On Hitler's Mountain Book Review

On Hitler’s Mountain shared the personal account of Irmgard Hunt, a Geman girl, which grew up on the same mountain that was Adolf Hitler’s alpine retreat. She narrated her own and her family’s story from how they lived through many important historical moments in German history. From how the great depression negatively affected her grandparent’s household to how the Nazi ideals put up a division between her own family. She shared anecdotes that she experienced herself growing up in the German society. At first, she did not know any better but as she grew older, she formulated her own opinions of what was going on politically in Germany during the Nazi era. She made clear historical connections of the events that were occurring at those specific times. Hunt also showed how ordinary German civilians dealt with the eminent, totalitarian power of the Nazi regimen. Not everyone that was subdued and brainwashed into following this communist party believed or agreed with its teachings and ideals. Hunt allowed the reader to have a personal connection to the horrible and inhumane ways the Nazi party operated. In her candid and honest account of events, she does not apologize or try to conceal the facts and atrocities that the German government caused to Jews, civilians from countries they invaded and even to their own people. The purpose of Hunt’s writing was to bring awareness about hardships that German people themselves faced and endured. It seemed as if she was trying to show that the Jews and other foreign civilians were not the only victims of events as the Great Depression, the war and the emergence of the Nazi era. For instance, she described the lack of resources and poverty her family suffered during the Great Depression when six days’ wages could not buy a single loaf of bread. She also talked about how her grandmother in order to bring some food to the table had to resort to picking in the trash or hiding left over crumbs of bread that she collected from her work (Hunt, 22). This not only showed the amount of extreme poverty and high unemployment that existed but that Germans were desperate for change. This was the time when Hitler emerged as a leader promising better living conditions and prosperity to his people. However, the way he achieved this was through imposing his presence on the domestic lives of the population, their thoughts and memories through the use of brain washing and propaganda. They controlled and dictated the everyday details of family decisions: their education, the books and the news they read, and how we greeted one another (Hunt, 41). Anyone that opposed or got in the way of the Nazi party’s agenda was sent to concentration camps. People that were accused of conspiracy or opposition had an unfortunate fate. Everything seemed to be going somewhat well for a while according to how Hunt’s family was doing. But things suddenly changed. One of the Nazi party’s goals was to keep the German population as pure as possible. They aimed for physical perfection. Blonde, blue-eyed, well built, intelligent individuals that would strengthen the race. This led to anti-Semitism, racism and segregation against anyone that did not fit that mold. Just like any social outcasts, those that were not of pure German heritage were sent to concentration camps in an effort for Germany to do a racial cleanse of its population. Any deformity that a civilian would have, too, would result in their demise. In fact, Hitler’s euthanasia program was implemented and kept secret from the general public. In 1939, three months after Hunt’s birthday, Hitler invaded Poland. This was the beginning of war. Men were drafted to fight and it hit home when Hunter’s father was called to serve in the military. Just like many other families in Germany, women were left alone to take care of the house and children. The most horrible news was to know that a loved one had died. This struck a core for Hunt when she found out that her father passed away. What was disturbing was the way someone’s death was an act that needed to be praised and bring pride. When Hunt’s teacher, Faulein Star, ordered her to stand in front of the class to share her family’s tragedy was cold and heartless. It was then that Hunt started realizing even more if these sacrifices were worth making for the Fuhrer. The brainwashing of Nazi ideals began at a really early age at school. The curriculum did not include anything like “political education” but it was more targeted to share news about the war, or have a local Nazi to indoctrinate the class (Hunt, 120). As part of the curriculum, training on how to operate gas masks, preparedness training and survival skills. It seemed as if any kind of intellectual knowledge and power were unacceptable in Hitler’s eyes as they could endanger his plans since the German population would create thoughts of their own instead of following everything he said blindly. Hunt hated school as it was as close to a concentration camp that she felt she was in. When invasion into Germany occurred following World War II, Hunt described the aftermath wish such detail. Hitler’s mountain was taken over and bombed. Yet, German officials still promised that they would carry their mandate to completion and that all the lives sacrificed were in worth dying for. However, amidst the take over, Hitler committed suicide in what it was considered a heroic death. Many felt betrayed but such act that all they were hoping for was that Hitler’s death would act as catalyst to end any more lives being sacrificed. At this point, all that there was left to do was to flee and hide from Russian forces. Fortunately, later one American forces came to the rescue of many Germans and captives in concentration camps.
In conclusion, Hunt made many historical events become more personal seeing how it affected her family first hand and how she was able to survive such turmoil period of war. I appreciated having pictures throughout the book made it possible to put faces to the people she talked about as well as other places that were part of her narrative. Her story was a testimony of perseverance, hope and close family ties despite turbulent times. The end of the Nazi era allowed for the birth of new ideas and a new civilization.