Holocaust Lit Final: Books
When Corrie's joy and power diminish, she asks forgiveness for what?
For trying to take credit for the good things that happened/relying on her own power, which caused her to lie, be selfish, and find no meaning in scripture
For what must Corrie forgive Jan Vogel?
For turning her family in and causing her father to die without any family around him.
What is unusual about Betsie's cell?
It was well decorated, neat, and seemed warm and homey
"Maus" discuss the author's choice of animals to represent various groups. (Mice, cats, pigs, dogs) Are they appropriate? WhY?
Mice: Germans treated them like vermin Cat: cats ruthlessly kill mice, are known only to work for themselves Pigs: Considered very dirty, can't eat those animals, Dogs: We are European mutts, happy go lucky, spirit of opportunity,
Read poem by Anton Schmidt (453).
...
About how many Jews did Schindler rescue?
1,100
Give 3 characteristics of survivors and support based on "Awakening" and three more for "accident"
. Tired of not having answers or a specific place to remain. Yet at the same time they feel they need to search for answers form their Germans and let them know what they think of the situation. "We were tired of everything, tired in particular of perforating useless frontiers [...] we felt an urgent need t settle our accounts, to ask, explain and comment like chess players" (431). b. The survivors are unsure of what to expect and fearful of the struggles that are yet to come. "What should we find at home? [...] Were we returning richer or poorer, stronger or emptier? We did not know; but we knew on the thresholds of our home [...] a trial awaited us, and we anticipated it with fear" (433). c. In terms of physical appearance, they are worn and tattered after their horrific experiences and long journeys home. "I was swollen, bearded and in rags, and had difficulty in making myself recognized" (433). a. Survivors have a lack of will to live based on an underserving and guilty feeling for surviving. Doctor Paul Russel noticed it in Ellie when he performed an operation and received no help on the proverbial battlefield. "I had to wage the fight alone. All alone. Worse you were on the other side, against me, on the side of the enemy" (439). b. The Holocaust makes it so people question the point in life and aren't able to connect this feeling or outlook with those who have not experienced the same things. They themselves are no longer the same; they have been severed in some way. Now no one may cross the bridge into his or her mind. "The problem went beyond us. It was an invisible sphere" (441). c. After seeing some of the darkest horrors that forever reside in the recesses of their mine, victims find it impossible to see the light in life the way they used to. "Their appearance is deceptive. They are smugglers [...] These people have been amputated; they haven't lost their legs or eyes but their will and their taste for life" (443).
Annotate reasons she credits for her survival in "Esther"
- Her cousin Leon Feldhendler—helped her to cope - Gustav Wagner was not in the camp on October 16—he was the smartest and would have known they were planning for escape - Unwavering faith in God—God was her life vest - The dream she had—made her feel she was destined to live
"Maus" Describe at least 5 of the evils of the camps. Tell how the graphic format affects the reader's perception of them.
- beaten and counting the number of times you get hit - throwing hats and telling you to go get it and then shoot it - inspection for selection with their malnutrition - saying you can't get food if you have lice - prisoners forced to get ride of the dead or burn other prisoners alive - walking over the dead bodies to get to the toilet - falling down on the train and getting stamped
List two motivations for Wallenberg giving aid to the Jews
1. He had an overwhelming moral commitment to save lives (476). 2. Had divine love for other humans (476).
List 2 apparent motivations of Schindler's giving aid to the Kews
1. It was a fun game to be part of the Nazi party but outwitting them (he wasn't much for the killing, but part of the party to make money, free Jewish labor) (463). 2. He witnessed an execution of two women and couldn't stand it. "I felt like the Jews were being destroyed and I had to help them (463). 3. Was a commodity and form of protection for after the war. He knew the war was ending and didn't want to be seen as on the wrong side (465).
List 3 methods Schindler used to help save the Jews. Be specific.
1. Kept SS away from his factory with bribes (461). 2. Lied so people could bring in friends and relatives. His skilled workers often times weren't skilled (461). 3. Gathered in Jewish figurative who traveled by (463). 4. Got them extra food and basic medical care (464).
List 3 methods Wallenberg used to help the Jews, especially the unusual methods. Be specific.
