Biafra Civil War

Though many innocents died without having the chance to smell freedom again, there have been survivors that have had the chance to openly describe their memories during the Holocaust to others. Each sentence, phrase, and word that the survivors expose through the testimony, are over and above powerful than anyone can imagine. It not only grabs you deep into another dimension, but it proves that no matter what religion, race, belief, or type of person you are, everyone's voice is powerful to change someone fully inside and outside… just like Cesia's

Events in the past are preserved through photographs, writings and libraries. Can memories conserve the historical occurrence to the present? The theory of memory transmission states that a “massive trauma experienced by a group in the historical past can be experienced by an individual living centuries later who shares a similar attribute of the historical group” (Balaev 151). In the story “Cattle Car Complex” by Thane Rosenbaum, Adam Posner is a second generation survivor of the Holocaust. He displays symptoms of post-trauma when stuck in an elevator. Mr. Posner’s parents were prisoners of concentration camps and their memories transmit to him “so deeply as to seem to constitute memories” of his own (Hirsch 1). The Holocaust is a “Nazi Judeocide”

War was inevitable: ‘This simple and seemingly innocuous action broke the last thread and split the last institution symbolizing Nigeria's nationhood and cohesion which had been regularly tampered with by the politicians since 1962. The rift between the Eastern Region and the rest of the country was total’ (ibid). In a meeting convened in Aburi, Ghana, by Ghanaian general Gen. Ankrah, leader of the eastern region military Lt. Col. Ojukwu understood the real issues at hand and convinced attendees that the only way for Nigeria to stay together is that it has to break apart, effectively implying secession. After a breakdown in communication, a frustrated federal government passes Decree no. 8 of 17th March 1967, which split Nigeria’s regions into twelve states. This was seen by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon as a pre-emptive, non-violence weapon against the east. The eastern region was split into 3 states. Lt. Col. Ojukwu unsurprisingly rejected Decree no. 8 and states that the Enugu, (capital of Nigeria’s eastern region) is headed for secession. On the 30th of May 1967, the eastern region of Nigeria declares itself as the independent sovereign state of Biafra. The Federal military fired the first bullet on the 6th of July 1967. Now this essay will turn to providing a background to the development of Realism as an analytical theory of International Relations.

From 1933 to 1945, millions of lives were thrown into chaos because of the Holocaust. Families were ripped apart and values were washed away as citizens were forcefully placed in concentration camps to either be immediately killed or to work until they died. Every person within the camps faced unthinkable trauma. Once everyone was released, the prisoners began to search for lost loved ones and a sense of normality. However, the anguish did not end with the end of the Holocaust. Following the Holocaust, first generation survivors developed abnormal values, societal dependence, and a need to avoid the topic of the Holocaust as an effect of their trauma; these side effects were then passed down to future generations

Baker’s memoir portrays the value of memory in humanising the objectiveness of historical truth and its role in developing an individual’s ability to understand how past events shape their cultural identity. Throughout The Fiftieth Gate, Baker’s position as a historian colours his perspective in understanding the past events of the Holocaust; in his use of polyphonous voices, the multiple voices are able to provide insight into different perspectives and their memories. He finds that his parents’ memories are valuable in deepening his understanding of the past and his Jewish culture, as

In contemporary society, our knowledge of the past is articulated through the interplay between history and memory, which work to expose the elusive truths of the past, and exemplify the strength of humanity. Richard White, a historian, posits; “History is the enemy of memory...History forges weapons from what memory has forgotten or suppressed.” This definition postulates that there is an inevitable dichotomy between the accretion of factual evidence and the subjectivity of personal experience by shaping the collective past of humanity. However, as indicated by Mark Baker’s memoir, The Fiftieth Gate and Cathy Wilcox’s Cartoon, both of which explore perceptions of the Holocaust through an array of unique and evocative literary

While women’s experiences during the Holocaust were not entirely different from those of men, it would be false and misleading to assert that they were identical. There were many instances in which an individual’s ordeal was shaped by his or her gender and it is only by understanding what was unique to women and children, and what was unique to men, that we can provide a complete account of what occurred during the Holocaust. One of the reasons it took so long for historians to comprehend the importance of these perspectives is because women were busy rebuilding their lives after the Holocaust. It wasn’t until the 1970s when feminist scholarship was sparked, that there became an interest in the stories of women survivors. Eventually, after the women were able to put their lives back together and raise their children, it became important for them to share their memoirs.

