The Book Thief Essay
During world war 2 60% of the Jewish population was killed because of their beliefs, This violates UDHR Article 2 "Everyone is entitled to rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind". Many articles from the UTHR can relate to "the book thief" by Markus zusak in many ways.
In "the book thief" by Markus Zusak The characters Hans , Liesel., and Max are affected by human rights violations and change because of them.
Throughout the book Liesel Hubermann changed her views on human rights. At the beginning of the book Liesel's innocence blinds her from the violations of human rights taking place in Germany. As you progress in the book she has more knowledge and is more aware of the violations.
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In part six Hans' human rights are violated by the Nazis and he can't do anything about it because then he will be punished. " A seven punch knock was hammered into the door of 33 Himmel Street, it was too late to move anyone anywhere. The voice. "Open up! "."(Zusak,342) Hans is forced to let Nazis search his home. "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, or home" (UDHR, article 12). Hans rights were violated by the Nazis and he is put in danger because of it.
The Nazis violated Max Vandenburg's privacy when they forced him and millions of other Jews into camps because of their religion. Max's religion causes him to face discrimination and many human rights violations. "Many Jewish establishments were being surgically smashed and looted"(Zusak,192). Jews are being punished because of their religion, this is why Max is hiding in the Hubermann's basement. "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind." (UDHR,Article 2). Millions of Jewish people's human rights are being violated by the Nazis.
In "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Hans, Liesel, Max, and millions of Jewish people's Rights were violated by the Nazis. The more they tried to fight back the more they were punished for
Liesel and Hannah shared many similarities, but they also had their differences. Liesel’s mother was a communist, so she had sent Liesel to a foster family so that she wouldn’t experience the harsh treatment of the Nazis once they were found. However, Hannah had to suffer
The Hubermanns decide to hide a Jewish man in their basement, and this struggle to keep him hidden is a fight in and of itself. Even Germans (like the Hubermanns) that were against the Führer were not allowed to voice their opinion, and therefore helped in any way they could. Although military-involved Germans would discriminate very often, as shown in the quote, “‘The maniacal soccer player!’... Does he know? Liesel thought. Can he smell we’re hiding a Jew?” (Zusak 343), the people of Germany were very scared about the future. This laid the ground for Hitler’s downfall. In The Book Thief, Rudy defies hate and intolerance through a simple act of rebellion. He refuses to give the Führer’s birthday, and suffers for it. Throughout The Book Thief, Markus Zusak shows readers that hate and intolerance were overcome throughout Germany even in the darkest times of the
Although first impressions of the German soldiers were reassuring to Wiesel and many Jews at first, shortly after they had arrived the Jew’s freedoms were taken without any warning. German soldiers took the Jew’s rights one at a time. First, Jews were not allowed to leave there house for three days. Then, they were no longer allowed to keep their gold, jewels, or valuable items. Wiesel explains, “Everything had to be handed over to the authorities, under penalty of death. My father went down to the cellar and buried out savings” (8). Next, they were forced to wear the yellow star. Eventually, Jews were not allowed to go into restaurants or cafes, to travel the railway, attend synagogue, or go into the street after six o’clock. The last step was that two ghettos were formed in the town of Sighet. It was like they were dogs in a fenced crate, not allowed to go anywhere or do anything. When the Jews started to question Wiesel’s father during the development of these rules, he reassured every one, and acted like it was no big deal. Wiesel’s father settled and acknowledged the situation claiming, “The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don’t die of it…” (Wiesel 9). None of the Jews including Wiesel’s fami...
Once he realizes his bosses have other planshe quickly abandons his Jewish acquaintances (Wiesel, 74).The new male prisoners are beaten, forced to strip off their clothes, beaten, and sent to the barber to get their hair shaved off. (Wiesel, 34) The German Solidiers knew what they where doing was wrong ,but because of fear of the German Goverment they never spoke up.
Much of The Book Thief revolved around a common German family hiding a Jew. During the Holocaust and the book, Jews and other people seen as insignificant were imprisoned in concentration camps. Max, the Jew that the Hubermanns were hiding, could cause them to get into deep trouble. However, they still hid him. The Hubermanns lived in a town close to a concentration camp and often saw marches of prisoners through town. Even with a potential prisoner living in their residence, the Hubermanns, along with most everyone else in Molching, were unaware of the events that actually happened in the concentration camp and marches.
As the book carried along, it was revealed that the Hubermanns were not Nazi supporters, and even took in a Jew and hid him in their basement later on in the book. Liesel became great friends with the Jew living in her basement, Max, who shared many similarities which helped form their relationship. Both of This is where Liesel steals a book from a massive community celebration, where books, and other things, were burned as a form of censorship that went against the Party’s beliefs, which could be anything from cultural, religious or political opposition (Book Burning). “Any materials from such time --newspapers, posters, books, flags-- and any found propaganda of our enemies should be brought forward.”
