...The Holocaust was a tragic time for the Jewish community, and before this class I never truly realized how much each individual went through or what they had to do to survive. The entire period was filled with struggle and suffering and strength for the willpower to survive. Jewish men, women, and children were treated poorly, experimented on, stripped of their clothes and identity, and more. I heard stories like these from real people in the films, The Last Days directed by James Moll (1998), Shoah directed by Claude Lanzmann (1985), and Europa, Europa directed by Agnieszka Holland (1991). Each film was structured to tell stories from survivors of the Holocaust, but the film that taught me and spoke to me the most was The Last Days. This film showed the horrors of life in concentration camps, but it also emphases the will to survive and optimistic mindset each had in order to do so. The Last Days stands out from the others because it was a film that really personalized each individual. During the entire film, it focused on the lives of five Hungarian Jews and their journey to freedom. Although Europa, Europa and Shoah had emphasis on the strenuous journey to survive the Holocaust, neither of these films went deep into each life to show the range of stories and pain people had to go through. By having multiple people and making them unique individuals, The Last Days succeeded in showing the audience that the Holocaust did in fact reach an entire population full of different...
Words: 558 - Pages: 3
...details his father, Vladek's survival through the horrors of the holocaust. Deeply scarred from everything that has happened, what remains of his personality is now a pitiable product of all that he is been through. Vladek survival of the holocaust has a lot to do with his own resourcefulness and actions, these helped him through the horrors of the war and now are part of him, his reluctance to waste anything is a testament to this. Vladek's constant insistence of having Art staying with may be due to a fear of losing more people close to him. Not all of Valdek's personality arose from the holocaust. We can see glimpses if his former self from what he does. Vladek's personality is heavily influenced by his sufferings in the holocaust, carrying much of what it took to survive in the holocaust into a peaceful society where such skill were no longer needed. Suffering much more than most people he feels that suffering of others do not compare to his as his, such as the time where he scoffed at Art's friends. During the holocaust food was scarce, to survive one must save everything he has and waste nothing, Vladek did so during the holocaust but also seems to do just as much "Ever since Hitler [he] [doesn't] want to waste a crumb", much to the annoyance of everyone around him. Much of the survival of Vladek and Anja was due to his own actions and skill. He had trust in his own ability which helped him and Anja survive the war. After the war he continued to have faith in his own ability...
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...Holocaust- destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by fire or nuclear war. A long time ago, thousands of Jews perished inside concentration camps, but some of them lived to tell the tale. In his memoir Night, Elie Wiesel describes the rough tragedies he’s been through and the sorrow he encountered during the Holocaust. Before the Holocaust, Elie lived a normal life with his family and friends who he loved dearly. He believes strongly in his faith and he has a daily routine like most teenagers do nowadays. While inside the concentration camps, Elie struggles with a constant battle of survival and tries to keep his father alive. After some time, he starts getting doubts on helping his father because of the events that happened during the Holocaust. He only starts thinking of himself because he wants to survive. However, while he tries to stay with his father and help, the Holocaust and the events that happen...
Words: 1477 - Pages: 6
...Holocaust Life during the Holocaust The Holocaust was a horrible event and had many tragedies and losses of family and friends. This event starts in 1933 where Hitler rises to power, and ends in 1945 where Hitler is defeated and the holocaust has ended. There are many topics about the holocaust that people would want to know, but this topic is a crucial and important one. The topic is Life during the Holocaust where we learn about how Jewish people live during the holocaust and what happened to them in the concentration camps. A very shocking moment in people’s life is when they are kids and they live during the holocaust. Children in the holocaust were beaten, tortured and killed in either a concentration camp or death camp. If they did survive they would have died of hard labor, starvation or diseases that were spread in camps. A total of one and a half million Jewish children were killed during the holocaust. During the holocaust children had to wear patches in the shape of a yellow star which is known as the Star of David. One comment from a Jewish child during the holocaust in Belgium named Beatrice Muchman defined it as when “…Having to wear the yellow star was a moment when deep fear and misery finally took hold” (www.ushmm.org). The holocaust striped children of all their memories and dreams in the future. The Jewish children couldn’t go to school because of the laws that were created for instance on law from the holocaust was Children with either mixed Jewish blood...
Words: 328 - Pages: 2
...Children in Holocaust Six millions innocent people! This can be a large number of innocent people who were killed just because of one selfish person.“Adolph Hitler” who planned to have the white Aryan race dominates the world and Nazi regime under his command start to kill six million Jewish. “HOLOCAUST “the name derived from the Greek word “Holokauston” means ‘whole’ and the kauston means ‘burnt’. Holocaust wiped out almost six millions Jew’s blood from the page of the world (1939-1945). Among all those were killed during the Holocaust, killed and abused about one million children can be one of the most terrible episodes. Children in different ages have a different understanding and recognition of the death, and at the young ages they don’t have any clear understanding about the death. During the Holocaust Hitler (Nazi) did many anti-Semitic policies for killing the children and they put many pressure on Jewish children. Jewish family had many difficulties and dangers...
