M.,+Olivia

=Enjoy your stay at ... Olivia's Page! = __Description of "Responding to Holocaust Images" paragraph__ Create a paragraph that describes and analyzes a Holocaust image so that it captures the picture's meaning, in the sense of the feelings and suffering of the subject in the image. Make sure to use a grabber that draws the reader in, three examples that analyze and support the idea of the picture's meaning, and finally a conclusion that accurately wraps of paragraph and includes a connection to real life. While describing the image, try to incorporate sensory detail, descriptive language, and either simile, metaphor or personification.
 * 4/28/08**

Rough Draft/ Ideas for Holocaust images paragraph

 * Bystanders - civilians that ignored the horrible things that were happening to the Jews and other discriminated groups during the Holocaust.**

__Topic Sentence: Statement about bystanders, who they were and why they were significant to the holocaust. Support 1: Nazi soldiers that both participated in and stood by and watched these horrible crimes being committed (picture of soldiers overlooking Jew being shot) ANALYZE Support 2: Civilians that were forced into working for people who committed these unspeakable crimes and did not protest when they were forced into doing so. (picture of man hauling body into truck) ANALYZE Support 3: Citizens in Germany (picture of students that watched and did nothing while fellow Jewish students were humiliated by their peers) Metaphor/ simile: compare the relationship between the Jews and the bystanders, or pretend that bystanders are a small insignificant animal afraid of a bigger, more ferocious creature (Hitler and Nazi leaders). Tie supports together - bystanders may have done what they did out of either ignorance or fear. Conclusion: connection - today, everywhere in the world, let it be as minimal as a student at a school making fun of another student, people stand by and watch bad things happen to other people, may it be out of ignorance or fear.__

Final Draft
During the Holocaust of World War II, people from Europe and all over the world watched as Jews were forced to suffer unspeakable brutality and death. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, they took no action to stop these horrible crimes. Bystanders were one of the key reasons that the Holocaust racked up a body count of more than six million, consisting mostly of innocent Jews. Nazi soldiers were a significant part of the bystander problem. For example, when, during the Holocaust, one particular Jew was forced to kneel on his knees in unwelcome await of a German soldier’s bullet, all the other soldiers that witnessed the shooting were merely unmoving subjects in the background. Although they may have desired to end the Jew’s suffering, these Nazis restrained from forcing themselves into foreground. If all the soldiers in Germany had mustered up enough courage to stand up to Hitler and the Nazi leaders, no longer fearful mice in the shadow of a mighty tiger, the atrocities of the Holocaust might have been lessened. However, German soldiers, whether they were willing or unwilling to join the Nazis, were not the only Holocaust bystanders. Civilians also found themselves in a similar position, especially those that worked for the Nazis. Whether he be a man carrying the limp figure of a concentration camp victim towards the shadow of a waiting truck, or a German pupil sitting still in his seat while two Jewish classmates stood humiliated before the blackboard, after the teacher  had written, "The Jew is our greatest enemy! Beware of the Jew!", upon it, citizens of European Nazi countries made up the majority of those who watched and did nothing. Whether they chose their positions out of fear or ignorance, all bystanders caused a portion of the genocide’s horrible outcome. If a single one of them had dared to stand up against the anti-Semitics, others might have followed him, and maybe the Holocaust would have played out differently. But of course, that was simply not the case. Hitler held his strong grasp on Europe through fear, and millions lost their lives as a result. In today’s world, similar situations are played out every day, although they could be found in as seemingly trivial places as a classroom. But if every student in that class had the fortitude to stand up to their peers, overcoming their fright of other, tougher classmates, then it’s possible that genocide’s savagery will never plague the earth again.



=__Night DJE Assignments__=
 * PROMPT SECTION:** First, either answer the questions for the given pages or take notes on the prompts given to you. Respond to EACH question or prompt as completely as you can. That means that you will need to write several items in response to each question or prompt.


 * REACTION SECTION:** Next, write your reactions to the questions you answered or notes you took. In other words, after reading and responding to the prompt, write down how you feel. What emotions are stirred for you? You should write one reaction for each item you have written in the prompt section.

__pages 1-20__ **(due Friday 5/2)** What are the signs of trouble? AND How do the Jews of Sighet react?

__pages 21 – 26__ **(due Monday 5/5)** Who is Madame Schachter? __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 22) She is a woman from Sighet that Elie knows. Although she and her young son are on the same transport as Elie, her husband and two eldest sons were by mistake on the first one. This leaves her in anguish and she practically goes mad.