Activities in the concentration camp struck fear within the hearts of the people who witnessed them, which led to one conclusion, people denied the Holocaust. Nazis showed no mercy to anybody, including helpless babies. “The Nazis were considered men of steel, which means they show no emotion” (Langer 9). S.S. threw babies and small children into a furnace (Wiesel 28). These activities show the heartless personality of the Nazis. The people had two options, either to do what the S.S. told them to do or to die with everyone related to them. A golden rule that the Nazis followed stated if an individual lagged, the people who surrounded him would get in trouble (Langer 5). “Are you crazy? We were told to stand. Do you want us all in trouble?”(Wiesel 38). S.S guards struck fear in their hostages, which means they will obey without questioning what the Nazis told them to do due to their fear of death. Sometimes, S.S. would punish the Jews for their own sin, but would not explain their sin to the other Jews. For example, Idek punished Wiesel f...
Every day, people are denied basic necessary human rights. One well known event that striped millions of these rights was the Holocaust, recounted in Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night. As a result of the atrocities that occur all around the world, organizations have published declarations such as the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights. It is vital that the entitlement to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind, freedom of thought and religion, and the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being of themselves be guaranteed to everyone, as these three rights are crucial to the survival of all people and their identity.
There have been many books written about the Holocaust but one of the best ones is Night. Night is a book written by Elie Wiesel describing about his life in multiple concentration camps during the Holocaust. In the book there are lots of examples of Jewish people’s human rights being violated. What mainly happens to people when they have their human rights taken away is them either being killed or tortured without any reason.
Character relationships between a German and a Jew are connections seen in both the novel The Book Thief and the film Schindler’s List. The two texts show what horrific events happened during WWII. Schindler’s List focuses on the charming and greedy German businessman Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust who buys 1100 Jews. He does this to save them from concentration camps using his own money and with the help of an accountant named Itzhak Stern, a Jew whom Schindler protects. Similarly, there is a relationship between a German and a Jew in The Book Thief. Hans Hubermann, a German foster parent and house painter living in Molching, risks his life as he hides a Jew named Max in his basement from the Nazis. They form great bonds through the struggles that life puts in front of them, like Oskar and Itzhak in Schindler’s List. Itzhak and Max are some of the few Jews being treated humanely in these texts. There is a comparison here as the texts are both about WWII but in the texts the characters portray different ways the Jews were treated. Both Germans in these texts are protecting the Jew from being killed. Another aspect of the justice of war is the extent of harm to civilians. This is shown in these texts as the rest of the Jews ...
“the Jew [stands] before him, expecting another handful of derision, but he [watches] with everyone else as Hans Hubermann [holds] his hand out and [presents] a piece of bread, like magic... he [buries] his face between them and thanks him” (Zusak 394). Hans helping the Jew is highly defiant of the Nazi's morals and regulations since Jews are the enemies of the Nazi regime. They are considered the lowest of the low and any form of aid towards them is an offense to the Nazis.
Liesel steals the books she is ,at the same time, liberating them from destruction. The whole idea of stealing as a horrible thing to do comes into question. Liesel risks death or torture in doing this as well. Her theft is also a self-education and an act of rebellion against the Nazis. Lie...
Being carried away by her past Liesel conveys her emotions through anger towards others. At first, Liesel is overwhelmed by how much her life changes in such a short period of time. Whenever an unfortunate event would occur, Liesel would express her feelings through anger. When Ilsa Hermann tells Liesel that she will no longer be in need of Rosa’s services, Liesel’s, “anger was thick and unnerving, but she toiled through it. She worked himself up even further, to the point where she needed to wipe the tears from her eyes” (252). Liesel had felt as though there was a connection between her and Ilsa. Unfortunately, times were getting harder and the Hermanns need to set an example for those living in Molching. This bring Liesel back to losing her brother as she had lost a friend. She allows the feelings and memories of loss to control and now the feelings are exemplified because she is once again losing. Liesel may have reacted differently if she had been thinking about her present life, and maybe her relationship with Ilsa would
Many people, such as Liesel, conform to societal expectations in public while keeping their rebellion in private most of the time. They do this to survive in a culture that persecutes anybody that they disagree with or disagrees with them. For example, “‘I hate the Führer,’ she said. ‘I hate him.’… ‘Don’t ever say that!’… ‘You can say that in our house,’ he said, looking gravely at Liesel’s cheek. ‘But you never say it on the street, at school, at the BDM, never!’’ (p. 115-116) This was when Liesel found out that the Nazis took away her mother for being a communist and was naturally upset. Her foster father, Hans Hubermann, slapped her for saying that, at
This was very traumatic for Liesel since she saw her brother die right in front of her and her mother didn’t even know. After that Liesel gets handed off to Rosa and Hans Hubermann (mama and papa) her foster parents. At first, Liesel is struggling to be happy in Munich since she feels abandoned by her mother, she can’t read, she’s getting bullied, and she has to adapt to a different