...During the Holocaust, millions of Jews, gypsies, and members of other groups were persecuted and murdered by Nazi occupied Europe. However, many forget to acknowledge that among these were children. It may never be known exactly how many children were murdered but it is said that as many as some 1.5 million children may have fell victim to the Nazi party. Although children were not a main target of the Nazi's violence, they did fall subject to persecution along with their parents. Jewish children were first exposed to persecution in school. Many of their friends who were not Jewish began not socializing with them and even began to treat them in prejudice ways. This was soon followed with the announcement that, "German Jewish children were prohibited from attending German schools (www.mtsu.edu/.baustin/children.html). The life of children had quickly become as torn apart as their parents. However, there were more efforts to help the children escape the grips of the Nazi rule. Before 1939, several thousand children were able to escape in "Kindertransports to the Netherlands, Great Britain, Palestine, and the United States (www.mtsu.edu/.baustin/children.html). Those who were not able to escape were placed in ghettos and transit camps. These ghettos and transit camps served as the foreground to the death and slave labor camps that would soon follow. It was written in a Jewish diary, A Jewish ghetto in the traditional sense is impossible; certainly a closed ghetto is...
Words: 2503 - Pages: 11
...Although the Holocaust took place almost half a century ago, it still leaves behind profound repercussions not only on its direct survivors, but also on their descendants – the second generation. In her book The Generation of Postmemory: Writing and Visual Culture after the Holocaust, Marianne Hirsch coins the term “postmemory” to describe how parents can pass on their traumatic memories to their children, and how these memories consequently become an integral part of their lives and their identities. Indeed, biographies and psychoanalytical research have proven that many descendants of Holocaust survivors display psychological symptoms similar to those of their parents, despite the fact that they were born many years after the Holocaust. Although many critics insist that postmemory does not qualify as actual memory because the children have not lived through the Holocaust themselves, postmemory is indeed a legitimate form of memory. Furthermore, when compared to memory, postmemory is equally traumatizing and painful. Although postmemory is a frequent theme in many works from and on the second generation, its validity is still debated. Hirsch first defines the term as the relationship between the second generation and the memories they inherit from their parents by means of stories, images and behaviors among which they grew up. Karein Goertz, in her essay “Transgenerational Representations of the Holocaust: From Memory to ‘Post-Memory’” also describes postmemory as “a hybrid...
Words: 2317 - Pages: 10
...8-week Pre-sessional Research Essay 15th August 2012 To What Extent is Negative Heritage a Benefit to Society？ UCL Language Centre Student: QIFAN WANG Tutor: MARK BAILEY Date: 16/08/2012 Word count: 1854 words Introduction Cultural heritage, including monuments, groups of buildings and sites, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science(1972, UNESCO Convention World Heritage), is inherited from past generations, maintained in the contemporary era and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. While seemingly uncontroversial and due to its significant position and profoundly influential value, human beings are exploring ancient civilization and preserving cultural heritage. However, we should recognize that not all heritage represents a positive memory , the uncritical interpretation of heritage is indeed omit negative factors of the past. In order to distinguish heritage more thoroughly, we use the term “negative heritage” which is defined as sites that may be interpreted by a group as commemorating conflict, trauma and disaster (Rico 2010), more specifically, Meskell deems that negative heritage is a conflicting site that becomes the repository of negative memory in the collective imaginary (Meskell 2002, 558). Unlike other heritage which can win widespread appreciation and permanent admiration, negative heritage refers to death, wars, religious conflicts and culture clashes. Controversies of...
Words: 2163 - Pages: 9
...Penn State HIST 121 Term Paper 23 April 2014 Children of the Holocaust This research essay is about the devastating and gruesome incidents pertaining to the children of the holocaust. This essay will cover the unbelievable lives these children had to live and the horrible pain they had to undergo threw this war of extermination. They suffered losses of family, friends, and many became orphaned or homeless. The holocaust took the lives of about 6 million Jewish men, women, and children. There were about 1.6 million Jewish children consisting from infants to teens living in Europe around the start of World War 2. Only about 11 percent of this range of children made it through the war. A lot of the parents chose to hide their children so they would have a better chance of surviving. The Jewish children were extremely discriminated against and were terribly affected by the Holocaust. Jewish children, along with their families, experienced persecution of revocation of citizenship, reduction of food ration, confiscations, deprivation of schooling and restricted access to public institutions. Many people could not figure out why the Jewish children were hated, or why they had to be prisoners. These children were left homeless and many orphaned. They had seen the Nazis murder their parents, siblings, relatives, and close friends. They had to endure starvation, sickness, and awful labor and other brutal acts until they were sent to gas chambers at the camps. Hiding a child...
