction of books, including governments other than the Nazi Party in Germany.

• The following article from Smithsonian Magazine provides important ideological reasons why some governments choose to limit the dissemination of free speech.
• This timeline collected by the Canadian group “Freedom to Read” provides a quick historical snapshot of different ruling governments that mandated the destruction of books.

2. The National Socialist German Workers' Party, also known as the Nazi Party, was a German political party in power from 1932 to 1945. Brainstorm a written list of informative points you know about the Nazi Party. For example, who was the Party’s leader? What was the political agenda of the Nazi Party? What happened in 1945 that ended their position of leadership?

Teaching Suggestion: This question will guide students into thinking about what they already know about the book’s historical context. Since The Book Thief does not provide too much background information on the Nazi Party and its rise to power in the 1930s, use this opportunity to provide a foundation of basic information.

• This article on History.com provides a brief overview of the rise and fall of the Nazi Party.
• Auschwitz-Birkenau’s website provides detailed information on the different groups of people targeted and imprisoned in this infamous Polish extermination camp. While The Book Thief does not directly address the Holocaust, this is a particularly important topic to address with students since it provides more clarity on why characters such as Liesel’s father and Max are deemed “undesirable” by the Nazi Party.

Short Activity

Host a brief in-class debate or Socratic discussion on the following question: Is thievery ever justified?

Teaching Suggestion: Students should paraphrase or define the meaning of ”justified” before beginning to prepare for the activity. For a debate, split students into two groups, with one group representing the affirmative of the question, and the other representing the negative. Give each group time to prepare their main points of argumentation, as well as their counterpoints. The “winning” team should be determined based on their ability to substantiate their points based on logic and evidence.

• This guide from the Australia AFS Multinational Program breaks down how to prepare a class for and facilitate a debate.

For a Socratic discussion, arrange seats in a circle and instruct students to deliver points and rationale one at a time but spontaneously; students might stand or raise a hand to claim their turn, then begin speaking (no need for the teacher to acknowledge the speaker). Students should defer to those who have not spoken yet if they would like to make continued points. A Socratic discussion is not a debate between sides but a group of individuals each contributing an opinion and/or addressing the opinion made by another contributor. The teacher can participate and guide with additional leading questions.

• This description from Colorado State University details the fluidity of a Socratic discussion.