Book Thief Characters 2014

Front 1

Liesel Meminger

Back 1

is the hardworking, book-thieving, kind-hearted star of the novel. She loves books so much, she steals them. Even before she knows how to read! Like many of us, Liesel doesn't have an easy time reading, at least not at first. In fact, without her foster father Hans (who, with his fourth-grade education, doesn't read so well himself) and his dedication to teaching her, she might never have learned to read at all. At school, her lack of education is, at first, mistaken for lack of intelligence

Front 2

Rudy Steiner

Back 2

is Liesel's lemon-sunshine-haired sidekick. He's theSaukerl (pig boy) to her Saumensch (pig girl), as they affectionately refer to each other. He starts off in the novel as a ten-year-old boy with "bony legs, sharp teeth, gangly blue eyes, and hair the color of a lemon" (8.21). Bony legs aside, Rudy wants to be a star runner, like Jessie Owens. Owens, a black American man, won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games, held in Munich, Germany. Needless to say, Hitler was not pleased. Jessie Owens was trampling on his theories of white supremacy.

Front 3

Max Vandenburg

Back 3

is only 22 years old when he enters the story as "the struggler." At first his age is a bit surprising, because he almost seems like an old man. Later we learn that when he was Liesel and Rudy's age, he was "the Jewish fist fighter". This might seem surprising too, because he is so beaten down by the time we meet him. On second thought, though, we see this guy fight hard throughout the novel. Two years of hiding and starvation requires considerable fight and endurance.

Front 4

Hans Hubermann

Back 4

is Liesel's foster father and one of the great loves of her life. He's a super nice guy. Early in the novel, this is how Death describes him:

To most people, he is barely visible. An un-special person.…Somehow […] and I'm sure you've met people like this, he was able to appear as merely part of the background […]. He was always just there. Not noticeable.

Front 5

Rosa Hubermann

Back 5

is Liesel's foster mother. When we first meet her, we don't necessarily trust her with Liesel. We're nervous. And let's face it, she is down-right abusive with her wooden spoons and her constant scolding and criticism.

Front 6

Death

Back 6

is our guide and narrator to The Book Thief. Interestingly, he in some ways seems pretty human. For example, he has real feelings. We see him experience both sadness and joy in the novel. He even gets depressed. It seems like the poor guy hasn't had a vacation since he started working. He might not even have had a coffee break. And, let's face it, his job is about as depressing as it gets. To help distract him from his sad and never-ending work, he often fixates on the color of the sky at the time of each human death.

Front 7

Ilsa Hermann

Back 7

becomes a very important figure in Liesel's life. Through much of the novel she remains a mysterious figure, fond of Nazi bathrobes and matching slippers. Later we learn that she is in mourning for the son she lost some twenty-odd years earlier in an accident involving barbed wire and freezing temperatures. she knows Liesel because Liesel helps Rosa deliver laundry to her. When she sees Liesel steal The Shoulder Shrug, she becomes intrigued by the girl and invites her into her library. When Ilsa has to stop using Rosa's services, Liesel starts climbing through the library window and stealing books.

Front 8

Werner Meminger

Back 8

Liesel's little brother. He dies on the train when their mother is taking them to their foster parents, the Hubermanns. We don't know much about his relationship with Liesel before he dies. But from the extent of her grief, we can imagine they were close

Front 9

Walter Kugler

Back 9

Max's good friend and former fist fighting partner. Walter is conscripted into the military and takes Max to a hiding place on November 9, 1938. This is the date ofKristallnacht, otherwise known as "the night of broken glass" (31.60). Kristallnacht is the first time Jews are forcibly removed from their homes in mass and sent to concentration camps. If it wasn't for Walter, Max would never have survived this terrible night.

Front 10

Hans Hubermann Junior

Back 10

the son of Hans and Rosa. He's a dedicated member of the Nazi Party. His disgust with his father's lack of allegiance to the party causes him to stop talking to him. According to Death, Hans Junior dies fighting in Stalingrad.

Front 11

Alex Steiner

Back 11

He's a tailor with a tailor shop. His political beliefs are grounded in economics. After he loses his family during the Himmel Street bombing, he gets leave from the military and returns to Molching. He and Liesel develop a friendship, and he accompanies her to Dachau to try to find Max after the war ends.

Front 12

Barbara Steiner

Back 12

is Rudy's mother. She seems like a nice person, but we don't learn that much about her. All we do know is that she doesn't want her son taken away to a Nazi school, or her husband to go away to war. We can sympathize. Unfortunately, she dies in the Himmel Street bombing.

Front 13

Tommy Müller

Back 13

lives on Himmel Street and is friends with Liesel and Rudy. He has severe ear problems because he got lost in the snow for a long period of time as a young child. During the Hitler Youth marching practices, he never stops marching at the right time, because he doesn't hear the call to halt. He's dies in the Himmel Street bombing.

Front 14

Arthur Berg

Back 14

is the first leader of the fruit (and vegetable) stealing gang that Liesel and Rudy join. He's fair and generous with the take. He isn't the type to leave somebody stranded on the barbed wire fence if they get stuck.

Front 15

Frau Holtzapfel

Back 15

At the beginning of the novel, she is Rosa Hubermann's enemy. She spits on the Hubermanns' door every time she goes past it. The relationship is soothed when she hears Liesel read from The Whistler while in the bomb shelter. After that, she trades coffee and flour to Rosa in exchange for Liesel reading to her in her home.

Front 16

Victor Chemell

Back 16

is the second leader of the fruit-stealing gang. He's a bully and is nothing like his predecessor, Arthur Berg. He almost chokes Rudy and steals Liesel's book, throwing it in the Amper River. Luckily, Rudy rescues it for her.

Front 17

Frau Diller

Back 17

is a staunch Nazi supporter. She owns the shop where Liesel and Rudy buy mixed candy on Himmel Street. She dies in the Himmel Street bombing.

Front 18

Franz Deutscher

Back 18

is the evil leader of Rudy's Hitler Youth squad. He terrorizes Rudy and Tommy, eventually breaking Rudy's ribs after Rudy throws a rock at him.

Front 19

Reinhold Zucker

Back 19

is another bully, a young man serving with Hans on the air raid clean-up crew. He doesn't like Hans, because Hans beats him at cards. So, he trades seats with Hans on the truck back to camp one day, just to try to make Hans do something. The bus ends up rolling multiple times, and he is the only casualty.

Front 20

Ludwig Schmeikl

Back 20

is the little boy Liesel beats up on the playground when he teases her about not knowing how to read. When his ankle is crushed at the book burning, Liesel apologizes to him and him to her.

Front 21

Frau Hienrich

Back 21

works for the foster care system and is in charge of Liesel's case. She is the one who tells Hans that Liesel's mother has disappeared.