‘Then’ written by Morris Gleitzman, is a novel about a ten year old Jewish boy named Felix and a six year old girl named Zelda. The book is set in World War II in Poland. Felix and Zelda are on the run from Nazis until they come across a kind woman named Genia. Genia gives them a fake identity, food and shelter because she cares for Felix and Zelda. But the Nazis are trying to find all the Jews and the people who are against the Nazis. They want the people to suffer. In Then, not all people turn into animals but some people bring out their true kindness due to war. People can become violent, hungry and thirsty, but most importantly people are hiding in unexpected areas like animals and trying to not get caught, but some, even though this may be happening to them they will still try to be who they were before the war happened, kind and caring.
An example to which war turns people into animals is when Felix turns murderous near the end because of war. At the start of the book, Felix is hopeful that he and Zelda would survive and that he wouldn’t dare kill anything or anyone. All the way to the part where he sees that the Nazis killed the only family he had left. He feels numb and is heartbroken and that’s when he wanted to kill as many Nazis to get revenge, which is not like the Felix we knew at the start of the book. In the book, Felix says to Dov, “I want to kill as many of them as I can.” (Pg. 175.) From this you can tell that Felix intends to kill as many Nazis as he can, why? Because, everything the Nazis has done to his loved ones, he isn’t usually like this but the rage that the Nazis caused, gave him the temptation to kill. War is dangerous because you could change a whole lot just from one action, but if a family member dies or gets injured, you would avenge them and kill the people who caused the incident to happen.
Genia may not like Jews, but they are in danger and she has the courage to step up and risk her life to shelter Jewish people. Genia may be a normal polish woman but there’s a war happening and the Germans want to get rid of as many Jewish people as possible, she therefore decides to ignore her own opinion towards Jewish people and protect them; which also meant she was risking her life! Felix asks Genia “If you hate Jewish people so much, why didn’t you hand me over to the Nazis?” (Pg. 45.) this shows that when something brutal is happening, you could risk your life to protect those who are in danger, or protect yourself. From this, some people do what they think is best but there are always consequences which could mean that they could die for doing what they thought was best.
Amon is an example of a Hitler Youth character who expresses his kindness towards anyone, even in a horrible and dangerous situation. Despite Amon being apart of the terrifying Hitler Youth, he shows compassion to Felix and Zelda and making sure that they are cared for and are safe. Throughout the book every time Zelda or Felix gets into trouble, Amon is always there to assist them in anyway possible. Amon says. “Tell Violetta (Zelda) if she gets into trouble, to ask for me. Amon Kurtz.” (Pg. 149.) Morris Gleitzman is implying that even if you are apart of the Nazi or Hitler Youth, you have some good in you. Some people decide not to use it but some people do and it makes people feel that they are safe and are being cared about. Through this, Gleitzman demonstrates that it doesn’t matter what group you are in or who you are, you can still be amiable to people who are in danger and need help.
War doesn’t always turn all people into animals. Some people will become violent, others will become protective and desperate for shelter and food. Felix becomes violent towards the end, Genia may not like Jewish people but she knows they are in danger and decides to risk her life and Amon is apart of the Hitler Youth but is compassionate towards Felix and Zelda. Everything happens for a reason, this whole thing happened because of war, people showed their true kindness, people showed how violent they can be, people risked their lives for someone else; This all doesn’t happen on a normal day. But war can be dangerous because it could impact how you act in the future. War can turn people into animals but everyone is different.