Hana Brady, or as she was actually named Hanička Bradyová, was born on May 16, 1931 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (what would be the Czech Republic today). She was a Jewish girl and even though they didn’t practice the religion her parents still wanted her to know about her heritage. She lived in a yellow house above her Family’s store in Nove Mesto, a town in Prague. Hana lived with her brother George and her parents Marketa and Karel. Hana lived a happy life and enjoyed ice skating and fighting with her brother. Hana lover her life in Nove Mesto, but when the Nazis invaded her home her whole life turned upside down.…
Further evidence of Riefenstahl’s exploitation of people is shown with her clear intentions to succeed within the creative arts industry. After seeing the film,…
On Hitler’s Mountain shared the personal account of Irmgard Hunt, a Geman girl, which grew up on the same mountain that was Adolf Hitler’s alpine retreat. She narrated her own and her family’s story from how they lived through many important historical moments in German history. From how the great depression negatively affected her grandparent’s household to how the Nazi ideals put up a division between her own family. She shared anecdotes that she experienced herself growing up in the German society. At first, she did not know any better but as she grew older, she formulated her own opinions of what was going on politically in Germany during the Nazi era. She made clear historical connections of the events that were occurring at those specific times.…
More Jews were killed and rescued in Poland than in any other European nation. Irena Sendler (Kryzanowska) was able to rescue about 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. Sendler was a health worker successful in sneaking children out between 1942 and 1943 by giving them false identification documents and shelter outside of the ghetto. She made over 3,000 false documents for Jewish individuals before she joined the Konrad Zegota Committee. The Konrad Zegota Committee was the council for aid to Jews and was established in Warsaw, Poland in 1942 but Sendler did not join until 1943. In order to escape, Sendler would use ambulances, sewer pipes, underground passages, trolleys, and the courthouse to smuggle children out of the ghetto. She…
When the word “JUDEN” had finally been plastered onto the window of their bakery, Blima knew that her life was about to change forever. This book is called The Story of Blima: A Holocaust Survivor. The Author of the story is Shirley Russak Wachtel. The book is a true story of Blima’s experiences as a young, Jewish girl in Germany. She was taken to a concentration camp. Before the Storm is all about Blima’s life before she was taken, Darkness Falls shares Blima’s story of the horrors she experienced at the concentration camps, and Daylight is when Blima is finally reconnected with some of her loved ones and her life begins to turn around for the better.…
Anne and Margot were sent to the same camp while her mother and father were sent elsewhere. Years later, her father; Otto Frank being the only remaining Frank discovered Anne’s diary and the depth of her thoughts, ambitions, dreams, and intelligence which even he was shocked to discover. Anne Frank often represents the many people who died during the Holocaust, showing people that these victims were actual humans and it really happened. This gave her the title, “The Face of the Holocaust”.…
In conclusion, Irena Sendler was a hero of the Holocaust, because she gave all the children in the Warsaw Ghetto concentration camp, hope. She did something that many people today wouldn’t even think about. Irena risked her life, to save another, even when she knew that this could result in…
S. A Novel about the Balkans, by Slavenka Drakulic, is a story about a Bosnian woman, named S., who was tortured by the hands of brutal soldiers during the Bosnia war. The novel mainly centers on a series of S.’s flashbacks, as she recounts the horrific ill-treatment she endured throughout this time period. Through telling S’s story, the author creates a vivid image of how deep and dark human nature is during wartime. The story is a revelation of the terrifying aspects of war, which include torture, rape and mass murdering/genocide by the occupying forces. Slavenka Drakulic’s story depicts how S. rose above the war crimes and on top of injustice to show the true meaning of human life. During war, almost all men and women involved suffer immensely, however, as portrayed in the novel S., women suffer more through mistreatment, sexual abuse, mishandling and irreversible traumas acted upon by the inhumane soldiers. The events that occurred in Bosnia during the 1990’s will go down in history as one of the most inhuman and cruel time periods ever. Through the character S.,…
“A hero is an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” These words of Christopher Reeve perfectly describe the essence and soul of Corrie Ten Boom – a devout Christian watchmaker who saved nearly 800 individuals from the horrors of World War II, and as a result was placed in a concentration camp herself. To the survivors and their descendants, and even to other Jews, she was their hero. The three main characteristics that classified Corrie Ten Boom as a hero are the following: selflessness, loyalty, and resilience.…
Immaculèe Ilibagiza was a college student in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide in which nearly one million people died. Her story is a remarkable testimony to the power of God’s grace to strengthen us during times of trial and to live the teaching of the Gospel in the face of overwhelming evil. Her story is told in the novel Left to Tell, published in 2006.…
Born in October of 1923, Grese grew up in an ordinary, agricultural German family with four other siblings. As usual, she attended school with her siblings and helped with the household chores. In contrast, Grese’s adolescent years were not in her favor and marked a definite period of change. She was quite enthralled with the Nazi youth organization her father highly disapproved of, the League of German Girls . Later, her mother reportedly committed suicide by drinking hydrochloric acid in 1936 due an affair committed by her father. Two years later, in 1938, Grese’s poor academic performance leads her to leave school and her father’s home at age fifteen in search for work instead. Her first employment was six months at an agricultural farm before working at a hospital. Upon entering the hospital, Grese knew she desired to become a trained nurse and work there permanently. Despite her hard work, the German Labor Exchange denied her request and removed her from the hospital after two years . Once again, Grese found herself relocated and employed at another farm. Although discouraged, she did not protest her employment at the dairy farm and persistently reapplied to become a nurse. Her efforts were rejected a second time in 1942 and was being transferred once more. Only this time, Grese objected the Labor Exchange’s decision to send her away. Irma Grese, now nineteen years old and without a family, quietly left after much deliberation to a job at Ravensbruck Concentration…
Relevance to Audience: When thinking of this brave 13 year old girl, most think of the Jewish culture, Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi Soldiers of Germany. But of us really know the pain and suffering the Jewish victims had to go through just because of what religion they believed in.…
Ida, a Polish film, takes the audience on a journey of the main character’s inner conflict. The film opens with a girl, Ida, who has lived in a convent all her life. Everything changes, however, when Ida is asked to visit her last living relative, her aunt. Upon meeting her Aunt, Ida receives a shocking truth. After walking away from the covenant, Ida struggles to find herself in a world full of strong personalities. She explores the new world and her desires while dealing with finding her parent’s bodies and travelling with her alcoholic, domineering aunt. The director, Pawlikowski, represents Ida’s inner conflict with her religious conviction and her self identity through her limited but powerful words, camera angles that focus on the bottom…
Merida from the Disney Movie Brave is a very unique princess, and she is different than the other Disney princesses in many ways. Her roles are different than the traditional roles used in other Disney movies since she likes weapons and archery, does not want to become a princess, has a strong bond with her family and mother, and emotionally changes throughout the movie. Many Disney princesses do not change or like weapons, nor do they have a strong family bond or do not want to be a princess, yet this makes Merida different from the rest.…
Kindertransport by Diane Samuels is about the harrowing journey that some young children had to take in order to flee persecution during the Holocaust. It was an organised rescue effort that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. I believe Samuels wrote this play about the Holocaust because no lives should go unforgotten, as we should respect and honour those who were killed, but also raise awareness of those few survivors left, so no history repeats itself. It was such a traumatic time for those who lived through it and throughout the play we learn not only what happened to young children and their families, but also the true meaning of relationships and how they can change when really put to the test.…