Reunion

‘The weak individual is intimidated by the political movements of his age; the strong individual rises above political movements and remains true to himself.’ How is this shown to be the case in Fred Uhlman’s Reunion?

“It is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge.” This quote by Hitler demonstrates how people that stay true to themselves and their beliefs are a lot harder to deceive then those who just rely on knowledge. Han’s Father is a great example of a strong individual who is not easily fooled. In comparison a good example of a weak individual would be Konradin who is very much intimidated by the Nazi Party and their views.

Han’s Father is one character in this book that was never intimidated by the political movements as he had fought for Germany in WW1 and felt he had earned his place in society. When the Zionist comes to collect money for Israel, Han’s Father becomes outraged and explains “I should favour the complete absorption of Jews by the Germans if I could be convinced it would be of lasting profit to Germany.” Han’s Father demonstrates that he is staying true to what he believes in which is his Country.

Konradin is an example of a weak individual, which is apprehensive to the Nazi Party. Even though Hans is his best friend, when it comes to exposing his friendship to the rest of society, especially his parents he is very hesitant, as they despise Jews. “I didn't dare talk to you... I didn't want to hurt you... you have no right to reapproach me,” when Konradin says this it just that he is afraid of what would happen if he showed he was friends with a Jew. Even though a best friend is someone you should be happy to show-off, Konradin isn’t, showing that he is afraid of the current political situation.

In contrast Han’s father when in the presence of Konradin changes into a “caricature of his true self.” This is due to the fact that Konradin is the “scion”, which intimidates his father and begins to make up stories to impress Konradin. This lets his character down and changes from the admired father to a dad that his son is ashamed of.

Konradin, through the development and strength of his friendship begins to change and becomes his true self. As the reader believes Konradin is a follower of Hitler “I tell you I believe in this man.” it is a shock to see at the end that he tried to murder him. Han’s really opened Konradin’s eyes to a whole new perspective and gave him the courage for him to stand up for what’s right. This is a great way to end the book and his character really steps up and becomes someone who you can be proud of.

‘It is not the truth that matters, but victory.’ Hitler only cared about power and was just brainwashing the people of Germany to believe whatever he wanted. The book Reunion shows the ups and downs of characters and how the political movements of the time intimidated the weak. The up side was the courage shown by the characters and how they stood up for what’s right and followed their moral values.