Tears of Hope

“Don’t worry my dear sister.” Mommy puts her arms about her. “ It will be over soon. Soon all this will pass, like a bad dream.” -Mommy pg. #45

My reactions to this quote were all messed up because I was happy but, at the same time I was worried and sad. The reason that I was happy was because they still have hope that it will all end soon that they are trying to live their lives as best as they can and that's what makes me the most happy. The reason that I was sad is because there is two ways to see this that they will survive and have a fresh new start or that they will not survive and that they will have a new beginning in another life.

This quote contains many themes that we are learning some of the themes that this quote has is hope and injustice. The reason I believe that the themes are hope and injustice is because it’s not fair that her aunt goes under depression and that she cries for her freedom. I think that it’s hope because they still believe no matter how bad it gets they will never give up and I think that’s hope. Just the same as the book it also happened in the Holocaust. The way I think it happened in the Holocaust is because I feel that the Jews felt with injustice because since they were different religion they get treated differently.   

http://magazine.uc.edu/issues/0912/rolat.html

In this podcast (hosted on SoundCloud), we discussed the role of the Bystander in our novel.  Check it out!

Week 2 Group Post

When Will the Cruelty End?

“It was then I knew there was no limitation to human cruelty.”

I Have Lived a Thousand Years pg. 115

This quote was amazing to me. It rang with such truth and honesty because the words are true. Nobody knows the limit to human cruelty, and nobody ever will. I’m saddened by the fact that the Jews did not know how far the cruelty would go in the ghettos and concentration camps. The Nazis would starve them, whip them, beat them, humiliate them, make them stand for hours on end, and treat them like they were nothing. The cruelty was slowly getting worse and worse and the people in the ghettos had no idea until they were put into the camps. The conditions of these ghettos camps were cruel. If you lived in a ghetto, you were starved, and humiliated. If you went to a work camp, you were given rotten food every other day, you would have to stand for hours on end waiting for the Nazis to get done calling role. To top all of that off, you were forced to work from dusk till dawn. When you were deported to an extermination camp, you were almost gassed right away. All of these conditions and circumstances are cruel and vicious. The cruelty of the human race is worsening and nobody knows when it will stop.

I can make a personal connection to this quote, I've been bullied a lot in the past two years. Some of the things people would say to me were cruel and full of hate. I didn't think their words could get any worse, but they did. Just like the Holocaust, I was lied to and deceived by the words of others. I was told things couldn't get worse, that people weren't as mean as they seemed. The Jews were constantly lied to, they were told they were just going to find new jobs and work in a happy environment when really it was the complete opposite. This happened to me as well, I was told that my problems with bullies would be resolved and that things could only get better. The severeness and cruelty of the words still hurt me today. The memory of the hatred and bitterness still make my eyes water with pain. I didn't know when it would stop until I realized, it would never stop. This quote also states that human cruelty does not have a limit and it never will. Sometimes you don’t realize it until you go through it personally.

The Unknown Heroes

How would you define resistance?  How did Jews and non-Jews resist Nazi oppression?  What do you think about their actions?

I would define resistance as anybody that doesn't follow orders and does what they feel is right. I think that Jews resisted oppression from the Nazis by planning attacks on them, by keeping any item that may have been of value to them, and keeping journals. Non- Jews resisted by hiding or helping a Jew in any way. I think their actions prove that they are brave, kind hearted people that are willing to do anything for someone they care about. By doing these acts of resistance these people were proving that they weren't afraid to stand up for what they believe in, no matter what the consequence. For example, the Warsaw Ghetto uprising was one of the acts of resistance that stood out to me. The people that were in this resistance just left me in awe and shock. I came across some information that really stood out to me, “During the same year, ghetto inhabitants rose against the Germans in Vilna (Vilnius), Bialystok, and a number of other ghettos. Many ghetto fighters took up arms in the knowledge that the majority of ghetto inhabitants had already been deported to the killing centers; and also in the knowledge that their resistance even now could not save from destruction the remaining Jews who could not fight. But they fought for the sake of Jewish honor and to avenge the slaughter of so many Jews.” After reading this passage I was in shock and awe... These Jewish people stood together and fought for their fallen colleagues, fallen friends, fallen family, and fallen loved ones. There are thousands of acts of resistance and those who were brave enough to actually stand up and fight for what they believe in are the true heroes to me.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005213 (link to the quoted information)

Social Studies Blog Post 1

In her diary, Anne Frank wrote that she believed “most people are good.”  Do you agree with Anne?  If so, why, and if not, why not?

I disagree because no one is good because everyone has made a really bad mistake in their life that they could of done something to resolve the mistake. The Jews mistake was seeing there own people suffer without them helping them. Like in World War Two some Jews who would watch others suffer consequences that the Nazis gave them and they didn't help each other out by fighting them. However, not all Jews were just bystanders. Some actually fought back. The Nazis were horrible too. They would make the Jews suffer for no good reason just because Hitler told them to. In my opinion the Nazis were followers to Hitler because Hitler didn't like the Jews and then the Nazis didn't like them. All because of Hitler. Everyone has been mean to people just because you are good some days doesn't mean you will always be a good person. You have to be good everyday to be a good person and I don't think anyone today and in the past have always been a good person to everyone. Not even the Jews because they would be very mean to the Nazis because they are being mean to the Jews.

