Research Paper: People Who Helped in Hidden Ways
In the back closets of a synagogue not far from Amsterdam, long-forgotten papers from the last one hundred fifty years of history were discovered by a documentarian; in them was the story of Werner Klemke and Johannes Gerhardt, two young soldiers that saved many Jews (Betsalel). Werner and Johannes defied the odds by saving Jewish people during Hitler’s reign of terror. They did not agree with the bigoted ideals that had spread through Germany at the time, leading to hate and violence. Religious intolerance and persecution of the Jewish people was common in Nazi Germany. Jews, and other people the Nazis deemed undesirable, were sent to concentration camps, deported, or killed by Hitler during World War II (WWII). Most Germans seemed to agree with Hitler, but there were a few that believed that the Nazi’s actions were wrong. Regardless of the anti-Jewish sentiment in Nazi Germany, some brave individuals, from soldiers to housewives, decided to assist Jewish people. …show more content…
They adopt a young girl, named Liesel Meminger, whose mother cannot support her anymore. Liesel does not share the anti-Jewish sentiment that many of her neighbors have. Instead, when the Hubermanns take in a Jewish person named Max, he becomes a big part of Liesel’s life. Even though hiding Max is risky and they are poor, the Hubermanns hide Max for as long as they can. In this emotional coming-of-age story, Liesel learns how cruel war can be, but she and her best friend, Rudy, realize that helping the Jewish people is worth the risk. As shown in real life and in The Book Thief, helping Jewish people was very dangerous in Nazi Germany, yet numerous Germans soldiers and civilians assisted Jewish people in some way, showing that not all Germans agreed with the prejudiced Nazi
In the back closets of a synagogue not far from Amsterdam, long-forgotten papers from the last one hundred fifty years of history were discovered by a documentarian; in them was the story of Werner Klemke and Johannes Gerhardt, two young soldiers that saved many Jews (Betsalel). Werner and Johannes defied the odds by saving Jewish people during Hitler’s reign of terror. They did not agree with the bigoted ideals that had spread through Germany at the time, leading to hate and violence. Religious intolerance and persecution of the Jewish people was common in Nazi Germany. Jews, and other people the Nazis deemed undesirable, were sent to concentration camps, deported, or killed by Hitler during World War II (WWII). Most Germans seemed to agree with Hitler, but there were a few that believed that the Nazi’s actions were wrong. Regardless of the anti-Jewish sentiment in Nazi Germany, some brave individuals, from soldiers to housewives, decided to assist Jewish people. …show more content…
They adopt a young girl, named Liesel Meminger, whose mother cannot support her anymore. Liesel does not share the anti-Jewish sentiment that many of her neighbors have. Instead, when the Hubermanns take in a Jewish person named Max, he becomes a big part of Liesel’s life. Even though hiding Max is risky and they are poor, the Hubermanns hide Max for as long as they can. In this emotional coming-of-age story, Liesel learns how cruel war can be, but she and her best friend, Rudy, realize that helping the Jewish people is worth the risk. As shown in real life and in The Book Thief, helping Jewish people was very dangerous in Nazi Germany, yet numerous Germans soldiers and civilians assisted Jewish people in some way, showing that not all Germans agreed with the prejudiced Nazi