Johannes Herwig: Bis die Sterne Zittern

Bis die Sterne zittern. (Until the stars tremble)

Gerstenberg 2017.

Harro Jäger is a 16-year old student and lives at Adolf Hitler Street 157.  Soon after he confirms his identity at the Leipzig Police Commissioner’s office, he finds himself in a prison cell, beaten up. How this all came about is told in Harro’s flashbacks. When he gets into a skirmish with some boys in the Hitler Youth in the summer of 1936, other youths quickly come to his aid. They belong to a group of boys and girls who reject the Nazi ideology. Fascinated by their free thinking and provocative actions, Harro joins them – going against the will of his parents, who fear drawing the attention of the Nazi regime. In sober, clear language the author takes young readers along on a search for the right way to live in difficult times.  “Bis die Sterne zittern” was a nominee of the Youth Jury for the German Children’s Book Award in 2017 because the novel stimulates reflection about important questions: “What would I be prepared to do for a free and open society?” “Would I engage in the resistance if society is under threat?”; questions that (unfortunately) have become topical again today. 

Grade 8 - 11
Lecture will be held in German.

Application:

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