This book is an autobiography of a railway worker's son who joined the Hitler Youth at the age of 12, which was passionately opposed by his parents--the conflict between his Nazism and his father's socialism is a central theme. The book begins in the pre-Nazi period and covers all aspects of life in Hamburg's strong socialist working class community. This settled society was disrupted by the arrival of the Nazis who used violence, propoganda, and skillfully orchestrated gatherings and marches to achieve total political dominence. The author gives an account of the beating and intimidation of individual opponents of the Nazi regime, and the climate of fear and violence which gradually transformed his family, friends, and local community. We see the rise of Hitler and the terrible consequences that followed through this detailed and sometimes painfully honest personal account.