Poem
We leave the cattle cars behind,
footsteps crunching as we walk.
I fear the future is not kind,
As they prod us like a flock.
The S.S are on all sides,
shooting, shoving, yelling.
I concentrate on my strides,
As other people try rebelling.
The man in charge yells,
I go left, my son goes right.
As we head to separate hells,
I realize my true plight.
To the "showers" I am brought,
Hundreds of people in at a time.
No one has fought, we are caught,
nothing to do against this crime.
As people realize they've been deceived,
They weep and cry out in hate.
But their cries go unrecieved,
and they must just sit and wait.
Down come the canisters of gas,
The easiest way to kill us all.
And our lives, away they pass,
The last sound, a child's squall.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Holocaust blog #2
This second blog for the Holocaust is about connections between artifacts that were in the presentations that we did and either the book Maus or the book Night. The artifact that I am going to look at is one from the Survivors presentation. The artifact is about the life before and during the Holocaust of Eva Galler, a Polish Jew born around 1925. Her story involved escaping from a cattle car that was bringing her to a concentration camp, and subsequent survival of the Holocaust by pretending she was a Catholic whose family had resettled and did not know where she is. Eventually, the Holocaust ended and she was able to go to the US.
"They took us to a cattle train. People started to run away from the train, but they were shot. Once on the train we had to stand because there was no room to sit down. A boy tore the barbed wires from the train window. The young people started to jump out of the window. Many jumped. The SS on the rooftop of the train shot at them with rifles. My father told us, the oldest three, "Run, run--maybe you will stay alive. We will stay here with the small children because even if they get out, they will not be able to survive." To me he said, "You run, I know you will stay alive. You have the Belzer Rebbe's blessing." He was very religious and he believed this. My brother Berele jumped out, then my sister Hannah, and then I jumped out. The SS men shot at us. I landed in a snowbank. The bullets did not hit me. When I did not hear anything anymore, I went back to find my brother and my sister. I found them dead. My brother Berele was 15. My sister Hannah was 16. I was 17."
This quote shows the horrors that the Holocaust had, with the main horror, and the focus of my blog, being the children that were killed unnecessarily during it. In this quote, the survivors sister and brother were killed at the age of 15 and 16, while their younger siblings just continued on their way to imminent death at the concentration camps. This willingness to kill children is a common theme throughout the Holocaust and is also shown in the book Night. In the book Night, Elie Wiesel and his father also see children being killed by the Nazis. Since the little kids could not work, there was no use for them in the camps and it was easiest to just kill them and spare the hassle of feeding them or taking car of them.
"Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes... children thrown into the flames."
This quote from Elie Wiesel's book, Night, about him seeing the babies thrown into the fire, shows that the killing of children was a common theme in the Holocaust and was widespread since both him and the person from the artifact used saw the unnecessary killing of children in their Holocaust experiences. These connections also show the similarities that all of the Holocaust survivors had, having been through an extremely traumatic experience where they witnessed things that no human should even have to see or go through.
"They took us to a cattle train. People started to run away from the train, but they were shot. Once on the train we had to stand because there was no room to sit down. A boy tore the barbed wires from the train window. The young people started to jump out of the window. Many jumped. The SS on the rooftop of the train shot at them with rifles. My father told us, the oldest three, "Run, run--maybe you will stay alive. We will stay here with the small children because even if they get out, they will not be able to survive." To me he said, "You run, I know you will stay alive. You have the Belzer Rebbe's blessing." He was very religious and he believed this. My brother Berele jumped out, then my sister Hannah, and then I jumped out. The SS men shot at us. I landed in a snowbank. The bullets did not hit me. When I did not hear anything anymore, I went back to find my brother and my sister. I found them dead. My brother Berele was 15. My sister Hannah was 16. I was 17."
This quote shows the horrors that the Holocaust had, with the main horror, and the focus of my blog, being the children that were killed unnecessarily during it. In this quote, the survivors sister and brother were killed at the age of 15 and 16, while their younger siblings just continued on their way to imminent death at the concentration camps. This willingness to kill children is a common theme throughout the Holocaust and is also shown in the book Night. In the book Night, Elie Wiesel and his father also see children being killed by the Nazis. Since the little kids could not work, there was no use for them in the camps and it was easiest to just kill them and spare the hassle of feeding them or taking car of them.
"Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes... children thrown into the flames."
This quote from Elie Wiesel's book, Night, about him seeing the babies thrown into the fire, shows that the killing of children was a common theme in the Holocaust and was widespread since both him and the person from the artifact used saw the unnecessary killing of children in their Holocaust experiences. These connections also show the similarities that all of the Holocaust survivors had, having been through an extremely traumatic experience where they witnessed things that no human should even have to see or go through.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Holocaust project blog #1
How can something like the Holocaust happen?
