In today's world we are aware of the Holocaust because of what we are told. Therefore, it is the personal accounts and stories that help us to better understand the experience. Looking into survivors’ stories, I’ve come to realize how something can be so similar yet so different. In saying this I mean that each individual has experienced equivalence during the Holocaust, but dealt with and survived it all their own.
The first survivor story that I learned about is that of Irene Fogel. The struggle began for her at eight years old, when she and her family became part of Hungary. As the Hungarians were allies of the Nazis, it a was disastrous time for Jewish families. Her father’s business was seized, not compensated for, and given to a non-Jew. Fogel states, “we couldn't ride the trains and we had to wear the yellow star. It was a free for all” (Fogel par 2). This description allows people today to better understand the humiliation and discriminatory actions taken against the Jewish community. As they were forced to wear a demeaning symbol and banned from boarding the trains; the Nazis were dehumanizing the Jewish community. In spite of this, Fogel and her family found comfort in being in their home together. This comfort was soon overran as Hungary was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1944. It was at this time that she and her family were taken to the ghetto and then onto cattle cars transporting to Auschwitz. Fogel’s mother hurriedly packed a suitcase full of food, clothing, and
Everyone’s experience during the Holocaust is one of a kind. All of their experiences have things in common and things that make them unique. For example, we can use an excerpt from Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night and “Roll Call,” by Charlotte Delbo. To show the things that make their experience unique and similar.
The Holocaust was a tragic and fatal experience that many Jews suffered from during World War II. The most famous survivor, Elie Wiesel writes about his experiences in his memoir Night. Elie is tortured, starved dehydrated, and beaten. Trauma like this transforms people. Elie’s experiences in Auschwitz also altered his relationship with God and his father.
The two most shocking stories are Night by Elie Wiesel and “Hope Amidst and the Ashes of the Holocaust” by Edie Eger. Both characters share similarities and differences among their morals. During the Holocaust, Elie and Edie have done some good things and bad things while no one was watching. They both demonstrate moral integrity in different ways during Auschwitz. Elie and Edie kept persevering during this miserable time because they had family.
During the Holocaust, about six million Jews died. Some were taken to concentration and execution camps, such as Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Chelmno. Others were kept in ghettos with terrible living conditions in order to segregate them from the rest of society. Regardless of the suffering, these people miraculously managed to keep their head up and look on the bright side. To some, it may be a mystery of how they stayed strong. However, it is clear that love, nature, and humor allowed human spirit to triumph during the Holocaust.
The Holocaust will forever be known as one of the largest genocides ever recorded in history. 11 million perished, and 6 million of the departed were Jewish. The concentration camps where the prisoners were held were considered to be the closest one could get to a living hell. There is no surprise that the men, women, and children there were afraid. One was considered blessed to have a family member alongside oneself. Elie Wiesel was considered to be one of those men, for he had his father working side by side with him. In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, a young boy and his father were condemned to a concentration camp located in Poland. In the concentration camps, having family members along can be a great blessing, but also a burden.
Many Jews who survived the Holocaust were forced to change. From the beatings, starvation, and other physical and emotional tortures, the survivors would never be the same. Survivors of the Holocaust tell their stories so we all remember that what Hitler did to the Jews was unforgivable and should never be repeated.
Each of these histories reveal a story of suffering that is endured by both Gentile and Jew, but also a story of humanity and salvation. In Five Chimneys: A woman Survivor’s True Story of Auschwitz, Olga Lengyel tells of her family assisting other Jews fleeing the Nazi military. Later, after her own ordeals in Auschwitz, she was saved by citizens in a small Polish village. An essay written by Vera Laska is included in Women and the Holocaust: Different Voices, which is an anthology of essays about women in the Holocaust. In addition to the many stories of survivors and rescuers, I am using several scholarly articles
Budapest in January of 1945. Lantos went around trying to locate his family that he had
What would your account of the Holocaust be? The Holocaust was a unique event in twentieth century history which, evolved between 1933 and 1945. Beginning with discrimination; then the Jews were separated from their communities and persecuted; they were treated as less than human beings and murdered. While the Jews of Europe were the Nazis’ primary target, many millions of other people were also imprisoned, enslaved and murdered. These people included Roma, those with mental or physical disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, trade unionists, political opponents, Poles and Soviet prisoners of war. The Nazis did not act alone. They were supported and assisted by people from within the countries they occupied across Europe. Most countries stood by while the Nazis and their accomplices carried out the mass murder of the Jewish people. Thus, in 1941 there were about 11 million Jews living in Europe; by May 1945 the Nazis had murdered six million of them. One-and-a-half million of these were children.
One of the most horrific events in all of history… the Holocaust. The Holocaust in all killed over 6 million Jewish people, but there are still some survivors today to tell the their story so we can learn. A few never want to speak about the war and the one’s that do have taught us things we can’t even imagine. Meet Elie Wiesel, writer, teacher and survivor of the Holocaust.
Anxiety washed over the poor boy. It was dark, darker than Zerdek had ever know. With each second that passed, a low mumble could be heard from the corner. Something or someone else was here with him. Wherever here was. He shut his eyes thinking about the light. Thinking about anything that would make it seem like he was back at home. Home. He tried to remember the faces. He tried to remember each of the tree top building. Yet it was a blur. Everything that had happen with-in the last few hours, day, months was a giant blur from him. He had no concept of time. A click came from afar, as light came barreling in. Zerdek let out a low growl as he covered his eyes, unable to adjust to the light quickly enough. Arms reached out and pulled to two
“I pray you never stand at any crossroads in your own lives, but if you do, if the darkness seems so total, if you think there is no way out, remember, never ever give up. The darker the night, the brighter the dawn, and when it gets really, really dark, this is when one sees the true brilliance of the stars.” These words were spoken by Gerda Klein, a Holocaust survivor. Her story is filled with desperation and an overwhelming sense of hope. Gerda Weissmann was born in Bielsko, Poland. Both of her parents and her older brother died during the Holocaust. She was somehow able to survive “the ghetto, deportation, slave labor camps and a three month death march. She was rescued by an American soldier named Kurt Klein. She ended up marrying him and moving to the United States.
Jewish Holocaust survivors enduring horrendous treatment of the Holocaust, and it impacted the aftermath of the event as well. Because of the emotional and physical trauma after liberation, Jewish Holocaust survivors struggled with rebuilding their lives and adapting to live a “normal life”.
Life varied for everyone during times of the Holocaust, however daily life for Jews was gruesome and tedious in several instances. Waking up was an everyday challenge, but the fear and chaos all became routine. Regardless of their horrific and complex lives, these victims made heroic efforts to maintain normal lives under their
In the past many horrific events have happened that many people choose not to believe. One of those events was the Holocaust. Millions of innocent people died during this tragedy, but what about the people who survived? How did this affect them? A survivor, Elie Wiesel, wrote about his experience during the Holocaust, and how it changed him as a person. In his book “Night”, the main character Elie went to the concentration camp Auschwitz. Throughout the story, he gained new character traits that he carried for the rest of his life.