Beyond The Book Thief: May 2012

Monday, 14 May 2012

By: Fahad Jaffar and Hamed Yousufi

The Kristallnacht

The Kristallnacht was a horrible day in the eyes of millions of Jewish people. On this day tens of thousands of Jews were killed, wounded, or sent to concentration camps. This all started when a seventeen-year-old Jewish boy Herschel Grynszpan shot and killed a German at the German embassy. On November, 9tn Nazi troops and SS troops rolled all over Germany and as they made their way through towns, they would destroy any Jewish property that they could get their hand on. After the attack over 25000 Jews were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. To add to this cruelty the victims that survived and that were not sent to concentration camps had to pay for all damages caused by the Germans. The Germans targeted Jewish shops, stores and synagogues, which are places that Jews go to pray. After the Germans burned the synagogues, they would later be turned into parking lots. In conclusion, the Kristallnacht was a horrifying display of cruelty and racism.

"World War II in Europe." Kristallnacht. The History Place, 1997. Web. 9 May 2012. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/knacht.htm

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Bomb Shelters (Germany)

The article “Defending Against the Allied Bombing Campaign: Air Raid Shelters and Gas Protection in Germany, 1939-1945” by Samuel Crowell is about the argument if in each of the crematoria at Birkenau was equipped with a gas-tight bomb shelter or not which was made by Arthur R. Butz in September of 1996.

In this article, it states that there were different types of shelters and equipment to use. The basic bomb shelter in

Germany

was the home shelters (also known as do-it-yourself shelter). In order for home bomb shelter were made, there had to meet specifications such as rudimentary gas-proofing, at least one emergency exit, and many more. I have learned that the Bomb shelters in Germany used during the 1930s - 1940s protected million of citizens, armies (military) from air attacks and they still exist in today’s society.

Pictures:

Image on the left is a hochbunker or

a above ground bomb shelter.

Image on the left is a blueprint (plans)

for a basement bomb shelter.

Interesting Facts:

· structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks (bombing) from the air

· Many people who were tired of repeatedly interrupting their sleep would go back and forth to the shelters and took up residence in a shelter.

Click here to go to the video:

Significant quotes:

· "Did they deserve any better, these people? How many had actively persecuted others, high on the scent of Hitler's gaze, repeating his sentences, his paragraphs, his opus? Was Rosa Hubermann responsible? The hider of a Jew? Or Hans? Did they all deserve to die? The children?" - Death in p. 375

· “The last time I saw her red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places, it was burned. There were black crumbs and pepper, streaked across the redness.” - Death in p. 12

Click here to go to the article:

Reference:

· “History Revisionism”. Defending Against the Allied Bombing Campaign: Air Raid Shelters and Gas Protection in Germany, 1939-1945. Web. 07 May 2012. <http://vho.org/GB/c/SC/inconabr.html>

· “Grade Saver”. The Book Thief Quotes. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.gradesaver.com/the-book-thief/study-guide/quotes/>

· “Woodland Junior School”. Air Raid Shelters. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/war/shelters.htm>

· “Youtube”. WW2 German Bunker & Shelters near La Prevote, Guernsey. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtXfOHk-oX0>

· “Shmoop University”. The Book Thief War Quotes Page 1. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.shmoop.com/book-thief/war-quotes.html>

By: Tosin Taiwo

Beyond the attire.

During the Hollacaust many of not all of Hitler's party would wear attire with a certain symbol sewed on to the arm, this represented they were apart of the Nazi party. Many of these symbols represent and show other people that you support and or work for Hitler, this can also distinguish who is who In a crowd. Many reasons could be that you did not want to mix a German up with being a Jew because that person could be sent to a gas chamber to die, which was one of the most commons way to kill the Jewish population. One interesting fact was back in 2010 a Nazi costume was spotted at a costume outlet which sparked a complaint from a U.S. based Jewish organization. The complaint was for the immediate "removal.." from the stores as it could and is offensive to many members of the jewish community. After being removed from stores a spokesperson for Don Quijote Co. Stated "We have completely removed the product from out stores." Also including "We take responsibility for selling this product"

Allied Bombing on Germany

On the evening of February 13^th, 1945, the allied planes bombed the defenseless German city of Dresden. This event was named as one of the most disastrous event in World War II. Dresden had no military value; it was just a hospital city for wounded German soldiers. But, in spite of that it was bombed relentlessly. An air force unit was once located there for protection but it was moved to some other place, where it could be of more use. On the day of the bombing there was a circus in town and the citizens felt relatively safe, even though almost every houses were filled with refugees, mostly from Breslau.

