Leah Schwartz
November 5, 2012
En101- Professor Blumberg
Journal #11 As a Jewish person, who has been largely exposed to Holocaust material, it is hard simply to focus upon one piece to write about. I attended Hebrew school from the time I entered pre-school, until the day of my bat mitzvah. The middle and high schools that I attended devoted much of their curriculums to teachings about the Holocaust. My family also felt it very valuable for me to know and understand. Thus, I have read Night and attended a speech given by Elie Wiesel. I have read the Diary of Anne Frank, other memoirs and accounts, as well as fictional and rigid non-fictional books. I have watched Schindler’s List, Sophie’s Choice, Life is Beautiful, and a host of other reproductions and documentaries. I have visited the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. I have heard the stories of my own families being taken and being murdered. Thus, it is difficult to select simply one piece to discuss. I suppose if I had to choose from the materials, I would likely choose the photograph of the shoes displayed at the museum. It is an image that never ceases to stop me in my tracks. The shoes attempt to show the sheer numbers of innocent lives lost during the Holocaust. And yet, it is scary to think, that these are not all of the shoes. There are shoes scattered in museums around the world. These are simply featured in one museum.

I stood before a giant glass display. I stood there in silence, staring for a moment, my little green eyes wide. Finally, I turned to my father. He was pale, and still. Standing there, he looked so small, and I couldn’t understand why. “What are these, Dad?” He glanced down at me, and I saw that he had tears in his eyes. He began to speak, but his voice was shaking, and he had to clear his throat in order to explain. As he did, a few tears escaped and slid quickly down his