When trying to answer a question such as this, when there seems like there is no way that such a thing that could actually happen. To try and put reasons to this is almost impossible, especially when the acts committed were so inhumane. The first driving factor for something like the Holocaust is that you need a person like Hitler who is in power and is doing a good enough job with something that the people do not question his orders. Besides for a leader, there are many other things that contributed to the beginning and carrying out of the Holocaust. These reasons were The Hitler Youth, the propaganda by the German government and passiveness by bystanders.
The propaganda that the German government used was a major reason for their being able to kill most of the Jews without much resistance. Throughout the war and the pre-war years, the Germans released a lot of propaganda that showed the Jewish people in a negative light.
This artifact is one example of German propaganda. This specific poster displays Jews as stealing all of your money, taking advantage of the common people and getting rich. The words under the Jewish Star read, "Without a solution to the Jewish question, there will be no salvation for mankind." This shows that in Germany, Jews were shown as a problem that needed to be solved, which was the power of propaganda.
The second reason that Hitler was able to carry out the Holocaust was the Hitler Youth, an organization created by Hitler to create an upcoming generation that would be prepared for war. The organization lasted for 12 years and forced the kids to love Nazism or else. "These boys and girls enter our organizations [at] ten years of age, and often for the first time get a little fresh air; after four years of the Young Folk they go on to the Hitler Youth, where we have them for another four years . . . And even if they are still not complete National Socialists, they go to Labor Service and are smoothed out there for another six, seven months . . . And whatever class consciousness or social status might still be left . . . the Wehrmacht [armed forces] will take care of that." This artifact is a quote from Adolf Hitler and the language used shows the harsh attitude that they took towards making all of the children follow Nazism. This large following of people is one reason why Hitler was able to kill so many Jews. Without such a large following, Hitlers commands would never have been carried out and the Holocaust would never have happened.
The third reason why Hitler was able to carry out the Holocaust was the fact that people that were not involved in the Holocaust did not do anything to help the Jews. In essence, there were a very large number of bystanders that did not do anything to try and stop it for fear of retribution by the German government.
When trying to answer a question such as this, when there seems like there is no way that such a thing that could actually happen. To try and put reasons to this is almost impossible, especially when the acts committed were so inhumane. The first driving factor for something like the Holocaust is that you need a person like Hitler who is in power and is doing a good enough job with something that the people do not question his orders. Besides for a leader, there are many other things that contributed to the beginning and carrying out of the Holocaust. These reasons were The Hitler Youth, the propaganda by the German government and passiveness by bystanders.
The propaganda that the German government used was a major reason for their being able to kill most of the Jews without much resistance. Throughout the war and the pre-war years, the Germans released a lot of propaganda that showed the Jewish people in a negative light.
This artifact is one example of German propaganda. This specific poster displays Jews as stealing all of your money, taking advantage of the common people and getting rich. The words under the Jewish Star read, "Without a solution to the Jewish question, there will be no salvation for mankind." This shows that in Germany, Jews were shown as a problem that needed to be solved, which was the power of propaganda.
The second reason that Hitler was able to carry out the Holocaust was the Hitler Youth, an organization created by Hitler to create an upcoming generation that would be prepared for war. The organization lasted for 12 years and forced the kids to love Nazism or else. "These boys and girls enter our organizations [at] ten years of age, and often for the first time get a little fresh air; after four years of the Young Folk they go on to the Hitler Youth, where we have them for another four years . . . And even if they are still not complete National Socialists, they go to Labor Service and are smoothed out there for another six, seven months . . . And whatever class consciousness or social status might still be left . . . the Wehrmacht [armed forces] will take care of that." This artifact is a quote from Adolf Hitler and the language used shows the harsh attitude that they took towards making all of the children follow Nazism. This large following of people is one reason why Hitler was able to kill so many Jews. Without such a large following, Hitlers commands would never have been carried out and the Holocaust would never have happened.
The third reason why Hitler was able to carry out the Holocaust was the fact that people that were not involved in the Holocaust did not do anything to help the Jews. In essence, there were a very large number of bystanders that did not do anything to try and stop it for fear of retribution by the German government.
