The intriguing story of Jan and Antonina Zabinki is told in the novel, The Zookeepers Wife by Diana Ackerman. In Warsaw during World War II and the Holocaust, Jan Zabinski was a Polish zoologist and the director of the thriving Warsaw Zoo, which contained the “wild, that fierce beautiful monster, caged and befriended” (Ackerman 19). His wife, Antonina, had a natural deep understanding of the animals of the zoo and developed unusual connections with many. When the Nazis invaded Poland, a majority of the animals were lost in a shooting spree. The Jewish population was moved into the Warsaw Ghetto, from which Jan smuggled numerous Jews to the safety of his recenetly vacated zoo. Though Jan executed the more risky action of smuggling, the story …show more content…
centers around the actions of Antonina. It was her responsibility to manage and care for those hiding in the zoo, and she took it upon herself to keep them entertained. The Warsaw Zoo eventually reopened after the war and the end of Stalin’s rule. Genocide is the central conflict of this story, branching into the issues of segregation and anti-Semitism.
During the dictatorship of Hitler, Jews, along with many other minorities, faced legal discrimination before losing their rights all together, and eventually being forced into death camps. Many Germans participated in this discrimination due to fear of the Nazi rule as well as indoctrination. Nazi propaganda encouraged the Anti-Semitism fueling the violence. This began with the passing of the Nuremberg Laws, which defined who was Jewish. Those deemed “non-Aryan” were prohibited from having citizenship, participating in public service and soon from participating in civic life. The genocide began with the isolation of the Jewish into Ghettos riddled with starvation and disease. Designed to decimate its population, the Warsaw Ghetto alone had a death toll of 13,000, excluding those who were transferred to death camps. In the novel, Antonina refered to the genocide of the holocaust as the “greatest crime the world has ever known, because it is not on the scale of History: it is on the scale of Evolution” (Ackerman …show more content…
102). Jan and Antonina’s story parallels the story of Miep Gies and the safe haven she provided for the Frank family during the persecution of the Jews.
Like Antonina, Gies went out of her way to provide care for those she protected in the famous annex now known as the Anne Frank house. In The Zookeeper’s Wife, Antonina made efforts to order food, presumed by outsiders to be for the zoo animals, that could sustain the hiding Jews. Similarly, “Miep, with 10 mouths to feed in a time of increasing scarcity, did so by cultivating relationships with black-market shopkeepers” (Ezard 8). Also like Antonina, Gies made remarkable efforts to entertain and cheer up the Franks. In hopes of bringing some cheer to the zoo, Antonina brought a rabbit for the Jews in hiding; this parallels when Gies gave Anne Frank her only pair of high-heeled shoes as a gift. Another similarity between these two stories is the role of the husbands. Both Gies and Antonia received more public acknowledgment, but described their husbands as quiet and humble
heroes. Personally, I found Ackerman’s book to be a pleasant read after getting past a slow beginning. The author provides great imagery and paints a clear picture of the wonder of the zoo before invasion as well as the horror of occupied Poland. As well as a sensory description, the disposition and manner of the couple are successfully portrayed. In the first chapter it is said that “Antonia loved to slip out of her human skin for a while and spy on the world through each animals eyes” (Ackerman 25). As the reader, I felt I could understand Antonina’s connection with the zoo animals due to the almost poetic explanation of her character. Throughout the book, the story-telling tone was contrasted with historical flashbacks of Warsaw during the time of the novel, creating an expert balance of sentiment and information. Overall, I found Ackerman’s work to be worth reading for anyone wishing to read well-rounded war story.
At a time of loss, the German people needed a reason to rebuild their spirits. The Jews became a national target even though Hitler’s theory could not be proven. Even as a Jew, he accused the Jews people for Germany’s defeat in order to rally the people against a group of people Hitler despised. The story-telling of the Jews’ wickedness distracts the Germans from realizing the terror Holocaust. Millions of Jewish people died because Hitler said they caused the downfall of Germany. Innocent lives were taken. The death of millions mark the rise of Hitler. He sets the stage for the largest massacre in
Sonya Hartnett’s ‘The Midnight Zoo’ a touching story that explores the effect war had on animals, children and nature. Both human and animal characters speak about their experiences throughout this period. The book tells about how a hunger for power over something that is not owned impacts everybody and leaves innocents caught up in a large mess.
