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Oppression of judaism in world war 2
Effectiveness of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust
Effectiveness of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust
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In 1934, Elie woke up in a crowded train car that had turned into insane chaos. His father was sleeping next to him. They did not know where the train was headed but he knew where ever it was, it was not going to be good. It was so hot and crowded in the train car that it was hard to take a deep breath. Breathing in through his nose he could smell the fire and burning flesh. He started to silently pray to the God that knew was real and knew that had not gave up on him yet. He prayed that he would soon wake up from this dream that had turned into a dreadful nightmare. All of a sudden the train came to a screeching stop. He knew he was going to have to act fast if he wanted to save his life. He stepped out of the train and saw his mother and …show more content…
Spiritual resistance was when Jews would try to keep their humanity, civilization and dignity when Nazis would try to dehumanize them. They would continue to try to be optimistic even in the worst time. They would try to not let the Nazis break them. Some would journal, some would try to keep educating, and they would still worship through the worst times. The Germans would not allow religious acts in the ghettos. The Jews would hold religious ceremonies in secret in attics and closets and back rooms so they would not get caught. In Warsaw they would have prayer groups even though it was against the law and they could be killed at any moment. Orthodox Jews that would not use force physically would use prayer as a way to resist (spiritual …show more content…
They resisted in spiritual ways by going to the synagogues, by practicing religious beliefs even when they were not allowed and by not allowing the Germans to get into their heads. The Jews rebelled by starting underground groups, taking down SS soldiers and stealing their weapons. Another way the Jews rebelled was by escaping the ghettos and Nazi camps and joining the Partisans. The Partisans would plain attacks against the Germans, sabotage them, and would join with other countries to make themselves bigger so they could take down the Germans. Being put into the Jew’s position would be exhausting and would take so much strength just to survive. The brave Jews that chose to try and stand up to the Germans even though they already knew that their attempts would be useless they still to this day are considered heroes. It took great courage to try to escape a ghetto or Nazi camp and it would cause 10 to 25 other
Throughout his recollections, it is clear that Elie has a constant struggle with his belief in God. Prior to Auschwitz, Elie was motivated, even eager to learn about Jewish mysticism. Yet, after he had been exposed to the reality of the concentration camps, Elie began to question God. According to Elie, God “caused thousands of children to burn...He kept six crematoria working day and night...He created Auschwitz, Birkenau, [and] Buna”(67). Elie could not believe the atrocities going on around him. He could not believe that the God he followed tolerated such things. During times of sorrow, when everyone was praying and sanctifying His name, Elie no longer wanted to praise the Lord; he was at the point of giving up. The fact that the “Terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent”(33) caused Elie to lose hope and faith. When one cho...
Six million Jews died during World War II by the Nazi army under Hitler who wanted to exterminate all Jews. In Night, Elie Wiesel, the author, recalls his horrifying journey through Auschwitz in the concentration camp. This memoir is based off of Elie’s first-hand experience in the camp as a fifteen year old boy from Sighet survives and lives to tell his story. The theme of this memoir is man's inhumanity to man. The cruel events that occurred to Elie and others during the Holocaust turned families and others against each other as they struggled to survive Hitler's and the Nazi Army’s inhumane treatment.
In the memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel remembers his time at Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Elie begins to lose his faith in God after his faith is tested many times while at the concentration camp. Elie conveys to us how horrific events have changed the way he looks at his faith and God. Through comments such as, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God, my soul, and turned my dreams into dust,” he reveals the toll that the Holocaust has taken on him. The novel begins during the years of 1942-1944 in Sighet, Transylvannia, Romania. Elie Wiesel and his family are deported and Elie is forced to live through many horrific events. Several events such as deportation, seeing dead bodies while at Auschwitz, and separation from his mother and sisters, make Elie start to question his absolute faith in God.
Before Elie’s hometown got invaded, he was extremely religious. He used to pray and feel the presence of God all around him causing him to shed tears of joy and even began
When a person's faith is also an alternative for their culture and morals, it proves challenging to take that sense of security in that faith away from them. In Night, Elie Wiesel, a Jewish student living in Sighet, Transylvania during the war of 1942, uses his studies in Talmud and the Kabbalah as not only a religious practice but a lifestyle. Elie and his fellow civilians are warned, however, by his Kabbalah teacher who says that during the war, German aggressors are aggregately imprisoning, deporting, and annihilating millions of Jews. When Elie and his family are victim of this aggression, Elie realizes how crucial his faith in God is if he is to survive the Holocaust. He vows after being separated from his mother and sisters that he will protect he and his father from death, even though as death nears, Elie gradually becomes closer to losing his faith. In the end, to Elie's devastation, Elie makes it out of the Holocaust alone after his father dies from the intense seclusion to malnutrition and deprivation. Elie survives the Holocaust through a battle of conscience--first by believing in God, then resisting his faith in God, and ultimately replacing his faith with obligation to his father.
