Anne Frank and Hannah Arendt are two prominent female names that arise when one thinks of the Holocaust. Each of these Jewish woman had a very unique experience during this grim time, one a bright-eyed, young girl who was forced to go into hiding, the other a philosopher that managed to escape. However each pondered the workings of the brutality going on around her, and put it into words. Frank and Arendt each discuss their views on human nature in the face of the Holocaust in their works. In this paper, I intend to discuss each woman’s view, and then discuss how such a similar viewpoint can be supported in two very different ways.
The Diary of Anne Frank is a personal work written by the young Anne Frank herself. The book is not a work of
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Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart (278).”
Frank’s reasoning for her point of view does not come with any sort of logical rationalization or in-depth analysis. Her explanation is as follows, “I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death…. I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. In the meantime, I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out (279).” Frank’s beliefs simply stem from her wholehearted faith in the goodness of humanity, hopefulness for the future, and confidence in her God. There is no deeper thinking to her viewpoint, it is purely based off of a blind hope.
While philosopher and author of the book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Hannah Arendt would agree with Frank that human nature is not evil, she would certainly criticize for her lack of reasoning to back up her beliefs. In fact, Arendt’s book revolves around careful explanation of her views about Adolph Eichmann, a man who was significantly involved in the deportation process of the Jewish people to the concentration camps during the Holocaust. After attending his trial in
Kitty Hart-Moxon recalls, “Arrival in Auschwitz is a defining moment in your life. The doors open, you are thrown out, greeted by barking dogs, screaming figures with whips, a stench of burning flesh and a glow of fire” (Harding). Hart-Moxon’s vivid memories of violence stayed with her a lifetime. If a person was fortunate to survive the agony of the Holocaust, one was left battered, broken, and in most cases asking why. Although the Jews, political dissidents, homosexuals, and other groups targeted by the Nazis will never get their lives back, they can gain some solace from identifying the perpetrators of the Holocaust and using that knowledge to ensure it never happens again. Many people share the burden of the crimes committed during the Holocaust, yet the three groups that can be allotted the most blame are top SS officers who planned the mass exterminations, the citizens of Germany who voted for and supported Hitler, and minor SS officers who carried out day-to-day duties.
A multitude of people nowadays choose their favorite songs because of how they sound and the attractiveness of the singer. However, some people select their favorite songs because of its appeal by relating to their personalities and feelings. Just as songs can relate to people, they can express countless similarities with stories as well. When it comes to the story, The Diary of Anne Frank, there are a variety of characters and events that songs can relate to. The songs “Chocolate Rain”, “The Last Goodbye”, and “Lost Cities”, verbalize numerous commonalities with The Diary of Anne Frank.
The Diary of Anne Frank, by frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, is about a young girl named
Although the world continues to face tragedy, little compares to that of the horrors millions of innocent Jews like Elie Wiesel faced, as they were deported from their homes, separated from their families and pushed around into different concentration camps where they were brutally tortured, killed, and discarded of by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany Army beginning in 1941. It wasn’t until April of 1945 that Elie along with the limited number of other survivors were finally liberated. This mid 20th century atrocity has come to be known as the Holocaust, a tragic part of history that will never be forgotten. It was because of that experience, that Elie Wiesel extensively depicted the events he faced through written and verbal accounts including the speech he gave entitled “The Perils of Indifference” on April 12, 1999. The speech was given at the 7th Millennium Evening at the White House, with an intent to create a kairotic moment with the public including the audiences it was broadcasted to, as an opportunity to explain a darker side of history, while also hopefully enlightening them for the future.
A common misconception about the Holocaust is that the world was naïve of the atrocities happening under the Nazi’s rule. The horrors of the Holocaust were not left undocumented. Unfortunately, many saw these malicious acts as insignificant to the global population; people only start sympathizing when the hindrance affects them. Hitler, with the help of his many allies, achieved to murder millions of innocent men, women, and children. After spending this semester studying the Holocaust, I have realized that the Nazis’ greatest ally was neither an individual nor a country; Hitler’s greatest ally was indifference.
