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The Jewish reaction to the Holocaust
The Jewish reaction to the Holocaust
Jewish resistance to the Holocaust
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When thinking of the word resistance, one gets a picture of a small, weak group of people using guns to fight against a powerful evil. Although this is a correct interpretation of resistance, there are more forms, such as spiritual and cultural resistance, that can be equally devastating to the cause of the powerful evil. A major example of all of these forms of resistance is the Bielski Otraid, subject of the 2008 film Defiance, as they actively resisted the Germans in these ways, become the physical embodiment of Jewish resistance as they drew parallels with the resistance shown by the Jewish people. The Jewish people demonstrated all of the forms of resistance, from the physical resistance seen in the armed revolts seen in multiple ghettos and some death camps, and the spiritual resistance through the attempted continuation of normal life in the ghettos and the acceptance of faith while at the death camps. The most obvious form of resistance that the Bielski Otraid participated in was armed …show more content…
resistance against the Nazis. Several occasions throughout their time in the forest, they are forced to fight to ensure their survival, ending with a major climatic battle as the group must cross a swamp in order to escape the advancing German army. The goal of the group is to survive for as long as they can so that they may kill as many Nazis as they can. During the film, they conduct raids on German trucks, kill local officers aiding the Nazis, and kill anything that the group sees as a threat. They help Jews escape from a ghetto and grow in size, thumbing their nose at the Nazis with their continued existence. The Jews that were trapped in the ghettos started similar forms of physical resistance against the Nazis, particularly once they realized that the “Final Solution” rumors were true. There were many major instances of armed resistance at ghettos, but the one at the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943, is the most famous resistance of the Jewish people. During the nearly month long uprising, the Jewish people armed themselves and attempted to throw the SS out of the ghetto, but were easily defeated. Another example of physical resistance is the armed uprisings at the Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz death camps. The resistance movement, however brief, gave hope to the rest of the Jewish people and was a motivation to keep resisting the Nazi movement. These resistance movements are similar to the Bielski’s existence and how it is a symbol of defiance and hope for the Jewish people in how they are able to damage the Nazi movement and act as a beacon of hope. The less obvious form of resistance that the Bielski Otraid participated in was spiritual resistance against the Nazis. Throughout the course of the film, one of the central themes is keeping faith, something that the leader, Tuvia Bielski, goes to great lengths to uphold. His actions throughout the course of the film all are in support of keeping the group alive but without losing touch with their faith. He does this by making sure that there are opportunities for people to celebrate God. This includes small things such as offering services for prayer, continuing religious lessons for the children, and celebrating services such as marriage and funerals. By doing this they are resisting the Nazi effort to eradicate anything that they considered Jewish by continuing on the Jewish culture any way that they possibly can. The Jews in the ghettos and the death camps also participated in a very similar kind spiritual resistance as the Bielski’s did.
The Jews that were in the ghettos were led by a group of Jewish leaders known as the Judenrate, who communicated with the Nazis and were in charge of education and distributing food. For the majority of the ghettos, the Judenrate decided that they needed to do everything that they could to keep the people’s faith alive, in a similar way to Tuvia Bielski. They had the children continue their religious education and they also decided to hold religious ceremonies during important times of the Jewish year, although this mostly depressed the Jewish people as it reminded them of the life that they once had. By doing these actions it shows the similarities between the actions of the Judenrate and Tuvia Bielski in terms of spritiual resistance, displaying the theory that the Bielski Otraid served as a representation of the resistance of the Jewish
people. In all of historical events, the oppressed have looked towards a group to which they can find hope and see a representation of themselves as they offer forms of resistance to their oppressors. Like Ho Chei Minh and the Viet Cong and George Washington and the American Army, Tuvia Bielski and the Bielski Otraid were the representation of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. They served as a symbol of hope as the representation of the Jewish people through their forms of resistance against the Nazi Party.
Some of the Jewish population was aware of what ghetto life meant for their futures whereas others were living under a delusion. Sighet’s population, easily influenced early on by the Germans courteous behavior, believed through blind faith that no harm would come to them. However, Hanna Berliner Fischthal best states the truth, “the ghettos into which they [the Jews] are forced are temporary holding grounds enabling the Germans…to easily round up the residents for the final solution.” If only they had known about the final solution, they could have escaped. Instead, the majority was murdered and the rest endured years of pain and misery that forever haunts them.