__**REACTION:**__ It’s hard to imagine what she went through, being separated from most of her family, and essentially, going crazy. I wonder what she felt on those days on the train.

What happens to her? __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 23) While on the train, she claims, through her terrifying screams, that their is fire outside of the railway car. As there is nothing to be seen beyond the bars of the car, they other people do not believe her, although they become terrified, nonetheless. (pg 23-24) Because of this, some of the young men in the car decide to tie her up and gag her, even striking her, in attempt to seize her cries. (pg 25) Once the Jews of Sighet reach their destination, they realize that her cries are now truths. Fire is burning at Auschwitz’s reception center, Birkenau. __**REACTION:**__ I find it amazing that her early cries were a foreshadow of what was to come. At first, I thought she was speaking of metephorical fire, of the horrors and torment that were to come when they arrived at their destination.

__pages 27 – 44__ **(due Wednesday 5/7)** What are the specific acts, events and ideas that DESTROY faith? __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 30): Elie seeing the bodies of people being burned, and knowing that he is doomed to a similar fate. (pg. 31): Understanding that not even God can save him. (pg. 31): Watching others recite the Kaddish. Why should a person ever need to say the prayers for themselves, can’t God save them first? (pg. 34-35): The Jews changing so much for the worse, after only a single night. (all pages): Seeing others in the camp that have already lost their faith. (all pages): Understanding the level at which the Jews are treated by the Nazis, quite like animals (the tattooed numbers, pg. 39), and also knowing that the Germans believe them to be livestock. (pg. 37.): Being changed by Auschwitz himself. __**RESPONSE:**__ I understand how a Jew’s faith could be lost during the Holocaust, especially a person that actually died. There was no hope with God for most of those on their way to the gas chambers, and they knew it. Hoewever, if I were in Elie’s place, knowing what we know about the Holocaust today, I would not have lost faith after seeing dead bodies burned. I am curious to know if he thought they were being burned alive. If in his place, I believed that, then for certain I would have lost my trust in God at that moment. In itself, a German forcing this belief upon a person is an act of brutality (pg. 36). How do the Naxis have it in their mind that the Jews are no more than animals? I wonder if they even think their acts are horrifying crimes, in some part of their mind. It’s horrible that a person can be changed so much, so immediately, upon arrival at a concentration camp.

What are the specific acts, events and ideas that REKINDLE faith? __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 31): Elie being led away from the crematorium and realizing that he is not destined to die that night. (pg. 35): Being allowed to keep his new pair of shoes. The existence of mud in the camp must be an act of God. (pg. 38): Meeting the prisoner in charge of the new block and learning his philosophy. [possible use in essay] (pg. 39): Spending the first night that included even a glimpse of hospitality in Block 17. It’s the first time the prisoners have been treated like humans. (pg. 41): Elie himself commits an act, through encouragement, that rekindles faith for someone else: Stein. Even though he lied, it was the best thing to do in the situation. (pg. 38-41): The adequate conditions at Auschwitz boost morale. (pg. 42): Being able to avoid deportation for so long.

I find it amazing that a person can retain their faith in God, their faith in living, let alone staying sane, in such circumstances as those that Elie experienced. This would be an interesting topic on which to write a thesis essay.
 * __RESPONSE:__**

__pages 45 – 62 (due Friday, 5/9)__ Acts of kindness __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 46): The boy from the tent agrees to make a trade with Elie: his prized shoes for a good job at the camp with his father. Although in reality, Elie does not accept, it is a truly good deed and a good deal. (pg. 50): In a way, the dentist’s agreement to let Elie keep his gold crown until he felt better was an act of kindness, although he did not know it at the time and was generally not a kind man. (pg. 51): The French girl giving Elie bread and encouraging him in German, risking her life to say those words. (pg.60/61): The Oberkapo refused to give his fellow workmen, including the boy, and was arrested because of what he did. __**RESPONSE:**__ (pg. 45-50): So far, most of the acts of kindness have been small and subtle, often even accidental. I am somewhat surprised at this; I thought they would have been much the opposite. (pg. 54): Right now, I am very surprised that life, for Holocaust standards, has been so kind to Elie. He is extremely lucky.