1. Took picture of life saving activities (478). 2. Would go on trains and call out random Jewish names, those who did not have passports they would fill in a previously blank passport they carried around and say "Oh, I'm terribly sorry you couldn't get to the legation to pick it up. Here it is. We brought it to you." (480). He also held out passports through the train windows while on top of the train (481). 3. Bribed and reasoned with leaders to help slow, stop, or allow him to provide safety from deportation (486). Bribed and threatened the Arrow Cross (488).
How many are arrested in the raid?
35
What is Corrie's age at the time of the 100th birthday party?
45
How many are "regulars" in hiding?
7
About how many Jews had wallenberg rescued?
70,000 Jews by preventing central Ghettos from destructions and 25,000 from Swedish protection passes he took the initiative to make
How does Corrie get a big house to use and who are the new residents?
A rich aristocrat whose mother spoke often of Tante Jans offered up her home after Hearing Corrie spread word about what had happened to her and her family in the camps and their vision to create a home for people. The residence were damaged human beings—not all who were in concentration camps.
What is a wonderful surprise at the reading of Casper's will?
All family had to be there so she was reunited with Betsie, Willem, Nollie, Flip, Tine
"Maus" Compare and contrast the two wives of the survivor. Do you think they are as different as Vladek says they are? What might account for the differences in his perceptions?
Anja is a sweet and precious wife while Mala was lazy and a thief and could never do anything right. I think its all in his head—he has grandiose idea of the kind of person he was in Auschwitz and acts like it doesn't effect him when it clearly does, and he really loved Anja. For her to die, the only person that could adequately be his new wife would be another Anja. If they weren't exactly like her they were wrong. I'm sure mala wasn't anything as bad as Vladek depicts and just got fed up with his behavior and constant comparisons and left. I'm sure Anja was no saint either, I'm sure she was a nice lady, but we often refuse to speak ill of the dead. It is also easier to compare a person to someone who is only a memory now. He claims that he and Anja were never separated in spirit unlike with Mala. She is compared to an impossible standard of the dead wife much like Art is compared to the impossible standard of his dead brother.
What is being described here: "It was a carving in old yellow ivory"?
Betsie's starved dead body
Betsie says to be thankful to in all circumstances. She even says to be thankful for what surprising thing?
Fleas
What does Mr. Smit do when on repeated visits to the tenBooms Home?
Building a hiding place in Corrie's room (at first he showed up to inspect the systems they had in place in case of capture and to make a suitable spot for Jews to hide)
"Maus" What does the book say about the long-term effects of the Holocaust experience on survivors? On their children? Give several for each.
Children carry the burden of trying to understand the past and have to deal with the scars on their parents. Many of the survivors had idiosyncrasies—Vladek's being having to count everything. This often makes them difficult to connect or be around their parents. Children often feel anger and guilt because of these things. It is difficult to understand their misery and compulsions. Vitims process life through surivival mode Guilt and shame insue for not thinking a certain way—everything needs to be done the way Valdek wants it
List 7 aspects that are typical of other readings about children in hiding, about Jewish persecution and give an example.
