Customer Reviews

Friedrich

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In considering what other book about the Holocaust (besides Anne Frank's DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL) to have my eighth-grade students read this year, I am considering FRIEDRICH as it offers something new to the mix that I consider thought-provoking: what was it like to be swept up into the Nazi party as a child, thinking that the initial get-togethers with other kids were fun!

DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL is light-years ahead of FRIEDRICH in writing style, emotional depth, and the overwhelming intricacies of what it is like to watch someone mature. It is also non-fiction, very much from a girl's perspective, and is a slowly evolving story that deals with Jews in hiding -- the story becomes more about the internal world of Anne Frank than external world of the Nazis; FRIEDRICH offers something different.

I think the most affecting aspect of FRIEDRICH is the slow development of the horror of the Third Reich. At first, both boys (Friedrich and the narrator) think being a member of the Jungvolk is great, but over time comes the slow realization that the world is not all fun and games. In fact, when the narrator joins the mob destroying a Jewish school, he doesn't share the political will, but simply enjoys the idea of smashing things -- the internalization of what he's doing doesn't really enter the picture until he sees the same mob enter Friedrich's apartment and do the same thing.

This unique, horrifying de-evolution of civility is presented very simply; so simple that the reading level of FREIDRICH is probably fifth- or sixth-grade. However, I have read many children's/young adult books that are told simply, but convey much deeper meaning, and deserve a careful analysis.

FRIEDRICH is not meant to replace DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL, but it is a very good companion piece -- particularly as it is more of a boys' book and that's important for a teacher to have in his/her arsenal when working with such a difficult subject.

I believe that the publisher could package this book better (new cover art, more factual addenda), and I would recommend getting a translation that uses a higher level vocabulary to attract more students to it. These changes would truly give a boost to the use of this book in the classroom.

As a 12 year old student I decided to read "Friedrich" a novel about the holocaust and how it treats him. Hans is Friedrich best friend and the author of the book. He saw and heard everything that happened to Friedrichin the book. At frist, Friedrich is more fortune then his friend Hans, who is poor, but as you read on, freidrich's life changed. His father is fored to quit his job because Hitler doesn't allow jew to own a business. Friedrich is kick out of school becuase Hitler thinks Jew don't deserve an education. Worst when he's gone, the evil Nazis beat and killed his mother and sent his father to a concentreation camp. This book isn't all about Friedrich's torture. His friends and family help him by taking care of him and giving him a picture of his parents to remember them by. "Friedrich" is a compelling heart warming book. I rate it on a scale of 1-10 a 10, because this is the first novel I enjoyed. This book made me think about why God would ever let this happen. It almost made me cry, then I remembered how his friends helped him and it stopped the tears.

There are so many great stories out there that one can find about Holocaust Europe. Although this story is written for younger ages, it is a great story none the less. Richter tells this story as a first person narrative writing in a simple but elegant way. It depicts the childhood of Richter and his friendship with his Jewish friend Friedrich. One really gets a good idea of the way Jews were treated in the 1930's and 40's by others influenced by the new Nazi party. Richter's story also gives you an idea of how the Holocaust tore apart families and friendships. This is an excellent story, that will really take you away with the author's excellent story telling and very personal narrative.

This is a very moving stoty about Friedrich a young Jewish boy that lived during the Holicost as told through the eyes of his German best friend. I think it is a very good story for people to read because it teaches them how bad raceism has become. There is no difference between a Jew and a German. This is also a good book because it shows how Jews really were treated during World War II, and how families were so easily split apart. Altho it is a sad story, we all can learn from it.

I read this book just last night for summer reading for high school and I was captivated. This book covers about 15 or 16 years of the lives of a German boy's family and his best friend's family. Sharing the same apartment building, Friedrich's family is well off and his friend's is very poor. However, they still have their good times in a German city at the time of Hitler's rise to power as chancellor of Germany. The book is divided into short anecdotes that slowly progress from bad to worse, showing the cruel treatments of Jewish people by Germans. From the two boys experiencing the painting of signs on Jewish stores to mark them to Friedrich's dismission from school and a local pool because he is Jewish and his mother's death after their house is raided and ransacked. This book truely shows the selfish and cruel ways of the Nazis and their discrimination towards innocent people. There is a story were Friedrich and his friend attend a Party meeting (Party refering to Hitler's party) and a man in the Party tells of how the Jewish people used to sacrifice cows and showed no mercy and says the Jewish people were merciful and evil for doing this. Now don't I recall the innocent Jewish people being tortured and murdered by Nazis who showe dno mercy? The Nazis were hypocritical and evil, unmerciful, unhuman beings. This story stands as a testament of a boy who watched his mother die because of these people, who watched his father be deported, and who saw his everyday world shatter, only to end in Friedrich's own tragic death when a Nazi sympathizer, the man who owned the apartment building, denies Friedrich when he asks for shelter during an air raid. I highly recommend this book and urge you to read and it and never let this kind of thing happen again.

