At the outbreak of World War II, the Netherlands again declared its neutrality. However, Nazi Germany ignored this and German forces invaded the country on May 10, 1940. Aided by Dutch collaborationists, the Germans set up an occupation regime. Little did they know how horrific this war would affect all the Netherlands' people. Despite valiant efforts made on the part of the Dutch military, the Netherlands fell to the Germans after only five days of fighting. Even after the invasion, many citizens proclaimed their opposition to the Nazi regime openly. More than 50% of the Dutch Jewish population was sent off. For the only reason of pleasing the mind of one German operate. The Germans began by registering all of the Jews, which in the Netherlands seemed common. This slowly changed when the Jews were being sent off to labor camps. Out of the 200,000 Dutch who died in the war, 100,000 were Jewish.
Next, the war went on for the next five years. Then the Netherlands received what they have been waiting for, the news that the war is finally over. The allies were able to liberate most of the Netherlands with the exception of the West. They were only able to liberate the South because they had to stay behind the rivers until spring. The final attempt at liberating all of the Netherlands, called Operation Market Garden, failed. That left the west still occupied by Germany. At this time, the government in exile called upon the men of the Dutch railways to go on strike. At this time, this decision would have been best. It was the only way they could try to stop the Germans. The Dutch men who did this were remarkably brave. By refusing now to run their trains, it would make it difficult for the Germans to transport both troops and supplies, thus greatly undermining their strength in occupied Netherlands. Nevertheless, to go on strike would expose the train workers to great danger. The Germans announced they would execute anyone helping the allies. In response to this, the Germans cut off the food and warm clothing supply. The food supply all throughout the Netherlands during the war already had to be rationed. This meant the food supply had to be rationed tremendously.
In addition, the winter alone of 1944/1945 would be incredibly harsh. The allotment of food was less then 1000 calories a person per day.
Due to California’s geographic location and rich history, it is a state that can efficiently depict the immigrant experience theme. Although an immigrant, also known as an irregular migrant, can come from any nation or ethnicity, there seems to be a commonality in their treatment. The following collection of excerpts and literary works focus on the perspective of the treatment of irregular migrants and the bevy of effects that follow. For the effects of oppression, as seen throughout history, do not cease after de jure discrimination ends. Alienation and a feeling of lack of nationality are common sentiments felt by sons and daughters of irregular migrants. Pervasive and malignant ideologies are formulated about immigrants. Their image is falsely
The Germans were told that the prisoners were given 1,700 calories and for prisoners doing major work they got. 2,150 calories a day (“Nutrition” 1). In reality, the people were only getting a calorie intake of 1,300-1,700 calories (“Nutrition” 1). In some camps soup was the main food option. Even though it was the only option they only got about twenty five ounces of it (“Glossary” 2). They got one loaf of bread that was supposed to last them eight days (“Starvation Rations” 4). In some of the nicer camps the men were served one bowl oatmeal also known as Kasha. The oatmeal was usually only given inside of the labor camps, since the men were being used for work and needed to be stronger than normal (Solzhenitsyn 36). Over the entire twelve years of the Holocaust none of the camp prisoners received any fruit, butter, milk , or eggs (“Starvation Rations”
Marion watched the German invasion on May 10, 1940, and as anti-Semitic laws were passed, she told her Jewish friends to escape or to hide. Her father was not Jewish; however, he was disappointed that the Dutch government did not do more to help Jewish refugees.
Corrie’s father knew it was not true, but the prime minster stepped down and Winston Churchill became the new prime minster. While Germany invaded Holland, Corrie and Betsie sat in Beje (their house and clock shop) and watched the bombs fall. Betsie started to pray for Hitler, the Germans and the pilots of the planes. Corrie would not acknowledge such a ridiculous prayer. She only sat and listened. After that the Germans slowly started taking over Holland. First it was only little things. Prices rose and coffee was a luxury that only the Germans and collaborators could afford. New shoes and clothes were harder to find. Some of the rules included no one was allowed out past 9:30, but it soon was pushed to 8PM. Also, they had to put dark curtains over their windows so the British would not pinpoint their position. Some of the rules were ridiculous! The Nazis banned orange colored tulips! Sadly, some of the rules were more serious such as the oppression of the Jews. One of the new rules was no radio. This was a problem because the ten Booms and many other families got their news of the war from the radio. One of their radios was big and bulky the other one was small and easy to hide. Corrie dropped the old radio that had been given to her father as a present off at the police station, and hurried home to help hide the other radio. Beje had many nooks and places to hide because of the way was it was
There often lies a disparity between the idea of something and that something’s reality: the idea seems much brighter than that something itself. This conviction arises in all aspects of one’s life, from politics, to religion, to hobbies, to entertainment, and relationships. F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the harsh reality of such a dilemma in his work “Winter Dreams.” This story follows a self-made, successful man, Dexter, and his inner struggle between the need to attain wealth and success. Ultimately, Dexter is forced to face reality when this desire clashes with his fantasies surrounding Judy Jones, the woman of his pursuit. As a writer of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s characters often assume a materialistic lifestyle and a self-justifying importance to conceal their desire for the central truth. Through his work, Fitzgerald manages to define, honor, and criticize what is known as the American Dream: the belief that anyone, no matter their background, can attain success, material wealth, and prosperity. In “Winter Dreams,” Fitzgerald masterfully uses characterization and symbolism to illustrate the demise of the unachievable, American Dream, and the rising disconnect between reality and idealism.