Acts of brutality __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 50): Idek the Kapo beats Elie until he bleeds and when he is finished, he acts as though nothing happened at all. (pg. 52): Idek is cruel again, this time beating Elie’s father. (pg. 55): Elie is beaten with a whip by the Kapo so many times that he passes out. (pg. 61): The young pipel is hanged in front of all the prisoners. __**RESPONSE:**__ (pg. 50): Idek’s act of brutality, although it is a small one compared to some, is made worse because he pretends that nothing happened after it is over; he simply goes back to work. This symbolizes most of the other brutality that happened during the Holocaust; most of those resorted to savagery did not understand that what they had done was bad at all. I also find it interesting that this act of brutality is countered by an act of compassion. (pg. 61): I believe that the hanging of the boy is the most horrible act committed at Buna so far. It is also one of the most vivid things that I have yet to read in this book. I can imagine standing there, with all the workers, watching as he slowly suffers, and then is no more.

__pages 63 – 80 (due Wednesday, 5/13)__ Germans' attempts to control things __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 64): Leading Jews to believe that victims are burned alive in the crematoriums. (pg. 66): Moving them from one job to another on Jewish holidays: Yom Kippur in Elie’s case. (pg. 66- 67): Holding selections that decide who lives and who dies, frightening the weak into working harder. (pg. 69): The obvious, the simple - the camps’ bells that ring to keep to controlover the Jews at all times of day while they worked. (pg. 77): Buna is evacuated because of the coming Russian front; Germany is not willing to give up its laborers, it Jews. __**RESPONSE:**__ As I sit down to read the book, on this day and every other, I think to myself, “How can the true nature of the Holocaust be conveyed to me in words written on paper?” It cannot, in its whole. I have realized that it is impossible for people like us to really understand what the Jews went through. Our lives simply cannot be compared to theirs.

Jews' attempts to control things __**PROMPT:**__ (pg. 67): Trying to control the SS doctor’s verdicts during selection - The head of Elie’s block suggests they run before the examination to give some color to their weak bodies. (pg. 74): Attempting to further control selection - this time in the hospitals. (pg. 74): Retaining their will to live through the horrors of the concentration camps. (pg. 76): Believing that the Red Army is coming to save them, although some claims made by such prophets seem false. They have to have faith in something. __**RESPONSE:**__ In a situation like that of the Jews, trying to maintain some control of youself - over the menacing men that force suffering upon you, is the only thing you can to do stay same, and ultimately stay alive. This I have realized through the book. Often, the Jews’ actions, are much smaller then the Germans, but they are the driving forces that keep them going.

