Blog Post #4 - Marco
While studying the Holocaust, I have seen one important theme showing up in many stories: luck. People had no control over their own lives. Everything that went on around them was all based on luck. For every missed opportunity, they could change nothing. People didn't know what would happen to them, their belongings, or their family. Anything could happen- they could be given extra soup, or be forced to work more, or get sick and die. For example, in One Survivor Remembers, Gerda Weissman’s father makes her wear ski boots when she was taken away, which was silly at the time, as it was summer. However, these boots proved crucial to her survival, as during the death marches, she had warm boots while other girls were wearing sandals. Another example is, in Night, Elie and his father decide to move on in a death march rather than staying in the camp hospital they were in at Buna. However, they later learned that it was liberated by the Russian Army right after they left. Also, Elie had no control over what would happen to his sisters and his mother. He just had to pray that they survived. This ties in with faith as they had a God to pray to. Without faith they would have felt much more vulnerable to luck and other chances. This also ties into fear, as people worry for the future. This theme is also connected to hopelessness and dehumanization, as it would have been awful not knowing what would come next. The lack of knowledge would make any person paranoid and anxious. This theme is important because it is still an important part of day to day life. Millions of people are affected by homelessness and lack of basic needs. They do not know if they will find a new opportunity the next day or a life changing disaster. Some people are in the right place at the right time and others are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Marco,
ReplyDeleteI also found it interesting how luck played a very crucial roll in the Holocaust victims survival. Its insane how the pair of shoes that you wore on a certain day could be what decided if you lived or died.
From Jared:
ReplyDeleteMarco, like Conor I also found it interesting how luck was very important for the survivors and victims of the holocaust. It's hard to imagine that if you would have made a different decision or waited a little bit longer, you could have survived or died.
From Leah:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that luck was a big part in the Holocaust and how no one really chose their fate. It makes me wonder how Gerda Weissman’s father could have known that Gerda would have needed those boots so badly or why he would have told her to bring them if he didn’t.