Gerda Weissmann (Blog #6)

Today in class, we watched a documentary about Gerda Weissmann, a Holocaust survivor. She shared her experiences as a Jew during the war, and described the terrible conditions of the camp where she stayed. I think the most powerful part of the movie was when she discussed the Death March experience. Even through the cold weather, with death surrounding her at all times, she was able to survive with the help of her ski boots. Before they were deported on June 28^th, 1942, her father suggested that she wore her ski boots. She wondered why at the time, but thanked him during the Death March. I think that this scene in the film encouraged perseverance. Gerda demonstrated growth throughout the war, and her experience in the Death March was just another example of how she matured. When the Weissmann’s went into hiding in the basement of their home in Poland, Gerda was afraid and unsure. The Nazis actions towards Jews didn’t help, either. In this documentary, the living conditions that Gerda endured were horrendous. Very little food, wooden barracks, and lots of work were just a few of the ways the Nazis dehumanized Jews. Gerda was able to withstand all of it with help from her parents (they helped prepare her for what was to come) and from her friends whom she met at the camp. I also think these people were the heroes of the film, along with Gerda herself.

If I were taken away to a terrible place like Gerda, I think I would fantasize about sleep. As middle school students, we are definitely unable to sleep 12-hour nights during the week, but on the weekends, most of us get to sleep as long as we want. Gerda’s situation was totally different than ours is today. She slept much less, and had to do physical labor all day long. She also slept on flat, wooden barracks with 5 or 6 other people in all weather conditions. Today, we have heat and air conditioning in our homes, as well as a warm, comfortable bed that awaits us every night before we go to sleep. I think I take these things for granted, because I never really thought about how lucky we are to have such nice things. Every morning when I wake up, my mom has a bagel waiting for me in the kitchen. It has become such a small part of my routine that I haven’t had the time to recognize all of the kind things she does for me, as well as the fact that I have food and a home to live in.

There are many forms of genocide and persecution in the world today. There are also many stereotypes, which shape our actions. After 9/11, most Muslims are thought of as terrorists. For a long time, Blacks were considered inferior to Whites in our country. Currently, in Darfur, there is genocide. These are just a few of the problems we have had even within the last 50 years. I think advertisements and media that encourage tolerance and acceptance towards other races and cultures can help to prevent this.

I learned a lot about personal experiences while watching this movie, and it made me think a lot about my life today compared to life during the Holocaust.

Sarah's Key (Blog #5)

After being held in the Vélodrome d’Hiver for many days without food and water, Sarah and her family were taken to a transit camp in France. While at the camp, known as Drancy, Sarah was separated from her father at first, and then her mother as well. She was finally able to escape by slipping underneath the fence with Rachel, a girl who was kind and helpful to her, and with the help of the red-headed French police officer who had recognized her from back in Paris.

Although Sarah’s character is completely fictitious, her situations and experiences were very much true. Within August of 1941 and August of 1944, nearly 70,000 people passed through Drancy, most of them being Jews. Soon after their arrival at Drancy, prisoners were shaved, fed very little amounts of food, and, according to Sarah’s Key, separated from their families. Currently, I am curious as to where Sarah’s mother was taken. Was the taken to Auschwitz? Or was she killed upon arrival? The first transport from Drancy to Auschwitz-Birkenau took place on June 22^nd, 1942. They transported 1,o00 Jews out of the total 64,759 Jews at the camp.

While searching through many articles, this one seemed like it related the most to Sarah’s Key. I inferred that this is the camp they were first taken to after the Vel d’Hiv roundup. The camp that is described in the book has many similarities to Drancy. For example, they were in France, and both served as transit camps. Thousands of French citizens and foreigners lost their lives during their time at Drancy.

Source:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Drancy.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005215. Accessed on December 2^nd, 2011.

Sarah's Key (Blog #4)

Sarah is finally beginning to realize the suffering she will need to endure. She is understanding that she will probably never see her brother again, nor her father. And she is just starting to experience the life that thousands of Jews throughout Europe have had to withstand. On the other hand, Julia met with an elderly woman who had watched the Vel d’Hiv roundup from the window of her apartment. She was awoken early in the morning by the sound of rumbling busses outside her door, and when she went to see what was going on, she instantly knew. She was 35 at the time on the roundup, and now, nearly 60 years later, she remembers everything from that day. Her memory is remarkable, and Julia is pleased with the information this woman has given her.