Evolution: T. Ray T. Ray from The Secret Life of Bees seems mean and horrible in the novel, but this essay proves otherwise. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd takes place in South Carolina during the Civil Rights Era, where Lily, the main character, lives. This time period is an important part of American history, and many of the characters go through dramatic changes and discover new elements of themselves. The focus of this essay will be on T. Ray, Lily’s father, who grows as a character throughout the novel, and is dishonest and controlling at the beginning of the novel. This is in view of the fact that T. Ray is very protective of Lily, but learns to let her go, realizing that she is better off with the Boatwright sisters.
Poland was devastated when German forces invaded their country on September 1, 1939, marking the beginning of World War II. Still suffering from the turmoil of World War I, with Germany left in ruins, Hitler's government dreamt of an immense, new domain of "living space" in Eastern Europe; to acquire German dominance in Europe would call for war in the minds of German leaders (World War II in Europe). The Nazis believed the Germans were racially elite and found the Jews to be inferior to the German population. The Holocaust was the discrimination and the slaughter of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its associates (Introduction to the Holocaust). The Nazis instituted killing centers, also known as “extermination camps” or “death camps,” for being able to resourcefully take part in mass murder (Killing Centers: An Overview).
In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, it talks about the holocaust and what it was like being in it. The Germans were trying to make the German race the supreme race. To do this they were going to kill off everyone that wasn’t a German. If you were Jewish or something other than German, you would have been sent to a concentration camp and segregated by men and women. If you weren’t strong enough you were sent to the crematory to be cremated. If you were strong enough you were sent to work at a labor camp. With all the warnings the Jewish people had numerous chances to run from the Germans, but most ignored the warnings.
At the start of Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror, no one would have been able to foresee what eventually led to the genocide of approximately six million Jews. However, steps can be traced to see how the Holocaust occurred. One of those steps would be the implementation of the ghetto system in Poland. This system allowed for Jews to be placed in overcrowded areas while Nazi officials figured out what to do with them permanently. The ghettos started out as a temporary solution that eventually became a dehumanizing method that allowed mass relocation into overcrowded areas where starvation and privation thrived. Also, Nazi officials allowed for corrupt Jewish governments that created an atmosphere of mistrust within its walls. Together, this allowed
American consumers think of voting as something to be done in a booth when election season comes around. In fact, voting happens with every swipe of a credit card in a supermarket, and with every drive-through window order. Every bite taken in the United States has repercussions that are socially, politically, economically, and morally based. How food is produced and where it comes from is so much more complicated than the picture of the pastured cow on the packaging seen when placing a vote. So what happens when parents are forced to make a vote for their children each and every meal? This is the dilemma that Jonathan Safran Foer is faced with, and what prompted his novel, Eating Animals. Perhaps one of the core issues explored is the American factory farm. Although it is said that factory farms are the best way to produce a large amount of food at an affordable price, I agree with Foer that government subsidized factory farms use taxpayer dollars to exploit animals to feed citizens meat produced in a way that is unsustainable, unhealthy, immoral, and wasteful. Foer also argues for vegetarianism and decreased meat consumption overall, however based on the facts it seems more logical to take baby steps such as encouraging people to buy locally grown or at least family farmed meat, rather than from the big dogs. This will encourage the government to reevaluate the way meat is produced. People eat animals, but they should do so responsibly for their own benefit.
The Quest Pattern theory states that during adolescence a youth is looking for their identity. This individual will look for a place where they are accepted. The quest fits a loose pattern; the first step is determined by fate, destiney provides a troubling situation before the individual can embark on their journey. Then the initial change happens, or the event that sets the quest in motion. Next is the unchartered territory, in this stage the real adventure happens; a person can geographically venture into new territory, or an experience an emotional journey somewhere outside of their comfort zone. Next, is the required learned knowledge; this is the information that the individual learns about his or her self in order to reach self-acceptance. There is the journey home, which is a quest within itself, but also a stage where more knowledge is gained. Lastly the reward, it is the happiness that occurs from the knowledge that the individual has gained; this stage is also known as finding the meaning of life. The Quest Pattern is a journey of personal evolution that every antagonist can relate to.
A narcissist is one who believes “he or she is ‘special’ and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special” people. They exploit others for their own advantage, lack empathy, and are “preoccupied with fantasies” or ideals that can be unrealistic. They believe they are the “primary importance in everybody’s life”. (“Narcissistic Personality”) Henry James’ theme in his short story, “The Beast in the Jungle”, is about a man, who is so egotistical and self-absorbed that he misses what life has to offer him, in particular, love, because of the narcissistic behavior he is doomed to live a life of loneliness and misery. John Marcher, the protagonist of “The Beast in the Jungle”, is about a narcissistic upper-class man who believes his life is to be defined by some unforetold event. He focuses only on himself and as a result, he neglects everything and everyone in his life. Marcher meets May Bartram, a woman who knows his secret, and instead of pursuing a romantic relationship with her, or even a genuine friendship, he uses her for his own benefit. Henry James utilizes a variety of literary devices to convey this theme in his story, such as the title, symbolism, dialogue, and the use of a limited third-person narrative. Henry James leaves us our first clue to the theme in the title, “The Beast in the Jungle”. When one thinks of a beast, they typically imagine something big and ferocious; Marcher’s ego was just that.