By comparing, analyzing and questioning the validity of Maus I and II, Night, Night and Fog, nonfictional historical accounts and a poem, called Already Embraced by the Arm of Heavenly Solace, found in Europe in the Contemporary World, Schindler’s List and the Return to Auschwitz we may determine to what degree these sources serve to advance humanity’s understanding of the holocaust. The holocaust can be explained as the historical event in which the Nazi’s, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, and its collaborators murdered and persecuted approximately six million Jews. This came about because of the German belief that they were “racially superior” and the Jews were an alien threat to the German state. For humanity to advance in
Thesis: A key concept to understanding Hannah Arendt’s “Total Domination” is the essence of terror and the importance of concentration camps in maintaining the Nazi totalitarian state.
The tragedies of the holocaust forever altered history. One of the most detailed accounts of the horrific events from the Nazi regime comes from Elie Wiesel’s Night. He describes his traumatic experiences in German concentration camps, mainly Buchenwald, and engages his readers from a victim’s point of view. He bravely shares the grotesque visions that are permanently ingrained in his mind. His autobiography gives readers vivid, unforgettable, and shocking images of the past. It is beneficial that Wiesel published this, if he had not the world might not have known the extent of the Nazis reign. He exposes the cruelty of man, and the misuse of power. Through a lifetime of tragedy, Elie Wiesel struggled internally to resurrect his religious
Anne Frank 's life has impacted the lives of others because, her family background, Anne 's time in hiding, and what she expressed in her diary. Without Anne we would never know what life was like in the holocaust, from a personal standpoint. It came from the pages of a diary belonging to a young Jewish girl, Anne Frank. The Diary of Anne Frank has been read by hundreds of millions of people around the world since the end of World War II.
During the Holocaust, over six million Jewish people were murdered at the hands of the Nazis, and even those who survived went through horrifying ordeals that they would never forget. In Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel, cruelty has a major impact on the theme of man’s inhumanity to man by showing how the Nazis treat Jewish prisoners during this time in history, and how they act as though they are not even human beings. This cruelty not only shapes the lesson being taught, but is a substantial factor in the purpose of Elie Wiesel writing this memoir. The first example of cruelty and its effects on theme in Night comes from when Elie and his family are being loaded along with seventy-six other people into a small cattle car: “‘There are eighty
The Holocaust was a time where a genocide wiped away Jews in many countries. Many Jews were treated with little to no respect and tolerance. Throughout the book, Night, the author portrayed many examples of inhumanity and humanity involved in the Holocaust. It is important to realize that during the time of the Holocaust, many Jews were not treated like humans.
During the duration of World War II, the Jewish people of Europe were subjected to such inhumane actions at the hands of the Nazi party. Ellie Wiesel, in his memoir Night, describe this demoralizing treatment in great detail. As the reader delves deeper into Wiesel’s experiences, the dehumanization of the Jewish people becomes greater and greater. First, they were stripped of their possessions, then their names, and finally their dignity, and though the Nazi tried to finally stripped them of their humanity, they were unsuccessful.
**AT THE END OF EACH PARAGRAPH, YOU NEED TO WRITE HOW THE PARAGRAPH CONNECTS BACK TO THE QUESTION** Part A Question: What does the author, Elie Wiesel, have to say about the theme suffering? Answer: In the novel, Night, written by Elie Wiesel, the author displays that one can only push through times of misfortune by staying determined.
The most alarming thing about Arendt's book is that she is able to make a compelling case that the greatest evils of mankind are committed by ordinary people. Her work forces one to look at the world and realize that the Holocaust was not an isolated incident committed by blood thirsty sociopaths. One must realize that the decision making processes that created an environment accepting of the "Final Solution" is still alive an well today as it has been throughout history. The weight of personal moral choice
“We’ve all done things we are ashamed of...Stop it now! Let's all be happy.” Pg. 506. This quote shows that they are trying to be positive. They are trying to be positive and look on the bright side of things.This shows the people are truly good at heart because they are trying to get each other to be positive and try to be optimistic. Mr Frank: “It seems strange to say this, as if anyone could be happy in a concentration camp. But Anne was happy in the camp in Holland where they first took us. After two years of being locked up . . . she could be out . . . in the fresh air she loved.” pg. 77. Anne was seeing the good in the really bad situation that she was in at the time. This shows how people are really good at heart because she is trying to reassure herself and others that everything will work out and be ok in the end. Anne: I think the world is going through a phase, the way I was with Mother. It’ll pass, maybe not for hundreds of years, but someday . . . “ Despite everything that is happening Anne still believes that it will be over soon and that everything will be ok. This shows how people are good at heart because she is being positive and having