Canadian forces played a vital role in the liberation of Holland. The Canadian soldiers who landed on D-Day fought many battles through France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, and the Scheldt. The Canadians were given orders to advance the German troops occupying the northeast back to the sea and to constrain German troops in the west to recede back into Germany. “No part of Western Europe was liberated at a more vital moment than the Netherlands and the Dutch people cheered Canadian troops as one town after another was freed.” For a numerous amount of months, the citizens of Holland had been starving along side of having their country at stake of flooding depending on if the Germans decided to open the dikes. On April 28, 1945, the Canadians had negotiated a truce, which granted the admittance of relief supplies to enter the western Netherlands and end the Hunger Winter. The Hunger Winter of 1944-45 was a devastating time for the Dutch people. Many people were forced to rely on tulip bulbs, having no alternative, just to try and survive as food supplies were squandered and transportation was non-existent due to the fact that fuel was suppressed. “By 1945, the official daily ration per person in the Netherlands was ...
In March of 1933 the first Nazi concentration camp was opened and by the end of World War II there was over 40,000 camps all together. While in these camps Jewish people were subjected to cruel and inhumane punishments
The narrator in “Famine” by Xu XI was raised by her parents A-Ba and A-Ma in Hong Kong. Her Father made her quit school after her primary school was over which was the through the sixth grade. She was then forced to take care of her aging parents till they died in their mid-nineties. Her father was abusive and very controlling over everything in her life while her mom chose to do nothing about it. She was rarely aloud out with friends or to have much fun at all she never experienced much in life. She wanted to do something she really wanted to learn, but her father said no in order to continue her education to become an English teacher she went on several hunger strikes to rebel her father wants. Food seemed herd to come by in her house particularly, they were forced vegetarians by A-Ba’s decision, they ate very little and the food was also bland. A-Ba and A-ma were not very loving parents, they expected a lot out of their
Soon after Germany separated from Austria in March 1938, the Nazi soldiers arrested and imprisoned Jews in concentration camps all over Germany. Only eight months after annexation, the violent anti-jew Kristallnacht , also known as Night of the Broken Glass, pogroms took place. The Nazi soldiers arrested masses of male adult Jews and held them captive in camps for short periods of time. A death camp is a concentration camp designed with the intention of mass murder, using strategies such as gas chambers. Six death concentration camps exis...
At the end of WW2, millions had died while in the concentration camps. For five years, Nazi SS Soldiers were allowed to terrorize and kill millions of people. Most of the killing was conducted at Auschwitz. There were three camps specifically designed for a huge purpose under Auschwitz. With the new finding of Zyklon B, the extermination rate skyrocketed. Auschwitz alone was responsible for 1.1 million deaths, 960,000 of the 1.1 million were Jews. The Nazis inflicted such incredible pain for these helpless victims, before being murdered, they were brutally tortured and degraded. On January 22, 1945, the Nazi Concentration Camp, Auschwitz, was liberated by the Soviets.
Access to food draws a thin line between the privileged and the poor. In Suzanne Collins’ novel The Hunger Games, food has a massive impact on the different characters from the different locations. Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist, lives in the poorest district in Panem – District 12. Each different district has a specialty that they use to provide for the Capitol; District 12’s specialty is coal mining. Author Despail explains the districts in a way that makes it easier to understand by stating that “[e]ach outlying district in Panem forms an identity around not only the products the district is known for but also the ways in which its citizens cope with their lack of food” (70). Because of this, many people in District 12 have a tough time
First of all, to get a proper understanding of the events in my book, I did some research to paint a picture of the holocaust. The reason that the Germans started the holocaust a long time ago was because they believed that the Jewish people were minions of the devil, and that they were bent on destroying the Christian mind. Many Christians in Germany were also mad at them for killing Jesus in the Bible. Throughout the holocaust, Hitler, the leader of Germany at the time, and the Nazis killed about six million Jewish people, more than two-thirds of all of the Jewish people in Europe at the time. They also killed people who were racially inferior, such as people of Jehovah's Witness religion, and even some Germans that had physical and mental handicaps. The concentration camp that appears in this story is Auschwitz, which was three camps in one: a prison camp, and extermination camp, and a slave labor camp. When someone was sent to Auschw...
The movie “The Hunger Games” has many similarities and relations to World Mythology. While it may not seem like this movie is as myth related as others, such as Troy and Thor, many of the themes and situations in the movie were inspired by the stories of the great myths and epics. The overall theme of the movie is courage, strength, and destiny.
The Holocaust was the murder and persecution of approximately 6 million Jews and many others by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The Nazis came to power in Germany in January of 1933. The Nazis thought that the “inferior” Jews were a threat to the “racially superior” German racial community. The death camps were operated from 1941 to 1945, and many people lost their lives or were forced to work in concentration camps during these years. The story leading up to the Holocaust, how the terrible event affected people’s lives, and how it came to and end are all topics that make this historic event worth learning about.
In The Hunger Games, the inequality between the rich and the poor is the biggest theme presented in the book. Throughout the book, Katniss mentions that starvation is common in District 12, and she has often gone hunting illegally in the woods for food for her family. This is an example of how the rich and the poor are separated. Wealth is only centralized in the hands of the rich, while the poor are left to starve, leaving disparity. The best examples of the inequality between the rich and the poor is seen in the tessera system, and the way the tributes are selected for the games. In the novel, they have what is called “the reaping”, which is the lottery at which they choose the tributes for the games. It is said in the book that the poor is more likely to be picked than the rich are. In the tessera system, children