It was Churchill and President Roosevelt’s idea to bomb the city and reduce it to ashes. This was done to impress Stalin and show him the power of the Allied forces. 700,000 phosphorous bombs were dropped on the city. Within less than 14 hours, an estimated one-third of the population had died. After the first raid, a huge firestorm erupted within the inner city and the temperature there reached about 1600 degrees Celsius. The second raid came 3 hours later, intended to bring out the civilians from their shelters. The Allied planes bombed Grosser Garten, where most of the survivors had gathered. Within minutes the whole park was ablaze with trees and human limbs. The third raid happened in the morning of February 14^th. American mustangs shot down rescue vehicles and survivors on the shores of the Elbe River. Most people died painlessly; they either simply disintegrated or melted into a think liquid. After the raid was over, the only remains of Dresden was a scorched ruin filled with mutilated corpses.

Read article here.

Interesting Facts

1477.7 tons of High Explosive bomb, the second largest amount of high explosive bombs dropped on Dresden.
Part of the reason for the bombing, as is shown even in officially recorded statements, was to show Russia our bombing capabilities.
On 4 September Hitler promised the crowd at a Berlin rally: "When the British air force drops two or three or four thousand kilograms of bombs, then we will in one night drop 150, 230, 300 or 400 thousand kilograms - we will raze their cities to the ground".
Approximately 85,000 people died directly from the bombing of Hiroshima. 135,000 people died in the bombing of Dresden.
Many nurses stationed at Dresden tried to help survivors by bringing them to the shores of the Elbe River but these people were ruthlessly gunned down by low-flying American Mustangs.

Relevent Quotes:1)"This is Himmel. You got bombed, my girl. Es tut mir leid, Schatzi. I'm sorry, darling."- A man from the LSE, pg-533.

2)"The girl's mouth wandered on, even if her body was now still. She had forgotten her wails for Hans Hubermann. That was years ago - a bombing will do that."- Death referring to Liesel after the bombing, pg-533.

Bibliography:

Angelfire, . "Facts about the bombing." For Those Interested in the Bombing of Dresden. n.d. n. page. Web. 9 May. 2012. <http://www.angelfire.com/ky3/dresdenforschool/>.

BBC, . "Britain bombs Berlin." BBC- History. n.d. n. page. Web. 9 May. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/britain_bombs_berlin>.

By Munzir R. and Saadat H.

The German Resistance

Roland Freisler (centre), gives the salute of the Nazis
at the trialof conspirators.
This trial condemned thousands
of German resistance members to death.

The German resistance was not alone. There were multiple groups who all worked together, opposing the Nazi power. The resistance powers opposed Hitler’s power in a multitude of underground projects and efforts. The resistance movement was not unified. There were different efforts in different countries at varying times. Although not unified they resistance did have some organized groups, with communists leading them. Some of the organisations worked together to take military action against the Nazi power (instead of the usual underground movements). There were many that contributed in different ways to the German resistance of the Nazi power.

Carl Goerdeler, a leader of the July 1944 conspiracy to kill
Hitler stands at the trial mentioned in the caption of the
previous picture. He was also condemned to death.

If you wish to read the full article click here.

In a quick summary the resistance was a group of people who opposed the Nazi power, particularly the Germans within Nazi Germany.

Some interesting facts:

In Nazi Germany, it wasn't rare for a family or a person to be hiding a Jew.
Many of the German resistance groups, such as The White Rose, consisted of university students and were non-violent, they based most of their acts of resistance around leaflets and graffiti.

Relevence to the book:

“Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it for twenty-four hours a day. That was the business of hiding a Jew. ” Liesel page 211

“She imagined herself walking over, gently tearing sme fluffy hair to the side, and whispering into the woman’s ear: There’s a Jew in my basement.” Liesel to Ilsa Herrman page 245

A video of clips from Valkyrie a modern-day film focused on the efforts of German resistance groups.

Citations:

The Article:

"resistance." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 01 May. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/499273/resistance>.
First picture:
Sueddeutscher Verlag Bilderdienst, and DIZ Muenchen GMBH . German Resistance to Hitler . N.d. Photograph. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.Web. 9 May 2012. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005208&MediaId=1573>.

Second picture:
Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz. German Resistance to Hitler . N.d. Photograph. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.Web. 9 May 2012. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005208&MediaId=1552>.
First fact:

Fest, Joachim. Plotting Hitler's Death: The German Resistance To Hitler, 1933–1945. Owl Books, 1997. 252. Print.

Second fact:

Students Against Tyranny: The Resistance of the White Rose, Munich, 1942-1943
White Rose, The (pamphlet) Franz J. Muller,et al., White Rose Foundation, Munich 1991
At the Heart of the White Rose: Letters and Diaries of Hans & Sophie Scholl Inge Jens, ed., Harper & Row, 1987
USHMM
The Novel:
Zusak, Markus. The Book Theif. New York: Knopf, 2006. 221, 245. Print.

