A Wisconsin born youth lives through war torn Nazi Germany

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	• The American German Arthur C Rathburn Brite Publishing, 2004 - 128 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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A Wisconsin born youth lives through war torn Nazi Germany

When he was ten years old Juergen Frank became a member of the "Hitler Jungen," the Hitler Youth Organization. However, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, after Germany declared war on the United States, Frank was kicked out of the group when it became known that he was born in Wisconsin. Young Juergen was sad because this meant he had to go to church with his family instead of attending the Hitler Youth meetings with his friends on Friday. He also had to miss the big dirt cloud throwing fights on the hill called "Cokacolaberg" (Coca Cola Mountain), in which the kids were practicing for battle. Another kid, Udo Schmidt, who was the group's "Faehnleinfuerer" (standard bearer), a an avid Nazi, tried to turn the rest of the kids against Juergen since he was neither a true German nor a loyal Nazi, but the other kids ignored Udo's rantings and accepted Juergen as one of them.

"The American German" is the story of a young boy who is born in Wisconsin but raised in Nazi Germany. The idea that a kid would be kicked out of the Hitler Youth because he was born in Wisconsin is certainly going to catch your interest, but what makes this book interesting is that most of Juergen Frank's life was not so different compared to the rest of the people where he lived. Author Arthur C. Rathburn tells the story of what life was like for Frank in Germany during the war years, as well as his experience of being repatriated back to the land of his birth where his problems become more mundane (a pastor decides that Juergen is too hard for people to use so he "Americanizes" it into George even though the two names are not related). The book is illustrated with black & white photographs from Frank's personal collection, from a small boy in lederhosen to a proud American farmer. One of the obvious lessons of this book is that not even a World War could stop people from living the American dream.

I read this little book after I read Rathburn's "Meeting the Enemy," a novel that is based on the a true story of an elite German paratrooper captured by British troops in North Africa and sent to P.O.W. camps in the United States. One of the people that Rathburn talked to about their life experiences during World War II was Juergen Frank. Like "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Rathburn's "Meeting the Enemy" was a powerful story giving us a memorable look at what it is like for those on the other side, the real people behind the propaganda posters, the ethnic slurs, and war films. Rathburn has also authored a corresponding book, "The American Japanese," about Akira Richard Toki. Like Juergen Frank, Toki was born in the United States but had to endure overt racism during the war. For students who are interested in World War II and in having a different perspective these books are well worth reading. "The American German" is a quick read, which means it should hold the attention span of even younger readers, who I think will be captivated by learning what it was like for someone from Wisconsin to end up in Nazi Germany.

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