o

The Word

Wall

Out of the

Fire and Into

Book Heaven

Hidden

Secrets in the

Basement

Fashion:

On the Streets

of Himmel

HIMMEL

Magazine

Fall/ Winter 1942

ON THE COVER

4 The Word Wall

5 Out of the Fire and Into Book Heaven

7 Hidden Secrets in the Basement

10

IN THIS ISSUE

2 Letter from the Editor

8 Racing to the Finish

9 Recipes by Rosa

14 On the Streets of Himmel

14

6 12 1

2

Letter from the Editor

I am proud to introduce the very first edition of Himmel Magazine! This magazine chronicles major events in my

life as I grow up in the city of Munich, Germany. By reading this magazine you will be able to learn more about

my complicated but loving family, my amazing best friend, how I earned the title “The Book Thief”, and so much

more.

I will give you all a little background on myself. I used to live with my mom, dad, and younger brother, but when I

was very young, my dad was taken away. I really don’t know why, but my guesses are because he was a

communist and not too many people around these parts like the idea of communism. My mom, no longer being

able to take care of my brother and myself, decided to send us to Munich, Germany to foster parents that would

take great care of us. While on the train with my mom and brother, however, the inevitable happened, my

brother passed away.

In that very moment, my world was completely shaken and destroyed. I had no idea how I would make it without

my little brother. Now I would have to live alone with these new strange foster parents.

My brother was buried in a small town on the way to Munich, and it was there, at the burial site, that I picked up

my first book. I don’t know why I did it. Maybe it was because it was the last thing left that would help remember

him, but for whatever reason I’m glad that I did it. This book unlocked the door to the amazing world of words,

which I am completely fascinated by. I love words, and I hope that you love them too.

I really do hope that you enjoy reading my magazine!

Yours truly,

Liesel Meminger

Thief

Words

Books

Nightmares

Library

Accordion

Reading

Jews

Letters

Spelling

Soccer

Presents

Writing

Shelter

Apples

Running

Soup

Brother

Family

Stealing

Painting Friends

Painting

School

Love

Fighting

3

4

The Word Wall

3

Adjusting to life with my new foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubberman, wasn’t easy at first. For one, I still

wanted to live with my mother. I didn’t want her to leave me in that house alone with these new strange people. I hoped

and prayed that she would come back, tell me that giving me up was a mistake, and take me back home, but she never

did. Second, my new foster mother was really mean. She always yelled at me and called me bad names, and she even

forced me to take a bath against my own will.

Through all of this, I came to understand that my foster parents did actually love and care about me. I used to

have nightmares every night. In them, I would see my brother’s face on the train. He was dead. I would wake up

screaming, and my foster father Hans, whom I called Papa, would always come to my room to comfort me. He would sit

in a little chair in the corner of my room and stay there all night to make sure that I was okay.

One night, after having a nightmare and wetting the bed, Papa came to help me change my sheets. While pulling

the covers off, a small black book that I had picked up from the snow at my brother’s burial site fell out. The title of the

book was The Grave Diggers Handbook, and it was dropped by the grave digger at the burial site. This book meant a lot to

me because it was the last thing I had to remember my brother and the last thing that I had to remember my mother.

That night, when the book fell out, Papa asked me if I would like to read it. Not knowing how to read and being

curious of what all of the bunched up letters were, I told him yes. He opened the book and began reading. This was the

best night of my life.

Reading at night became our usual after I had my nightmares. Papa would come in, help me change my sheets,

and begin reading The Grave Digger’s Handbook. It was during these times, that he would teach me to read and write. He

would give me the book and tell me to read. Whenever I came across a word that I didn’t know, we would go down to the

basement and paint it on the wall. This would come to be our word wall.

Over time, the word wall was filled with not only words from The Grave Diggers Handbook, but also words from

The Shoulder Shrug, Faust Dog, The Lighthouse, and many more books. Whenever I learned the words, Papa would cover

the wall with a fresh coat of paint and we would start all over again.

I really do miss those nights with Papa, learning how to read and write. It was during the reading lessons and night

that the door to the amazing world of words was unlocked, and my Papa held the key. I can now read and write very well,

and I give all of the credit to Papa.

Thief

Book

Out of the Fire and

Into Book Heaven

5

When I was ten years old, I had to join a group called BDM, which stood for Bund Deutscher Madchen or

Band of German girls. It was a part of the Hitler Youth Program and it involved a brown uniform and many “heil

Hitler”s. On April 20, 1940, Hitler’s Birthday, there was a celebratory fire in the town square in honor of Hitler. All of

the local Youth divisions were to attend. People were to bring books, propaganda, newspapers, flags, and posters

that went against the ideas of Hitler and the Nazi Party.

That night, many people lined the streets and yelled, “Heil Hitler!” I searched for my friend Rudy Steiner in

the crowd and realized that they had already started the fire. I never found Rudy that night, but I did find out about

the word “communism”. It was the reason my father was missing, the reason my mother was suffering, and the

reason my brother was dead and it was all because of the Führer.

I later found my father when it was over, and we decided to go home. Papa stopped to talk to one of his

friends on the way, and I turned to the pile of smoke and ashes and realized that all of the books had not burned. I

wondered over to the pile and found three unburned books. When the men responsible for clearing the ashes had

their backs turned, I reached into the pile and pulled out a book.

The book was so hot, but I

didn’t want anyone to see it,

so I stuffed it under my shirt.

