“Tilli’s Story: My Thoughts Are Free” Study GuidePage 1 of 28
“TILLI’S STORY: MY THOUGHTS ARE FREE”
STUDY GUIDE
Hardcover ISBN: 0-595-32270-0 | Paperback ISBN: 0-595-66504-7 | iUniverse.com
269 pages text | 10 pages pictures | Published Aug. 2004 | rated teen to adult
This study guide is copyrighted Oct. 2004 by Lorna Collier
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
OVERVIEW
READER COMMENTS
USING THE BOOK IN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS
BEFORE READING THE BOOK
THEMES IN “TILLI’S STORY”
PEOPLE TO KNOW
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
THEME PAPER/ESSAY TOPICS
RESOURCES
BOOKS
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE 23
DIE GEDANKEN SIND FREI25
MAP OF POST-WAR GERMANY
ADDING TO THE STUDY GUIDE
APPEARANCES
CONTACT INFORMATION
OVERVIEW
“Tilli’s Story: My Thoughts Are Free,” by Lorna Collier and Tilli Schulze, is the true story of a young German girl’s life growing up in eastern Germany during and after World War II, before her escape to freedom at age 16. The book is unusual in its depiction of life for ordinary, non-Jewish Germans living in rural areas, many of whom were powerless against the Nazi regime. It also is unusual in showing what life was like for eastern Germans after the Soviets imposed the Iron Curtain.
“Tilli’s Story” is rated teen through adult. Due to its depictions of rape and other war violence, it is not appropriate in its entirety for elementary schoolchildren. The authors recommend it for high school and college students, although some middle-school students also will be mature enough for its content. Teacher discretion is advised.
The book is not intended to be a historical guide to the war, but rather a personal story, used as a textbook adjunct. Its strongest message for readers is that democratic freedoms must not be taken for granted. “Tilli’s Story” will show students:
- what it is like not to be able to speak freely, for fear of government retribution
- what it is like to have your actions controlled by your government (for example, requiring attendance at government ceremonies or ordering pictures of government leaders to be displayed in private homes)
- what it is like to have government determine what can be taught in schools, what can be broadcast or printed in the media, and which churches are allowed to exist
- what it is like to live, as an innocent child, through a war – to hide from bombs in a town too small to have a bomb shelter; to see family members drafted against their will; to have victorious enemy troops claim your village, your home, and even your body, as spoils of war
Because “Tilli’s Story” is told through the eyes of a child, beginning when she is 5 and continuing through age 18, it has special appeal to teenage readers. The authors hope it will make WW II history come alive for them, and demonstrate its relevance to modern-day concerns.
READER COMMENTS
Here are comments the authors have received from readers that mention using the book in schools.
“This book is absolutely wonderful! It is so interesting to get a different perspective on this time in history. Anyone who has read Anne Frank or seen/read Schindler’s List needs to read this too. I would suggest this as a great cross-curriculum novel for high school/college.”
“This is a story that must be read by everyone - especially our young people! In a nation where we take our freedoms for granted, this is a fresh reminder that things can change in a heartbeat. This was truly a story of great faith in the face of horrific tragedies - and incredible sacrifice. A truly inspirational read!”
“I could not put the book down. I felt as if I were standing beside Tilli in Germany 60 years ago. The book was so well written. What a riveting story...so intense and interesting. It is unbelievable that such horrible things happened to so many innocent people. I applaud Tilli's courage and convictions. Everyone should read this book. I also think it would be a magnificent educational tool for students learning about Europe during that time period.”
“What an amazing story. I was crying with Tilli and her family, smiling when Tilli went to the dance, scared when Tilli was in the attic and walking alone to and from school, every emotion Tilli had is how I felt reading this book… This story ought to be in our school systems. I think our kids could learn a lotfrom Tilli.”
“I find the point of view of a child to be very unique. I could see my [fifth-grade] students relating to it.”
USING THE BOOK IN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS
Although the authors recommend “Tilli’s Story” for older students, the book can be used in elementary classrooms. We have heard from third grade and fifth grade teachers who plan to read portions of the book to their students. Both teachers say they will use the book to show students:
* what daily life was like for a child their age, living in another country and another time: walking to school in another city (no bus or parents with cars), wearing the same dress to school every day, doing daily chores.
* how “bad people” can take over a country’s government and make rules that affect all the people in the country, even when many of the people in the country don’t believe in these rules
One third-grade teacher in Rockford had this to say about the book: “I’m planning to use it when we do a unit on immigration. A lot of third grade level kids don’t realize that there are differences between countries. That’s how I would use this. I thought I’d read excerpts showing what school was like for Tilli…Also, when Hitler came to power, how the family was forced to do so many things. A lot of our children can’t relate to being forced and not to make their own decisions.”
