Schindler's List

Was Schindler a hero? A bystander? Or was he doing it for his own selfish reasons? Well, I simply believe it's all of them. Confusing I know but when you think about it, Schindler never stopped the cause or stood up to it, he never said that it was wrong or took a stand. But he also kept thousands of Jews from going off to those awful camps and getting killed, instead, he gave them a purpose in life, and some money. But was he doing that to make his life easier? Probably, but when those Jewish women were accidentally taken away to Auschwitz, he did pay a fortune to get them back. He certainly did think what was going on was wrong, you could tell when he was on the hill looking down at the blood being spilled in the drains. But he didn't try to prevent anything from happening, he just reduced it. I think Schindler was a hero, for doing what he can and saving thousands of lives but at the same time having them work for him.

Sonia Weitz- Victory

I chose the poem Victory by Sonia Weitz, a very touching poem about Sonia and her father having one last dance together before he was sent away to be killed. This was a very moving poem especially for me because I love my dad so much, and thinking of me and him together knowing I will never see him again, just breaks my heart. The part where it says "My lovely father (once big and strong)" was touching because it was saying that the concentration camps or death camps, make great strong people into small weak beings that don't have a purpose in life anymore. Also how Sonia was so hungry and so scared but when she was with him, none of that mattered and in fact almost went away. That's what really pulled at my heart, because when you love someone so much that they can make you feel safe even though your destined to die and that person is just taken away from you because of your religious beliefs, it must be the toughest thing anyone has ever had to endure. This made me extremely sad, it's even making me teary eyed. I think that it's so unfair just to separate this little girl and her father because of what they believe in.

What Caused the Holocaust?

Back a long long time ago when World War 1 ended, there was quite a massive downfall in the German society due to the Treaty of Versailles. The economy plummeted which lead to hyperinflation. Hyperinflation was a serious event in Germany. What happened was that economy wasn't doing well, so they printed money to see if that helped. Well it didn't. What happened is when you print money, you have to print it carefully because you need to make sure that you don't print too much and have it lose it's value. Well that's what happened. Germany was weak, looking for a leader. They wanted somebody to blame. Adolf Hitler saw it as an opportunity and tried to take over. The first time didn't work, but then the leader died, and he was appointed Chancellor. He made it very clear that the reason they lost the war was because of the Jews. He wanted an ideal German (blonde with blue eyes and non-jewish). And since the people wanted somebody to blame and Hitler was such a convincing speaker, they bought it. So, it was basically a series of lucky events for Hitler. And that is how he came about.

The Nuremberg Race Laws

Now, a Jew wouldn't be defined as someone who has relatives that are Jews. Nowadays, a Jewish person would be defined as a individual with different beliefs. Aryanizing mean that all businesses run by Jews were dismissed or called off, and/or taken over by non-Jewish businessmen. Professional Jews such as doctors weren't allowed to treat non-jewish patients. Also, jewish lawyers weren't allowed to practice law. "The for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of the German People"was a law that all Germans had to obey. Basically you had to get a certificate from the official health authorities of Germany if you wanted to get married. But you weren't given a certificate if you had a hereditary disease or illness.

Hitler Takes Control: Targeting the Communists and other Political Parties

Civil rights are rules to keep freedom amongst other people with different ethnicities, religions, and gender. Some examples of civil rights are (in America) African-American people are allowed to sit anywhere on a bus, and also there's a law against slavery.

Hitler made people believe that what he was doing to jews was the right thing to do. How? Well, he convinced people that anyone different wasn't good for the country. Hitler persuaded people into believing that by killing off all of the jews, he was making it a better place for everyone else to live. So it was a small sacrifice in comparison to them.