Flowers in the Gutter by K. R. Gaddy tells a story from 1932 to 1945, about three different teenagers, Gertrud, Jean, and Fritz. Where the belief of anti-Fascism brought them together. Their ideas were aligned, which is to do anything to get the Nazis out of Cologne, and out of this planet. In return, they had to give up their future, and the beautiful scenery the land of Cologne owned before.

My first note book page states out a clear central idea: Nothing is beneficial about war.

As you can see, the description of the tomato soup gives us a “taste” of how life was like during the second world war. In this part, Fritz ask for a piece of bread, which I think the author is trying to tell us the desire for peace in another way, since bread soaking in soup will definitely make it tastier, so as peace will always make life easier. This idea developed through the books when parents of the main characters are starting to die.

While Hitler came to power, he had one idea. This idea was revenge on France, and the Jews were involved too, which in another kind of way led Hitler to “insanity”. But what did France do?

The unemployment rate after the Treaty of Versailles (https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Versailles-1919) reached to its peak during 1930. It was the compensation that crashed Germany’s economy. Starting from 1921, Germany started suffering from inflation, and over 3 percent of the population were unemployed. As a soldier fighting for Germany, it is definitely a humiliation for Adolf, which when he rose to power, hate started to get into his mind. While Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germany, the acts of the Jews angered him more, which is ignoring the fact that Germany is facing its hardest times, and they are not going to support the country.

This notebook page gives an effect on the Treaty of Versailles, where the event of Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glasses/ Crystal Night) occurred. It was a clear act on Hitler expressing his hate towards the Jews, by smashing the windows of Jewish businesses ( https://www.britannica.com/event/Kristallnacht ). This part reminded me of a central idea, which is: The Nazis were inhumane towards people that did not align with their ideas.

Through my last page shows an idea: The power of the weaklings can still make a difference against superior forces. By meeting together, they can still make a difference on the war, and support the Allied forces. In real life, the Edelweiss Pirates transferred supplies for the Allies, no matter that they were only teenagers.