A fifth-grade teacher in Belvidere said she would “read snatches of the book when we are studying WW II in the spring.” To her, one of the unique qualities of the book is the way it “dispels the belief that everybody in Germany was behind Hitler.”
Since the book was recently published and most classrooms don’t get to the World War II part of their curriculum until later in the year, we don’t have feedback yet from teachers concerning the use of the book. However, here are two chapters that would be good to read (at least in part) to younger children:
* Chapter 3: This chapter shows what Christmas was like for Tilli’s farm family, and can prompt a discussion of Christmas traditions in other cultures and time periods. How would modern-day children like to receive only a pair of handmade mittens, and no toys?
* Chapter 5: Tilli starts first grade at a one-room schoolhouse in her village, then is promoted to a more challenging school in a nearby town. The chapter describes what the children are forced to do to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Students can discuss the differences between their school and Tilli’s, as well as what their government asks of them compared with the demands the Nazis placed on children in Germany.
BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Students should have familiarity with:
* World War II (especially Germany’s role)
* Hitler and the Nazi Party
* The post-war division of Germany by the Allied powers
* Stalin, Soviet Communism and the Iron Curtain
See the end of this guide for a map showing Germany’s post-war borders and a list of other personal stories from World War II survivors.
THEMES IN “TILLI’S STORY”
* The importance of freedom – what people are willing to do to acquire it and to defend it
* That most people, in a crisis, will come together to help each other out, often in selfless ways. Not only family members, but also strangers (including war prisoners) helped Tilli and her family; similarly, Tilli’s mother helped not only her fellow villagers, but even enemy soldiers who were starving
* The suffering of the innocent that occurs in any war. (Just because Tilli’s family was German, they didn’t support the Nazi Party or its military actions, yet they suffered the effects of the war and its aftermath.)
PEOPLE TO KNOW IN “TILLI’S STORY”
* Tilli Horn: Age 5 when WWII begins. Lives in a small farming village in eastern Germany with her family. Loves to read and use her imagination in daydreams. Not particularly good at farm chores, such as milking cows, or domestic tasks, such as sewing. Good student who is promoted to a higher-level school than most other farmchildren. Longs to live in America some day. Very brave and strong; is not destroyed by traumatic experiences, but moves past them to achieve her goals.
* “Mami,” Regina Horn: Tilli’s mother, whom she calls “Mami.” Strong woman whose first loyalty is to her family. She makes pragmatic choices in order to ensure her family’s safety, rather than engaging in futile protests of Nazi policies that will only serve to endanger her and her loved ones. She helps anybody who needs it – whether it’s a starving Russian prisoner of war, a refugee family that needs a home, a neighbor girl dying of typhoid, a little orphan boy who needs a home. She arranges her daughter’s escape, even though it means she might never see her again.
* Tilli’s siblings, all older than she is: Hugo (her deaf brother, who lives most of the time in a faraway town in order to attend deaf school); Helmut (her biological brother); Heinz (her adopted brother); Paula (her sister).
* Tilli’s friends: Klara, who lives next door; Henni, who warns her of the Communist threat against her; Ilse, her school friend from Gnoien.
* Tilli’s father: A distant and unpleasant man. Not a good father. Does not want her to continue her education. Protests loudly against Hitler, but at a cost to his family – he is drafted early in the war. Joins forbidden Seventh Day Adventist Church, has affair with church woman. Eventually deserts the family.
* Jan: French prisoner of war who helps the family farm their land during the war, and also ensures the girls’ safety by creating a secret attic in the family home. Though brusque and prickly, he works hard for the family when he did not need to do so.
* Maria: Russian prisoner of war who arrives at the Horn home as a teenager, and who also works hard to help them, teaching them how to spin wool and trying to protect them when the Russian soldiers invaded the village.
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
Prologue
It is fall 1944 in eastern Germany. A 10-year-old girl named Tilli Horn lies in bed next to her mother, listening in horror as bombs fall nearby. There are no bomb shelters in her small farming village. Their house has no basement. All she can do is hope the bombs don't hit her home. She retreats into her memories.
Part I
Chapters 1 - 4: Early war years
Chapter 1
World War II begins in 1939, with Hitler's invasion of Poland. Tilli learns about the war while playing in a kindergarten sandbox, at age five. She sees how concerned her parents are and wonders what war will bring, but is not terribly worried. The chapter introduces Tilli's parents and her siblings (her sister, Paula, and brothers Heinz and Helmut; Hugo, who is deaf, lives at a special school in another town).
