Night - 2/24/16

Writing Prompt: How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person?

An effect the Holocaust had on Elie was the way he sees God. In the beginning, Elie has strong religious beliefs. Then in the middle you see Elie's transition as he starts to rebel against God and decide that God no longer exists. Then in the end Elie kind of revisits his previous beliefs as he prays to God once more.

In the beginning Elie has strong religious beliefs. On page one of the book it says, "I believed profoundly. During the day I studied the Talmud, and at night I ran to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple." Then Elie finds a man named Moshe the Beadle who acts as a religious mentor for Elie. On page three the book states, "And Moshe the Beadle, the poor barefoot of Sighet, talked to me for long hours of the revelations and mysteries of the cabbala. It was with him that my initiation began. We would read together, ten times over, the same page of the Zohar. Not to learn by heart, but to extract the divine essence from it." This shows that Elie would work with Moshe for long periods of time as they would practice, and try to understand their religion together.

As the book goes on, Elie begins to question God. On page 31 when Elie and his father are in line for the crematory, Elie writes, "For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless his name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank him for?" This is when Elie first starts to question God. Then, on page 62, Elie sees God as being dead in his eyes: "'Where is God now?’ And I heard a voice within me answer him: ‘Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on the gallows…’" Elie continues to question the real justice that God has on page 63 when he writes, "'What are You, my God,’ I thought angrily, ‘ compared to this afflicted crowd, proclaiming to You their faith, their anger, their revolt? What does Your greatness mean, Lord of the universe, in the face of all this weakness, this decomposition, and this decay? Why do You still trouble their sick minds, their crippled bodies?'" Here Elie is thinking about how God has not helped the Jews because he is allowing them to die and get tortured. Elie comes to this full realization and conclusion on page 64: "Why, but why should I blessed Him? In every fiber I rebelled. Because He had had thousands of children burned in His pits? Because he kept six crematories working night and day, on Sundays and feast days? Because in His great might he had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many factories of death?…Who chose us among the races to be tortured day and night, to see our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, in the crematory?" God has done nothing but allow all these innocent people to die, and for that, Elie has stopped believing in him.

Although Elie no longer believes in God, there is a moment where he allows himself to believe in Him just one more time. After running non stop for several miles, the prisoners are finally allowed to rest. A Rabbi goes around asking if anyone has seen his son, because he lost him in the run. When the Rabbi says that he was falling behind and running towards the end of the line, while he saw his son continue running towards the front, Elie concludes that the Rabbi's son purposely ran away from his father because he felt that he was a burden to him, and he would have a better chance at survival without his father weighing him down. In this moment, Elie prays, something that he thought he would never do: "And, in spite of myself, a prayer rose in my heart, to that God in whom I no longer believed. My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou’s son has done." Elie wanted so badly not to become like the Rabbi's son, and leave his father, that he prayed to God that it would not happen.

The Holocaust had a big effect on Elie. It completely changed his religious views. He went from praying, practicing, and studying his religion constantly, to completely abandoning his views on religion and God. This shows how much of an impact the Holocaust had on people, and how it can completely change a person and the way they live their life. The Holocaust had strong effects on everyone who was involved. 

NIght - 2/18/16

Writing Prompt: Describe a character you would like to meet. List four questions you would ask them.

          If I could, I would like to meet the author of the book, Elie Wiesel. I think it would be an amazing experience to meet him and ask him a bunch of questions about his experiences and how it has effected his life. I think that I would be able to learn more about the Holocaust and different concentration camps. As well as be able to get an inside story of what it was actually like to be in a concentration camp. I would also like to know all of the things that were going through his mind as life in the concentration camps progressed.

         One thing I would ask Elie Wiesel is: What was your first thought when you entered your first concentration camp? I would like to know what his initial thought was about everything, before he found out what was really happening. Did he think it was like another ghetto? Did he think he was going somewhere safe? I want to know what he was thinking as he arrived in his first concentration camp.

