Chapter 2 (Neuweiler - Leyton - Jander)

1) What characters are introduced?

The Fleischmanns, the two Annamarie's friends and the Steiners.


2) Choose two characters and select a quote to describe them physically or psychologically.

Uncle Lajos: "We must accept God's ordinances in regard to us, at which she held her tounge".
So it is deduced that Lajos is a very religious person, one that handles Hebrew well.

Annamarie's friend: "We Jews are different from other people".
This quote gives a psychological profile of the character, one that realized that Jews were being excluded from society; so this character is a melancholi, realistic one.


3) What is the narrative technique? Provide evidence.

The narrator is in first person, and it is a protagonist narrator too: all the book is told in the perspective of George Koves. "This evening I was with her in the other room to look..." (Page 33)

4) Describe the setting of this chapter.

The setting is: Csespel, George's city of origin: Budapest (in which we can find his house and Annamarie's). The season was Summer. It was in the middle of WWII.

Chapter 8 Summary

Chapter 8: The chapter opening includes Georg Koves in the Buchenwald camp, where he gives us a vision of how the showers where, and his excitement because of the hot water. He is transported into a real bed, with real treatment. For him, things were starting to change. Food started increasing, and he met a guy named November that was next to his bed.  He tries to comunicate with the other patients that were with him; and also met a French doctor who gave him sugar lumps. The chapter continues with hope expectations, each time more atention, less hunger; better living. He spent in bed most of the time, knowing that now he has just survived.

Pietka is introduced in the novel as a new character, a man who valued freedom like nobody else. Later on, he stole a rifle; and say a few words to the whole camp: "We are free!"

Oral presentation: Mazes in Chapter 8

* 1.- The maze or labyrinth remounts it’s origins in the greek culture, the first one was built by Daedalus for King Minos to contain the titan known as the minotaur. The mazes were distinguished beacuse of their complexity and miles of lenght, the ones who managed to enter and leave were considered heroes.
* Labyrinth were sometimes used as a way to punish prisoners, and many of them died inside because they didn’t managed to find the exit.
* The point here is that a maze can be considered many as a prison or a way to be trapped, taking the freedom away, and bringing a claustrophobic feeling. Mazes are even used in many pshycological tests to demostrate the tendence of independence that one has.
* There is also a phenonenom called “mental maze”, which means that the pacient has a limited vision of the world, is trapped in a mental illness to be psychollogically disturbed. An example of that is a case of a father that locked his daugter in the basement of the house for 24 years, in Austria, and the girl in the end needed 1 month of psychological treatment to answer the questions that the police made to her.

* 2.- Just as we saw in the interview with Imre Kertész,  there is a comparisson between the labour camps and the labyrinths.  Both have very similar functions , not specific ones but according to the message they want to transmit. Labour Camps and mazes have very similiar architecture, they are usually closed spaces with one entrance that was used as an exit too; they where made specially for locking up someone inside so they has solid mechanisms such as walls and paths.
* Both camps and mazes change people, insert fear in them.  Both of them lows the self-esteem in prisioners, and increase the claustrophobia. Having this conditions, anyone who is inside can be considered a slave of his own mind.
* It is because of this that many people (Jews for example) that were on the labour camps didn’t even manage to complain about their living conditions, because they knew they were trapped. Some people even commited suicide because of this; their freedom was taken away along with their dignity . This atrocities can be perfectly compared to slavery, and if not it’s definitely worse. 

* 3.- In chapter 8, there are 2 mazes that can be found: the physical and the psychological one. 
* The first one can be found clearly all along the chapter; it’s the Buchenwald concentration camp. It’s well known due global history that this was one of the principal camp in the whole holocaust. So this would the first maze in the chapter; the physical space in which Georg Koves is in, one that doesn’t allow him even think in get out of there. He was under constant surveillance, and slept in a very close space with alot of other children; and made a friend that was a prisoner doctor, that felt affection for children that spoke french; and later on he establishes friendship with Georg.
* The second one is the psychological maze that can be found in the chapter, in several moments of it. In the first pages of the chapter, Georg states that he loved the showers of the cap, that were actually in very poor and in bad conditions. Later in the chapter, he is assigned to sleep on a box with quilts above. This is what he though about it: “To begin with, I couldn’t believe my own eyes. Over on the left I could see two rows of regular boxes there too,  except the planks were covered by a layer of pink, green, and mauve quilts.” (page 193). This proofs that Georg’s mind has been changed. At the beggining of the novel, he was a kid with normal manners; but now he has been in the maze too much, he finds what is something miserable attractive and comfortable. He was happy because he would sleep in a box with quilts in it.
* So it’s very clear that Mazes were present in the novel, specifically on chapter 8, such as mental and concrete ones. This is a topic that the same Imre Kertész has stated as something relevant in history of humanity, and it’s something worth of a monument in Berlín.

Nazi Propaganda

What political message(s) are these pictures trying to convey?
They show socialism as something superior and German citizens must vote for it (Hitler's party), that it's going to bring order and peace to the country.