__pages 81 – 109 (due Friday, 5/16)__ powerful quotations __**PROMPT&RESPONSE:**__ (pg. 81): “I was dragging with me this skeletal body which weighed so much. If only I could have got rid of it! In spite of my efforts not to think about it, Icould feel myself as two entities--my body and me. I hated it.” __I think this quote would be a good one to use in the art asignment -- I like Elie’s idea of having two separate entities.__ (pg. 82): “Death wrapped itself around me till I was stifled. It stuck to me. I felt that I could touch it. The idea of dying, of no longer being, began to fascinate me. Not to exist any longer. Not to feel anything, neither weariness, nor cold, nor anything. To break the ranks, to let oneself slide to the edge of the road. . . .” __This is another excellent quote for the art assignment. I like the way Elie uses personification to describe the palpable death.__ (pg. 83): “An endless road. Letting oneself be pushed by the mob; letting oneself be dragged along by blind destiny.” __This describes the way that the Jews were changed through the Holocaust - they were manipulated by the Germans when they worked in concentration camps. [good thesis idea]__ (pg. 83): “We were masters of nature, masters of the world. We had forgotten everything--death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger then cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die, condemned and wandering, mere numbers, we were the only men on earth.” (pg. 84): “How old he had grown since the night before! His body was completely twisted, shriveled up into itself. His eyes were petrified, his lips withered, decayed. Everything about him bore witness to extreme exhaustion.... ‘Don’t let yourself be overcome by sleep, Eliezer. It’s dangerous to fall asleep in the snow. You might sleep for good. Come on, come on. Get up.’” __Thesis - Even though Elie’s father has severe problems himself to deal with, he still finds it in himslef to look out for other people, in theis case Eliezer.__ (pg. 84-85): “Under our feet were men crushed, trampled underfoot, dying. No one paid any attention....Around me everything was dancing a dance of death. It made my head reel. I was a walking cemetery, among stiffened corpses, logs of wood. Not a cry of distress, not a groan, nothing but a mass agony in silence. No one asked anyone else for help. You died because you had to die. There was no fuss. In every stiffened corpse I saw myself.” __Thesis/art assignment - I find it exruciatingly horrible that such things as in this quote could happen to people so near the end, and especially that the people around them could respond insuch a way. No one took any notice and no one helped the dying, those that still might be saved. Those who were still alive had absolutely no hope, they felt less than human, dead already. Only in circumstances as awful and heart-wrenching as these would this situation be possible. Only in the Holocaust.__ (pg. 85): “ ‘Don’t be afraid son. Sleep--you can sleep. I’ll look after you myself.’ ‘No, you first, father. Go to sleep.’ He refused. __Thesis - same as the quote about Elie’s father from pg. 84, except this time, Elie to participates in this wondrous act, in the midst of a horrfying disaster.__ (pg. 85): “All around me death was moving in, silently, without. It would seize some sleeping being, enter into him, and consume him bit by bit.” __Again, I like the way Elie describes death, so vividly, through personification.__ (pg. 86): “He stared all around him in a circle as though he had suddenly decided to draw up an inventory of his universe, to find out exactly where he was, in what place, and why. Then he smiled. I shall always remember that smile. From which world did it come?” How can such something so bright, enlightening, and beautiful exsist in a setting of fear, despare, and brutality? (pg. 86): “The door of the shed opened. An old man appeared, his mustache covered with frost, his lips blue with cold. It was Rabbi Eliahou, the rabbi of a small Polish community. He was a very good man, well loved by everyone in the camp, even by the Kapos and the heads of the blocks. Despite the trials and privations, his face still shone with his inner purity. He was the only rabbi who was always addressed as “Rabbi” at Buna. He was like one of the old prophets, always in the midst of his people to comfort them. And strangely, his words of comfort never provoked rebellion; they really brought peace.” (pg. 87): “No one had said the prayer for the dead over them. Sons abandoned their fathers’ remains without a tear.” (pg. 88): “From time to time, SS officers on motorcycles would go down the length of the column to try and shake us out of our growing apathy. ‘Keep going? We are getting there!’ ‘Courage! Only a few more hours!’ ‘We’re reaching Gleivitz.’ These words of encouragement, even though they came from the mouths of our assassins, did us a great deal of good.”

Reading Quizzes
__1.Who does Elie Choose as his teacher in studying cabbala?__ Moshe the Beadle, a man that works at a synogogue.
 * NIGHT Reading Quiz, pages 1-20 (5/2/08)**

__2.Which person is highly regarded in the Jewish community and pays more attention to outside matters than to family ones?__ Elie’s father.

__3.What term is used to describe the confined area where the Jews were forced to live?__ "Ghetto".

__4.One day, Elie’s father is summoned to a meeting. What news does he bring back to his family?__ He tells the family that the all the Jews of Sighet will soon be deported.

__5.When the Jews were forced to stand outside in the hot sun, what were they most desperate to have?__ They are desperate for a drink of water.

__6. Martha, a non-Jewish servant, makes an offer to Eliezer and his family. What was the offer and how did they reply?__ She offers to help the family flee Sighet, to another village, but Elie’s father refuses, still allowing the older children the option of going with her. However, Elie and his sisters refuse, wanting to stay together as a family.

__7. When Elie and his family finally leave, what are they placed into for the trip?__ They are placed into railway cattle cars.


 * NIGHT Reading Quiz, pages 20-44**

__1.What does Madame Schachter claim to see on the train?__ She claims to see fire outside, through the bars of the cattle car.

__2.Who is traveling with Madame Schachter?__ Madame Schachter’s 10-year-old son, her youngest, is traveling with her.

__3.Where do Elie and his family finally arrive?__ They arrive at the Birkenau concentration camp, which is the reception camp of Auschwitz.

__4.Which members of his family does Eliezer stay with at Auschwitz?__ Eliezer stays with his father.

__5.What age does a fellow prisoner tell Eliezer to claim he is when asked?__ The fellow prisoner tells Eliezer to claim that he is eighteen years of age.

__6. Who is Dr. Mengele?__ Dr. Mengele is the man that asks the age and occupation of the prisoners, and then points for them to go either left or right, to either life or death. He is the one that decides the fate of the Jews.

__7. What does Elie manage to keep hidden from the kapos?__ He manages to keep his new pair of shoes, which are covered in God’s glorious gift of mud, concealing them from the kapos eyes.