Nazis on Jews

By 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany has created around 20,000 camps to take custody of their victims. These camps were used for many reasons. They forced people to work. They also had extermination camps. They built this so they can do a mass murder. The Nazis have built a number of detention facilities so they can eliminate their “enemies of state.” The prisoners in the early concentration camps were German Communists, socialist, social democrats, ect. The meaning of concentration camps means people very held physically in one location. In March 1938, the Nazis arrested German, and Austrian Jews. Nazis opened up camps where thousands of prisoners died from starvation and exhaustion. These camps expanded quickly which lead to Nazi doctors performing experiments on the prisoners. Later during the German invasion of the Soviet Union more camps were expanded and built in Poland. Later these camps became POW camps where thousands of Soviet POWS were killed. In Nazis Germany, those of Jewish race were terrorized to an even greater extent when the Nazis established the “Final Solution” within Poland. These were even bigger concentration camps designed to kill more prisoners at once. Gas was one of their main approaches to kill the Jews. Many prisoners were killed and very few made it out alive due to the conditions the Jewish had faced within of the “Final Solution”.

Facts:

Nazi Germany built 20,000 camps
Nazi created an extermination camp, so they can murder massive amount of people
More than 3 million prisoners have died in the Nazis concentration camps

Significant Quotes:

(393) “He was dead. The man was dead. Just give him five more minutes and he would surely fall into the German gutter and die. They would all let him, and they would all watch.”

(375) "Did they deserve any better, these people? How many had actively persecuted others, high on the scent of Hitler's gaze, repeating his sentences, his paragraphs, his opus? Was Rosa Hubermann responsible? The hider of a Jew? Or Hans? Did they all deserve to die? The children?"

(110) “Today is a beautiful day, not only is it our great leader’s birthday-but we also stop our enemies once again. We stop them from reaching into our minds”

Citation:

United States Holocaust Museum. "Nazi Camps." Holocaust Encyclopedia [Washington] 6 1 2011, n. page. Print. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005144>.

Survivors of the Holocaust. May 1945. Photograph. Retrieved from http://isurvived.org/

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.

Regensburger, Beim. Jews forced to hold up anti- Jew posters. 1938. Photograph. Retrieved from isurvived.org

By: Lahina, Pariza and Siham

Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf was a book written in 1923 by German Nazi Leader Adolf Hitler. In Mein Kampf Hitler depicted his ideas and information about plans for Germany, his youth, and his ideas about race and politics. Hitler divides humans into groups based on appearance and higher and lower order. The two groups he focuses on the most are the Aryans and the Jews. Hitler assigned the highest order to the Aryans. Hitler believed that Aryans were superior because they could bring victory to Germany and they created almost all of the art, science, and technology to be found in the world at that time. Opposing the Aryans were the Jews. He accused that Jews of plotting to control world finances, controlling the press, creating Marxism and liberal democracy, spreading disharmony through culture, and destroying Aryan humanity.

Hitler warned that, alongside the Nazis, he would defeat his old enemy, France. He also wrote that he would invade Russia to obtain more living space for the Aryans and that he would remove, eliminate, or enslave any Slavs, Jews, and Communists.

The ideas presented in Mein Kampf were taught in school and churches and the amount of books sold increased as Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Many Germans at this time bought Mein Kampf as a way to support and worship Hitler. Others used it to simply appear to be a “good German”. While many Jews used Mein Kampf to appear to be German so that they would not be held captive or killed.

Today, Mein Kampf is seen as a warning that was highly persuasive and highly ignored.

Significant Quotes

“It’s the best book ever.” –Max

“He knocked on the door of the Nazi Party office in Molching and took the opportunity to ask about his membership application. Once this was discussed, he proceeded to give them his last scraps of money and a dozen cigarettes. In return, he received a used copy of Mein Kampf.”-Narrator

Resources

Lewis, Thomas Tandy. "Mein Kampf." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 May 2012.

"Hitler's Book Mein Kampf." History Place. N.p., 1996. Web. 8 May 2012. <http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/kampf.htm>.

By: Heather and Ujithra

Nazi's on Communism

Nazi’s on Communism

Communism and Nazism are two different political principles. They oppose each other and one can come across numerous differences between the two. A communist is a person that believes in equality and who is considered as supporting politically leftist or rebellious causes. They believe in the world communist organization, which is a group of people that applied the social principles of communism. Communism can be said to be having foundations in some strong political ideology. Communism stands for a free society where all are equal and every one can participate in the decision making process. The communists want democracy and Nazism to be destroyed, no organized religion in the state as it divides the people, and no wealthy individuals. On the other hand, Nazi’s are on the right of the political spectrum and the call themselves the National Socialists. Nazism is not based on any strong political ideology but only based on racial divide.They believe that other parties, particularly the Communists, should be banned. Nazism stands for socialist policies but also ensures that a wealthy class stays at the control of power. This topic relates to "The Book Thief" because in Part Three, Liesel realized that Hitler was the reason her mom was not able to be found and why she was taken away.