Today, zoos can be a controversial subject. Many believe that animals belong in the wild, where they can roam free, and not be subjected to the hordes of people that surround them in captivity. But this was not always the case. In the beginning, zoos were created with the goal to conserve wildlife. Nazis, believe it or not, were strong proponents of animal rights and conservation. They actively passed laws to ensure the safety and well-being of animals native to Germany. Top ranking members of the Nazi Party, such as Heinrich Himmler, made the conscience effort to ban the hunting of animals. Set in the late-1930s and early-1940s, Diane Ackerman’s, The Zookeeper’s Wife, tells the captivating and true story of Jan and Antonia Zabinski, two zookeepers that risked their lives to save over three hundred people from
As early as age thirteen, we start learning about the Holocaust in classrooms and in textbooks. We learn that in the 1940s, the German Nazi party (led by Adolph Hitler) intentionally performed a mass genocide in order to try to breed a perfect population of human beings. Jews were the first peoples to be put into ghettos and eventually sent by train to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. At these places, each person was separated from their families and given a number. In essence, these people were no longer people at all; they were machines. An estimation of six million deaths resulting from the Holocaust has been recorded and is mourned by descendants of these people every day. There are, however, some individuals who claim that this horrific event never took place.
First of all, to get a proper understanding of the events in my book, I did some research to paint a picture of the holocaust. The reason that the Germans started the holocaust a long time ago was because they believed that the Jewish people were minions of the devil, and that they were bent on destroying the Christian mind. Many Christians in Germany were also mad at them for killing Jesus in the Bible. Throughout the holocaust, Hitler, the leader of Germany at the time, and the Nazis killed about six million Jewish people, more than two-thirds of all of the Jewish people in Europe at the time. They also killed people who were racially inferior, such as people of Jehovah's Witness religion, and even some Germans that had physical and mental handicaps. The concentration camp that appears in this story is Auschwitz, which was three camps in one: a prison camp, and extermination camp, and a slave labor camp. When someone was sent to Auschw...
“While imprisoned, Hitler wrote, “My Struggle,” where he foretold the war that would lead to the death of many Jews.” (The Holocaust) The Jews were used as scapegoats by the Germans. They were treated terribly and lived in very poor conditions. Many of the Jewish children were put into homes, therefore having better chances of hiding.
This genocide is from World War II and targeted the Jewish people and people that Hitler thought were inferior to him. The cause of this genocide is when Adolf Hitler came into power on January 30, 1933 (“Learn”). When the Nazi state became a regime is also what caused the Holocaust. The article claims, “...the Nazi state quickly became a regime in which citizens had no guaranteed basic rights” (“Learn”). This shows how the Nazis could do anything they wanted to, including murder, without fault to themselves. The article acknowledges, “By May 1945, the Germans and their collaborators has murdered six million European Jews as a part of a systematic plan of genocide- the Holocaust” (“Learn”). These statistics show how awfully brutal this genocide was and how much pain it caused and still causes people. The aftermath of the Holocaust was awful to experience. As stated in the article, “When Allied groups entered the concentration camps, they discovered piles of corpses, bones, and human ashes- testimony to Nazi mass murder” (“Learn”). This indicates the brutality that the Jews went through during the Holocaust. It also shows the condition the Nazis left them in after the war ended and how they took no immediate responsibility for their actions against the Jews. The Holocaust is an awful time of history that people do not like to think about, but remember almost every day to keep the lost’s spirits
Of all the examples of injustice against Jews or rather, humanity in history, the Jewish Holocaust has to be one of the most prominent. In the period of 1933 to 1945, the Nazis waged a vicious war against Jews and other "lesser races". This war came to a head with the "Final Solution" in 1938. One of the end results of the Final Solution was the horrible concentration and death camps of Germany, Poland, and other parts of Nazi-controlled Europe. Nearly 5,933,900 Jews were annihilated during the whole process which was termed by historians as “THE HOLOCAUST”. In this process, Polish and Soviet civilians, Slavs, Romani, Soviet prisoners of war and other political, religious opponents of the Nazi were also exterminated. This sums up the total deaths to somewhere between 11 million-17 million people.