Due to the high volume of transference of emotions between generations, it appears important to pin point the reason this second generation was having indications of PTSD without experiencing the trauma first-hand. It was found that mode of communication was the primary common denominator. The first mode resulted from obsessive storytelling where the parent would go into detailed and graphic accounts of their Holocaust experiences with their children. They second mode was referred to as “deep emotional silences” where the children felt they weren’t told about the trauma but felt their parents were experiencing a profound internal grief and also felt the pain. (Baranowsky et al.

The holocaust was an event that undoubtedly left a mark on millions of people’s lives. But among those people, those most affected were the survivors who, by chance, could walk away from Auschwitz with their lives. Upon reflection of the tragedies we now know occurred within the Jewish internment camps, one can only imagine the scarring effects that must have been left on the survivors. Through three texts I was able to identify a conversation of just how deteriorating the Jewish internment camps were to those who managed to live through them.

The Holocaust can be described by facts, pictures, history lessons, among others, that can make a strong and lasting impression on an individual. However, testimonies are when the true horrors of this event become real. Testimonies are personal. Their authentic emotions, thoughts, and feelings are wrapped up in a little box with a red bow and given to the public as a fragile gift. Survivor Manya Friedman wrote, “I had little confidence when I started. My hands were so shaky I could barely read my own writing. As I started writing, I was given confidence, support, and encouragement. If I can do this, then you can too” (“The Transition”). Due to her strength and many others, individuals who weren’t affected by the holocaust are fortunate to be provided with such thoughtful insight about how the lives of these Jewish individuals were affected and remain affected. Even so, their experiences are something we will never be able to fathom.

Miller, like Glowacka, understands that literature, even fiction, transmits ideas and emotions to the reader which are central to comprehending and learning from traumatic experiences. Miller references Susan Suleiman’s argument that the Holocaust is “only available through representation”. Suleiman made this argument in response to Holocaust deniers who claim that fictitious memoirs confirm the inexistence of the Holocaust. However, the point supports the idea that art, including literature, allows the public to experience something like the Holocaust that otherwise would be not be available to experience.

Nicholas Berg in, The Holocaust and the West Geramn Historians: Historical Interpretation and Autobiogrpahical Memory (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2015) argues that memory and history are intertwined, therefore the autobiographical memoirs of West German historians post 1945 have influenced the historiography of the Holocaust post 1945.

The topic of the Holocaust is a broad and gruesome one; maybe it is because of the horrors that happened that people still write about it, to try to understand what happened, and how it did. Regardless, Elie Wiesel explains why he, as a Holocaust survivor, writes within his essay “Why I Write: Making No Become Yes”. He writes that perhaps it is “…in order not to go mad.” or “to touch the bottom of madness.” These two possible reasons are quite different from each other, yet they share a similar topic, this is similarly true about Elie Wiesel’s essay and Harry Weinberg’s short story “A Letter to Harvey Milk” The similarities and differences in these two works shows the varying ways people cope with similar past experience, the impact those memories can have on their lives, and the effect sharing those experiences can have on them.

The concentration camps were opened, those responsible were put on trial, and the testimony of the survivors was heard. Accept for some, these terrors never ended, and they would never truly escape the horrors of the Holocaust. For some survivors, what they endured was so traumatic it would leave a painful and lasting imprint on their psyche for the rest of their lives. Trauma can be debilitating forcing painful memories and terrifying dreams upon the survivor again and again, “insistently and against their will” (Caruth 6). Even if the survivor manages to repress these painful memories, or seemingly overcome them, they often rush back as prevalent as ever, as if it had never gone away.

4 Analyze the effects of the cold war on apartheid in South Africa or on another specified issue and region or country.