Hamilton's Americentrism

While the idea of a first hand account of the assumption of Nazi power of the youth is compelling, the most interesting aspect to the Hamilton article lies in the filter through which she views it. The general tenor of the article comes from a persepctive of seemingly omnisceint understanding of the failings of the German nation, failings which would never occur in the United States. Hamilton presents the German youth as prey for the fodder of the Nazi government; eliciting compassion from readers through a portrayal of youth as having no understanding of the connection "between work and food". The universality of Hamilton's assumptions serve only to veil the americentristic ideas inherent to her worldview. The atrocities are clear to all who read, but she colors them all with the sentiment that no American would fall prey to the rouse, she states, "All this seemed simply stupid and ugly and primitive to an American". While I would like to see Hamilton's worldview as anachronistic and indicative of a by gone era, the sad truth is that she is but an echo of the same sentiments gratuitously espoused by the American people today. The ever present, ever omniscient, American voice of freedom.