What image of Germans are these pictures trying to convey?
These pictures try to convey that with Hitler in command; Germany can be a very powerful country and military force. With the concept of Hitler in command, he would be the "absolute leader".

How do they portray this image?
The posture Hitler adopts in this picture gives him an image of a "serious leader", one who would do anything for the prosperity of his country.

 What colors are used?
The pictures that express peace use light colours; happy ones. In the other hand, the ones that have war meanings and Jewish have dark and serious tones.

How do the people look?
German civilians look very happy in the propaganda, military autorithies look serious and Jewish people look very sad.

What characteristics of these men are similar?
Both civilians and militaries look satisfied of that political totalitarism; obviously for the convinience of them both.

How do the artists convey these characteristics?
Artists use different colours and faces expressions in their works (paintings, pictures) to reflect a certain emotion emanated by the image itself, to give "life" to it. The principal propaganda minister of the Nazi party was Joseph Goebbels, known because of his many works for Adolf Hitler, making one of the biggest campaigns ever known. They might have been evil, but they were very clever.

War Meditation

World War II, which started at 1939 and ended at 1945, is considered by many the worst event that human history has faced, ever. Besides all the cities reduced to ashes, the human casualties (estimated in millions), and the nuclear disasters at the end; there is one especific fact that was considered a real atrocity. The slavery and concentration camps. It is known that the number of civilian casualties was two times bigger than the military ones; a total of 40 million above the 20 million. From the 60 million deaths, the 10% of them where from The Holocaust. This means that from each 10 deaths, 1 of them was a slave (probably a jew) , that was been slaughtered in forms that many people could not ever imagine. That's why to many people, WWII was considered the apocalypse. The human race was self-destroying. Europe was hell and Adolf Hitler was the devil. But there is light even in the darkest corner. There where bystanders that simply couldn't stand this massacre, so they decided to act; and one of them is Oskar Schindler. If Hitler was the devil, Schindler could be compared to an angel.

Who was Oskar Schindler?

Oskar Schindler was an ethnic German industrialist born in Moravia. Well, let's skip the biography and head to the important information. Schindler saw the war as something profitable, and he owned factories in which weapons and ammunition was produced. When the Germans started pirsuiting the jewish, Oskar and his german speaking Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern obtained 1,100 Jew workers to work for them. First, it was the money that motivated this businessman to use Jews as employees, but all changed with time. Schindler started to feel that he was doing wrong, so he changed the conditions in which the Jews worked; including less hours of work, time to pray and better food. Also, Oskar did alot of ilegal activities, such as buying products for their Schindlerjuden ("Schindler's Jews") in the black market, and bribing German officers to mantain all the Jews that he could afford to. His charms and negotiation habilites made him a very respectable man in his country. After the war, he ended in bankrupt because he spent all his fortune in bribes and goods from the black market to his workers. He survived because of the charity of many Jewish organizations, at least until 1974, when he died with 66 years of age due a liver failure. At the moment of his death, he had no money; the hospital was being payed by the German goverment. Schindler's grave is located on the mountainside below Zion Gate and the Old City walls. Stones placed on top of the grave are a sign of gratitude from Jewish visitors, according to Jewish tradition. This stones have been placed by the families he saved. In the end, he saved around 1200 Jewish lives. Schindler became famous because of a novel called "Schindler's Ark", and because of a film called "Schindler's List". It was directed by Steven Spielberg and won the Academy Award for Best Pitcure/Movie. In the middle of the most catastrophic event ever, there was still hope in some places.

 "I knew the people who worked for me... When you know people, you have to behave towards them like human beings."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Schindlergrave2010.jpg

Refugee Blues, WWII Poetry

1-As you read in the introduction, the poem was written half a year before the outbreak of World War II. However, the reader can pinpoint the three major protagonists whose paths will cross tragically in the course of the war. Complete the following sentences:

1. The victims are the Jews
2. The perpetrators are the Nazis
3. The bystanders are the Germans / Europeans

2 -What particular factors led an individual to be defined as belonging to this or that group?

Nazis had a model of the perfect citizen: it was blond with blue eyes. However, they accepted German citizens in their mayority; and christians too. They divided the bands of war into two groups; allies and foes.  The mayor division of groups were the Jews. Jews were pursuited and executed during many years, they were sent to the concentration camps too. Other group that was considered a foe were the homosexuals; Nazis executed them without taking them to a court. Black people and the ones with another religion were also considered a threat.

3- Of the three groups, which was the largest? Is their any connection between your answer and the term ‘The Silent Majority’?


The bystanders composed the larger group, and they relate directly to the term "The Silent Majority" because many of them just watched the events without having any intervention, any opinion; and the term "Majority" is applied because they were in a larger number

4- What possible relationships could have developed between the victims and the bystanders?

It's a fact that many victims established friendship with many of the bystanders. Some bystanders betrayed de refugees, but many of them protected them; sometimes even hiding them in their houses.