The Price of Freedom

The establishment of ghettos marked the end of freedom of movement for Jews.  Write about what freedom means to you in your life and what you think it would mean to lose it. (Echoes and Reflections)

Freedom could mean many different things to different people. To me freedom means being able to do as you please and the Jews in the ghettos did not have that privilege. The Jews rights were slowly getting stolen from them. Their freedom was getting taken from them at small amounts at a time then they were deported to ghettos. After being deported to the ghettos they had almosts no rights at all. After a long period of time it got to the point where the Jews were not allowed to see anybody, talk to anybody, and their freedom was gone completely. If I lost my freedom like the Jewish people had I would be horrified and saddened. To lose my freedom would mean that my rights were gone and I would feel like less of a human because of that. The Jews were dehumanized and put into ghettos, they lost all of their rights and freedom. Freedom is important and a lot of us can’t imagine living in a world without it. After the Jews were put into ghettos, they were willing to take any sign of freedom because the luxury of it was suddenly taken away from them.

Angered, But Helpless of Fear

“In my panic and rage I felt helpless, exposed, violated.” - I Have Lived A Thousand Years, p. 24

This quote almost made me cry because of the reason that she didn't want to give up and she wanted to her bike that her parents gave her for her birthday. It also made me angry to think that many kids had to suffer in the Holocaust, that they had to give up their favorite things as kids and many never even knew what was happening until they saw the killings and it does get me mad. It’s sad knowing that many kids wanted to be brave and stand up but I think they were too scared because of the reason they were small. I really wish this Holocaust had never happened but you can’t change what the Nazis and what Hitler did to the innocent Jewish families.

The small connection I can make with this quote is about when I recently moved.  When I moved, there was fire in my house. We had to leave pretty much all of our belongings. I was really sad because I knew that some things that I had since I was really little that I loved, I wasn’t going to see them again, so when the book said that they were forced to leave their stuff it reminded me of the bad situation that my family and I were in. This was choiceless choices because the Jews pretty much had no choices at all it was a choice of life or death. In my situation we also pretty much had no choices at all we had to move and begin our lives all over again.

Jewish family in ghetto liquidation (feeling helpless)

http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/en-us/37379.html

Helplessly Reassuring

“We are lost and helpless. Like lifeless matter we are carried along on a powerful conveyor belt toward an unknown fate. The smooth operation of the process is strangely reassuring.”    I Have Lived a Thousand Years, p. 25

Being in this situation must have been difficult and discouraging. It really puts the Jewish people’s experiences into perspective because some of them felt that they were lifeless matter heading to an unknown fate. I just cannot wrap my mind around how Elli was feeling. This quote amazed me, angered me, and taught me new things because it shows me how helpless and unsure the Jews were and how they were forced to give up some of the things they loved. They had to give up some of their most prized possessions. They had to give up their homes, their pets, their jewelry. I cannot imagine the pain and hopelessness they were experiencing. The impact this quote actually had on me was amazing. It dazed me and taught me new things about what the victims of the Holocaust felt. The targeted people had no idea as to what was going on and they took any sign of hope, even if it was false hope and  they absorbed it, transformed from it. They took this false hope and made it comforting  and reassuring.

When this I read this quote I think of the theme victim. I think of victim because the Jews were victims of the Nazis and their acts of hatred. The Jews were victims because they were forced to give up their possessions and homes for the use of the Nazis. My connection to this quote is, “You cannot continue to victimize someone else just because you yourself were a victim once—there has to be a limit.” I connect these two quotes to the theme victim because if you have once been a victim you should not victimize others because of it. Hitler victimized the Jews in many ways. He victimized them by taking away their rights, then he deported them to ghettos, and then he transported them to work camps, and death camps. The Holocaust was a major event in our history that was built because of victimization.

Student Name: Gotti

• Bio: Hi, my name is Gotti. I like reading books and drawing. My favorite color is blue, I love watching college sports with my family, and I’m very open minded about everyone and everything.
• Previous Knowledge/Opinions Prior to the Project: I know that they Holocaust was a very hard and tragic time for the Jewish, Homosexuals, Catholic, “Gypsies”, and elderly people. The mainly targeted group was the Jewish and they were segregated and put into ghettos and concentration camps. 11 million civilians were killed and 6 million of which were Jews.
• Thoughts About the Project on Day 1: Day 1 was fun. The book I chose I Have Lived a Thousand Years seems very interesting and intense. I’m very excited about this entire unit, I feel the blogging is going to be fun and I cannot wait to see everybodys comments and responses.

Joselyne's Bio

Student Name: Joselyne

• Bio: My name is Joselyne I am a great fan of soccer and football. My favorite colors are hot pink and baby blue. I am open minded, creative and very competitive.
• Previous Knowledge/Opinions Prior to the Project: All I know about the Holocaust is that it was really rough for the Jews, Gypsies, homosexual,Catholic, Polish, and the mentally and physically ill. It was a time where they took their rights and privacy. The Nazis would physically and mentally harm them.
• Thoughts About the Project on Day 1: The first day was great. I thought at first this was gonna be boring and difficult but, it turn out to be fun and easy.