Words: 1059 - Pages: 5
...“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light” -Albus Dumbledore. Millions of Jews were forced to suffer through their worst nightmare. They were subject to harrowing experiments, torture, and death. Jewish people such as Elie Wiesel who wrote Night told his story and how he used faith and family to survive during the Holocaust. The Holocaust not only affected those imprisoned, but it also affected billions around the world. Actors such as Roberto Benigni created movies to portray the gruesome horrors that lied behind the gates of Auschwitz. Survival was a challenge for the people of the concentration camps, but those with a strong faith and support from family were more likely to survive. A strong...
Words: 673 - Pages: 3
...Auschwitz was built by Oswiecim, Poland (The Auschwitz Album: The Story of a Death Factory). It was 37 miles west of Krakow and one of 4 concentration camps in Poland (Auschwitz: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Many Jews were transported to Auschwitz by trains (Auschwitz: Gale Student Resources in Context). Auschwitz would become a death machine killing more than 1 million people. Auschwitz was a concentration camp, built by the Nazis in April of 1940 (Wigoder, Abwehr to Extermination Camps). Most prisoners did not survive Auschwitz. It was liberated on January 27, 1945 (Wigoder, Abwehr to Extermination Camps). The fact that most prisoners did not survive Auschwitz means that Auschwitz was a key component of the Holocuast. Auschwitz was founded to be the answer to the Jewish question (Wigoder, Abwehr to Extermination Camps). It was the largest concentration camp (Wigoder, Abwehr to Extermination Camps), being 15.44 square miles (Auschwitz: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Auschwitz also had 3 main camps and over 40 sub camps (The Auschwitz Album: The Story of a Death Factory). Auschwitz was the worst concentration camp of all. The Nazis killed 1.1 to 1.5 million people at Auschwitz (The Auschwitz Album: The Story of a Death Factory). Only 20% were selected to work (The Auschwitz Album:...
Words: 1053 - Pages: 5
...With the unconditional surrender of the Germans on May 8, 1945, the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust were finally at and end. Although this day is recognized in history as the end of both war and the violent persecution of the Jews seen during the Holocaust, those who survived the Holocaust would never be released from the grips of their nightmarish memories. After realizing that their families would not be returning and the difficulty of assimilating back into a life of normality diminished, memories of atrocity and malice kept the survivors on an endless rollercoaster of emotions from which escape was nearly impossible. Despite the anguish the survivors faced after surviving the Holocaust, they are often considered the lucky ones....
Words: 1569 - Pages: 7
...Life during the Holocaust The Holocaust was a horrible event and had many tragedies and losses of family and friends. This event starts in 1933 where Hitler rises to power, and ends in 1945 where Hitler is defeated and the holocaust has ended. There are many topics about the holocaust that people would want to know, but this topic is a crucial and important one. The topic is Life during the Holocaust where we learn about how Jewish people live during the holocaust and what happened to them in the concentration camps. A very shocking moment in people’s life is when they are kids and they live during the holocaust. Children in the holocaust were beaten, tortured and killed in either a concentration camp or death camp. If they did survive they would have died of hard labor, starvation or diseases that were spread in camps. A total of one and a half million Jewish children were killed during the holocaust. During the holocaust children had to wear patches in the shape of a yellow star which is known as the Star of David. One comment from a Jewish child during the holocaust in Belgium named Beatrice Muchman defined it as when “…Having to wear the yellow star was a moment when deep fear and misery finally took hold” (www.ushmm.org). The holocaust striped children of all their memories and dreams in the future. The Jewish children couldn’t go to school because of the laws that were created for instance on law from the holocaust was Children with either mixed Jewish blood, Half Jewish...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
...1. How does their story of survival compare to that of Primo Levi? 2. Why do you think Art Spiegelman draws the characters of his book as mice, cats, pig etc.? 3. Maus 4. What was Vladek like? 5. Vladek is an older person with a very précised in what he want and he son see this as being annoying. He feels you need to be aware of everything. He does not trust people specially his second wife Mala. He has hearth problems and he is diabetic. Sometime he used his sickness to his advantage. 6. During the Holocaust, he exhibited a spectacular resourcefulness, work ethic, and presence of mind that often enabled him to secure food, shelter, and safety for himself and his family. He was a shrewd businessman, and in the most troubling times he saved everything of use. In 1978, he still saves everything and tries to exchange those things that he no longer needs. Once so resourceful and competent, he is still constantly working on small projects, some of which he is incapable of completing. Vladek's personality is largely dominated by his Holocaust experiences. 7. What do we know of his life before the holocaust? 8. He was a happy bachelor living his life in the small city of Czestochowa. He used to sell textiles. Vladek was organized person his apartment was small but organized. He met Anja and soon he felt in love with her. When Anja take him to her house to meet her parent, he checks her clothes to see what kind of wife she will be. To his surprise she...