Words: 1366 - Pages: 6
...The Changing of Jewish Life With the rise of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party between 1933 and 1939, Jewish life was changed drastically. This was due to a combination of factors such as Hitler’s rise to power and anti-semitic beliefs, Nuremberg Laws, and Kristallnacht. This essay will serve to explore Jewish life prior to 1933 and explain the many factors that attributed to the changing of Jewish life from 1933 to 1939. Anti-semitism has existed for about two thousand years throughout Europe, but despite this, the life of German Jews was reasonably peaceful before 1933 (Berenbaum 2018). Anti-semitism existed in many forms such as the Jews being scapegoated for the cause of the Black Plague and the death of Christ, as well as employment...
Words: 1204 - Pages: 5
...In the 1930’s, a wave of Jewish refugees fled to Shanghai to escape the horrors of an impending Holocaust. Although at first comfortably ensconced in the city the Japanese army soon forced the Jewish community to live in a ghetto. In an effort to transplant and sustain their culture in Shanghai, the Jewish population, mostly from Central Europe, established their own businesses in the area. This area eventually became “Little Vienna” because it appeared to be an Austrian-style street in the Jewish ghetto. After World War II, most of the Jews emigrated from Shanghai and soon after “Little Vienna” ceased to exist. In recent years, the opening of the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum and the influx of immigrants into the city have led to a rebirth...
Words: 2374 - Pages: 10
...responsible for the deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians alike who. This would mark “...the first [war] in which civilian populations became systematic, strategic targets.” (Merriman page1049) Driven by his intolerance or perhaps hatred, towards the Jewish people Hitler was able to turn a largely personal vendetta against Jews, into an issue of public policy, and ultimately one of the largest genocides ever documented[1]. How did one mans ideas, Hitler’s anti-semitism, evolve from the hurtful words of Mein Kampf to anti-Jewish laws in Nazi Germany and ultimately the biggest recorded savagery in the History of mankind? Although the blood of over 6million Jews stains his hands, Hitler was not alone in his actions; he required support. This essay examines various theories regarding the conception of Hitler’s antisemitic values and asks how Hitler was able to use social policy and propaganda to manifest support for his would be genocidal Nazi regime. Central to comprehending policy decisions made by Hitler, is an understanding of his antisemitism. There are a number of incidents, alleged to have occurred, that speculators, much like myself, use as the basis for the identifying the moment that spawned Hitler’s now infamous anti-Semitism. However, limited and subjective nature of the information on the matter can at times lead to some equally limited theories. The first theory, published by Rudolph Binion, argues that...
Words: 3758 - Pages: 16
...the media do, so must public relations Jeffrey L. Courtright a,∗ , Gerald Z. Slaughter b,1 b a School of Communication, Fell Hall 428, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4480, United States Department of Communication, 322 Erickson Hall, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, United States Received 9 October 2006; received in revised form 26 January 2007; accepted 26 January 2007 Abstract Only recently has research begun concerning the longer-term aftermath of organizational crisis. This essay presents the genre of disaster rhetoric as a viable strategy to address the problems and opportunities that arise when the media write about crisis anniversaries or news stories that refer to any crisis or disaster, past or present. After a brief review of genre theory, the authors outline the seven functions of the “rhetoric of disaster” and provide multiple examples of their application to public relations activity and its news coverage. The essay concludes with questions that practitioners may use proactively in the development of copy points to address each of the rhetoric of disaster’s functions. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Rhetoric; Genre; Writing conventions; Disaster; Crisis; Message design 1. Overview The bulk of the crisis communication literature has been devoted to crisis plans and the principles behind them (e.g., Fearn-Banks, 2006; Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer, 2003), using issues management to prepare for potential crises...
