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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. What was the Nazi ideology that defined and drove the actions of Nazi Germany? Which countries did Nazi Germany invade? What happened as a result of these invasions?

Teaching Suggestion: This question taps students’ prior knowledge about the historical context of the novel. From 1933 to 1945, the National Socialist (Nazi) German Worker’s Party controlled the government of Germany. With Adolf Hitler as their political leader, the Nazis introduced a series of ethnically and racially targeted policies that ultimately led to violence, destruction, genocide, and World War II (WWII). In an effort to expand their lebensraum, or “living space,” Germany invaded many countries on the European continent, including Austria, former Czechoslovakia, and Poland, where this novel is set. The Nazis’ antisemitic and pro-fascist ideology reshaped the lives of people living in these countries, ultimately decimating the populations that the Nazi government sought to exterminate. Students’ discussion of this prompt might benefit from direct instruction of these historical points or time for students to investigate reputable resources.

• Britannica offers a thorough explanation of the rise of Nazi ideology in 20th-century Germany.