World War II was coming to an end in 1945. During the WWII and postwar many important events took place, however, there is one historical event that occurred towards the end of the war. An event that has not been talked about till decades after it happened. We are all familiar with the sinking of the Titanic and thousands of lives that were lost the day the ship sunk. A similar event took place in the Baltic Sea in 1945 of a ship called Gustloff. The sinking is considered to be one of the deadliest marine tragedies ever to happen in the world. The author of Crabwalk, Gunter Grass was one of the few authors who shed light on the sinking of Gustloff through the stories of the fictional character Tulla Pokrefke, a survivor of the ship. The little …show more content…
The novel Crabwalk, is narrated by Paul Pokriefke the son of Tulla Pokrefke, who was born the same night of the sinking. Tulla shares her traumatic events she went through that night. She embarked the Gustloff on its last voyage with her family being one of the last people to get on, “It can be assumed that the Pokriefkes came aboard with one of the last lots, allowed on because their daughter was visibly pregnant.” The daughter refers to Tulla who was 9 months pregnant at the time. Embarking the ship that was filled with thousands of Germans, most women and children fleeing the Red Army. Also on board were “critically wounded soldiers..packed in like sardines.” Fighting in this final part of the war continued to be destructive and brutal, for the Germans were and the Russians eager for vengeance. Traveling along the Baltic Sea, three torpedoes struck the Gustloff causing chaos and sinking the ship. Tulla describes the horrific night “They all skidded off the ship the wrong way round, headfirst. So there they was, floating in them bulky life jackets, their little legs poking up in the air.” While being 9 months pregnant, “after that last boom, the labor pains started…” giving birth while ship is …show more content…
We have Tulla, the mother of Paul, Paul himself, and lastly Konny, the son of Paul. Each one had their own interpretation on the past. Tulla, the grandmother in this novel, seems to feel a bit bitter that she can not speak of her traumatic events. Her son Paul becomes a journalist and she insists that he write about it. Tulla states, “That 's all I live for — so 's my son can bear witness one of these days.” As much as she wants to talk about the past, Paul doesn’t want anything to do with it. You’re able to see the obsession with her past is rejected by the official silence on these matters in the German Democratic Republic. “strictly opposed to any attempt to portray the Nazi pseudo-ideology as innocuous.” She represents the people who adores its golden past. I feel that her acknowledgement trauma blocks out a clear head view of their aspects of Nazi Germany. Paul was born the same night of the sinking; same day when he wishes he had nothing to do with it. Paul states, “There it is again, that damned date. History, or, to be more precise, the history we Germans have repeatedly mucked up, is a clogged toilet. We flush and flush, but the shit keeps rising. For instance, this accursed thirtieth. How it clings to me, marks me.” This was normal for 2nd generation to feel this way with dealing with the German past at this time. The post-war generation I feel were paralyzed by
The tone and mood of this story is pretty dark when it comes to the main event in the assembly when Georg’s dad and other innocent people were killed. I personally think the main purpose of this book is to teach the reader how not only Jews were affected horribly during this time but many other innocent people and also to show the things these people would of done to be safe, for example, in the book Georg had to stay still in a suit case for a whole night so he could get on a train that is leaving the country, during that time he was not being allowed to move he would be in pain but he cannot make a sound either since he could get caught so he just had to me cramped in a suit case for hours in pain unable to speak. I personally feel like this part truly in depth showed what people went through just to be
Paul believed the older generation "...ought to be mediators and guides to the world... to the future. / The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in [their] minds with greater insight and a more humane wisdom." Paul, his classmates, and a majority of their vulnerable generation completely trusted their role models and because of that trust were influenced and pressured into joining the war. They believed the older generation understood the truth behind war and would never send them to a dangerous or inhumane situation, "...but the first death [they] saw shattered this belief." The death caused the soldiers to realize that the experiences of their generation were more in line with reality than those of the older generation and that created a gap between the two. "While [the older generation] continued to write and talk, [Paul's generation] saw the wounded and dying. / While [the older generation] taught that duty to one's country is the greatest thing, [Paul's] already knew that death-throes are stronger."
Some of the most intriguing stories of today are about people’s adventures at sea and the thrill and treachery of living through its perilous storms and disasters. Two very popular selections about the sea and its terrors are The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Longfellow. Comparison between the two works determines that “The Wreck of the Hesperus” tells a more powerful sea-disaster story for several different reasons. The poem is more descriptive and suspenseful than The Perfect Storm, and it also plays on a very powerful tool to captivate the reader’s emotion. These key aspects combine to give the reader something tangible that allows them to relate to the story being told and affects them strongly.
After their first two days of fighting, they return to their bunker, where they find neither safety nor comfort. A grizzled veteran, Kat, suggests these ‘fresh-faced boys’ should return to the classroom. The war steals their spiritual belief in the sanctity of human life with every man that they kill. This is best illustrated by Paul’s journey from anguish to rationalization of the killing of Gerard Duval; the printer turned enemy who leaps into the shell-hole already occupied by Paul. Paul struggles with the concept of killing a “brother”, not the enemy. He weeps despondently as war destroys his emotional being.
Even though half of a century separates us from the unforgettable event, it left horrible memories especially in those who saw, felt and experienced World War II which was waged on land, on sea, and in the air all over the earth for approximately six years. Whether it’s a battle, hospital, or holocaust, there are so many stories from the survivors, who can teach us not only about the profession of arms, but also about military preparations, global strategies and combined operations in the coalition war against fascism.