Words: 4006 - Pages: 17
...who died at Auschwitz at the age of thirteen and how, although her life was taken at such a young age, her memory and spirit continue to live on today. Adapted from the book of the same title by Karen Levine, HANA’S SUITCASE explores the journey of teacher and children at the Tokyo Holocaust Education Center take to find out who Hana Brady is—all from a suitcase the Center received with Hana’s name, birth date, and the word waisenkind (orphan) written on it. The children at the Center are captivated by this suitcase, and the girl who once owned it, and they begin flooding Fumiko Ishioka, the Center’s Director, with question after question about Hana. Fumiko recognizes the importance of uncovering Hana’s story for her students. This tragic event cannot be summed up in numbers or facts— it affected individuals, young and old, who each had a story, families, and hopes and dreams. As Fumiko slowly but determinedly reveals Hana’s story, she discovers that Hana was sent to live in Theresienstadt, a Jewish ghetto, and eventually died at Auschwitz. However, as devastating as this is for Fumiko and the children at the Center to find out, they also learn that Hana had an older brother who survived the Holocaust and was now living with his family in Canada. Fumiko and the children write to George Brady, asking him to share...
Words: 15786 - Pages: 64
...MODULE C – History and Memory Sample 1 How has your understanding of events, personalities or situations been shaped by their representations in the texts you have studied. Refer to your prescribed text and at least TWO other related texts of your own choosing. History can be defined as “the methodical record of public events” where memory is defined as “the faculty by which events are recalled or kept in mind”. Thus history and memory interrelate as history can be seen as the contextual justification for memory. “The Fiftieth Gate” is a poignant interweaving of history and memory. The text follows protagonist, Mark Baker an historian, son of Holocaust survivors Genia and Yossl (Joe), on an historical journey through memory, to uncover the origins of his past and act as a catalyst for future generations to also connect with their history. Mark Baker’s journey through history and memory is also executed through his conventional ideas that memory is biased and less valid than history. There are numerous references to the discrepancies between the personal memories of his parents and the documented history Mark as an historian believes. In this way it is apparent that Mark is on a quest for verification, “my facts from the past are different”. This displays the flaw Mark traditionally notes in memory and his need for historical evidence. As responders accompany Mark on his journey, they also encounter the complexity of simultaneously being a son and an historian. This...
Words: 23607 - Pages: 95
...The Holocaust: Suggested Reading There is a wealth of information about the Holocaust. So much has been written, in fact, that it can be difficult to determine where to start. This reading list is collected from recommendations from other members of The Holocaust History Project. It is not a complete bibliography but represents our opinion as to what are the most useful starting places for research. Since this list concentrates on works that are easily available and useful to a person unacquainted with the history of the Holocaust, many excellent books which are rare or out of print are not listed. Another class of books that are not included is works that are controversial because of their contents or the unusual theories they propose. Some of these are excellent works, others are not. But we feel that the reader for whom this list was compiled would not have the knowledge needed to evaluate these discussions of the legitimate controversies about the Holocaust. Just as a medical student must learn anatomy before he or she is taught surgery, someone studying the Holocaust must know the factual background before some of the more technical studies can be understood. As well as general works we have included books of specialized interest concerning the matters about which we at The Holocaust History Project are most frequently asked. Many of these books deal with more than one subject, but in the interest of brevity we have not cited a book more than once. General history of the...
Words: 5578 - Pages: 23
...Shannon Trubatch Imaginary Worlds Assignment 2 ENG201 Behind the Lens: Photographs of the Holocaust Religion has been found to be, time and time again, a factor that influences the actions taken by many, both kind and cruel, across the globe and throughout history. My mother is a Christian, and I grew up in a household celebrating Christian holidays and attending church on Sundays. My father, however, was raised in Long Island in a Jewish home, where he celebrated Hanukah, had a bar mitzvah, and went to temple. As I grew up, I would learn of the history of the world, but nothing would strike me more than the events of the Holocaust. As I continued to learn and grow older, I would begin to understand the atrocities that took place during this time, half a world a way, and the images and films that I saw in regards to the Holocaust would haunt me most of all. A photo essay, compiled by the English department at the University of Illinois, contains a number of photographs from the Holocaust that demonstrates the atrocities that occurred during this time. These photographs support the argument developed by Susan Sontag that photographers must make the decision between a photograph and a life, and that the viewers of these images also have a responsibility to actions of atrocity and human suffering. In Susan Sontag’s book On Photography, she develops the argument that photography is an act of nonintervention; that the photographer is faced with the choice between capturing...