Peter Van Pels, the main character from my last book, Annexed, was very hopeful. While his love for Anne Frank grew inside their secret annex in Holland, he had only the slightest idea of what was happening outside. He was hopeful, and although they managed to hide in the annex for nearly 2 years, they were captured and brought to Auschwitz, where they all died except for Otto Frank, Anne’s father. Peter Van Pels was pessimistic in the beginning of the book, and he missed his girlfriend, Liese, very much. Throughout the book, his characteristics changed from negative and afraid to optimistic and courageous. He is similar to Sarah in the sense that they were both afraid, and became more confident as the story went on. They were also both Jewish, and were both sent to Auschwitz. Julia and Peter, on the other hand, have very little in common. Peter and Anne fell in love throughout the book, while Julia and Bertrand are falling out of love. Julia is telling her story in 2002, and Peter told his story 60 years before. Peter struggled to survive, to live to tell his story. Julia is not in a life-or-death situation, and is only trying to write a story about the Vel d’Hiv.

Are there any more characteristics or experiences that will tie these three characters together?

Sarah's Key (Blog #3)

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay reveals connections that occurred between Julia Jarmond, a journalist from Boston, and Sarah Starzynski, a young girl who was torn away from her brother during the Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup.

Julia has lived in France for many years. She is married to Bertrand, and has a daughter named Zoë. She works for a man named Joshua as a journalist for a magazine written for Americans in France. Aside from her bothersome coworker, Alessandra, she enjoys her job and working for Joshua. Her latest assignment is to write an article informing readers about the events of the Vel d’Hiv roundup. She is both excited and nervous to be writing about a subject that she has barely heard of. Life at home is very different than her career. Bertrand, her husband, is very charming and loving, but lately she has been noticing a different side of him that she has never seen before. He is arrogant, and treats her with disrespect. He cares more about his new architecture project than he does about his own wife. Julia is both upset and confused with her husband’s recent actions.

Sarah, a 10-year-old girl who has lived in Paris her entire life, is beginning to notice the dangers of being a Jew in the 1940’s. Early one morning, when the sun wasn’t up yet, two men pounded on her door. “Open up!” they yelled. She made her way to her mother’s bedroom, and as Sarah explained what was happening, her appearance instantly transformed from groggy to alert, her face pale with fear. “Open up! It’s the police!” they screamed, once again. The two men were both French police, who escorted them to a bus. They were then taken to the Vélodrome d'Hiver, close to the Eiffel Tower. The conditions were terrible: extreme heat, no bathrooms, and very little very water and food. Sarah is very naïve, and she had no idea what to expect.

I am curious to see how these two characters will connect throughout the story, and to see what characteristics they have in common.

Night by Elie Wiesel

In class today, we read an excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel. This bleak story about the suffering that the Jews went through on the long train ride to Auschwitz, a concentration camp in Poland. We do not know who the narrator is, but he or she was very annoyed with a woman named Mrs. Schächter. The other people on the train were aggravated as well, and everyone thought that she was hallucinating. Some of the passengers even hit her, and "gagged" her. She claimed to be seeing huge flames somewhere in the distance. Why is it that she was the only one who could see the fire?

After many, many days of very little food and intolerable heat in a cramped setting, the Jews were finally let off of the train. They had arrived Auschwitz II - Birkenau, the extermination camp. Mrs. Schächter was right, there were massive flames coming out from the top of a tall chimney. The bright glow of the orange flames were in high contrast with the darkness of the night sky. "In front of us, those flames. In the air, the smell of burning flesh." We can infer from the text that the Jews were going to be burned in the fire. And although everyone thought that Mrs. Schächter was mentally ill (and she was), at least she gave them a bit of a "heads up". Was Mrs. Schächter able to see the future? How could she tell that they were going to be killed in the fire? And why didn't anyone else believe her? There are so many questions left unanswered from this excerpt.

Annexed #1

For our first book club of eighth grade, I am reading Annexed by Sharon Dogar. This compelling story about the boy who loved Anne Frank definitely grabbed my attention.

So far, the author has only introduced us to one main character, Peter Van Pels, who is also the narrator of the story. As Anne says, he is a "lovesick puppy". He is heartbroken when Liese, his girlfriend, is taken away by the Nazi's. Peter is forced to stay in hiding with the Franks, whom he believes are loud and obnoxious. He sees Anne as egotistical, along with the rest of her family. Being in a cramped annex for weeks, months, or maybe years is the last thing he would want to do. We can infer from the story that he is very unhappy, but soon the relationship between the Van Pels's and the Franks will get better.

Currently in the story, Anne is not yet a significant character. She is the overly confident thirteen-year-old girl who Peter sees as annoying and dislikable. Anne is whiny and very clumsy. She is nothing compared to Peter's love, Liese. She is younger, thinner, louder, and not nearly as kind. Will he ever be able to get over her?

As I have already read The Diary of Anne Frank , I know a lot more about their secret annex than the book has told us so far. The air is stale, and there is not much space. Peter's "room" is connected to the kitchen, and basically a hallway to the attic. The windows are covered in dark fabric, and the door is disguised as a bookcase. Miep, Bep, Mr. Kugler, and Mr. Kleiman are their only source to the outside world. They buy food, newspapers, books, and anything else they need.

Peter and Anne have yet to stop arguing. How much longer will it be until they can agree on something?!

Flower (Photography)