Certain times in human history seem to reflect only the worst qualities we as a species possess. The Holocaust is one of those times. Marek Sroka, author of the article The Destruction of Jewish Libraries and Archives in Cracow during World War II examines the loss of various Jewish books, library collections, and other materials in Cracow, Poland after the 1939 invasion of German troops. Of all the collections of Jewish works, it was the school libraries in Cracow that suffered the worst losses. As the author states “the plan to eliminate Jewish cultural and literary contributions to Polish as well as European civilization became almost as important to the Germans as the physical destruction of the Jewish people” (161). This chapter …show more content…
This long history meant that there was an established and well represented cultural presence, usually characterized in the form of a library or archive, of the Jewish pre-war population of Cracow. “Almost every Jewish organization…had its own library” (148). In addition to “commercial lending libraries” Jewish collections could be found in Synagogues, which housed many rare manuscripts and other religious collections, political reading rooms, and Jewish schools, which included a variety of books and materials in their collections (149 and 150). The emphasis on preserving their knowledge, history, and the written word is apparent through the various types of Jewish libraries. Opened in 1899 the Ezra Library, also known as the Ezra Judaic Library, “was the largest Jewish library in Cracow until 1939” (148). Established by a collection of Jewish organizations the goal of the Ezra library was ‘the promotion of education ad Jewish scholarship through the establishment and support of a free library and Jewish reading room’ (148). Though it was not the largest Jewish library in Poland, before the start of the War, it was one of the best organized …show more content…
By November of 1939 Nazi policies had closed down all schools, religious or not (155). As education is counterproductive to the propaganda that the Nazi government was spewing, closing schools makes complete sense. The closure of the schools also meant the destruction of their libraries. Buildings, furniture, school records, everything was destroyed. “By the end of the war Jewish school libraries in Cracow had been almost completely destroyed” (156). “In addition to the destruction of the cultural and educational institutions, the Germans plundered synagogues and on many occasions burned them” (157). In order to protect some of the most valued religious works, some people made attempts to hide a large number of objects. Unfortunately efforts to conserve these precious items failed, as hiding places were found after the liquidation of the Cracow ghetto. What was not destroyed remained in German hands
Lucy Dawidowicz, the author of “The War Against The Jews 1933-1945” grew up in New York. She was born in 1915. Lucy started her undergraduate at Hunter College, where she studied English. After completing her undergraduate with tremendous achievement she started going to Columbia University to finish getting her masters in English Literature. While she was studying profusely she interrupted her studies to “work and study Jewish culture at Yivo, the legendary research institute in Vilna, Poland.” (Lucy Dawidowicz, The War Against The Jews 1933-1945 (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1986), Front Cover.) She studied here for a rewarding year and then returned to New York to study more with the Yivo. After the debilitating WWII ended, she went over to Europe where she helped the Jewish people “recreate schools and libraries, and she recovered vast collections of books
The Jewish Community. Publication Society, 1996. http://www. Wiesel, Elie. A.
Jews are not allowed to go to shops & businesses and they are not allowed to go to the synagogue. The Jews arrived at Auschwitz empty handed because the Germans took all of their valuables like gold, silver, and jewelry. . Eliezer soon realizes he has nothing: “The beloved objects that we carried with us from place to place are now left behind in the wagon and with them, finally, our illusions.” (Wisel29). The Jews lost something more important than their personal objects.
The vast literature on Nazism and the Holocaust treats in great depth the first three elements, the focus of this book, is t...
Rosenbaum, Alan S. Is The Holocaust Unique?. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2008. 387. Print.
that was formed to educate people of the crimes put forth on the Jewish people
The world should have been more in-tuned with the major events of the 1930’s such as Hitler’s election as Chancellor of the Reichstag, Kristallnacht, and the boycott of Jewish businesses. Because of the war, the camps, and the mass murders, Germany was ground zero for Jewish civilians. Hell on Earth became a reality in Treblinka. Jews were branded like slaves and lost their identities. Mothers were forced to leave their children, and thousands of families were separated. To wake up one day with your mother and have her marched into the gas chambers the next, never seeing her again or even saying goodbye, would be traumatizing and cruel beyond belief.
The Holocaust was a very impressionable period of time. It not only got media attention during that time, but movies, books, websites, and other forms of media still remember the Holocaust. In Richard Brietman’s article, “Lasting Effects of the Holocaust,” he reviews two books and one movie that were created to reflect the Holocaust (BREITMAN 11). He notes that the two books are very realistic and give historical facts and references to display the evils that were happening in concentration camps during the Holocaust. This shows that the atrocities that were committed during the Holocaust have not been forgotten. Through historical writings and records, the harshness and evil that created the Holocaust will live through centuries, so that it may not be repeated again (BREITMAN 14).
"History of the Holocaust - An Introduction." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Web. 8 July 2010. .
soldiers during the Jewish Holocaust, knew that the Nazi’s actions were inhumane and cruel; hence, he commanded his soldiers to not confiscate property from the Jews. Although the Nazi soldiers did not take valuables away from the Jews, they still dehumanized and exterminated the Jews, rega...
For many years, people time and time again denied the happenings of the Holocaust or partially understood what was happening. Even in today’s world, when one hears the word ‘Holocaust’, they immediately picture the Nazi’s persecution upon millions of innocent Jews, but this is not entirely correct. This is because Jews
Dwork, Deborah, and R. J. Van Pelt. Holocaust: a History. New York: Norton, 2002. Print.
"A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims. University of South Florida. Web. 19 May 2014.
Most narratives out of the Holocaust from the Nazis point of view are stories of soldiers or citizens who were forced to partake in the mass killings of the Jewish citizens. Theses people claim to have had no choice and potentially feared for their own lives if they did not follow orders. Neighbors, The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland, by Jan T. Gross, shows a different account of people through their free will and motivations to kill their fellow Jewish Neighbors. Through Gross’s research, he discovers a complex account of a mass murder of roughly 1,600 Jews living in the town of Jedwabne Poland in 1941. What is captivating about this particular event was these Jews were murdered by friends, coworkers, and neighbors who lived in the same town of Jedwabne. Gross attempts to explain what motivated these neighbors to murder their fellow citizens of Jedwabne and how it was possible for them to move on with their lives like it had never happened.
"75th Anniversary of the Nazi Book Burnings." AbeBooks:. AbeBooks Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .