Examining Two Quotes From Victims Of Apartheid During The Holocaust

Imagine: It’s the mid-1940’s, and you’re in a concentration camp working as a slave. Your family is dead and/or missing, and you're slowly dying from starvation and abuse, seeing people die has become a norm for you and you live in constant fear that you will be next. This is what almost 9 million Jews had to face in Europe during the Holocaust and out of them, only 3 million survived. Now Imagine this: It’s the late 1900’s and you're an African American living in your home country of South Africa, but times are hard for you. Simply because of the color of your skin, you have been stripped of your rights and freedom. You are only allowed to do what the “white man” says you can do and if you question them it could mean imprisonment or even your life! This was the lifestyle of African Americans and many other minorities in South Africa in a time called Apartheid. In the following essay, we will examine two quotes from victims of both the Holocaust and Apartheid.

THE HOLOCAUST The Holocaust was described as one of the most gruesome times in world history. It was a time where

In the quote, he uses parallel structure making the quote feel deep and powerful and to get his point across to the reader. He uses imagery and metaphors so the reader can “see what he sees”, for example, when he says, “Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke …”. It allows the reader to imagine the intensity of what happened. He used a metaphor when he talked about how the flames consumed his faith, the flames didn’t do that in a literal sense but he said it so we could understand his feeling of God not being there and not being able to trust in him. The tone of the quote is mournful and bitter, he is saddened to see the little children and others die, but is bitter and angry towards God for allowing it to