“We must do something, we can’t let them kill us like that, like cattle in the slaughterhouse, we must revolt”. These are the words from many men surrounding Elie Wiesel as he entered Auschwitz, calling out for rebellious toward the Germans harsh conditions. Of course they had no idea what they were getting themselves into, many thought that there was nothing wrong until boarding the cattle train that would send them off to their final resting place. Life during the holocaust was torturous to say the least, so much so that some 6,000,000 lives were taken during this time in Jewish descent alone. People of the Jewish descent did not have it easy; they either were forced out of their homes into concentration camps, or they would hide out only to be found and killed of they remained in their settlements.
Representations of events in the past are created through choice of historical evidence and personal memory. Factors utilised by a composer to demonstrate a purpose are consciously chosen to ensure the idolised meaning is constructed. Mark Bakers non-fiction text The Fiftieth Gate articulates the manifestations of the holocaust, contrasting historical facts with personal memory. Bakers deliberate utilisation of differing perspectives integrated throughout the text, challenges and questions the validity of both history and memory. Similarly Steve McQueen’s film 12 years a slave and Redgums song “I was only 19”, exhibit the composer’s choices of particular historical knowledge and memory, idolising the idea of selection defining perspective. McQueen and Redgum
The term “Holocaust” has the ability to strike an indescribable fear in the hearts and minds of many people. There is no misgiving that the atrocities occurring inside the Nazi-ran concentration camps during the shadows of World War II is unimaginably tragic and heartbreaking. It is difficult to fully understand the painful experiences that the Jewish people went through during these dark years of history. For this reason, Elie Wiesel, a survivor of the Holocaust, decided on recollecting the dire memories he had of his stay at the concentration camps, into a memoir famously known as Night. It is without a doubt that the major concepts, of upholding hope when faced with hardship and of avoiding the ignorance that hinders wise judgement are influential
Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote about his horrifying experience in the concentration camps during World War II and titled it Night. Wiesel explained a little about his life before the notorious event and the asperities he encountered as a Jewish teenager. In this memoir, there are clarified explanations about the infamous event, the Holocaust. Wiesel’s first-hand account of the struggles he encountered as a Jewish prisoner is a primary resource for those whom wish to know about the hardships the Jewish inmates went through. In Night, there are examples of Aristotle’s appeals ethos, pathos, logos, and mood in which he uses successfully to relate his personal experiences
What can a person do if their language is tainted with malevolent intentions towards others, how about after sixty millions of their own people are inhumanly slaughtered with little to no respect? Nothing can ease a person’s trauma and torment, attempting to explain an event of such horrific context is extremely for a survivor of said event. However, another problem arises, how one thoroughly explains an event that they desperately do not want to relive. Many Holocaust survivors, who are literary geniuses, use a variety of methods in order to express their opinions and experiences to the reader. Elie Wiesel’s use of repetition, Art Spiegelman’s use of a bizarre genre to create symbolism while explaining euphemisms, and many survivors opening up to the younger generation at Holocaust themed museums.
American Jewish writer, and political activist Elie Wiesel, in his sympathetic speech “The Perils of Indifference” to send a strong message to the audience. As a survivor of the Holocaust, he supports his claim through his speech explaining the dangers of indifference from first hand experience. Specifically in his speech he refers to himself, “A young Jewish boy [..] woke up in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald”(par 1).. In addition, Wiesel use of rhetorical questions is for the audience to question or to think about indifference. Wiesel’s purpose is to warn people about indifference in order to “save” our future. He establishes a serious tone for readers by using stylistic and rhetorical devices such as imagery, repetition and
“The Holocaust is the solution to the Jews final question.” This famously known quote, said by Adolf Hitler, explains the ugly truth behind his so called “well-being”. Dating all the way back to the 1930s, Hitler was first brought to power becoming a dictator and leader of the Nazi party; however, many citizens under his rule did not know that they just set their country up for a major downfall. From 1933 to 1945 society in Germany was “doomed” as many had put it, and full of indifference. Author of Night, witness of the Holocaust, and a human just like anyone else, Elie Wiesel, shared his horrific journey about how he survived through the time of the genocide of Jews. Wiesel used ethics, emotion, and logic throughout his “Elie Wiesel-Acceptance
The book Night by Ellie Wiesel, gives the account of a teenage boy going through the horrendous events of the Holocaust with his father by his side, though this is one of the many accounts of the Holocaust it is crucial to society that we learn the lesson behind it. The lesson to learn from this horrifying event, is to accept all humans for who they are and not be prejudice against their religion or race.