“First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;Then they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
This artifact and famous poem perfectly describes the issue of bystanders in the Holocaust. As this person writes, whenever the Nazis came for someone that wasn't you, you didn't speak out, you just were thankful that it wasn't you. This passiveness, the Hitler Youth, and propaganda were three of the main reasons why Hitler was able to pull off the Holocaust.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
English Blogs on the World Today- Random
http://news.yahoo.com/california-cities-seek-water-independence-144619784.html
This article is about the shortage of water in California, and the effects of this drought. The continued drought has left many counties in California reliant on outside sources to get enough water to water crops and water to drink. Some of the ways that the counties are trying to change this trend is by trying to get more groundwater through wells, and also by using water conservation techniques. Some of these techniques, like storing rainwater that runs through your gutters, are very simple and effective ways to save water without hurting the environment in any way.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/29/296229298/ncaa-s-elite-8-is-set-a-listing-of-weekend-games
This is a very small article on the March madness tournament that is currently going on in college basketball. In this years march madness, there were over 20 million brackets put in but after the first round there were no perfect. This year there have been a large number of upset teams, with the biggest being the Dayton Fliers. They were a 11 seed, which means they were considered around the 44th best team, but now they are one of the last 8 teams left in the tournament, an incredible run. The article lists all of the games that are going to occur this weekend.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/03/28/295715854/made-in-china-but-was-it-made-in-a-prison
This article is about the Chinese prison camps and how they are basically just free labor for the Chinese. This is one of the ways that China can make so many mass produced for basically no cost. However, in the past few years foreign nations have been restricting the export of such goods from china to help domestic businesses. Unfortunately, these efforts have been severely restricted by the Chinese government, who usually takes 5-10 years to respond to requests when they are supposed to respond within 60 days. This is a major barrier for trying to fix these
http://news.yahoo.com/aftershock-rattles-los-angeles-221048480.html
This article is about the earthquakes that have hit Los Angeles in the past 2 days. These earthquakes have not had a huge impact since they have not been huge, but have caused a little damage with water main breaks, gas leaks and other minor problems. However, this area is in constant fear of the "big one" that they know will eventually hit there. According to trends in earthquakes, an earthquake that can cause "widespread destruction" has a 99% chance of occurring in the next 30 years. This is a pretty scary thought for people, because it means that in the next 30 years they could lose their house and possessions to an earthquake.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/29/296229298/ncaa-s-elite-8-is-set-a-listing-of-weekend-games
This is a very small article on the March madness tournament that is currently going on in college basketball. In this years march madness, there were over 20 million brackets put in but after the first round there were no perfect. This year there have been a large number of upset teams, with the biggest being the Dayton Fliers. They were a 11 seed, which means they were considered around the 44th best team, but now they are one of the last 8 teams left in the tournament, an incredible run. The article lists all of the games that are going to occur this weekend.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/03/28/295715854/made-in-china-but-was-it-made-in-a-prison
This article is about the Chinese prison camps and how they are basically just free labor for the Chinese. This is one of the ways that China can make so many mass produced for basically no cost. However, in the past few years foreign nations have been restricting the export of such goods from china to help domestic businesses. Unfortunately, these efforts have been severely restricted by the Chinese government, who usually takes 5-10 years to respond to requests when they are supposed to respond within 60 days. This is a major barrier for trying to fix these
http://news.yahoo.com/aftershock-rattles-los-angeles-221048480.html
This article is about the earthquakes that have hit Los Angeles in the past 2 days. These earthquakes have not had a huge impact since they have not been huge, but have caused a little damage with water main breaks, gas leaks and other minor problems. However, this area is in constant fear of the "big one" that they know will eventually hit there. According to trends in earthquakes, an earthquake that can cause "widespread destruction" has a 99% chance of occurring in the next 30 years. This is a pretty scary thought for people, because it means that in the next 30 years they could lose their house and possessions to an earthquake.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
The World Today- The Malaysian flight
Bradsher, Keith, and Chris Buckley. "Malaysia Officials, Saying Missing Jet Was Diverted, Open Criminal Inquiry." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Mar 2014. Web. 15 Mar 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight.html?_r=0