Words: 3126 - Pages: 13
...Analysis: X-Men (2000) The comic book genre is something that is all too common nowadays. It seems that every other film being released is on based off of a superhero character. Many of the story lines in these epics are inspired by and reflect real life events and issues. The first X-Men film is no exception to this. X-Men was directed by Bryan Singer and released in 2000. In the movie, a world is depicted in which a small portion of people are mutants. These mutants each possess different superhuman powers which in turn makes them feared and distrusted by normal humans. This film is about the struggle between two groups of mutants, trying to bring about acceptance for their community. The main villain, Magneto, wants to bring about acceptance through violence, while the protagonist of this film wants to do it through a more peaceful route. X-Men is an accurate, smart comic-book adaptation that follows its source material for real relevance and deeper meaning, for example its tie to actual life history, while still delivering all the action a comic book fan could want. Marvel Comics initially released Stan Lee’s first X-Men series in 1963, meaning the cherished characters were around a great time before the film adaptation was made and the effects that were used to make this movie made the stories come alive. As a result, the majority of this movie’s audience grew up reading the comic books that this movie was based off of. This lead to fans having high expectations for this...
Words: 2401 - Pages: 10
...Write an essay on ONE of the topics listed below: Recommended length: 5,000 words Submission date: 12 noon, Thursday Week 4 of Term 3 You are recommended to consult the following three Department documents when writing this essay: • Undergraduate Studies Handbook • Assessed-essay-writing guidelines • Essay-marking criteria for Options and Core Modules 1. ‘Zeugnisse guten Willens, zugleich aber wieder Dokumente der Ratlosigkeit’ (Günther Mahal). Discuss with reference to a representative selection of texts from the material in the collection Die Berliner Moderne, 1885-1914. 2. ‘Tatsächlich ist es die Erfahrung der Großstadt Berlin, die Konfrontation eines in der Provinz herangebildeten kleinbürgerlichen Bewußtseins mit der Hektik, der Unübersichtlichkeit, den Massenmenschen, dem Elend der industrialisierten Metropole, aus denen die Entstehung der künstlerischen Moderne, ihr unklarer und widersprüchlicher Charakter verstanden werden können.’ (Jürgen Schutte and Peter Sprengel). Discuss with reference to a representative selection of texts or visual material produced before 1930 that you have studied on the module. 3. ‘Die psychologische Grundlage, auf der der Typus großstädtischer Individualitäten sich erhebt, ist die Steigerung des Nervenlebens, die aus dem raschen und ununterbrochenen Wechsel äußerer und innerer Eindrücke hervorgeht.’ (Georg Simmel). Analyse the significance of Simmel’s essay ‘Die Großstädte und das Geistesleben’ of 1903 for an understanding...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...MIDTERM ESSAY CHARLIE MITCHELL LIBERTY UNIVERSITY “For if they that are of the law are heirs, faith is made of none effect: for the law worketh wrath, but where there is no law; neither is there transgression” (Romans 4:14-15 ASV). Introduction: It is often noted, “There’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end” (Adam Scott, Cartoonist-Dilbert, Quote, 4144). Such is the case in point of World War II. The strategy of two world powers (Germany and Japan) willed their dominance on other countries, will be greatly tested over the course of time in the 1940’s. “Life has its ups and downs, for many people it is an ongoing battle: a conflict of values, a battle of beliefs, a struggle of wills, and a war of nerves. God never promise to go with us through every conflict” (Hindson, Ed (2003), Courageous Faith: Life Lessons From Old Testament Heroes, pg. 77). (A) Japan Man and his greed to possess material things he deems of importance, lead to Japan’s downfall. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito (posthumously known as Emperor Showa, 1926-1989), principles objective leading up to the despicable assault on the United States were: (1) To develop dominance, and become the leading country of a so-called, “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere (August, 1940). (2) Economic reasons, Japan required East Asia raw material and land for its growing population. (3) Disagreement with United States imposed embargo on supplying oil...
Words: 1576 - Pages: 7
