Review: Susan Gill - Dec. 19, 2016 - Amazon
"Before actually reading this book, I assumed I would be reading a sort of apologetic. Girl gets all carried away with Nationalistic pride and then comes to a startling revelation that what she was following was nothing short of text book evil. Surprisingly, however, the book is not that predictable. Far from deriding the activities of Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls) she allows us an unvarnished look at the optimistic and vigorous life of the feminine side of Hitler Youth. Cynthia Sandor, using the journals left behind by her mother Gertrude, recounts the innocent hopefulness her mother enacted while participating in the activities that had become standard fare for these young women. It is story that is largely innocent of the realities of that War. Gertrude is unaware of the atrocities Nazi German was enacting upon Jews. All she can see is the extra money that makes life easier for her mother and its provision by the Third Reich. Gertrude swells with national pride throughout the book and her enthusiasm for linking the natural world with her allegiance to Germany never wanes. The action of the story is exclusively in the countryside where the girls lead healthy and active lives learning the types of skills ignored generally by the mid 20th century world. The book is a fascinating primary source account of one girl's life within the Nazi regime. It is unique in its unapologetic stance towards Gertrude's exuberance , making it an indispensable source for historical inquiry."
"Before actually reading this book, I assumed I would be reading a sort of apologetic. Girl gets all carried away with Nationalistic pride and then comes to a startling revelation that what she was following was nothing short of text book evil. Surprisingly, however, the book is not that predictable. Far from deriding the activities of Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls) she allows us an unvarnished look at the optimistic and vigorous life of the feminine side of Hitler Youth. Cynthia Sandor, using the journals left behind by her mother Gertrude, recounts the innocent hopefulness her mother enacted while participating in the activities that had become standard fare for these young women. It is story that is largely innocent of the realities of that War. Gertrude is unaware of the atrocities Nazi German was enacting upon Jews. All she can see is the extra money that makes life easier for her mother and its provision by the Third Reich. Gertrude swells with national pride throughout the book and her enthusiasm for linking the natural world with her allegiance to Germany never wanes. The action of the story is exclusively in the countryside where the girls lead healthy and active lives learning the types of skills ignored generally by the mid 20th century world. The book is a fascinating primary source account of one girl's life within the Nazi regime. It is unique in its unapologetic stance towards Gertrude's exuberance , making it an indispensable source for historical inquiry."
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