          Another thing I would ask Elie Wiesel is: What were your thoughts on Madame Schächter? I know that other people thought Madame Schächter was crazy, and they just wanted her to stop talking, but I want to know what Elie's thoughts about her were. Did he ever think that she might somehow be trying to tell everyone of something important? Did he think she was making any sense at all. I would want to know what his initial thoughts about Madame Schächter was, when she first starting talking about the fire, and what his thoughts were as she continued to talk about the fire over and over again. I would also like to know what his thoughts about Madame Schächter was when he found out that they were burning Jews at the concentration camps.

          I would also ask Elie: What were some of your biggest fears while being in a concentration camp? There was a lot to be scared of in a concentration camp, and I just want to know what Elie was most scared of, what he thought of most. Was it doing his job and staying out of the way so he doesn't get in trouble? Was it to not make himself standout, so he wouldn't draw attention to himself, so he wouldn't get noticed? Was it fighting to get enough food and stay alive? I just want to know some of Elie's biggest fears while he was trapped in those concentration camps.

          I would also like to ask Elie: How did you adjust to the living environments of being in a concentration camp? Elie had to change the way he lived in order to stay alive. He ate less than he used to. He even learned to tolerate eating soup, because it was the only thing he could eat. He also had to live with being deprived of rights and nutrition and living with the fear that he might soon die. I would just like to know how he changed his ways, and adjusted his life in order to live and survive in a concentration camp.

Holocaust AOW Impressions - 2/12/16

EQ: Take a moment to reflect upon your impressions of what you have learned from the array of articles.

          One thing I found that was common was that survivors from the Holocaust still have hatred. In one article it talked about how Holocaust survivors want to sue Hungary, and how they have been waiting for 71 years to sue. In another article it talked about how a over 90 years old man is in an active case for being a concentration camp body guard. Though this man may be to old to deport to Germany. 

          I also noticed in some articles that the Holocaust gave people another way of thinking about life. In my article, a man named Zigi Shipper explains that he has had a wonderful life, even though he was in several labor camps, went through a major near death experience, and lost his grandmother in Auschwitz. This has made Zigi think and be very grateful that he is even alive. It has taught him to be greatful for such a privilege. Another article talked about how survivors say the Holocaust gave them a will to live. The Holocaust has effected many and showed them a different way of thinking about things.

Butterfly Project

Commented on Jared, James, Diana, and Justin R

Berlin Memorial Activity - 2/3/16

Writing Prompt: Based on our Berlin Memorial Activity today in class, take a moment to reflect on what you learned about the Jewish decrees established during the Hitler years.

I learned a lot from the Berlin Memorial Activity I did in class. I learned some of the different laws and restrictions that were out on Jews. I also found that there were some years that had a lot of new restrictions and some years had very little. One that I learned that was very shocking was that if you were a Jew in 1942, you were not allowed to have pets. Another shocking thing I learned was that at a certain point, Jews only had one hour to shop, between 4 and 5 p.m. This is shocking because it seems like if all Jews are only allowed to shop at those times, there will be many Jews coming to shop all at once, which could result in a type of chaos.

I think the lampposts in the monument was built to show people how it was like for the Jews with all of the laws. The lampposts have pictures of certain things representing a law. An example would be a sign that says "Juden werden aus Gesangsvereinen ausgeschlossen" which means "Jews are excluded from choirs". This was one of the laws against the Jews. This also shows people one of the laws they were forced to follow.

I notice that in certain years, there were lots if laws made, and others not so many. In 1938 there were lots of laws. The meaning behind this might have to do with the fact that Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. Along with the fact that there was a lot of laws in 1942 and 1933. 1933 was also the year Hitler came into power.

I think I would have the most trouble following the law that forces me to give up my items. The reasons I think this is because I wouldn't want to be forced to give up my possessions, especially if I had something I really valued. I would also have a hard time with this because I wouldn't want to give away my things because maybe they help me when j get sad or scared because of what's happening.