During this treacherous time, Liesel wanted to speak out to the public about the Fuhrer and the Nazi's but Hans told Liesel not to speak out against that outside of the house. Hans told Liesel "Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty - four hours a day." That means that Liesel can barely contain their secret, but after a while the slap becomes normal and the secret along with it.

A video about Nazism and Communism

Interesting Facts

They both have claimed that they were socialists.
They both started the Second World War with their agreement to partition Poland. Both worked together fighting the Capitalists.

Citation:

"Difference Between Communism and Nazism." DifferenceBetween.Net. DifferenceBetween, n.d. Web. 9 May 2012. <http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-communism-and-nazism/>.

Floderus, Anders. "Blogger." Nazism and Communism. Blogger.com, n.d. Web. 9 May 2012. <http://andersfloderus.com/nazi.html>.

Barth, Karl. "Nazism and Communism." Religion-Online.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2012. <http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=400>.

By: Yasir and Emily

Nazi Propaganda

In his book, Mein Kampf (1926), Hitler wrote that propaganda works on the public from the view of the idea and makes them ready for the victory of said idea.

After the Nazi seized power (1933), Hitler created a Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The goal was to successfully communicate the Nazi message.

Nazi propaganda during that time effected many people. The propaganda strongly looked down on Jews.
Propaganda was used to bring out political loyalty, the master race idea, and mislead foreign governments.

Nazi propaganda called out to both civilians and soldiers after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It got them to fight until the very end.

Films were important in promoting the power of German military and hatred towards Jews. These films showed Jews as subhuman and parasites to the “master race”.

Cartoons with the same ideas and themes were printed on newspapers.

Propaganda was to hide the massive killing of Jews. Holocaust victims were forced to be deceitful so that the Jews from Europe were taken away with little or no problems. Prisoners wrote home saying there were good conditions and that they were doing well.

The Nazi regime had used propaganda to gain the support of Germans, motivate the people, and to create millions of bystanders.

Interesting Facts:

· Propaganda of Hitler was to inspire people to work harder and to know Hitler was the absolute head of government and should be worshiped

· Much of the propaganda was implemented through the recently invented radio, as well as through speeches from the main Nazi leaders.

· The Führer worship also helped instill pride in Germany and the Reich among the German population.

Significant Quotes:
(Pg. 445) "...the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words. 'I will never have to fire a gun, I will not have to.'"

(Pg. 445) " His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible."

(Pg. 221)"...he had nothing to give, except maybe Mein Kampf, and there was no way he'd give such propaganda to a young German girl. That would be like the lamb handing the knife to the butcher."

This is an example of a Nazi propaganda cartoon:

Cassandra Leblanc & Vivian Kwok.

Citation:
"Holocaust History." Nazi Propaganda. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005274>.
"Melville House Books." Melville House Books. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://mhpbooks.com/germany-plans-to-reissue-hitlers-mein-kampf/>.
"One Thousand Children: Georgia's Role in the Rescue of Jewish Children." One Thousand Children: Georgia's Role in the Rescue of Jewish Children. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.thebreman.org/exhibitions/online/1000kids/propaganda.html>.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.

The Final Solution - Death Camps

The article “Nazi Camps” by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, illustrates the inhumanity and cruelty of concentration camps in Nazi Germany.

At the height of their power between 1933 and 1945, Nazis of Germany had constructed more than 20 000 camps designed to imprison, to torture and to kill enemies of the Nazis like Jewish people, homosexual people and anyone with different political views than the Nazi party. These people were brought to camps like Dachau or Auschwitz where they were forced into hard labor, temporarily kept, or exterminated efficiently in cruel gas chambers. The forced labour camps in Nazi Germany demonstrate the inhumanity and cruelty directed at the Jewish race. One way this is shown is by the way in which thousands of Jewish prisoners died as a result of exhaustion, starvation and exposure. As well, Nazi doctors used these individuals as medical experiments before releasing drugs to the public. Lastly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Nazi’s established more prisoners of war camp, such as Auschwitz in Poland and Majdanek in Lublin. To efficiently exterminate the Jews, the Nazis created death camps in Poland, where there is a large Jewish population. These camps were designed for efficient mass murder and soon, the Nazis used gas chambers as it “increased killing efficiency” and made the process “less harming for executers.” Only a small amount of Nazi prisoners survived the Holocaust.