Children were beat upon by their fellow classmates no matter their age or gender. Rachel is running from boys in her class fairly banged up from their encounter. ---"HER uniform is torn and her face and knees are bleeding" (492). ---"They started hitting me. One of them yelled, Forget it. She's just a kid." But the one carrying the flag, said "this'll teach her a lesson she won't forget" (493). Anti-Semitism presents itself though No-Jews allowed signs. Rachel stopped by the cinema to see was playing to see a fairly recent sign placed there. "I wanted . . . to find out . . . what was playing. But I saw a big sign, "No Jews Allowed." Maman, it wasn't there yesterday" (493). Family members are often separated because only one has the proper papers (this is frequently the children). Thus they have to face what comes ahead by themselves and feel the impacts of isolation. Rachel is given the new name by her father and told she is being sent where she has no friends or relatives all by herself. ---"RACHEL. Why can't we go together? LEON. Because, you're the only one who has the right papers. [ . . . ] RACHEL. Do we have relatives there? LEON. No. RACHEL. Friends? LEON. Madeleine Petit will make some" (495). Often families had to sell their possessions for money because their businesses were shut down. Rachel's parents sacrificed some of their most prized possessions just to sustain themselves and to get papers for Rachel's travel. ---"RACHEL. Maman, where's the lace tablecloth? PAULINE. Rented rooms cost money. RACHEL: (Horrified.) You sold it! [ . . . ] You said you'd never do that. No matter what happened. [ . . . ] LEON. Things are replaceable. Lives are not!" (498). "RACHEL. Oh papa, you loved that pocket watch. It was Grand-pere's. LEON. Yes. (Hugs Rachel tightly.) But I love my daughter more!" (500). Non-Jews are offered money for turning Jews in and some see more than happy to do it. Yvette, though assuming the man the saw shot was a criminal, notices that there is a reward for turning in any Jew and seems excited at the prospect. "There's a five hundred Franc reward for turning in a Jew! Right here. Look. On page two. And I saw him. Five hundred francs! I could have fed my whole family for a month!" (502). ---The Nazi's confiscate anything that may contradict their propaganda—for example, radios. "MARIE-THERESE. English? Sometimes at night we can pick up the British broadcast on the radio. (To Pere Antoine.) Now, the Nazi's arrest you for listening. They don't want us to hear the real news!" (509). Jews attempting to escape or are caught hiding are blatantly shot. While on the train, Rachel, Yvette, and Pere Antoine are witness to a Jewish man being shot while trying to run away. ---"(SOUND: A GUNSHOT. RACHEL screams and buries her head)" (501).
Annotate how the Nazis are depicted.
Cowardly, nervous, terrified, a shell of what they sued to be, fascinating creatures compared to the cruel terrors they had once been, made me think of a trapped animal, sweaty,
How are Nazi's depicted after the war?
Cowardly, nervous, terrified, a shell of what they sued to be, fascinating creatures compared to the cruel terrors they had once been, made me think of a trapped animal, sweaty,
What do the people at the Beje practice until they can do it in 70 seconds?
Disappearing into the hiding place room. This includes turning over their bed so they can't feel for a warmspot and taking all their possessions with them to leave no evidence of their being there.
What were the effects on survivors of the post-war trials of the Nazi's. "Esther"
Fearful of them at first, and then incredibly angry; felt like no one cared about the atrocities they committed. Even when they were finally put away they were still afraid. Angry during the trails because they are telling the truth and the other is trying to destroy them as if they were on trial—snickers, laughter and disrespect.
"Maus" Discuss the immediate days after liberation in a solid paragraph that emphasizes the problems. (Go back and reread the ending cause I missed this)
Finding out who was your enemy and who wasn't, the Germans that would come by and threaten your death Eating food could kill you/some were too far gone difficult to find loved ones and often assumed dead having no home to go back too because it was destroyed or you were unwanted
How does this play include the many aspects of what we have read about the holocaust? "Shayna Maidel"
Guilt over surviving Thinking something more could be done (constantly reflecting on what happened) Unable to feel peaceful or have normal interactions
What are their 2 post war plans? (Hiding place)
Have a large house for people damaged by the concentration camp to come until they were ready for the world and to make a camp into a home people who had been warped by a philosophy of hate and force could learn another way, where there were no walls or barbed wire and where people could learn to love, and to make a home that lets in anyone who needs to get back up on their feet after the war.
When Corrie asked a pastor-friend to help hide a mother and her baby, what was his response?
He claimed she should not get involved—was very shocked—and said that it was dangerous business and they should think of their own family.
"Maus" What is the significance of the last 3 frames and tombstone picture?
He is with Anja and Richieu again and also that the story is not all of it. We can never fully know because we can't experience it ourselves represented by the "enough stories for tonight Richieu" There is so much that can't be fully communicated to Art.
Why was Peter arrested?
He played the Holland national anthem
Compare the dream of her mother to Rochelle Sutin's dream in "Esther"
Her mother told her to go to the barn, which ended up being a safe place His mother told him Rochelle would be coming and it ended up saving her life
"Maus" What does the book say about these questions: Is it possible to recapture history accurately? How much of memory is flawed? (At least a paragraph)
History is filtered through real people and people are flawed, one perspective will not be perfect, things will be forgotten or missed, Anja is clearly remembered only for the good when there must have been some bad. One perspective doesn't know everything.
