Discussion Questions for One Survivor Remembers #Alessandra

1. What scenes or images were most powerful for you, and why? What lessons or messages did these scenes offer?
The scene/image that struck me the most, and made me feel the most emotion was the picture of the building where all of the girls were living. It seemed like a place you would imagine animals living, not humans. I think the message from this scene was that in order to make the Jews feel less human, they tried to make them live as animals.

2. How did the Nazis dehumanize Jews? How did Gerda Weissmann work to overcome dehumanization, and who helped her?
The Nazis did various things. Firstly, they took them away from their homes, loved ones, and all of their possessions. When arriving at the camps, they were forced to be separated from family members. They were forced to shave all the hair on their bodies. The most dehumanizing part of the process, in my opinion, is that no longer did the Jews have names, they were given numbers to be identified by instead. She was helped immensely by the intelligence of her father. He told her to promise him that she would never commit suicide because it was a cowardly thing to do. When she was contemplating jumping onto the train during her days at the camps, she remembered her promise. If her dad had never made her promise, she probably would've done it, and wouldn't be alive today. Also, her Father made her wear ski shoes because he knew that she would need them. While a lot of the girls during the death march, and time at the camps had very injured and disgusting feet, she had ski shoes so that she could handle any weather or terrain.

3. During her ordeal in the Nazi camps, Weissmann says she fantasized about enjoying a simple morning with her family or deciding what dress to war to an imagined party. What simple things in your own life do you think you'd fantasize about if everything were taken away? What ordinary things do you think you take for granted?
I think if I were placed in Nazi camps, and forced to think of things other than death, I would probably think about just a day with my mom and dad. My parents are always very spontaneous, and though sometimes I wish I could just have lazy days, I always end up appreciating the nice times with my family.
I think I take for granted my friends. Sometimes I'm annoyed or angry with my friends, but at the end of the day, their the ones I need the most. There are times I endure things that I don't have the capacity to talk about with my parents, but I've always had friends there for me. Gerda told the story of how she lost a lot of the girls, and her friends during the Death March. I could never relate to that, but if I ever went through that, I wouldn't know how to survive without the daily comfort of friendship.

4. This film focuses on the persecution of Jews in the Holocaust, but others also were murdered, including Soviet prisoners of war, Roma (Gypsies), gays and lesbians, and Communists. In what ways do you see persecution happening in today's world? What groups do you see being targeted? What can be done to work against such prejudice and intolerance?
Not only are there still Nazi, KKK, Hate Groups, along with many others, but a lot of political government arguments are surrounding the topic of gay and lesbian marriage. I think that people need to learn to accept the different types of love that people have for each other. If I ever wanted to marry a woman, I would most definitely want people in support of me. The intolerance that people have for gay marriage is unacceptable. People should be able to love who they want, and should be able to show that love through marriage.

5. In many ways, this film is about hope for the future. Who are the heroes of this film? What did they do that makes you hopeful? What can you do to help make the world a better place?
I think the heroes of this film are the man who came to liberate Gerda and the other girls, as well as Gerda's Father, and the woman who ran the camp Gerda was placed in. These people make me hopeful because they had the knowledge, bravery, and overall passion for helping themselves, and others. I do not believe that all Germans were bad, or are bad today. I believe that there were and are kind Germans who felt sympathetic towards the Jews and others who were being slaughtered and forced into slavery. It makes me hopeful to believe that even though there were horrific, and beastly German characters, some of them were willing to help provide for others. I think, though I am of a young age that I can still have a say in what is morally right, and wrong. I can make the world a better place by showing my love for people of all race, religion, and any belief different or the same as mine.

Sarah's Key Blog #3

In the book Sarah’s Key, main character, Sarah lives in France as a peaceable but hidden family. Her family is pleasant, full of love, but also living in ignorance to any of the French and German alliances created overtime. It wasn’t until soon before they were captured that they finally decided to go into hiding, and ultimately hide the Father due to recent capturing of just men. Before any of the fearsome things and complete invasion of Jewish people in France, the Starzinsky family was unaware that it was their own policeman hunting them down. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website says, “During the interwar period, France was on of the more liberal countries in welcome Jewish immigrants…” For the Starzinsky’s France had always accepted them and they were never lead to fear the people of their town.

After Sarah and her family were taken to the stadium, then leading that, the camps, they were taken by surprise and the author said, “The girl did not understand, these were French policeman, not Germans.” No one at first understood why the French were taking them, but soon everyone was aware of the bond between the two countries of France and Germany. Eventually when Sarah and her family had arrived at the camps they were separated from each other. Sarah was forced to be with the children, her mother with the other woman, and father as expected- with the men. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website says,  “Police razzias literally tore families apart, as parents, grandparents, and elder siblings were separated from younger children at collection points and at French or German assembly camps.” At first, the French were only taking one member of each family (primarily the men). The tradition of only taking the men had ended when the French made the decision to take whole families then separate them at the camps.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "France." Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States         Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005429>.

Sarah's Key Blog #2

The protagonists in contrast to one another in books, Sarah’s Key and Annexed are very different. What I’ve found so far is that in books about the Holocaust the characters often go into the story with a positive and brave attitude. Those same characteristics are not displayed in the main character of Annexed. In Annexed, author Sharon Dogar creates a main character that is ashamed of his heritage (Judaism) and who wishes he could just be plain old Peter instead of “the Jew.” Peter lives and grew up in Amsterdam. For most the entirety of the book he displays his somberness because of the capturing of his girlfriend. It’s the fact that his girlfriend was taken that makes him sad and shameful. When he’s captured he still does not believe he will survive, though he hopes he will.

           

            In contrast to Sarah, in Sarah’s Key Peter is short of all her bravery. Sarah gets increasingly worried about the safety of her brother, Machel. It is her bravery and will to survive that keep her alive during the many days in the stadium. Unlike Peter, Sarah is from France. The French army was working with the Germans in order to treat Jews in France equally as bad as in other parts of Europe. Just like how the Germans ordered, the French Jews were transported to various labor, death, and concentration camps in Europe.