5-Auden presents different situations in which prohibitions against the victims multiply and effectively turn them into refugees. Identify and list some of these prohibitions. What does it mean to have these things taken away from you?
Among this prohibitions are that Jews couldn't go to many public places, such as meetings and churchs. Besides they were pirsuited by German soldiers. This basic things that are taken away make this refugees look like animals; even worse, treatment to them is beyond cruelty.

6-State bureaucracies are crucial in the lives of ordinary citizens, not to mention threatened population groups like the homeless or people evicted from their homes. Identify the different functionaries or objects that represent bureaucracies for Auden.

In the poem there are stated each of the objects that represent bureaucracies; such as the passport (the jews are stated to have "old ones" and being denied each time they show it), the  consul (which prevented them to leave), the committe (told them to wait), and the public meeting (that accussed them of stealing the food).

7-In your opinion, who is a refugee? Can one become a refugee in one’s own home?

In my opinion, a refugee is someone; and it could be anybody, who must hide in order to save his life. Of course that one actually CAN be a refugee inside his own house; in fact many jews were found hidden in their own houses when the nazis occuppied Europe.

8-How can state bureaucracies help refugees or hinder efforts to help?
By changing the laws that bring difficulties to their living conditions, or simply removing them. They can reduce the punishments too.

9-In your opinion, should governments today have the responsibility to take care of refugees in their country? 

Yes. In my opinion, refugee are a priority such as poor people in a country. Most refugees live in a way that many people will consider miserable; some would even prefer death before living like them. 

30's Letters

1)

Phillip Visuain

New York, August 10^th, 1931

                Dear Phillip

                I write to you as a response to your letter, I’m glad you asked how my house and neighborhood is. There’s a lot going on around here, plenty of happy things; but I’m afraid that the bad things exceeded them. First of all, we had to dismount the garage to help paying the food, I’m sad about it because I have a lot of memorable moments in there. I hope you are enjoying your garage in France. Our house now is definitively smaller, or at least it feels like that. We had to sole most of the Brazilian furniture we had; and my room upstairs is now for rent, leaving me on the sofa. I hope we don’t sell it too. The grass we have in the garden is taller than ever, because dad had to fire the gardener; “It was too expensive” according to him. In terms of electricity, dad says we are okay. I think he’s lying, because sometimes it suddenly cuts out and then comes back; and mom told us to turn the lights off past 7:00 PM, so we use candles. With the water we are fine, because dad had the smart idea of placing a well in the backyard. I have to say that although we are passing by this, I and my family are the lucky ones on the street. Mr. Walter, a neighbor and friend of dad, was fired, and so as many other people around here; and will have to leave his house. I wish we could host him, but mom says we need the rent. The police are chasing another neighbor, because he was fired too and start working as a drug dealer. The children that used to play in the park in front of my house stopped coming, because robberies are higher than ever. Also, I have eye-shadows because of the woman next door, Mrs. Abrahams. She cries all night, but I don’t complain because she lost her husband in the war; so that’s why the scandals. The only good thing that cares to me is that mom bought a better pillow to my sofa. But, as I already said, we’re the lucky ones in this neighborhood. I hope you are living better than all of us, after all Paris is the city of beauty, right?

Greetings,

Vicente Jander

2)

Phillip Vusuain

New York, October 3^rd, 1932

                Dear Phillip

It’s been so long since our last communication. I apologize for that, I have been busy. You asked me how I relate with my family and what kind of activities we do, to help you with your homework. I will tell you happily. First I have to say that I don’t recognize dad anymore; I see my dog more than him on the week because of hi s job at the bank. “Being a manager isn’t easy, one day you will be the owner and understand”, he said to me. He says that otherwise, we would be living on the streets. I appreciate the effort that he’s doing for us, but honestly I would prefer living in the streets if that includes being with him. The only activity that involves both as a father-son is going to the church together. Mom says that in these hard times, we have to give thanks to God for being so gentle with us. I try to speak to dad while in the church, but he makes me shut up for “respect to the lord”. There is another aspect of dad that changed; he started giving us speeches about being polite and having good manners, and that with both of this attitudes we were making the difference between other families. After begging mom, I built a tree-house in the garden. Me and Britney, my sister; used it almost all day long. It was a quiet place to be, not so big and not so short. It was… comfortable, like a way to escape the familiar issues that were taking place, and wait until they solve. The only memorable day I have passed was last Friday; in which mom bought a goose and boiled it. Besides being the most delicious dinner I ever had, later that night I played chess several times with dad. It doesn’t matter that he won all the games; I had the opportunity to talk with him at last. He told me to be more polite at the table, because I ate in a “horribly mean way”; and after that he remembered his childhood and told me that he played chess with his father too, but with the difference that this time the son won all the games. After playing we went to bed, and I was so happy that couldn’t fell asleep until 2:00AM. I hope this information will be useful to you, send me your grade in the homework.

Greetings,

Vicente Jander