One of the many themes that has arose is the theme of injustice. The theme of injustice stood out just by reading the back of the book. As stated before, this book takes place in the time of Hitler’s reign in Nazi Germany. If anyone had previous knowledge as to what Adolf Hitler’s “final solution” entitled, social injustice would evidently be pointed out. These prejudices could be something such as concentration camps, torture, discrimination of the Jewish race and the destruction of homes and shops. Although many Germans had no idea what was happening in Germany during Hitler’s reign, one would be quick to judge Germans as a whole. This is the perspective that is dominant in the novel, they never mention massacre or concentration camps, and they just lived their normal lives. After the author educates the reader about a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg, the narrator says: “You could argue that Liesel Meminger had it easy. She did have it easy compared to Max Vandenburg. Certainly, her brother practically died in her arms. Her mother abandoned her. But anything was better than being a Jew” (Zusak 161). This quote by itself shows how terribly the Jewish people were treated. In their daily lives, they are faced with destruction, social injustice, and discrimination. They are treated very disrespectfully; they live with racial slurs, house raids, as well as having the Star of David painted on
In Night, Elie Wiesel descriptively portrays the Holocaust and the experiences he has in each part of his survival. From the ghettos to the Death March and liberation, Elie Wiesel shares his story of sadness and suffering. Specifically Wiesel speaks about his short experience in the Sighet ghetto, a historically accurate recount illustrating the poor living conditions, the Judenrat and Jewish life in the ghetto as well as the design and purpose of the two Sighet ghettos. Wiesel’s description of the Sighet ghettos demonstrates the similar characteristics between the Sighet ghetto and other ghettos in Germany and in German-annexed territories.
Resistance: it takes many forms, from the simplest denial to an armed revolt. The Jews exhibited almost every form of resistance against the
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
Armed fighting resistance was not the only form of Jewish resistance. Escaping, smuggling goods, and praying were also effective. Keeping education was also important. Spiritual resistance was used to keep calm and keep proud of themselves. underground libraries were made after smuggled books in the ghettos. Schools were made in apartments in secret while kids kept hidden school books in their clothes from place to place (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Education was a form of resistance. This was forbidden but Jews resisted and kept secret. Spiritual resistance like education was important for
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
..."The Bielski Brothers Jewish Resistance and the "Otriad"." Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. 2008. 24 May. 2011. .
Denial is another theme in this film which helped to save the Jewish race. Even as they are forced into the ghetto and later into labor camps they are in denial of their real situation. When they are in the ghetto they are optimistic and believe that the bad times will pass, and even when killing surrounds them they won’t let themselves believe the worst.
The Warsaw Ghetto was a Jewish-populated ghetto in the largest city of Poland, Warsaw. A ghetto can be defined as a part of a city in which large quantities of members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure. Ghettos were commonly attributed to a location where there was a large Jewish population. In fact, the word Ghetto originated from the name of the Jewish quarter in Venice, Italy, in 16th century.The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest Ghetto, as a part of the Holocaust, and as an early stage of it, played a very significant role. Today, in our museum exhibit, we have several artifacts, including primary evidence relating to the Warsaw ghetto. We will be discussing how and why it was created, the lifestyle
Why resistance? There are so many different aspects of the Holocaust to research, so why focus on this particular one? Well, I think it’s a great way for students to learn about the “silver lining” per se of this event. I think it’s a not-so-well-known aspect of a very well-known event. It’s important that people are aware that Jews and some non-Jews didn’t just sit back and let these horrific events go on without a fight. One can also loosely apply this idea of resistance to society today by saying that, to a lesse...
This book left me with a deeper sense of the horrors experienced by the Polish people, especially the Jews and the gypsies, at the hands of the Germans, while illustrating the combination of hope and incredible resilience that kept them going.
“The War Against The Jews” by Lucy Dawidowicz explores a very dark time in history and interprets it from her view. Through the use of other novels, she concurs and agrees to form her opinion. This essay will explore who Dawidowicz is, why she wrote the book, what the book is about, what other authors have explored with the same topic, and how I feel about the topic she wrote about. All in all, much research will be presented throughout the essay. In the end you will see how strongly I feel about the topic I chose. I believe that although Hitler terrorized the Jews, they continued to be stronger than ever, and tried to keep up their society.
I chose to analyze Despicable Me, an animated film geared towards a younger audience, because I was interested in examining underlying theories and messages that this film would be relaying to its viewers. Often times, when watching animated films, children are not aware of these messages, as they are absorbed by the characters, special effects, and humor. But as we have learned throughout this semester, our brains are subconsciously primed by the various surroundings we are exposed to. Since we also studied the impacts of entertainment, such as television and video games, on children, I wanted to see how a popular children’s film might also affect them.
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a Steven Spielberg science fiction drama film, which conveys the story of a younger generation robot, David, who yearns for his human mother’s love. David’s character stimulates the mind-body question. What is the connection between our “minds” and our bodies?