“And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?”. Eloquently, Shylock, a notorious Jewish character from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, describes the mindset of many during the Holocaust. Despite the disgusting crimes committed every day during the Holocaust, the world refused to give up. Instead, from the safest corners of the world to the most perilous concentration camps, individuals rose up and opposed history’s most notorious regime.
Resistance is defined as “the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding”. Therefore, the Jews of Europe resisted the Third Reich every single day; withstanding the constant fear, the desolate aura, and the habitual cruelty. Existing became a heroic act of defiance as Hitler’s wrath swept through
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Despite the horrific conditions, giving up was not an option. Even in the concentration camps, those grim dens of utmost terror, Jewish prisoners found the courage to oppose Nazi rule- their determined spirit provided hope and solace to all of Europe. And this electric idea of rebellion was widespread, especially after the Treblinka Rebellion of 1943. In general, resistance calls to mind an armed struggle against the enemy, hence the fame of the rebellion stories. However, for the Jews in a diaspora, this was ironically only possible when the Nazi persecution forced them into close quarters. But the entire definition of the word includes subtler incidents of resistance. For example, daring to preserve Jewish culture is certainly a brave opposition. And everyday, by living and breathing, the Jews defied “the Final Solution”. According to Barbara Coloroso, “The three characters in the tragedy of genocide are the bully, the bullied, and the bystander”. …show more content…
One incident that shaped his resolve took place in 1935, when Fry witnessed first-hand Nazi abuse of Jews. After writing a scathing review of Hitler’s regime for the New York Times, Varian Fry helped raise money to support European anti-Nazi movements. Later called “the American Schindler,” Fry’s biggest contribution came when the man smuggled several thousand intellectuals out of occupied France. An American journalist and Harvard graduate, Fry became the emissary to Vichy France in 1940. Tasked with choosing 200 lucky artists, poets, writers, and philosophers allowed entry into the United States, Fry instead saved more than 2,000. Despite having no clandestine background, or any experience with forgery or the black market, Varian Fry smuggled thousands of Jews and refugees across the French border and into neutral or allied countries. Along with several accomplices, Fry defied “the Final Solution” and turned his three week visit into a thirteen month stay. In fact, the man only left France when the US Department of State arranged for his expulsion. Describing his departure, Fry wrote “I thought of the faces of the thousand refugees I had sent out of France, and the faces of a thousand more I had had to leave behind”. During his stay in France, Fry was arrested and questioned by French police several times, but the man refused to leave- even when his passport expired. Later, co-conspirator Miriam Davenport would describe Fry as “an
Nazis which proved to the world the Jews are not that easy to extinguish. The Jews had several ways of exhibiting resistance, but "Organized armed resistance was the most powerful form of Jewish opposition"(Jewish Resistance). Armed resistance is an important aspect to revolting not only because it reinflicts the pain lashed upon the Jews, but it also shows the Jews have the ability to fight back and gives the world the knowledge that Jews do not go down easily. However, resistance is not only an act of violence since the Jews demonstrated several non-violent forms of resistance while locked up or being transported. Jews would escape into the forest and figured that by escaping they resisted the Nazi Party and reduced their chances of achieving their goal of exterminating all Jews on the planet(Acts of Resitance). By escaping Jews gave themselves a chance to live and warn others of their fate which was an excellent form of non-violent resistance since, generally speaking, no Germans were hurt. Resistance can take many shapes and forms which is why all Jews resisted one way or another, simply living is resistance(Acts of Resistance). The other reason Jews struggled so desperately to survive was not to merely see the light of another day, but to see the Germans become enraged by their "resistance", living.
During the Holocaust there were many varying forms of resistance these include refusal to follow German orders, the formation of the ZOB, continuing Jewish culture, education, religious practices, and keeping archives of historical events. These acts of Jewish resistance all required great courage and bravery as severe consequences were in place for those who did not follow German
Following the beginning of the Second World War, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union would start what would become two of the worst genocides in world history. These totalitarian governments would “welcome” people all across Europe into a new domain. A domain in which they would learn, in the utmost tragic manner, the astonishing capabilities that mankind possesses. Nazis and Soviets gradually acquired the ability to wipe millions of people from the face of the Earth. Throughout the war they would continue to kill millions of people, from both their home country and Europe. This was an effort to rid the Earth of people seen as unfit to live in their ideal society. These atrocities often went unacknowledged and forgotten by the rest of the world, leaving little hope for those who suffered. Yet optimism was not completely dead in the hearts of the few and the strong. Reading Man is Wolf to Man: Surviving the Gulag by Janusz Bardach and Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi help one capture this vivid sense of resistance toward the brutality of the German concentration and Soviet work camps. Both Bardach and Levi provide a commendable account of their long nightmarish experience including the impact it had on their lives and the lives of others. The willingness to survive was what drove these two men to achieve their goals and prevent their oppressors from achieving theirs. Even after surviving the camps, their mission continued on in hopes of spreading their story and preventing any future occurrence of such tragic events. “To have endurance to survive what left millions dead and millions more shattered in spirit is heroic enough. To gather the strength from that experience for a life devoted to caring for oth...
Spiritual resistance like praying kept Jew’s sanity and concerts help make people happy. Hitler’s plan was to break down and destroy Jews, so they fought against that in various ways. Art, music, and theater were often in ghettos to keep everyone happy. Comics, actors, singers, dancers, and actors also performed for a group of people for a brief amount of time. The Nazis had also made it illegal for Jewish gatherings but the Jews also did against that. Praying and services were kept in secret. Praying and services were important to continue. They also wanted to continue everyday things. Art, music, theater and praying were used as resistance by the Jews to stay
It is no mystery that the lives of the prisoners of Nazi concentration camps were an ultimate struggle. Hitler’s main goal was to create a racial state, one consisting purely of the ‘superior’ Aryan race. The Germans under Hitler’s control successfully eradicated a vast number of the Jewish population, by outright killing them, and by dehumanizing them. Auschwitz is the home of death of the mind, body, and soul, and the epitome of struggle, where only the strong survive.