What is the significance of the shoebox "Shayna Maidel"
It has their family history, proof of who they are (562) Has pictures of when times were good and happy
What principles of ethics or spirituality are present in "The Hiding Place" examples
It is not ethical to lie even if for a good reason, what will be will be by the will of God. ---Nollie tells the truth about the people hiding under the table --Her daughter giving up Analiese as a Jew even with her perfect papers We are equal people and our lives are worth no more than anthers --voting for Mary to stay in the home even though she was a liability It is wrong to kill someone just because they are lost. Instead pray for them. --Corrie is asked to kill a man and instead offers to pray for him --Basically everything Betsie does Pray in times of struggle and recognize God's will in all situations. --Corrie praying thanks for her father's release from this hell
What lesson does she learn as they march naked past the guards?
Jesus has been just as humiliated when he was killed
What event seemed to trigger the raid?
Jop was captured by the Gestapo and taken to Amsterdam for questioning where they believe he spilled the beans (in actuality it was the man who visited and claimed his wife had been taken because they had kept Jews and the Gestapo had come and he needed ration cards and she rated herself out)
"Maus" What are the effects on the reader of the constant shifting between past and present?
Keeps reader aware of Art's perspective of a second generation or someone who didn't experience it and is just imagining it in his head
What easy jobs do Corrie and Bestsie get? What is the side benefit of it?
Knitting—Betsie can minister to those around her and isn't physically taxing Fabricating radios for the military—Corrie, it is a job she loves to do because she gets to work with intricate parts of technology.
Who says, "How can you believe in god now? What kind of God would have let that old man die here in [prison]?"
Lieutenant Rahms
What unwelcome visitor arrives in Uniform? (The hiding place)
Otto, the German apprentice who had studied watchmaking under them, just as rude as ever I might add.
"Babi Yar" know what happened there an its location.
Ravine on the outskirts of Kiev, was the site of the Nazi massacre of over thirty thousand Russian Jews. Over the months more Jews, Gypsies, and Russian POW's were executed raising the death toll to close to a hundred thousand people. Biggest SINGLE killing in the entire war (in a couple day span)
What does she do with the red towel and cellophane?
Red towel: pulls it apart and sews the thread into her pajamas to add color and creat shapes like flowers and such Red Cellophane: Places it over the light so it covers the room in a warm, red glow
"Maus" What survival techniques were employed by prisoners? Give at least 5.
Reparing (shoes repair, tin smith, thinking on your feet and lying about skills and then adopting them) Standing in middle of food line (not all water but not all gone) Passing food to one another Boxes of things to bribe with Hiding in the back room (or close to end of the line) during selection Ting up a hamak in the train as to not get stampeded
Compare Rose and Lusia and their different backgrounds "Shayna Maidel"
Rose: Typical American childhood Believes in having fun and enjoying yourself, struggles to understand her sister Lusia: Lived through holocaust Needs things to be clean and tidy Touchy about most things and feels the need to apologize Can't be peaceful
"Babi Yar" Note the various people the speaker identifies with. Significance.
Russian—He is a Russian who wishes he was Jewish (that everyone could feel the same way) All the Jews he will pretend to be to take on the penalty of anti-sematic people, taking on the shame of being crucified and the struggle through the desert, story of Dreyfus (French Jew wrongly accused of spying for Germans and put on Devil's island, just because he was a Jew he was treated poorly), a young boy who is being beaten, he is hiding like Anne Frank; as if he were taking on the suffering of these other Jews
What miracle happened to paralyzed Mama at Nollie's wedding?
She began to sing her favorite hymn "Fairest lord Jesus" when she had not been able to speak more than 3 words since her paralysis. Afterwards she returned to only be able to say those 3 words and died 4 weeks later.
Why does Corrie stop playing cards in Jail?
She couldn't stand how she made her worry/assigned meanings to her loses and wins. Plus it was hard to sit up so long.
Though Corrie had a packed emergency bag, why did she reluctantly leave it?
She had shoved it in front of the secret panel and to grab it would risk exposing them
Nollie believed she should tell the truth when police question her. She admits that Annaliese is Jewish, so she is arrested. What happens to annaliese?
She is taken to a holding for Jews to later be transported to an extermination camp, BUT it gets broken into and she along with 40 others escape
What was Corrie's dream?
