During World War II and the Holocaust, morality collapsed. It was no longer easy to differentiate between what was good and what was evil. With a world filled with starvation, dehumanization, and dictatorship, Jewish children had a rough life. They were not free to run away and play; instead they were either in hiding or a camp. The three sources that will be analyzed in this essay demonstrate how the Jews and Gentiles risked their lives to help save innocent Jewish children. One Jew who risked his life helping orphans was Yanush Korczak. Yanush Korczak was born on July 22, 1878 in Warsaw. Ever since he was young, he had a passion for helping the disadvantaged. In 1912, he created a Jewish orphanage called Dom Sierot. He also was a pediatrician and author. He became well known in the Polish society and gained many friendships. He had yearly visits to Palestine and truly believed all Jews should live in Palestine. When the Germans occupied Poland in 1939, the Warsaw ghetto was established. As a result, the orphanage was moved inside the ghetto. A child in the same situation as the orphans, Rachel Kruger, wrote poetry in the Warsaw Ghetto. Rachel Kruger wrote this poem called “Untitled”: I cry but no one hear's me I live in fear alone I'm scared I don't know if I'll live to see tomorrow and if I do I'll thank God for it. When I wake up from this horrible dream I will live in freedom. Maybe I'll be in heaven but anywhere is heaven to me now I see dark shadows moving across at night if this is life than its not worth living. Rachel Kruger writes about all of her emotions. She is sad and in fear. This poem describes how most other children were feeling d... ... middle of paper ... ...sz Korczak - Biography." Korczak Communication Center. Web. 11 Jan. 2010. . "Janusz Korczak -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 10 Jan. 2010. . "Janusz Korczak." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. Web. 11 Jan. 2010. . "Korczak's Orphans : an opera." ADAM B. SILVERMAN [composer]. Web. 11 Jan. 2010. . "Life in Shadows: Hidden Children and the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 10 Jan. 2010. . "Testimony Excerpts:: Rachel G. |." Yale University Library. Web. 11 Jan. 2010. .
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” (Elie Wiesel) The Holocaust is a topic that is still not forgotten and is used by many people, as a motivation, to try not to repeat history. Many lessons can be taught from learning about the Holocaust, but to Eve Bunting and Fred Gross there is one lesson that could have changed the result of this horrible event. The Terrible Things, by Eve Bunting, and The Child of the Holocaust, by Fred Gross, both portray the same moral meaning in their presentations but use different evidence and word choice to create an overall
In conclusion, from local governments to large influential organizations, people around the world turned their back on the Jews during the Holocaust. Almost every day in our lives we have the opportunity to be more than a bystander. We should put aside our own individual fears in order to pursue fairness for others around us. Being a Boy Scouts has taught me to do for others “…to help other people at all times.” When I consider our oath, it reinforces how selfless we all must be to make the world a better place to live.
A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal is a memoir about his time as a Jewish child in multiple ghettos and death camps in and around Germany during World War II. The author shares about his reunions with family and acquaintances from the war in the years between then and now. Buergenthal wished to share his Holocaust story for a number of reasons: to prevent himself from just being another number, to contribute to history, to show the power and necessity of forgiveness, the will to not give up, and to question how people change in war allowing them to do unspeakable things. The memoir is not a cry for private attention, but a call to break the cycle of hatred and violence to end mass crimes.
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children" (Nelson Mandela). If this statement is considered true, then it's fair to say that during times of the Holocaust, the German society was at an all time low. Children during the Holocaust did not have a carefree childhood, like they should have, but instead were placed under strenuous conditions. They had to go through being separated from all family and friends, being chosen the first to go to, and in most cases a permanent loss of family members. The Holocaust was undoubtedly a horrific experience for everyone involved but for children it must have been traumatizing.
Regine Donner, a famous Holocaust survivor, once said, “I had to keep my Jewishness hidden, secret, and never to be revealed on penalty of death. I missed out on my childhood and the best of my adolescent years. I was robbed of my name, my religion, and my Zionist idealism” (“Hidden Children”). Jewish children went through a lot throughout the Holocaust- physically, mentally, and emotionally. Life was frightening and difficult for children who were in hiding during the rule of Adolf Hitler.
Many people including them went out of their way to help Jews that they felt needed to stay safe. Most rescuers did all that they could to help save the Jews from the many dangers that they were each in. Even when some rescuers were caught, they each helped save a life of a Jew in some way or another. These courageous and strong-hearted individuals or groups including others each risked their lives to make an impact on the Jews’
Soumerai, Eve N., and Carol D. Schulz. "The Changing Lives of Jews." Daily Life During the Holocaust. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. 57+. Print.
Morretta, Teresa. "Teaching the Holocaust: Grades 4-12." Timeline. 1997. Teresa Morretta, Web. 24 Feb 2010. .
Williams, Sandra. “The Impact of the Holocaust on the Survivors and their Children.” at http://www.sandrawilliams.org/HOLOCAUST/holocaust.html, 1993
Over one million Jewish children died during the Holocaust. They were ripped out of their homes and taken away from their families, and stripped of their childhoods. Innocent lives were caught in a war that they were not able to stop. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, he promised Germany that he would improve life their by getting rid of the one race that caused the problems, the Jews. Jews, including Jewish children, were sent to concentration camps, inspected, and if approved, were sent to work. All others would have been sent to be killed. Being sent to work did not ensure survival, children would be given very little food and water, and beaten severely, which caused their death. None of the children of the Holocaust will ever forget the experience they went through, they will always remember.
"Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. University of South Florida, 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 19 May 2014. .
Hilberg, Raul. "The Holocaust: Bystanders and Upstanders." Facinghistory.org. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Feb 2014. .
Lukas, Richard C. Did the Children Cry?: Hitler's War against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939-1945. New York: Hippocrene, 1994.
Dwork, Deborah, and R. J. Van Pelt. Holocaust: a History. New York: Norton, 2002. Print.
A lot of consideration was put into this novels appropriateness for children; it was thought parents might have to explain the Holocaust; however it was decide...