The Berlin Boxing Club

855 Words4 Pages
Max Schmeling once stated “heroism, cowardice, rage, and fear do not rely on skin color; everybody bleeds the same.” This quote can describe the racist views in Nazi Germany throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s, and are illustrated in the novel The Berlin Boxing Club, by Robert Sharenow. The setting of this novel demonstrates the ability of people to turn on their own country only based on one’s religion, race, or political views. The time period established by The Berlin Boxing Club directly influenced the plot of the novel. The setting of The Berlin Boxing Club was placed in Berlin, Germany, starting in 1936. Karl Stern, a boy of Jewish descent, experienced this setting first hand. Although Karl and his family were not religious, their last name gave away their heritage. Due to the time period and country they were in, the Sterns experienced the most difficult situation in their lives. First, the rising popularity of Adolf Hitler and the Hitler Youth led Karl and his sister to receive threats at school from an agonizing group called the “Wolf Pack”. The members of this group not only knew that the Sterns were Jewish, but they were part of Hitler’s Youth. The members of this group terrorized anyone that was Jewish. The Sterns were placed in a terrible situation due to the time period in Germany. Karl’s parents also were in distress during the Holocaust. Karl’s father was an art salesman, but during the difficult times he was unable to operate his gallery. Due to the Nuremburg Laws, he was forced to run secret parties to sell his art and make money for his family. Jewish run businesses were banned at this time in Germany. Furthermore, during one of the secret sales, Max Schmeling, a friend of Karl’s father, bought a piece of art by giving Karl boxing lessons in return. Karl wanted these boxing lessons in order to be able to defend himself from the
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