Choices play a critical role not only in people’s daily lives, but in shaping history as well. The stronger those choices are, the greater impact they have on society. During the Holocaust, when the Germans considered themselves racially superior to the Jews and caused millions of innocent deaths, ordinary European citizens and perpetrators shaped history through their actions and inaction. While some stayed quiet, many brave individuals, called upstanders, decided to rescue Jews and other victims of persecution, based on their past experiences and from the goodness of their heart. These upstanders chose to rescue and assist a race marked for death, while knowing full well the harsh penalties for doing so. In any case, the perpetrators, bystanders,
The Symposium consists of 52 distinguishing characters answering the question in Wiesenthal’s place. An answer to this question is not easy for anyone to make. However, the distinction almost each one of the characters points out is that there is a difference between forgiveness and forgetting. Forgiving someone for the atrocities they caused generations of Jews or forgetting about the atrocities done to the Jew.
Through its duration, and for decades following, the Holocaust has been a topic of literary work that has ignited emotion globally. Many countries, especially those in Eastern Europe were directly impacted by the work of Hitler and his followers, all of whom felt the weight of the tragedy. Though most impactful to those who felt it firsthand, the death of millions also fell onto the shoulders of many by proxy. Night by Elie Wiesel expounds on the gruesome firsthand experience many Jews faced during the Holocaust that negatively impacted the emotional state of its victims, while Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye illustrates the positive support those not directly inflicted
Edmund Burke once said, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it” (“History Quotes” par. 23). There is something to be said about a civilization that does not analyze its past flaws to correct it future mistakes. By not studying the past, both the laudable and the unmentionable, there is no way for a person, country, or race of people to avoid making similar errors as a result of ignorance. Examining history provides each generation with the tools for it to construct its own values, opinions, and solutions to essential humanitarian, political, economic, and social problems. However, sometimes analyzing history is not enough, especially whenever its warnings are largely ignored or underestimated. Thus in his article “The Next Genocide,”
One would never know how profound reading original documents for a class that was taking for mere boredom can be. America Views the Holocaust 1933-1945: A Brief Documentary History, by historian Robert Abzug, did indeed change my thoughts and possibly altered my degree selection. I came to be fascinated by the historical presentation of Abzug and the essays, which focus on whether or not history is true and the denial of one of the most horrific events in the world. Being exposed to their essays while reading Taking Sides: America Views the Holocaust 1933-1945: A Brief Documentary History for one of the classes I am taking this semester. I have never been much of a reader but somehow, the essays, documents and stories both encouraged my thinking and question my belief in historical truths. If anything, the truths that were presented are capable of making one see history through different eyes. Abzug states in the Preface, the book "offers a selection of original documents that illustrate the varied
Witnessing Claude Romney’s live presentation was much different from reading other testimonies, or watching interviews and documentaries about the holocaust. Since the round ups and arrests happened when she was a very young child, she did not have vivid memories of the events herself. Nonetheless, Romney recited the stories of what her mother had told her, and that did not lessen the impact it had on her audience. Seeing a holocaust survivor face to face, as a solid and tangible human being who went through all the unfathomable events, that one can only read about in books, was a very eye opening experience. Previously, we watched many videos of interviews featuring survivors, but the concept of watching a person that is framed behind a screen,
Tim Snyder’s “Bloodlands” gives a detailed history of Europe during the reigns of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. In “Bloodlands” Snyder’s main point is to describe that although Hitler and Stalin had conflicting goals and viewpoints, their actions directly affected one another and resulted in one of the most horrific time periods in European history. Timothy Snyder is an American author and historian who specializes in the Holocaust and Central and Western Europe. After graduating high school, Snyder received his Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and his Doctorate from Oxford University; Snyder also has held fellowships Paris, Vienna, and Warsaw (Timothy Snyder, 2018). Due to his vast experience and education in Europe, specifically in Warsaw and in Vienna, Snyder probably had a large amount of exposure to the events he writes about in “Bloodlands.” There may have been more opportunity to hear from primary sources about the events that occurred and as a result, these experiences sparked his interests. Snyder also clearly conveys in “Bloodlands” that there is a misconception that Germany was the primary “doer of evil” in the periods during and leading up to the Second World War. Snyder aims not to compare Hitler and Stalin, but to show that there was not just one side to the disasters and that the Holocaust was not just a Western event. Snyder’s writing seems to be directed towards those who may think they know a great deal about the subject, but in fact do not;