This turned out to be abig

mistake because it burned

my skin. Even though it

burned, I was thrilled to have

a new book. I did, however,

feel like I was being watched.

I turned around, and sure

enough, there was a shadow

behind me. Someone was

there watching me, and that

someone was the mayor’s

wife Ilsa Hermann.

My foster mother

Rosa Huberman, whom I

called Mama, did laundry for

several people in town, Ilsa

being one of them. The next

day, Mama told me to go

deliver the washing to Mrs.

Hermann. Afraid to go alone

because I knew that she saw

me, I asked my best friend

Rudy to come along with me.

When we walked up to her

door, she took her clothes

and gave me the money, not

saying anything to neither

me nor Rudy.

A feeling of relief

washed over me at that

moment. Maybe she hadn’t

seen me after all. One day,

however, Rudy could not

come, and I had to go pick up

the washing alone. That day,

when I got to the house, Ilsa

answered the door, and said,

“Wait.” I was so scared. I

didn’t know what she was

doing, but I figured she was

just going to get the washing.

She came back with

a stack of books and told me

to come in. She led me to a

chestnut door and asked me

if I was ready to enter. I

didn’t know what to think or

what she was going to do to

me, but I told her that I was

ready. She turned the knob,

and I was immediately in

heaven.

The room was

beautiful, filled with more

books than I had ever seen in

my life.

“Can I?” I asked her as I

stepped into the room. She

nodded. I was overwhelmed

by the number of books in

the room, and I wanted to

touch each and every one of

them. I used both of my

hands and touched as many

as I could. It was amazing!

I didn’t take a book

with me that day, but later

on I would come back and

spend much time reading in

Ilsa Hermman’s library. The

woman remained a mystery

to me, but I was very

thankful that she opened up

her library to me. It was in

that very room that I found

much joy, happiness,

excitement, sadness, and

adventure reading Ilsa

Hermann’s books.

Fire

7

Hidden Secrets in the

Basement

Growing up during World War II is difficult. My family has to be on constant lookout for bomb raids and

hope that Papa doesn’t get called to serve in the war. About a month ago, our lives became even more difficult when

an enemy of Hitler arrived at our house – a Jew.

His name is Max Vandenburg, and his father saved my Papa’s life. Papa fought in World War I along with

Max’s father, and when looking for recruits to write letters, instead of fighting on the battlefield, Max’s father

volunteered Papa. This is what saved my Papa’s life, and Papa felt as if he needed to return the favor.

Max, being a Jew, came to seek refuge at our house, because of all the horrible things that are happening to

the Jews right now. Knowing that we could be in huge trouble with the Nazi Police and even worse, Hitler himself,

we knew that we had to create a safe hiding spot for Max and not let anyone know about it. We found that place in

our basement.

We set up a mattress behind the stairs of the basement and covered the area with a sheet. We put paint

cans by the sheet to make it look like a pile of junk was behind the sheet and it was very effective. We even had a

Nazi officer unexpectedly visit the basement one day, and he didn’t even notice. You can be we were relieved.

Max and I grew very close, and I found out that we had a lot in common. We both enjoyed reading and

writing and we both had nightmares. These were just a few of the many things that we had in common. I am so

thankful that I was able to make such a great friend.

8

Racing to the Finish

I was able to sit down with my best friend Rudy Steiner, aka the next Jessie Owens, after winning gold in

almost all of his races in the track and field events. This is what he had to say:

Q: How did you feel when you were out there racing against all of the other guys?

A: Honestly I was pretty nervous, but I was determined to win the gold. I wanted to prove to everyone,

especially my previous Hitler Youth Leader that I could do it that I could win.

Q: How did you prepare yourself for the events?

A: I trained and trained and trained. I saw what Jessie Owens did in the Olympics, and I wanted to be just like

him, so when I trained I pretended that I was Jessie Owens, going for the gold.

Q: What advice would you give to those who want to win gold just like you?

A: I would tell them to stay focused. You have to be focused and determined and train whenever you have

the opportunity. Whenever I had free time, I came to the track and ran.

My Mama is famous for her delectable pea soup. These are some of her recipes:

GREEN PEA SOUP

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium leek, root trimmed, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced (white and green parts only)

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

2 1/2 cups homemade vegetable broth or 1 cup low-sodium store-bought vegetable broth mixed with 1 1/2 cups water

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

3 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 2 1/2 pounds of peas in their pods) or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed

Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add the leek, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and a pinch

of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. 2. Add the broth, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and measured pepper and bring to a boil. Add the peas and bring to a boil again.

Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the peas are tender, about 5 minutes. 3. Remove the pan from the heat, add the mint leaves, and stir to combine. Let sit uncovered until the flavors meld, about 10 minutes. 4. Using a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth, removing the small cap (the pour lid) from the blender lid and covering the

space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam to escape and prevents the blender lid from popping off). Transfer the soup to a clean saucepan (if serving warm) or a heatproof bowl and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice as needed. If serving warm, reheat over low heat. If serving cold, let cool to room temperature, cover, then refrigerate until cold. Top each serving with a dollop of crème fraîche, if desired.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

Ingredients

1 cup chopped yellow onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 cup good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 -1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups medium-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)

1 cup medium-diced red boiling potatoes, unpeeled (3 small)

1 pound dried split green peas

8 cups chicken stock or water

Instructions

In a 4-quart stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1/2 pound of split peas, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Recipes by Rosa

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On the Streets of

Himmel

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Only One Will Survive

Only One Will

Survive…..