The movie “Schindler’s list” is a compelling, real-life depiction of the events that occurred during the 1940’s. It illustrates the persecution and horrific killings of the Jewish people. It also exemplifies the hope and will of the Jewish people, which undoubtedly is a factor in the survival of their race. The most important factor however is because of the willingness of one man, Oskar Schindler, to stand out and make a difference.
As World War II occurred, the Jewish population suffered a tremendous loss and was treated with injustice and cruelty by the Nazi’s seen through examples in the book, Man’s Search for Meaning. Victor Frankl records his experiences and observations during his time as prisoner at Auschwitz during the war. Before imprisonment, he spent his leisure time as an Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist in Vienna, Austria and was able to implement his analytical thought processes to life in the concentration camp. As a psychological analyst, Frankl portrays through the everyday life of the imprisoned of how they discover their own sense of meaning in life and what they aspire to live for, while being mistreated, wrongly punished, and served with little to no food from day to day. He emphasizes three psychological phases that are characterized by shock, apathy, and the inability to retain to normal life after their release from camp. These themes recur throughout the entirety of the book, which the inmates experience when they are first imprisoned, as they adapt as prisoners, and when they are freed from imprisonment. He also emphasizes the need for hope, to provide for a purpose to keep fighting for their lives, even if they were stripped naked and treated lower than the human race. Moreover, the Capos and the SS guards, who were apart of the secret society of Hitler, tormented many of the unjustly convicted. Although many suffered through violent deaths from gas chambers, frostbites, starvation, etc., many more suffered internally from losing faith in oneself to keep on living.
Thesis- when the Nuremburg laws had started, Jews had many restrictions and often resulted as rebelling against the Nazi’s, but the Jews were overwhelmed by the Nazi’s.
The Holocaust was a time of unspeakable horror and violence. Many lives were lost during this grim period; however, numerous individuals stood up against Nazi tyranny by both actively and passively resisting.Those who chose to actively resist armed themselves and went into battle; on the other hand, those who opted for pastivity chose to preserve their identity and save their lives and family. In “The Diary of Anne Frank,” we learn about valiant individuals who passively resisted against the Nazis and preserved their culture and identity. This story proves that the best way to respond to conflict is to passively resist because it keeps hope alive, saves lives, and provides an alternative way to solve conflict.
In the Holocaust, the Jews resisted the Nazi party by using both active and passive resistance. Some victim of persecution used violence to combat the Nazis in order to avoid a helpless death in a concentration camp. On the other hand, many opposed the tyranny using passive methods to defy the cruel tyranny. In “The Diary of Anne Frank”, “Violins of Hope”, and “Resistance during the Holocaust”, the Jewish people used many ways of resistance in response to the Nazi tyranny; some of whom’s goal was to save their own skin, others to make a change in the world. People can best respond to conflict, like the Holocaust, through non-combative methods since it preserves evidence of victims’ sufferings, victims’ human dignity, and the victims’ culture.
During World War II people decided to resist Nazi oppression, but in different forms; some people used active resistance and some people used passive resistance.There are many examples in history showing both passive and active resistance.By looking at the “ The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Resistance During the Holocaust,” and “Violins of Hope,” one can see that, although people believe active resistance led to the downfall of the nazi regime, but in truth, passive resistance brought hope, survival, and human worth.
For the Jewish people living during the Holocaust, defiance, whether passive or active, led to liberation from sorrow and tyranny, but also could lead to a brutal death. Some people chose to use means of force in an attempt to secure their survival or die with pride. Others would resist passively, protecting what little they had with hope that they could eventual return to their former lifestyle. “Resistance during the Holocaust” and “Violins of Hope” exhibits the successes of passive resistance during and after World War II. People can best respond to conflict by passively resisting because it protects others, preserves culture, and gives hope.
Resistance can be defined by, “refusal to accept something new or different; an effort made to stop or to fight against someone or something” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Using that definition, resistance can basically be anything that isn’t conforming, but many people still think that resistance can only mean physical combat. Despite all of the possible definitions, resistance can only truly be defined by the person performing the resistance. If that person thinks that what they are doing is going against something that is being forced upon them, no one can contradict that. In the case of Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust, most people believe that the Jews were being passive, or did not resist at all until the armed resistance
Since middle school, I have believed that all of Shakespeare’s works, similar to A Mid Summer Night’s Dream, were plays that one would read to hear a happy, entertaining story; but, it was not until this year, after reading The Merchant of Venice, that I recognized the darker, more sinister, side of Shakespeare’s plays. The Merchant of Venice supports the Jewish, anti-Semitic stereotype as the wicked character of Shylock is developed. Many individuals fear that it is improper to teach and discuss The Merchant of Venice in high school classrooms because of the negative way it presents Jews; however, I believe that it is important to read this controversial play in high schools because it enables students to learn anti-Semitic history and because reading Shakespeare’s works, due to their complexity, expands the literary mind of those who read it.
Discrimination is a resounding theme in The Merchant of Venice (Meyers). All of the characters are affected by inequality. This inequity is clearly evidenced in Shylock, the Jewish usurer. He is treated with scorn and derision by all the characters. Shylock’s misfortunes stem not from poor attributes or even a poor background; it stems from the fact he is Jewish, and what is more, he is impeccably of that distinction.