This article is about the Malaysian flight and how new evidence points to it being purposely put off course. The communications aboard the flight were turned off right when the plane was in between 2 different communication networks, like a no mans land, thus making it more difficult to track. This, and the fact that the Boeing 777 is hard to fly, seems to lend itself to the argument that one of the pilots was either in on the conspiracy or was being forced to cooperate. New data from satellites has shown that the flight flew for anywhere up to 8 hours after the last commercial communications, when the plane would most likely be running out of fuel. However, with the evidence pointing to a pilot being involved, there is a possibility that the plane could have landed somewhere, even though this would seem highly unlikely.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/16/290627472/flight-370-investigators-seek-motive-for-jet-s-disappearance
This article is about the Malaysian flight and the most recent rumors surrounding its disappearance. The article says that it has been confirmed that the plane flew for at least another 6.5 hours after its last radio check in. This completely changes the search efforts for the countries involved not only because it makes the search area much bigger, but also because the ocean in the new region is much, much deeper, and therefore harder to find stuff at the bottom. This changes the scenario greatly because it is becoming less and less likely that they will find the plane within 30 days, and after 30 days the locator devices in the plane completely turn off, making it much more difficult to find.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/22/292778260/chinese-satellite-images-show-new-floating-objects
This article is about the disappearance of the Malaysian Flight. In recent days satellites have found debris in the search areas that could be parts of the plane. There are 2 pieces of debris, one of which is around 80ft long, so you would think that the search planes would be able to find it. However, search groups have not been able to find any of the debris in 3 days. Even though there is debris, there is a good likelihood that it is not debris from the plane because there is often a lot of debris in those regions. It seems like all things that could go wrong in this search could go wrong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight.html?_r=0
This article is about the Malaysian flight and how new evidence points to it being purposely put off course. The communications aboard the flight were turned off right when the plane was in between 2 different communication networks, like a no mans land, thus making it more difficult to track. This, and the fact that the Boeing 777 is hard to fly, seems to lend itself to the argument that one of the pilots was either in on the conspiracy or was being forced to cooperate. New data from satellites has shown that the flight flew for anywhere up to 8 hours after the last commercial communications, when the plane would most likely be running out of fuel. However, with the evidence pointing to a pilot being involved, there is a possibility that the plane could have landed somewhere, even though this would seem highly unlikely.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/16/290627472/flight-370-investigators-seek-motive-for-jet-s-disappearance
This article is about the Malaysian flight and the most recent rumors surrounding its disappearance. The article says that it has been confirmed that the plane flew for at least another 6.5 hours after its last radio check in. This completely changes the search efforts for the countries involved not only because it makes the search area much bigger, but also because the ocean in the new region is much, much deeper, and therefore harder to find stuff at the bottom. This changes the scenario greatly because it is becoming less and less likely that they will find the plane within 30 days, and after 30 days the locator devices in the plane completely turn off, making it much more difficult to find.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/22/292778260/chinese-satellite-images-show-new-floating-objects
This article is about the disappearance of the Malaysian Flight. In recent days satellites have found debris in the search areas that could be parts of the plane. There are 2 pieces of debris, one of which is around 80ft long, so you would think that the search planes would be able to find it. However, search groups have not been able to find any of the debris in 3 days. Even though there is debris, there is a good likelihood that it is not debris from the plane because there is often a lot of debris in those regions. It seems like all things that could go wrong in this search could go wrong.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
English Blogs on the World Today- Crimea
Memmott, Mark. "Putin Says Those Aren't Russian Forces In Crimea." The Two-Way. NPR, 4 Mar 2014. Web. 6 Mar 2014.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/04/285653335/putin-says-those-arent-russian-forces-in-crimea
This article is about the claim of Russian President Vladimir Putin that he did not send troops into Russia. This claim came the day after troops invaded Ukraine and took over military buildings in Crimea. Besides for this fact, Russian helicopters have been seen flying over Ukraine, and Russian trucks have been moving soldiers to key locations. Russia has also been practicing military exercises right on the Ukrainian border. All of these things point to military involvement by the Russians, but Putin continues to deny that Russia has any part in Ukraine at this point. This, and Putin's previous involvement in world affairs make for quite an interesting article.