She saw the Grote Markt, the town hall and St. Bavo's and the fish mart as an old fashioned farm wagon pulled by four black horses with her father, Betsie, and herself in it. Pickwick and Toos, Willem and Peter as well. They were being taken away even though they didn't want to go.
Note the emotional baggage in "Esther"
She still feels the need to hide even after being safe.
What prevents Corrie's release?
She was sent to the hospital for Edema (They are not allowed to leave seeming as if they are damaged or sick)
In what sense was Corrie an early feminist?
She was very business oriented in her family and very much was the one who ran it—even going to school to learn how to repair watches themselves and became the first female licensed watchmaker in Holland.
Be able to explain the reference to Superman (Not the comic book/movie one). What philosopher used the term? Meaning? Relevance here? "Steps beyond the grave"
Supermen was a term first coined by a German philosopher that meant some men were superior in their genes than others. It is relevant here because they nazi's believed themselves to be these super men and that it gave them the right to exterminate those they viewed as weaker than them.
What was Corrie's first conscious lie?
Telling the police that they only had one radio. (which she was upset about because of how easy it was to say).
What events remind them of the Old Testament story of Elijah and the unending oil in the widow's jar?
The Davitamon bottle continued to produce drops no matter how many drank from it—there always seemed to be one left
compare the feelings and behavior of the Jewish and German children of the next generation from "Next generation"
The Germans seem more embarrassed and scared to reveal that they are German. They feel the need to make right the mistakes and atrocities of their fathers. (makes pilgrimage to Israel and Ashuwitz. The Jew seems to be just unsure of all that occurred, if they weren't there they are just as much in the dark as everyone else.
"Maus" Evaluate the use of the cartoon/comic format for a serious topic in at least a solid paragraph. (Many of the same events and themes we have seen before are repeated here. How does the graphic format alter the readers' perception of those events and themes?)
The comic format almost distances the story from people and illustrates the animalistic way in which the Nazi's exterminated the Jews, like cats do to mice. They don't treat each other like the same species. The animals also all look the same unless you can tell them apart by clothing—which in the camps is impossible because of the uniform. This plays on how the Nazi's viewed Jews not only in a vermin way but also as a group with no individuals. Yet, despite the fact they all appear the same, when we get to know more about some of the characters we see they are very different from one another and it does make a statement on how you can't just divide people by race and see them all as one thing. The art is also very jarring, it pulls us away form what we normally expect a comic to be—funny or lighthearted—and turns it into sometimes grotesque imagery—for example, time flies, the opening image of chapter two.
For whom does Corrie first open her old home, the Beje?
The feeble minded
What does the title mean "Shayna Maidel"
Title means "Pretty girl" Is what Rosa called the picture of her mother that her father carries around and showed them after Lusia accused him of not getting money to bring them over. Pretty girl is how he wants to remember his wife, also ties in with the shoebox and how it had the happy memories with these people—remember them as they were
What is Vught?
The place they were held/taken to after the bombings at Scheveningen. Is named after the nearest small village. Constructed by concentration camp people to hold political prisoners—they were in the quarantine compound outside of the official structure. Specifically its is Prisoner of war camp: its different than a regular prison.
A piece of metal is found in Corrie's bed from the bombings she had gone downstairs at the time to help Betsie. She says, "what if I hadn't heard her?" What is Betsie answer?
There are no if's in God's world and no places safer than other places the center of his will is our only safety—let us pray we always know it.
How does Corrie's contact plan to get ration cards for 100 people?
To act like they were stolen while he was on the job. He highered someone to come and "rob" them, tying up him and one other guy and beating them up. Later they formed a system where Fred would come to the shop with his shirt stuffed of cards, walk through to the meter where the bottom step could be lifted up and there was a secret compartment hatch in the bottom step, and then leave (first time they tried it a policeman showed up)
The guards threaten prisoners with the bunkers. What are they?
They are a hole in the ground about the size of a gym locker where the prisoners who misbehave are kept with their hands tied above their heads.
Note the effects of Holocaust on all survivors "Shayna Maidel"
They constantly remember the effects of what happened (eg. Lusia seeing her mother as if she were there and thinking about how she should have just listened) Restless, hard to sit still
Why do the fleas become a blessing?
