I think a book is good if it is thought provoking, enjoyable reading, written in an easy-to-read style. Although the style I found not so easy to read, I found this book very thought provoking and enjoyable. I was able to identify (somewhat tenuously) with this Nazi zealot. I was able to feel that "there but for the grace of God (went) I". This, despite the fact that his twin brother was not as zealous as he, that he saw his best friend taken away as a subhuman Jew, that even the people of his small town knew about concentration camps (what did he think went on there?), and that he witnessed a proud old German Jew WWI veteran, who had lost his leg in that war, punched in the nose till blood spurt forth merely because he complained that he could not get into the truck due to his missing a leg. I wish the author had written somewhat about how he managed to rationalize away these things he witnessed directly. But then, what can he say? We all want to see ourselves as superior to others and must work at learning that the ugly, the short,the blacks, homosexuals, women, the crippled, the retarded, the mentally ill etc. are just as good as we are. Certainly there are plenty of prejudices present here in the USA also and if we had gone through what Germany went through prior to Hitler's ascendancy, we might also be susceptible to a leader such as he. At any rate, I found this honest personal history very enlightening. One example: he says "I wish I could shoot the bastard who killed them (his dog and horse)" to which the General replies, "Nothing wrong with a desire for revenge." This sentiment seems so normal on the face of it, but he was a Catholic and don't they teach, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord"? I'd like to think an American general would say to me, "My boy, war is hell. They kill our loved ones and we kill their loved ones". At any rate,I thought this was a great book. I would recommend it for a book group, so that members would be prompted to discuss the issues it raises.

I should have read this book first, but I stumbled onto Mr. Heck's Burden of Hitler's Legacy in my local library. Mr. Heck was 17 years of age when his country was defeated on March 10, 1945. It took him more 30 years to begin to come to terms with what Hitler did to Germany, Europe, and the millions of people who lost their lives, which includes the 6 million Jews, yes, but also the millions and millions of men, women, AND children who died because of Hitler's determination to be all powerful in the world. There were also those millions who lived on, after the war, who would have to adjust to the results of Hitler's need for power.

Mr. Heck shows us that Hitler prepared the children of his "beloved" Germany to fight for his vile beliefs and thought nothing of the impact his hatred had on these kids. One of the saddest things that I thought about as I read this gifted writer's treatise about the Hitler Youth movement was the waste of this man's talent. He should have been writing all his life. He should have had the FREEDOM to develop the talents he was born with. Read this book and weep, as I did, when I read Mr. Heck's final paragraph in this powerful, true story of the Hitler Youth. For me, what Hitler did to the children of his country, there are no words to describe what I felt. Just writing this review makes me cry.

Mr. Heck, if you are still with us, I hope you will continue to write and publish. And I hope you have peace at last.

As a student of the Second World War I am very critical when it comes to the books I read over the subject and their sources. Heck's account is nothing short but a must read on the subject. I believe this work is as important as "The Diary of Anne Frank". Most books over this period usually concern themselves with portraying the Germans as monsters and sadists but Heck really gives us an inside depth into the Nazi mentality, especially the Hitlerjugend. In the end he makes the assertion that most regular Germans were the other victims of Hitler besides the Jews and as you read the book you begin to see on what he grounds he bases this claim. The book is a fast read, easy to follow, rich in detail, and very touching. As my German title suggests, "one must read this book"!

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After the war, Alfons Heck, then 17 is captured by the Americans and given to the French. Since he isn't yet 18, he is spared death. But he will go on the rest of his life in bewilderment about what happened to him and the many young Hitler Youth. His book, The Burden of Hitler's Legacy, is his soul searching

autobiography that provides more understanding of what happened in Hitler's Germany than anything else I've seen. In addition, it is an eye-opener that demonstrates how vulnerable children are. I have read many books and articles about the holocaust and continue to be shaken by all accounts. This book makes more complete the story of what happened to the children of WWII. While I cannot condone what Mr. Heck did in his youth, as a teacher, mother, and former child, I can certainly understand how it happened. I applaud your courage, Mr. Heck, and the concern you feel for the other children in the Hitler Youth.

I read the book "Parallel Journeys" by Eleanor Ayer. This is a very good book and I think everybody should take the chance to read it. Unlike most Holocaust books, this book gives you both sides of the story, using Helen Waterford, the Jew, and by using Alfons Heck, the Nazi. By going chapter through chapter, you see that the story alternates between the two chapters by chapter. This is a very unique technique. I think the biggest shock in this book was when Alfons said that when the war was over and the Allies told people about the concentration camps, he thought they were lying. Even after he was shown the pictures of the prisoners, he thought they were fake. At the end of the book, he said he regrets ever believing that what he saw in the pictures was fake. Now he and Helen travel around the United States together going to schools and lecturing about the Holocaust. One question Alfons will never forget was when he was asked, "If you were in World War II and ordered to kill Helen, would you?" He replied in all honestly, "Yes." After that particular lecture, he said he was sorry to Helen but she said, "If you would have said no, I could never believe you again."

This is a great book. It contrasts the views of a Hitler Youth and follower and a Jewish Prisoner very well. If you are interested at all in the Holocaust, this book is a must read. It is filled with interesting and horrifying facts. The author arranged this book well

This is probably the best Holocasut book I have ever read, which is a real honor considering how many I have read. I cannot belive the truth of this book and how you are afraid to end it because you will loose a friend. I was impressed how each story told was backed up by facts and took you through the entire ordeal from childhood to present. In the book it tells the story of a woman who is a Holocaust survivor and a man who is in the Hitler Youth and becomes a pilot for the Nazis. It is the real-deal when it comes to Holocaust literature and I reccomend it it you are new to this area, and I reccomend it if you have been at it for years!