Chapter 2
Tilli's godfather, Wilhelm, who works on their farm, is drafted. The entire village of Doelitz, where she lives, turns out to say good-bye to him as he walks to the train. He is the first man drafted to fight in the war; later, as more men from the tiny village are called to serve, the leave-takings become more commonplace.
Chapter 3
Christmas in 1939 is tinged with sadness, but still rich with tradition. The children leave their shoes outside for St. Nicholas earlier in December; if they've been good, they receive treats, but if they've been bad, they get coal or a switch. The Christmas tree is decorated with fruit, nuts and candles. Families celebrate on Christmas Eve, singing carols and reading the Bible together. Presents are modest: socks, mittens (hand-made), and are believed to be left by the "Christkindl," or Christ child. Shortly after Christmas, Tilli's family learns Wilhelm has been killed in the war.
Chapter 4
Tilli's mother begins attending Nazi Party women's meetings. She is given a silver cross to wear and also gets a Hitler picture to put on the wall at home. Tilli's father disagrees with these encroachments and tells her to stop going to meetings and to remove the picture, which she at first does. But then the Nazi Party officials threaten Tilli's mother by telling her that Hugo (Tilli's deaf brother) will be castrated if Tilli's mother does not join this Nazi organization. So the Hitler picture goes back up and Tilli's mother resumes her Nazi Party attendance.
Chapters 5 - 7: War -- and propaganda – intensify
Chapter 5
Tilli starts school in Doelitz, but advances so quickly that her teacher recommends she go to a more challenging school in the nearby town of Gnoien. Tilli is nervous and at first resists going, but once she starts, enjoys it. She loves learning and makes new friends. Because Gnoien is a bigger city than Doelitz, Nazi policies are enforced, so she learns to do the “Heil Hitler" salute and endures long hours at an official Hitler birthday celebration. She remembers when her Aunt Liesel took her for a shopping trip to Gnoien and encountered a Jewish shopkeeper, but was too frightened to make a purchase, having already realized that Jewish people were under suspicion by the Nazis.
Chapter 6
Tilli experiences her first air-raid drill while in school in Gnoien. She goes to her friend Ilse's house until it is over, since there are no bomb shelters in the town. She finds the experience frightening, but is assured no real bombs will fall, since the town is too small for enemies to care about.
Chapter 7
Tilli learns her new teacher's husband, a minister, was taken away by soldiers (probably to a concentration camp) after refusing to put out a Hitler flag or say "Heil Hitler." Her teacher ends religion lessons in school, on Hitler's orders. After a gypsy carnival comes to town, Tilli learns her father has been having an affair with a woman who is active in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, a denomination banned by Hitler. Tilli's father is drafted, which is unusual, since farmers typically were spared; Tilli's family assumes he is drafted as punishment for his Adventist beliefs and his anti-Hitler statements.
Chapters 8 - 11: Rationing, POWs, refugees
With Tilli's father gone to war, the work on the farm falls to her teen-aged brothers and her mother, until a new worker arrives: a French prisoner of war named Jan, who is assigned to work at their farm. Jan assumes command of the farm, which Tilli's mother allows. Tilli thinks Jan dislikes her. He disapproves of the way she loves to read, and can't understand her inability to milk cows. Tilli works hard at some chores, but can't resist escaping into a world of books whenever she can, despite Jan's disapproval.
Chapter 9
A rich girl named Margaret Timm first invites and then dis-invites Tilli to a birthday party. Tilli feels looked-down-upon due to being a farm girl; she wears the same clothes every day and can't help always feeling a bit dirty. Planes fly over Gnoien, prompting an air-raid warning. No bombs fall, but the planes drop "camouflage strips" to disguise their daytime presence.
Chapter 10
Jan tinkers with the family's radio so that they can receive "Germany Calling," an uncensored radio program forbidden by Hitler, which belies the lies Hitler's government is telling its people about the progress of the war. Tilli starts giving away her lunch to hungry children at her school in Gnoien, but doesn't tell her mother. A school friend finds ration tickets and treats Tilli to a bakery treat. The girls are discovered and punished; Tilli's mother also is told, so Tilli must deal with her anger and disappointment.
Chapter 11
Tilli turns 9 in April 1943 and has the first birthday party of her life, which she shares with her friend Klara, who turns 11 the same day. In June, a girl from Berlin comes to stay with Tilli's family, sent by the government, which is trying to provide safe havens for the children in that heavily bombed city; the girl is too traumatized to talk with them, and leaves after a few weeks. When school starts, Tilli learns she needs to prove she is not Jewish in order to be able to take the promotion exam, which will allow her to advance in school. Her mother scours court records, going back to the 14th century, and proves the family has no Jewish blood. Tilli is allowed to continue her education, which means she can keep learning English, which she wants to do in order to move to America some day.