During the Holocaust, Jews were forced to live in ghettos. The conditions there were horrifying and harmful. To distinguish the Jews and the non-Jews, the Nazis forced Jews to wear Star of David on their clothes. If they tried to escape, a death penalty was enforced on them.
Samuels starts out explaining the background of Elie, a child who has a great love for religion. Then, Nazis come and occupy his native town of Sighet. Although held captured and clueless to where they were going, the Jews were indeed optimistic. They had no reason not to be, the Nazis were treating them as they were of importance. However, the optimism was to come to a halt. After arresting the Jewish leader, the Jews were sent to ghettos, then into camps. It wasn't until they reached Auschwitz where Elie for the first time smelt burning flesh. Then the eight words that Elie couldn't forget, "Men to the left! Women to the right!" He was then left with his father, who for the whole trip he would depend on to survive. It was this, in which made him lose his religiousness. In the months to come Elie and his father lived like animals. Tragically, in the end his father past away, and to amazement Elie had not wept. Samuels did an overall remarkable job on this review; however, there were still some parts that could have been improved.
Resistance: it takes many forms, from the simplest denial to an armed revolt. The Jews exhibited almost every form of resistance against the
Even through all of the pain Elie experiences, he still manages to survive, “The SS had fled and the resistance had taken charge of the running of the camp” (196). All of the hardships Eliezer experiences in the camp were finally coming to an end. Soon, he could be free. A few hours later “At about six o’clock in the evening, the first American tank stood at the gates of Buchenwald” (196). Eliezer survives. Throughout his time at the concentration camp, he holds on to his hope, as everyone around him fail to. He continues living even when living meant nothing to him. He is rewarded for his faith later on in life, when he goes on to publish many books and even receive a Nobel Peace Prize. The conclusion shows how even horrifying events can lead to
In the beginning of the story Elie is very religious. He is always praying and he would usually cry whenever he did. When the Nazis come for all the Jews and they took them to Auschwitz Elie still had faith in ...
Eliezer loses faith in god. He struggles physically and mentally for life and no longer believes there is a god. "Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my god and my soul and turned my dreams to dust..."(pg 32). Elie worked hard to save himself and asks god many times to help him and take him out of his misery. "Why should I bless his name? The eternal, lord of the universe, the all-powerful and terrible was silent..."(pg 31). Eliezer is confused, because he does not know why the Germans would kill his face, and does not know why god could let such a thing happen. "I did not deny god's existence, but I doubted his absolute justice..."(pg 42). These conditions gave him confidence, and courage to live.
When World War 2 started, Elie Wiesel was a young boy in Sighet, Transylvania. Elie has begun to lose faith in man, and in his God which he looked up to for everything. There are multiple occurrences and obstacles in what is going on in his life that lead to him lose faith. Furthermore, the different types of experiences are what shape him to what he is in the end.
”Lie down on it! On your belly! I obeyed. I no longer felt anything except the lashes of the whip. One! Two! He took time between the lashes. Ten eleven! Twenty-three. Twenty four, twenty five! It was over. I had not realized it, but I fainted” (Wiesel 58). It was hard to imagine that a human being just like Elie Wiesel would be treating others so cruelly. There are many acts that Elie has been through with his father and his fellow inmates. Experiencing inhumanity can affect others in a variety of ways. When faced with extreme inhumanity, The people responded by becoming incredulous, losing their faith, and becoming inhumane themselves.
Elie seems to lose faith in God. “"Yisgadal, veyiskadash, shmey raba…May His name be celebrated and sanctified…" whispered my father. For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?” (33) The God Elie once prayed and cried out to before was allowing his people to die in horrible ways. God, a being who is supposed to be loving and merciful was allowing them to die alongside millions of other
One’s spiritual life can flourish or it can shatter in times of great trials. Elie Wiesel went through one of the world’s most horrific event and he lived to tell the stories of those who did not survive the Holocaust. To say that his faith and even his sanity was tested during his time in the concentration camps would be an understatement. He saw the people he loved suffering and dying for God, whom did not seem to notice their anguish. His relationship with God was broken and then put back together again due the great strain of the atrocity he experienced.