In Flowers in the Gutter by K.R. Gaddy, a group of teens from Cologne, Germany resist the Nazis during WW2. They face challenges such as a lot of surveillance, getting arrested, and getting tortured in jail. The book teaches you about what life was like under Nazi rule. This book was decent and made me research deeper into a lot of different topics.

These are my notes from the Cause and Effect lesson. I found that the authoritarian rule of the Nazis led to a lot of groups against them. This links to the central idea since one of the main reasons they all hate the Nazis is because they are effectively controlling everyone’s lives and not letting them live freely.

These are my notes from the Descriptive Sentences lesson. The quote describes the feel of Cologne after bombings in a very specific and detailed way, letting you imagine it your head. It really makes you feel the moment.

There is a part near the end of the book which talks about the execution of thirteen members in this group, the Edelweiss Pirates. The book didn’t provide much detail on why they were executed and made it seem like they were wrongfully executed. While that is certainly possible as they were all killed without a trial, they allegedly killed many people. This made me realize that the group is more than just the three main characters who limit their actions to non-harmful things.

This was part of my preparation for the town hall. My claim was that, “Teenagers can also resist bad influence.” This was shown many times throughout the book such as when the principal of Jean’s school forces everyone to walk up to him and say, “Heil Hitler” before leaving school. Jean just walks up and says bye instead as Hitler is the reason his dad is in jail. Another moment that comes to mind is Fritz escaping a concentration camp in Ellern with his fried Hugo. He used a typewriter to make fake tickets for a train to Cologne and snuck out at midnight.