By David Morgan

WHEN Downton Abbey director Brian Percival read the script to The Book Thief it conjured up images of his youth.

The film, starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, is set in Germany during the evil Nazi regime.

But the backdrop to the story is a close-knit working class town called Molching.

“It very much related to my own story growing up in Garston,” Brian told Weekend.

“My father worked on the docks and my mother used to help out at different houses. There was a great warmth about that community.

“I toured Germany for the first couple of weeks when we were trying to find Himmel Strasse and Molching town and I was basically trying to find Garston in Germany somewhere.

“My sense of how I imagined Molching to be was based on my own experience.”

The Book Thief, based on Markus Zusak’s best-selling novel, tells the story of a young girl called Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) who is sent to live with a foster family during the Second World War.

Foster parents Hans and Rosa are hiding a Jewish refugee called Max (Ben Schnetzer) who forms a friendship with Liesel.

The power of words and imagination become their only escape from the tumultuous events happening around them.

“I was really interested by the canvas on which the story was told,” added Brian.

“This idea that an entire generation and a nation was corrupted into believing something so incredibly wrong without question.

“Before Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany was a country that was struggling but there was no indication what it was going to become.

“It was only by his complete manipulation of all media that he managed to create this complete hatred within a nation and for people to consider it the norm and something to be proud of.

“I like the idea that there were individuals who decided that wasn’t the way for them.”

Brian shot the film in Berlin and Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam between February and May.

The 51-year-old said the toughest part was recreating the infamous book burning scenes.

He said: “I think we had about 500 extras for that scene and we had to teach them the words to Uber Alles because the verses they were singing had been banned.

“No matter how many times you’ve seen images of Swastikas in books or films it’s really quite powerful to walk into a square decked out with 50 flags.

“It’s very unnerving. It’s not a comfortable experience and 95 per cent of the crew were German and they felt uneasy about it too.

“When the crowd were singing Uber Alles with as much passion as could be mustered I looked around and a number of my German crew had tears in their eyes.

“They were really quite overcome by it. There’s still a great sense of guilt by what they feel their forefathers were responsible for.

“It took us all back to what it might have been like when it happened.

“There’s a whole lot of contrasts in the film and it was something that I felt was really important.

“For instance you see a young, sweet kid like Rudy, an angelic little boy and yet he’s dressed in a Nazi uniform.

“Your mind’s telling you one thing and your heart’s telling you another.

“It was the same with the people singing those sorts of songs.

“A lot of them were innocent people but they were twisted into believing something that was intrinsically wrong.”

During the war, Brian’s dad Charles was a fitter in the RAF and his mum Miriam worked in a factory in Garston making cotton bobbins for the war effort.

But Brian fears that the huge sacrifices that millions of people made are being forgotten – and that is something he hopes to address with the film.

He added: “It really surprised me when we were trying to find the kids to play this film how many 12 and 13-year-olds didn’t know hardly anything about the Holocaust. Some didn’t know anything about it at all.

“So I wanted to make the film in a way that would be accessible to kids that age.

“They might go and see the film because they think Liesel’s story is really interesting and in an age of smart phones, tablets and laptops they can find out what the Holocaust was about within a couple of clicks.”

So what was it like working with Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson?

Brian said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Emily since she did Breaking The Waves.

“That performance blew me away and I’ve always wanted to work with her and she gave a lot more than I ever hoped for.”

Meanwhile, Geoffrey was the joker on set.

Brian added: “He does an absolutely perfect take and then clowns around and as soon as the camera starts rolling again he snaps back into character and he’s Hans again.

“Both actors were completely committed and the depth of character they brought to those roles was quite remarkable.”

- The Book Thief is in cinemas now

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BRIAN Percival is also well known for his award-winning work on ITV’s period drama Downton Abbey.

Since 2010, the Liverpudlian has directed seven episodes and scooped the BAFTA Craft Award for Best Fiction Director and a Primetime Emmy Award.

“We were making what we thought would be a great show for the UK on a Sunday night,” he said.

“But after the first series all of a sudden it became an overnight success in America.

“I’m constantly amazed how many people actually love the thing and it’s far bigger in America now than it is in the UK.

“I think the audience worldwide before this year was 120 million and it’s going into China and India.

“I was even getting tackled by autograph hunters in Berlin while filming The Book Thief. It was a joy to be part of.”