Helmuth Final Thoughts

Helmuth loved Hitler at first, but as time went on, he began to hate him. He began breaking the laws, small ones at first, but as the book progressed, he broke more serious laws, such as listening to banned radio stations and writing enemy propaganda. Helmuth began trusting other people to do these things with him and eventually one of them betrayed him, turning him in. Instead of being afraid, Helmuth was calm and put on a brave face until the day he was executed.

I feel a little betrayed by the author about Helmuth's death. There was a certain point where I thought 'Hey, they might let him out and everything will go okay!' but instead he was being the decision that had been made in trials. I was angry and sad. I think it was worth giving up his life for what he did though. He believed in himself and what he thought was right and acted on it.

I thought the book being written between flashback and the modern day was a little confusing, just because it wasn't always clear that the date of the flashback was changing. It was slightly helpful, otherwise it just confused some people.

Of course Helmuth's friends/brother were less guilty! Helmuth was the one who made all the enemy propaganda and got them to listen to the banned radio stations. He was the mastermind behind the crime.

I do think it was fair that Helmuth was the only one who got the death sentence even though it kills me to think so. He was the mastermind and he gathered people to follow his crime.

I think Helmuth's death had a huge impact on Mutti, but I don't think she'll do anything. I think she'll keep her silence and just bear the weight of a dead child. I think his death had a huge impact on his older brother. His brother didn't want to work for Hitler in the first place and he knew that Helmuth hated Hitler's guts, so I think his brother will try to honor Helmuth by fighting for what he believed in.

My overall thoughts on the story are positive. I really enjoyed it, except for the ending. There was a lot of anger, sadness, and joy that swirled around in me as we were reading the book. Anger at Hitler and his ways, sadness at all the death and pain Helmuth experienced, and joy that Helmuth finally stood up for himself and his beliefs. I strongly suggest that other people read this book as soon as possible.