__8. What is A-7713?__ A-7713 is the identification number that is tattooed on his arm upon arrival at Auschwitz. From now on, this is the name that he is known by.

__1.What does the assistant to the head of the tent offer Elie for his new shoes?__ He offers to make an arrangement so that he can work with his father in a good unit when he is given an assignment.
 * NIGHT Reading Quiz, pages 45-62**

__2.Who is Idek?__ Idek is a Kapo that oversees Elie’s block when they work. He has a problem with his temper and often beats prisoners that don’t deserve punishment.

__3.Why is the camp dentist so interested in removing the crown from one of Elie's teeth?__ He is interested in Elie’s crown because it is gold and he wants to sell it (and he did) in an underground business for money.

4.Why does Idek whip Elie? Idek whips Elie because he saw caught Idek half naked with a girl from the camp. He wants Elie to understand that he can not tell anyone about what he witnessed.

__5.At the end of this section, Elie remarks that his soup tasted like corpses. What had he just witnessed that led him to make this statement?__ He had just seen a young //pipel// being hung. It is especially horrible because the victim is so young and he was such a nice person, for the job that he withholds.

**Summary of a Genocide Paragraph**
__Rough Draft__ I. The Rape of Nanking ---A. Who? --i. The victims - the soldiers and civilians of Nanking. --ii. the Japanese Imperial Army ---B. What --i. After Chinese troops surrendered to the Japanese, they decided to kill everyone in the city, beginning with Chinese POWs. --Afterwards they moved on to the woman and children, resorting to savagry. They raped these people before killing them, and not even --pregnant woman were spared. Sometimes they slit their bellies open and removed the fetuses inside. However, some people were --saved by brave westerners, but in total, about 300,000 died, half of the city’s population. ---C. Where? --i. China’s capital city, Nanking. ---D. When? --i. Between the years of 1937 and 1938. ---E. Why? --i. The Japanase did not consider surrender an unhonorable military act and viewed those that surrendered and everyone else in the city less than humans. ---F. How? --i.The residents of Nanking were killed through many methods, including machine-gun fire and even live burning. __Final Draft__ Final Draft The Holocaust was not the only genocide that played out during World War II. Another significant mass killing, the Rape of Nanking, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands when the war began on the Pacific Front. After Chinese troops surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army at the nation's capital city, Nanking, in the fall of 1937, they decided to kill everyone that remained in the city. They reasoned that surrender was an honorable and cowardly act, so they acted harshly, in support of this belief. In their eyes, all those in the city, especially the men that gave themselves up to the Japanese, were less than human. As was the foundation for many other genocides, the perpetrators believed that they held a power over the victims, in this case through military defeat. The first victims were Chinese POWs. Through savage methods such as live burning, machine gun firing, decapitation (severed heads were later displayed as souvenirs) and even bayonet practicing on live men, all prisoners were exterminated, the Japanese troops enjoying every minute of it. Often, smiles were splayed across the soldiers faces as they killed. The Nanking genocide was especially brutal because of the way the Japanese behaved. They aspired to inflict as much pain upon their victims as was possible. They were animals. Next in the elimination game, the other residents of the city were put to death. In many circumstances, before being stabbed to death, the Chinese woman and girls were raped by Japanese soldiers. Also, many were forced to be sexually abused by other members of their family, while the rest of their relatives looked on in horror. This was the most appalling part of the killings. Not even pregnant woman were spared; they were raped, their bellies split open, and the fetuses removed. By the time aid from Europe and America made its way into the city in February 1938, 300,000 were dead, only half the population remaining. In summary, the Rape of Nanking was one of the highlights of 20th Century human savagery and brutality and should be remembered and learned about today, in its hideousness, just like any other genocide. Although such atrocities seem inconceivable today, large-scale executions similar Nanking are happening in the world around us. In Sudan, hundreds of thousands of people from the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masaalit ethnic groups have lost their lives to genocide. It’s a wonder that we haven't already learned to stop repeating our past mistakes and ended prejudicial violence.

__Ideas for Statements & Evidence__
a. Elie retains his faith in God i. "My heart was bursting. The moment had come. I was face to face with the Angel of Death. . . . No. Two steps from the pit we were ordered to turn to the left and made to go into a barracks." --Although it may appear on the surface that Elie has lost his faith in both God and his life, somewhere in his heart, he still believes that he will be saved.