Friedrich is a book about a young Jewish boy, his family, and his non-Jewish friend and his family. It is set in the 1930's and the 1940's in Germany. The main theme of friendship is a great way to keep the reader(s) interested. That makes the book so much more interesting because it captures the characters feelings. I thought this book was very good because it was the honest truth of the horrible ruthlessness that many non-Jews showed towards the Jews. Also Friedrich's unnamed friend writes it in first person. Which makes you really go into the story. This also helps you understand what the characters are feeling.
Hans Peter Richter, the author, explained so many things from bombs going off to, the snow falling from the sky so vividly it made you want to write a book or poem yourself. Just that alone made me rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
I would recommend this book to people of all ages because the main plot is so well thought out and expressed. Friedrich and his friend have adventure after adventure from breaking a window to escaping bombs and escaping shrapnel. If you like a good historical, and very interesting book read Friedrich, by Hans Peter Richter.

Friedrich is a great book that discusses what one of the many Jewish families during WWII had to deal with. Friedrich is the main character of the story but the story is told by one of his friends, who's family is lending them an attic room for a hide-away shelter.

Friedrich deals with several harsh events that really actually give you a sense of how it was for Jews to live in that time period. The ending of the book became a little confusing to me, but other than that, the book was excelent.

I would recomend this book to older youth that are intrested in learning of history. And maybe if you aren't into history you might like this book too! I hope my review was helpful to you.

This book was better than I had initially thought. Though it wasn't Shakespeare, Richter writes with a smooth flow making it quite easy reading. He, oddly enough, never gives the name of the narrator that creates a better platform for Friedrich's life. Using common stereotypes, Richter helps bring the thirties and forties to life. Throughout the book, there are many minor characters that speak their mind, creating an environment of the German way of life that the reader could easily grasp This story depicts the relationship between the Jews and non-Jews prior and during World War II. This book, which doesn't follow the typical Jewish story, tells of two young Germans boys that grew up together, one a Jew and one not. The boys do not hold any prejudices for one another but as they grow together, they start to learn the dangers of growing up in a fascist society. Taught throughout their lives, starting off at first as small offenses, each of these boys, the narrator and Friedrich, learn their places in the German society during Hitler's harsh rule. I think that the various events that these two boys went through, the heckling, Jewish stereotyping, and persecution for being a Jew in the wrong place at the wrong time, depicts truly the times that the characters lived in. Throughout all of these events, the narrator tried to defend his Jewish friend, showing the goodness of human nature. This is just a simple story that tells a life of two young boys in the middle of the worst time in history. Even though I wasn't personally there, Richter writes as though I was witness to Friedrich's life. I would recommend this book for all ages because it is easy reading and the story can be enjoyed from the youngest reader to the highest-level readers.

Friedrich

" Wow." That's all I could say after a read Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter. It was so good and yet so sad. It really made you wonder how and why someone could imprison thousands of people for crimes they never commit.
Hans P. Richter does an excellent job of describing the events leading up to the Holocaust. He gives so much detail that the book nearly brought tears to my eyes.
I would give Friedrich a perfect ten out of ten. There was loads of detail. The author adds a bit of mystery by not telling who the narrator is.
I would recommend Friedrich to anyone who likes to read about historical evens in WWII and to anyone who likes tearjerkers.

Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter

Friedrich was just an ordinary boy living in Germany, his family had enough money and they had a lot of friends. All of a sudden his dad looses his job, then civilians riot against him and his family and other people like him, then he gets expelled from school. All because he's a Jew.
This story is a powerful tale about a boy named Friedrich told from his best friend's point of view. Friedrich's life gets worse and worse as his family gets destroyed through all the pressure they had. Friedrich and the narrator are best friends through everything they have to go through. Even Friedrich's dad starts to change for the worse as the story goes on. This story shows how to stand up for what you know is right and t hat is definitely why it is so powerful.
I think this story is one of the best stories I have ever read because the theme throughout it is very strong but it is not told in a little kid sort of way. The book is not intended for little kids because it is told with all the parts of the Second World War in it and some parts can be very bloody. This book gives one of the clearest ideas of what happened in World War Two.
This book would appeal to many people. I have never really been interested in World War 2, but it really interested me. The only people that this book might not appeal to is little kids. The deaths of many people close to Friedrich and the behavior of some of the Nazis in this book is awful, scary, and sick. But again it gives a good picture of what it must have been like in the time of the Holocaust. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what it was like to see a very close friend be discriminated against. I give this book 5 stars.