100 percent pure German sweat

Liesel marches with the rest of the youth and can't help feeling proud. Everything goes
smoothly except for Tommy Müller, who crashes into the boy in front of him. After the
marching, the children disperse to get ready for the bonfire. It gets cold and people joke about
warming themselves up by burning the "trash." Carts wheel in the material and make a huge
pile. Liesel feels that the burning books is wrong, because her books are so precious to her, but
she can't help wanting to see some destruction – like most humans.

The reason for the book burning: Hitler knew the power of words, and he wanted to keep
people away from words and ideas that contradict those of Hitler’s own ideas and his
leadership.

A man on a podium salutes Hitler and then gives a speech about the evils of Communists and
Jews. When Liesel hears this she starts realizing the reason why her family has been destroyed,
and she feels sick. She tries to escape the crowd but then the man lights the pile on fire, and
everyone cheers as the words start to burn.

Ludwig Schmeikl finds Liesel and helps her through the crowd. He has broken his ankle in the
confusion and pushing, and his expression is like a hurt animal. Finally they find a resting place,
and they apologize to each other for their fight in the school-yard.

Important parts:

The thought of missing …the mound of guilt.. : a metaphor that describes the Nazi’s
wrongdoings.

It reminded her of an unpopular…Forever. Amen.: ‘It’ is the pile of books that is personified as
a lonely child who is powerless to change its fate. The pile books was spat and hated but there
was no protest against the burning.

…the sky was crouching: pathetic fallacy. That highlights the tragic incident that has been
celebrated.

A horizon of Nazi flags…Literally it describes how huge the crowd was and the whole
surrounding was covered with flags and there were the youths wearing their uniforms.
The crowd was itself: The place was packed with people and they is no space to go through.

You breathed with it… waited for its fire.: Literally it says that all were part of the crowd and
have the same enthusiasm; there is no way to do something else. Metaphorically, it shows the
power and superiority of the Nazis , how they are showing their supremacy. Everyone must
obey Hitler’s rules (sang its songs) .

We stop them reaching our mind: ironic because the Nazis are brainwashing the whole nation

The other political beliefs are considered ‘disease’.

…the mound that dwarfed him in all its culpability: metaphor. The pile of books is so big that
the man looks like a dwarf. This pile of books symbolizes the crime and cruelty of the Nazis and
this man is one of them who are guilty of their savage actions.

No one died… not physically: Though no one diesor no one gets injured, metaphorically all
present there lose their humanity.

Certainly the heat was nothing: According to Death, humans are more dangerous and
destructive than fire and heat.