Chappell, Bill. "Ukraine: Crimea Rejects Talks With Kiev; Violence Reported." The Two-Way. NPR, 9 Mar 2014. Web. 9 Mar 2014.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/09/288131972/ukraine-crimea-rejects-talks-with-kiev-violence-reported
This article is about the region of Crimea and the Russian attempts to try to regain this territory. Russia has tried to take over this territory by sending in troops and trying to force Crimea into rejoining Russia. However, their attempts have been met with resistance, as the Ukrainian prime minister has sworn to not give up "an inch of land" to Russia. Even without this statement, it is illegal for Russia to get any land from Ukraine without a vote by the people. Even though this is illegal, the Russian gov't might try to force them to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. The article also said that the Ukrainian leader will be making a trip to the US to talk with president Obama about the crisis.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/16/290525623/crimeans-vote-on-splitting-from-ukraine-to-join-russia
This article is about the poll taken in the region of Crimea, currently a part of Ukraine, that suggests that Crimea wants to exit Ukraine and join Russia. However, since Crimea is currently being occupied by Russian soldiers, this may well be just a fixed vote. The US has declared the vote illegitimate and says that Russia's actions are dangerous and destabilizing. The UN is unable to do anything about it, because Russia holds a veto vote. When the UN was discussing this, every country voted against Russia's actions except Russia, which used their veto vote, and China, who abstained from the vote because they are a serious ally of Russia. This clearly seems to point to Russia's actions to try to take over Crimea as being very illegitimate.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/21/292338092/split-decisions-ukraine-signs-up-with-eu-russia-wraps-up-crimea
This article is about Crimea, and the now "official" Russian takeover of this region. This has created high tensions between the US and Russia, possibly the most since the Cold War. Each country has levied sanctions against the other in an attempt to get the other to back down. In recent days, Russia has taken over all of the Ukrainian military bases left in Crimea. This action has strengthened Russia's position and basically said to the world that they have taken Crimea and aren't going to give it up.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/29/296247981/russia-says-it-doesn-t-plan-to-invade-ukraine
This article is about the conflict between the West and Russia over the area of Crimea, and the US's attempt to find a diplomatic solution to this crisis. Russia is now saying that they don't plan on invading the Ukraine, but will take any measure to protect the rights of Russians and Russian speaking Ukraine. President Obama and Putin are apparently trying to figure out an agreement. However, Ukraine's military supplies that are in Crimea are not being given back to Ukraine, which is slightly suspicious and could indicate a future invasion of Ukraine by Russia in an attempt for Russia to gain back territory that they once had in times past.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/04/285653335/putin-says-those-arent-russian-forces-in-crimea
This article is about the claim of Russian President Vladimir Putin that he did not send troops into Russia. This claim came the day after troops invaded Ukraine and took over military buildings in Crimea. Besides for this fact, Russian helicopters have been seen flying over Ukraine, and Russian trucks have been moving soldiers to key locations. Russia has also been practicing military exercises right on the Ukrainian border. All of these things point to military involvement by the Russians, but Putin continues to deny that Russia has any part in Ukraine at this point. This, and Putin's previous involvement in world affairs make for quite an interesting article.
Chappell, Bill. "Ukraine: Crimea Rejects Talks With Kiev; Violence Reported." The Two-Way. NPR, 9 Mar 2014. Web. 9 Mar 2014.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/09/288131972/ukraine-crimea-rejects-talks-with-kiev-violence-reported
This article is about the region of Crimea and the Russian attempts to try to regain this territory. Russia has tried to take over this territory by sending in troops and trying to force Crimea into rejoining Russia. However, their attempts have been met with resistance, as the Ukrainian prime minister has sworn to not give up "an inch of land" to Russia. Even without this statement, it is illegal for Russia to get any land from Ukraine without a vote by the people. Even though this is illegal, the Russian gov't might try to force them to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. The article also said that the Ukrainian leader will be making a trip to the US to talk with president Obama about the crisis.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/16/290525623/crimeans-vote-on-splitting-from-ukraine-to-join-russia
This article is about the poll taken in the region of Crimea, currently a part of Ukraine, that suggests that Crimea wants to exit Ukraine and join Russia. However, since Crimea is currently being occupied by Russian soldiers, this may well be just a fixed vote. The US has declared the vote illegitimate and says that Russia's actions are dangerous and destabilizing. The UN is unable to do anything about it, because Russia holds a veto vote. When the UN was discussing this, every country voted against Russia's actions except Russia, which used their veto vote, and China, who abstained from the vote because they are a serious ally of Russia. This clearly seems to point to Russia's actions to try to take over Crimea as being very illegitimate.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/21/292338092/split-decisions-ukraine-signs-up-with-eu-russia-wraps-up-crimea
This article is about Crimea, and the now "official" Russian takeover of this region. This has created high tensions between the US and Russia, possibly the most since the Cold War. Each country has levied sanctions against the other in an attempt to get the other to back down. In recent days, Russia has taken over all of the Ukrainian military bases left in Crimea. This action has strengthened Russia's position and basically said to the world that they have taken Crimea and aren't going to give it up.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/29/296247981/russia-says-it-doesn-t-plan-to-invade-ukraine
This article is about the conflict between the West and Russia over the area of Crimea, and the US's attempt to find a diplomatic solution to this crisis. Russia is now saying that they don't plan on invading the Ukraine, but will take any measure to protect the rights of Russians and Russian speaking Ukraine. President Obama and Putin are apparently trying to figure out an agreement. However, Ukraine's military supplies that are in Crimea are not being given back to Ukraine, which is slightly suspicious and could indicate a future invasion of Ukraine by Russia in an attempt for Russia to gain back territory that they once had in times past.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)