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Girl in a Smart Uniform | LitPick Book Reviews
Girl in a Smart Uniform
Girl in a Smart Uniform
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"Girl in a Smart Uniform" is the third book in the Schellberg Cycle, a collection of novels inspired by a bundle of photocopied letters that arrived at a small cottage in Wales in 1979. The letters give us first-hand insights into what life was like growing up in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.It is the most fictional of the stories to date, though some characters, familiar to those who have read the first two books, appear again here. Clara Lehrs, Karl Schubert and Dr Kühn really existed. We have a few, a very few, verifiable facts about them. The rest we have had to find out by repeating some of their experiences and by using the careful writer's imagination.Gisela adores her brother Bear, her gorgeous BDM uniform, and her little half-brother Jens. She does her best to be a good German citizen, and is keen to help restore Germany to its former glory. She becomes a competent and respected BDM leader. But life begins to turn sour. Her oldest brother Kurt can be violent, she soon realises that she is different from other girls, she feels uncomfortable around her mother’s new lover, and there is something not quite right about Jens. It becomes more and more difficult to be the perfect German young woman.We know that BDM girls set fire to the house in Schellberg Street but got the children out first. This story seeks to explain what motivated the girls to do that, and what happened to them afterwards.

Book Details

Genre: 

  • Historical Fiction

Age Level: 

  • Mature Young Adult
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Girl in a Smart Uniform follows the story of a girl named Gisela as she grows up in a crumbling Germany of the 1930's. Against the backdrop of economical struggles, political tension, and a culture of increased discrimination, Gisela's life also consists of learning to care for Jens (her disabled brother), avoiding her stepfather, and trying to figure out the romantic feelings she has towards other girls. Meanwhile, she works to become a perfect German girl, joining the BDM (German Young Women's group) and quickly becoming a leader for other girls.

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In 1930’s Germany, Gisela joins the Bund Deutsche Madel, or the BDM (The League of German Girls). At first she enjoys being a member, but after awhile, she begins to question their tactics and policies. When people around her and eventually she herself become potential targets, she sees Hitler and the Nazi Party for the evil that they really are.

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