All Quiet on the Western Front is an enthralling story about WWI, which, unlike other war stories at the time, vocalized the negative aspects of the war specifically the psychological effect. You can see throughout the book, the psychological horrors which Paul experiences. This psychological aspect of stories is generally not as conspicuous or as horrifying as shown in All Quiet on the Western Front. I have always been intrigued by the psychological affect that war has on you, and this book was able to provide an accurate representation of why war effects the solders in such a horrid way. The part that was most compelling was when Paul was stuck in the hole. He had a sudden revelation that the French soldier was a “person” too. He noticed that he wasn’t fighting savages; he was fighting a man just like himself with a family. This part was really touching and changed my whole perspective of war. Things like this were scattered throughout the book, and it made me look at war differently. Since this book was short and concise, it was never boring, and didn’t have unnecessary details so it kept the plot going. Sometimes I feel there was a lack of details for example, the character’s physical characteristics were never solidly defined, so a lot was left to the reader to decide the character’s appearance. Another aspect of this book I enjoyed was the gruesome description of the war itself. Such as the rat-infested trenches, corpses scattered across the ground, and the description of the warfare. This was one the reasons that the psychological terrors were easily conveyed. Without the description of the war, the book would not of had the same effect. We were able to clearly see the horrible situations, which the soldiers lived in, ...
Paul and his company were once aspiring youth just graduating school thinking about having a wonderful life. Sometimes things don’t always play out the way you want. The effects of war on a soldier is another big theme in the novel. Paul describes how they have changed and how death doesn’t affect them anymore. “We have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defen...
Immediately, the Battle of the Atlantic began when “the British announced a naval blockage of Germany” on September 3, 1939(“World War II” 391). Eight days later the Germans ordered a “counter-blockage” of the Allies(“World War II” 391). The Germans hoped to stop the shipments of war supplies and food to the countries of France and Britain. After only four months into the war, German U-boats, mines, airplanes, and surface raiders had destroyed more than 215 merchant ships and two of Britain’s largest warships. Over 1,500 people had been killed in this short time. “It was clear that despite the lull on land, a long war lay ahead on the world’s water” (Pitt 8).
In Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul and his allies feel disillusioned when they realize the true horrors and futility of the war. Paul, when reflecting on joining the war, remarks that “no one had the vaguest idea what we were in for”(Remarque 10). When Paul arrives at the front, he has multiple false beliefs. These beliefs come from his officers, his teachers, his parents, and “all the rot they put in the war-news”(141). Throughout the book, these beliefs are shattered, leaving Paul feeling disillusioned and betrayed. One instance of Paul being disillusioned is when he realizes how poorly equipped the soldiers would remain, despite promises from their officers. This disillusionment is compounded when, before an inspection from Kaiser Wilhelm II, Paul, and his fellow soldiers, are given proper equipment; Paul assumes that his superiors gave this equipment for them to keep. After the inspection, Paul’s superiors force him to return the equipment for his old, tattered clothing. This shows Paul that the German army constantly displays a fake image in order to lure in young men like himself. The way the army treats Paul and his friends, and the horrors of war, lead to them feeling disillusioned about their older generation. Paul remarks about his superiors,
It was the 6th time Frank E. Ward would see the sight of the huge German Airship travelling over the Jersey pines. During the year prior, the teen had observed it come to the station in New Jersey 5 times. “My father, Peter Ward, was an engineer at the base and involved with the Navy’s lighter-than-air dirigibles,” he said. It took about 150 men to pull the ship down, and so he left with his father that day to be part of the ground crew.
Throughout the memoir, Wiesel demonstrates how oppression and dehumanization can affect one’s identity by describing the actions of the Nazis and how it changed the Jewish people’s outlook on life. Wiesel’s identity transformed dramatically throughout the narrative. “How old he had grown the night before! His body was completely twisted, shriveled up into itself. His eyes were petrified, his lips withered, decayed.
The men were held captive, endured the sweltering heat, filthy conditions of the cargo hold and had barely enough space to sit upright. Women and children had slightly better conditions as they were positioned on deck under the watchful eyes of the crew. They were forced to dance when the weather permit or would be flogged by the cat-o’-nine-tails. Many tried to escape the terrible experience by throwing themselves overboard or starving themselves to death, to prevent this they crew kept a watchful eye on their movements on the decks.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul is morphed from an innocent child into a war veteran who has a new look on society. Paul used to have a carefree life where he was able to be a kid, but when he enlisted into the army it all changed. Paul became a person whose beliefs were changed because of the war. Paul doesn't believe in society anymore especially parents, elders, and school, which used to play a big part in his life. He changed his beliefs because society does not really understand how bad war really is and pushed many young men, who were not ready, into the army. Paul connects with his fellow soldiers because they are going through the same situation and feel the same emotions. Paul's beliefs were changed by the lies that were told to him.
People who have actually been through war know how horrible it is. Society on the other hand, while it believes it knows the horrors of war, can never understand or sympathize with a soldier’s situation. The only people who can understand war is those who have been through it so they can often feel alone if they are out of the military. Paul cannot even give a straight answer to his own father about his dad’s inquiries about war. Paul’s dad does not understand that people who have been in the war can in no way truly express the horrible things that that have seen and experienced. Nor can Paul fit in with the society who does not understand him. Paul and so many others were brought into the war so young that they know of nothing else other than war. Paul held these views on society as he said, “We will be superfluous even to ourselves, we will grow older, a few will adapt themselves, some others will merely submit, and most will be bewildered;-the years will pass by and in the end we shall fall in to ruin.
After entering the war in young adulthood, the soldiers lost their innocence. Paul’s generation is called the Lost Generation because they have lost their childhood while in the war. When Paul visits home on leave he realizes that he will never be the same person who enlisted in the army. His pre-war life contains a boy who is now dead to him. While home on leave Paul says “I used to live in this room before I was a soldier” (170).