They have little to no supervision because none of the officers want to get anywhere near the fleas. this allows them to have bible studies and some enjoyment in barracks
Compare the prisoner's treatment of their captors to that of the forest partisans of their German prisoners in Jack and Rochelle?
They seem even more viscous than those in the woods, ripping at flesh and trampling him, but it seemed they were also much better at containing their rage when they need to. For example, the people in the forest wouldn't even listen to anyone before going right into beatings while the camp they listened patiently to the American officer, held themselves back, and once he was gone let out their wrath. Ironic about it: they have become and lost what it is to be human and civilization, they have lost order from their years without. The Germans were determined to term them into animals so they grunt and growled and teared them apart like they wanted. Consumed by hatred.
"Maus" What does the book say about the relationship between Holocaust survivors and their children? (At least a paragraph)
Vladek is really insistent on not being left alone/being surrounded by family. Because of age and recent abandonment by his second wife who couldn't handle his eccentricities, he wants to be with his son all the time despite his sons protest. Not only is there the barrier of the holocaust between them but also of growing up in different countries with Art having been raised in America. Yet, despite not having gone through it, Art shows a great interest in the holocaust and the horror seems to follow him, like when he is drawing or walking and you see dead bodies lying on the streets of the pages. Their relationship is strongly influenced by the guilt his father feels by surviving Auschwitz and consequently Art feels that guilt as well—this is what generates a good chunk of their conflict and arguments along with the idiosyncrasies adopted by many holocaust survivors—Vladek's being having to count everything. This often makes them difficult to connect or be around their parents. It is difficult to understand their parents' misery and compulsions—especially for Art when Vladek rarely mentions how he feels about the events of the holocaust. Art always felt compared to his father by his father because his father compares everything to his own survival of Auschwitz. (44). His father clearly never let go of his first kid and wanted Art to be like him, as evidenced by the final page when Vladek calls him Richieu. He hardly talks about his feelings towards what happened in the holocaust, which then makes his behaviors confusing to his child. All he is seeing the death of other people when looking at his child but because he is not the ones who died he cannot measure up. (Its also easy to remember the good time not the bad)
What embarrassing question did Corrie ask and what was Papa's response?
What is sexsin? that some knowledge is too much to cary and it will be carried for you until you can take it.
What is one occasion when Papa teaches Corrie a lesson with the story of when he gives her a ticket before boa rind a train and not any sooner? good gives us strength when we need it.
When she held the hand of a dead baby and was struggling with the concept of death nd the inedibility that her parents would be dead when she needed them.
List two reasons Irene helps the Jews in "Nobody has the right to kill"?
a. She wasn't raised to be involved in politics and so wasn't exposed to anti-Semitism. She was encouraged to love and be at peace with all people, so she partially attributes her decisions to her upbringing. " Although we had a sheltered life, my parents raised me to respect the Ten Commandments and to be at peace with God and people [...] it was unbelievable to me that any human being could be so mean to others (447-48). As well as, "I did not think of them as different because they were Jews" (149). b. She greatly valued human life both because of how she was raised and because of her inner nature. It is what she was taught in church, it is what she knew as a decent human being. "'I know only one thing. They are my friends. I had to do it [...] Nobody has a right to kill and murder because of religion or race'" (450).
Foreshadowing of trouble for Jews in early, pre-war chapters (Hiding place).
chapters. (1 pt) Her father reading a passage about a hiding place (23). Her brothers doctorial thesis (13). The mention of how Jewish business were closed. "[...] recently several firms with whom we had dealt for years were simply and mysteriously "out of business." William believed it was part of a deliberate and large-scale move against Jews; everyone of the closed businesses was Jewish" (13). The burned Jewish man who escaped from Germany in a milk cart, had his face burned by teenagers, and Willem brought home. "In front of his right ear dangled a gray and frizzled ringlet, like th hair of a very old man. The rest of his beard was gone, leaving only a raw and gaping wound" (15).
"Maus" Describe the effect of pages 41-43 on you. Why do you think the author included this section?
i. We see people with a mask, they are trying to be divided by race when you can't, labeling them, the holocaust is following him around as he is trying to understand it ii. He shrinks and gets smaller because he feels like a child in a huge world, unaware of what to do and lost in the world iii. Didn't sell it cause it wasn't for entertainment purposes, to make a movie of animals would trivialize the event as a whole.
