Comparing Two Hangings Analysis

Scottie Maher

Hour 1

Hangings Compare and Contrast

“He was about to signal his aides to pull the chair from under the young man's feet when the latter shouted, in a strong and calm voice: ‘Long live liberty! My curse on Germany! My curse! My—’” The two hangings are similar because during both executions a verdict is read, the Jews are forced to watch, and the Jews are forced to take their caps off and quickly put them back on. They differ in who is being hanged, the Jews overall mood after the hangings, and the Nazi’s overall mood as the the execution proceeds. The hangings differ in who is being hanged because it is a tall and strong young man during the first and a small pipel during the second. The soup tastes better than ever to the prisoners after the first hanging and there is a general mood of hope. After the second, all hope is lost and the soup tastes

of corpses.

The Nazis carry on protocol as usual throughout the first hanging, and everything seems routine. During the second, the Nazis seem nervous, and protocol is broken. Before both hangings, someone reads a verdict showing what the how the person being hanged is guilty. The Jews are also forced to take their caps off and quickly put them back on as a sign of respect. While the hangings proceeds, The Jews are forced to watch and do a walk by of both of the victims. The hangings have many similarities.

The first similarity that the hangings share is that before both hangings are executed, a verdict is read. It is meant to show the Jews why the culprit deserves to be hanged, but also to scare them. The Nazis clearly say, “prisoner number … is condemned to death. Let this be a warning and an example to all prisoners.” The Nazis want the Jews to know that if they do the same thing as the people being hanged, their fates are going to be the same as

well. The second similarity is that the Jews are forced to watch both executions, as well as walk by and see the victims up close. “The Kapos forced everyone to look him squarely in the face.” This is another scare tactic that the Nazis use to mess with the Jews mental stability. During the first hanging, they are forced to look at the young man square in the face, and it does not seem to have a major effect on them. During the second hanging, they are forced to watch the little pipel writhe and struggle for half an hour, and Elie walks past him while he is still clinging to life. The third similarity is that the Jews are forced to take their caps off and put them back on before and after each hanging. To the Germans during World War II and even in modern culture, removing of the caps is a sign of respect. It is an action that shows caring and respect toward something. However, in Jewish culture, removing their caps is not respectful. Keeping your caps on is a sign of respect and humility in Jewish culture, and removing their caps is an insult. The Nazis make the Jews to remove their caps and put them back on as a sign of respect, but they insult the Jewish culture indirectly. They make them remove them and cover their heads very fast, as to not prolong their insult. The caps are removed and put back four times throughout the hangings, and the Jews are insulted each time.
There are many differences between the hangings including who is being hanged, the Nazis mood as the hanging happens, and how the Jews feel after the hanging is over. A young and strong man is the first to be hanged. He is very experience in the camp and has been there for three years. After he is hanged, there is still a feeling of hope in the camp. At the second hanging, a little pipel is hanged. After the hanging a prisoner exclaims, “For God’s sake, where is God?” The prisoners cannot bear the fate of this pipel. The second difference is the mood after the hangings. The prisoners are hopeful. They have a feeling that if they do everything they are supposed to, and listen to the Nazis, they will not be hanged. This is why, “the soup tasted better than ever.” It tasted this way because of the hope they had. This greatly differs from the mood after the second hanging. The young pipel is hanged, and the feeling after is not hopeful. All hope is lost among the prisoners because they feel that if the Nazis will hang a boy, they will hang anyone. After the second hanging, the soup tasted of corpses. This symbolizes the lost hope that have of living. The Jews struggle with hope throughout both hangings. The third difference is the Nazis mood throughout the hangings. During the first, everything goes according to plan. The Lagerkapo administers the hanging, and the verdict is read. During the second hanging, nothing is routine. “The SS seemed more preoccupied, more worried, than usual.” The voice of the announcer shakes as the verdict is read. The Lagerkapo does not administer the hanging, and the SS administers it instead. After the execution, when the Lagerkapo screams for the Jews to take their caps off, his voice quivers. The Nazis know that what they are doing is serious, and there is no excuse to hang a child. Throughout both hangings, the Jews try to grasp at hope. They still have it after the first hanging, and after the second hanging it is lost.
The hangings are similar because during both a verdict is read, the Jews are forced to closely witness the executions, and they are forced to take their caps off and put them back on. They differ in the people who are being hanged, the prisoners mood after the hangings, and how the Nazis act throughout the hangings. A verdict is read before both hangings identifying what the culprits did wrong. The Jews are forced to watch the hangings happen, and to look at the victims as they walk back to their barracks after the executions. They are also forced to take their caps off and put them back on quickly as a submissive sign of respect. The first difference in the hangings is that a young pipel and a strong and tall man are hanged. The second difference is that the Jews have hope after the first hanging and after the second all hope is lost. The third difference is that protocol is kept to during the first and abandoned during the second. The Jews After the second hanging, the Jews lose all hope. They ask where God is. “Where He is? This is where---hanging here from this gallows…”