Ruth Kluger’s memoir, Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered, documents the author’s experience surviving the Holocaust as well as the shocking antisemitism that preceded it. In her blunt, straightforward manner, Kluger guides the reader through her childhood—a trying time in her life which she refuses to idealize—to her present situation in America. In addition to the historical accounts of the Holocaust, Kluger’s memoir reveals several dimensions of her relationship with Judaism and her Jewish heritage. Kluger’s perception of Judaism is influenced not only by her experience as a Jew during the Holocaust but also through her own personal view of what it means to be Jewish. Nazis perceived Judaism as strictly racial, regarding the religious aspect as irrelevant and attributing negative stereotypes about Jewish appearance and behavior to an inescapable, predetermined heritage.…
In Notes From Underground: Florida’s Sinkhole Peril, David Owen elaborates on sinkholes in Florida. Owen discusses, among other things, examples of specific Florida sinkholes, the dangers of sinkholes, anthropogenic activities and their influence on sinkhole development, and the history of sinkholes in Florida. Overall, the article provides an overview of sinkholes in Florida and provides the reader with important information related to this topic. This review will discuss the major ideas covered in the article and will summarize common themes found throughout the text.…
She has a kind and gentle nature that is an important trait when providing for all of the animals of the zoo. She is able to use her "Snow-White-like gift” as an advantage to her in caring for all of the people that they are rescuing (O’Malley). It helped her family build a trusting bond with the already frightened Jews they are hiding. When the Germans decided to overpower their town, the zookeeper family came into contact with appalling individuals such as Lutz. Antonina claims, “You can never tell who your enemies are, or who to trust.…
The story in the beginning starts out relatively slow. Artie stop s by the house of his father, Vladek, and wanted to learn the story of how his parents met. In the process Artie wants to learn the whole story of how his parents progressed throughout the Holocaust. In the beginning it is very happy for me to witness Vladek appear in society as a respected young individual, who has no social bias directed towards him.…
The life of Gregor von Rezzori is the story of a boy, and later a man, who is torn apart by his contradicting feelings towards Jews. The title of the article reflects that this story is not a snapshot of a certain period but rather it encompasses the first half of Von Rezzori’s life, from his childhood in the early 20th century to his eventual emigration to the United States after World War 2. The topics that appear in this article abstain from dwelling on Jewish stereotypes or fervent nationalism, instead it focuses more on the human and emotional side of Anti-Semitism. Page after page it becomes clear that von Rezzori’s view of Jews stems more from his environment than from his own internal feelings. He is seemingly in an ideological prison,…
In 1944, Elli Friedman, is a thirteen year-old girl living in Hungary when it is invaded by the Nazis. Consequences of the invasion descend gradually upon Friedman’s family. Next, the Jews are required to wear yellow stars and have them painted on their houses. The Jewish population is then relocated to overcrowded ghettos, where Elli, despite the poor conditions, feels a sense of pride in her Judaism for the first time.…
Throughout Primo Levi’s, The Drowned And The Saved, Levi reflects on his experiences during the Holocaust in an attempt to convey the tragedies suffered. In doing this, he touches upon his findings of what defines human beings. From these, he shows how the Lagers were intended to systematically strip these traits from their prisoners. Overall, he notes two central characteristics of humans: a need for distinction and the desire for power. First, on the idea of a need for distinction, Levi immediately notes a need throughout all history for separation of good and bad, a “we” and “they” mentality (Levi pg 36).…
He is also determined to know more about his mother Anja Spiegelman, who commits suicide in 1968. Art collects information through a series of interviews based on Vladek’s journey as a Poland Jew who is taken as a prisoner of war by…
Ana tried to survive through the story with Vladek, however, she does not make it through the war alive. The protagonist is Vladek and the antagonists are the Germans. Throughout the story, the Germans are constantly doing terrible things to Vladek and the other Jews and Polish people. The story’s setting switches between during World War II and after World War II.…
Hessel a 23-year-old prisoner on the island of Bastoy is one of many who shared his story with Erwin James about life on Bastoy. It is amazing how many men were able to confidently discuss the terrible deeds that lead them to serve years in prison. Hessel admits to committing a murder and the criminal life he has had since he was a juvenile. Now, at the time of the interview, with only four years left to serve he was able to honestly say he is done with drug and acts of violence. Through daily chores, activities, and work, Hessel was able to learn how to live and have a family.…
In this chapter there are several new characters introduced in both Artie’s modern time and Vladek’s war-time. Pavel is a character that has substantial importance to Arties life. Pavel is Artie’s shrink, who he sees once a week to discuss his life and relationship with his father, who is now dead. Pavel is a Czechoslovakian Jew who survived both Auschwitz and Terezin. Artie gets a little bit of knowledge about Auschwitz from Pavel; since he is experiencing some writing and drawing blocks.…
In the second part of the book we see Art’s father become more and more candid on his experiences with Auschwitz, and of his wife’s Anja’s experiences in both Birkenau and Auschwitz. Art describes people that are ethnically- semitic in the second part of the book, as having mouse heads, so they are easily identifiable, without having to write exactly what they are. Throughout the second part of the book, we can see themes of how pangs of guilt, and torment that arise from living in the various camps caused Art’s father.…
Society throughout Europe changed drastically for many groups in the wake of the First World War. The nation-state of Poland was created, and many other borders were completely redrawn. The people began to have clear differences based on nationality and region, but were also very different within their own populations. This included the communities of Jews in these countries. The lives of Henry Buxbaum and Esther show that, while the Jews of West and East Europe during the interwar period had clear overarching distinctions, there was also an abundance of variety and division amongst the Jews of Germany and the Jews of Poland.…
Spiegelman’s way of portraying his story makes a different impact to the audience. In a way where the reader can perhaps relate and understand a tragic story line such as the Holocaust. Art’s cartoons give the reader the visual images he wants the reader to imagine. I personally enjoyed the way Spiegelman chose to pay close attention to the details entailed throughout the story. For example the way he choose the Jews to be represented as mice and the Nazi Germans as cats; when in present time we stereotype the fact the cats chase mice.…
Documents will often reflect the historical context of the times that they were from, and by understanding the context we can better understand the document. Michael Kwass’s “The Global Underground” provides context that helps to shed light on the 1789 “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen,” by showing examples of why its articles mattered to peoples of France, and why they would choose them to include in their declaration. The “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” was a bill of rights passed by France’s National Assembly in 1789. This was towards the beginning of the French Revolution.…