Words: 1211 - Pages: 5
...lie to idea that people thought they had to kill so that they themselves would not be killed o Conclusions Browning drew about killers: • Some men did not want to appear cowardly to the other men • peer pressure of not stepping up against the idea • Testimony was consistent—gives it weight and truth • Career destruction – thought that if they refused to kill Jews that it would destroy there business/careers • Holocaust: The ignored Reality- Timothy Snyder • What is wrong with making (A) the iconic Holocaust experience? o It was the western most camp o Eastern killings are much unknown o Should view as one mass murder o Most Jews were polish Jews that were killed o Jews killed at (A) were not representative victims • Jews at (A) came mostly from western Europe • More educated/less religious than Polish Jews o (A) was not as bad other camps • Gets attention because there are a lot of survivors • Educated prisoners were able to write and share their story • Western released prisoners were able to spread their stories easier than eastern survivors who were under Soviet rule o 50% of the victims did not die by gas, they died by bullet • Focusing on camps leaves out a large portion of the killings most importantly the mass shootings • Shame- Primo Levi o What (widely-held) ideas about Holocaust survival is Primo Levi trying to dispel? • The people were experienced liberation as a joyous moment- the memories of survivors become colored by...
Words: 5545 - Pages: 23
...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
...Faith Challenged by Evil Historic Event Can a person maintain a stronger growing faith and untouched humanity ideas during an evil historic event like the Holocaust? Elie Wiesel’s book, Night, will answer this question. Throughout history humanity has faced numerous tragic event caused either by nature or human beings, both of God’s creations. The Holocaust, which means “sacrifice by fire”, began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. During the Holocaust the Jews were the most affected. The Nazis killed eleven million Jews, almost two-thirds of all the Jewish population living in Europe. Jews were not the only ones the Holocaust targeted; Gypsies, homosexuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses were also victims of Hitler’s plan. In recent years, events like The Twin Towers terrorist attack in 2001 and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami have brought enormous suffering to the world, suffering that can somehow be compared to the one lived during the Holocaust. Continuing is the analysis of Elie Wiesel’s horrific experiences during the Holocaust. Did these experiences affect his faith? Was his perception of humanity ideas impacted? The book Night starts describing Elie’s faith as one indestructible. As young as he was he had deep knowledge of Jewish mysticism studies. Elie believed in God; a God of love and unlimited power. He was told that God is the master creator of all world’s wonders and that these wonders where the emanation of the divine world. Elie concluded that if God...
Words: 1226 - Pages: 5
...a jewish boy from Sighet, Romania. When he was just a young boy he was taken into a Nazi concentration camp with his father, and was separated from his mother and siblings. He endured many months of cruelty and hardship during the time the of the Holocaust, and even lost father before being liberated by U.S. soldiers. After all of this, Elie published a book call “Night” that tells the story of his time in these camps, yet many people believe he never actually experienced any of this. They believe the Holocaust never happened and call Elie a fake because you can’t see his inmate number A-7713 tattooed on his left arm. Just because one man's tattoo faded away and can’t be seen anymore does not mean such an astronomically large event didn’t happen. There is so much proof of the Holocaust and what happened during. Given all the evidence, proof, and eyewitness testimony from thousands of people, one could only reasonably think that The Holocaust is real and it truly happened....
Words: 682 - Pages: 3
...The Holocaust. What comes to mind when this single event is mentioned? Tragedy, fear, death, sadness? For many, the thought of the Holocaust sounds like it occurred a lifetime ago. However, the atrocities which the Jews faced transpired less than seventy-five years ago. The Holocaust is not another shrapnel of ancient antiquity to be disserted – it is a chapter of modern history which must be deliberated and reflected upon. For this time, history cannot repeat itself. The nefarious concentration camps had their own social climate, as Jews braced themselves every day for the same endless battle of survival and did anything they had to do in order to outlive their relentless enemy – death. The story of how countless people were ripped from their homes and thrown into death camps is told firsthand, by the autobiographical novel, Night, written by Holocaust survivor Eliezer Wiesel. According to Wiesel’s recollection, it all commenced when German officers began to enter Jewish towns and occupy them. There was talk of German tensions, but almost everyone was indifferent. Before they knew it, Jews were being placed into ghettos, curfews were being imposed on them, and they were having more rights taken away from them. Anti-Semitism became...
Words: 1388 - Pages: 6
