VICTORY

I chose this poem by Sonia Weitz, Because it was a rather touching tale, with a turn of events from melancholy, to a feeling of triumph. The poem basically tells a tale of her and her father sharing a moment before they were taken away from each other, then being reunited, thus explaining the title "Victory", as they were victorious in the figurative "battle" against the nazis to stay together.What I enjoyed most, of the poem, was probably the title, which I think was short, yet it explains a lot. Maybe Sonia could have called it something like "The last meeting" or " The lat moments", but Sonia decided to think a little more positively. In the poem, she states that her father was " Once big and strong" which we thought meant that they were being rather malnourished in the concentration camps, and that she even accepted that she was "condemned to die" (in the death camps). I felt rather touched that her father (knowing they were to be executed) wanted to spend as much time as possible with his daughter. "There are no tools to measure love and only fools would fail to scale your victory." was, I guess, a way for her to say " don't give up", and to express how a bond between a father and his child is strong, and is not easy to break. After reading this poem, I felt first of all, touched, due to the love Sonia's Father shows to her, and secondly, I felt rather more sensitive towards the holocaust, knowing what kind of pain it brought to people. A connection I can make to this poem, was on a much smaller scale than this. I was about four or five, and my father had brought me to an electrical appliances store. Not wanting to walk anymore, I asked my dad if I could find a place to sit down. He agreed, but told me that he was going to go and look around in a nearby store. With my short term five year old memory, I forgot where he went and decided to go find him. When I couldn't find him, I got nervous. Long story short, My dad found me sitting on the floor, bawling my eyes out, with stammered "Dad"s escaping my mouth every few seconds.

Germany 1918-1933

The rise of Hitler and his nazis was mainly caused by two things; Hitler's act of understanding the pain which the people which he was trying to appeal to, and Hitler's ability to take advantage of situations to help his own cause. With his own charismatic personality, and the economical crisis with the Treaty of Versailles, it was not difficult for Hitler to make a few promises saying he would make life better for everybody, and have the crowd immediately agree to what he was saying, and vote for the Nazi party. Secondly, Hitler used every opportunity he got to either gain himself more votes, or make it harder for other political parties (like the social democratic party and communist party) to gain votes. An example of this is the Reichstag Fire, which Hitler blamed on the communists, which, in turn gave him an opportunity to antagonize communists and gain popularity for himself.

The Nuremberg Laws

The Nuremberg Laws. In 1935 a series of laws were introduced which further restricted the civil rights and personal freedoms of Jews. Upon reading the information provided on the link, answer these questions:

1. Who could now be defined as a "Jew"?
Jews were defined by anybody who had three or more ancestors with a Jewish background, religion, way of living, etc.

2. What was meant by "Aryanizing" Jewish Businesses?
Aryanizing ment that any Jewish person doing business; managers and employees alike, were replaced by "non-Jews" by the Nazis.

3. How were Jews who were professionals (lawyers, doctors etc.) restricted?
Professionals with a Jewish background were not allowed to practice their professions with non-jews. For example, Jewish doctors were prohibited from treating non-jews, and lawyers were unable to practice law.

4. What did Jewish identity cards need to include now?
Jewish identity cards had a large, red "J" stamped on them, and each person were given stereotypical Jewish middle names. These were all done to help police identify and find Jews easily.

5. What was the "Law for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of The German People"? (sum up in your own words)
The discussed law is one to prevent a mother passing a disease on to a child, and therefore harming the German population. Engaged couples are required to have a medical check-up from health authorities. The couple who received a fitness certificate (which marks the couple as untainted, and healthy) would be allowed to marry. Any couple who failed to get a fitness certificate, however, would not be allowed to marry.

Hitler Takes Control

1. What are civil rights? What are some that we have?

Civil rights are some rights that allows a citizen in a community to have a nice, secure, private living environment, with their own property any privacy. Some rights that we have is the right to own property, and not having to report any of your personal dealings with any government people.

2. Why might some of Hitler's measures in abolishing personal freedoms and Civil Rights be seen by some as as a positive, or necessary move?

The people might have seen the movement of the Nazis as an improvement to their economy. The demolition of many civil rights might have been seen as a necessary sacrifice in order to have a better life. Many believed that under nazi rule, poverty would not exist, as there would be nothing to not have. The nazis would financially support the people of Germany, which was what was promised, and was what attracted so many citizens.

The Treaty Of Versailles.

Actually, I think the treaty is half unfair, half fair. I felt that the germans were pulled into the war against their will, whether they wanted it or not. I think It is unfair that the Germans had to take 100% of the blame. The Germans only helped with something that was started by someone else- The Serbians who decided to assassinate the arch duke. However, I do think the Germans have to take a part of the blame, as they did cause a lot of damage to their enemies, who were trying to fight for the better good of people.

This I believe...

So in class, we were told to read or listen to some essays on a website called; This I Believe. I chose the essay " Creating Our Own Happiness" from the "Humor and Laughter" section. This essay focuses on the point of Happiness. Happiness is not granted to you, you MAKE happiness for yourself, no matter how miserable your life may get. In the narrator's essay, he tells a story of him in his car, at an intersection, listening to the radio when he sees a couple huddled together at a bus stop, in the cold winds of winter and pities them. He looks closer and sees that they're smiling and laughing, his pity quickly turns to envy as he understands that they are making their own happiness despite their current state. I really liked this essay because one, I like to be happy and not sad all the time, so this is a strategy I might use to cheer me up when I'm bored and two, I like the Idea of happiness and how it can happen anywhere and in any situation.

Summary of a part of "Odysseus" in 50 or less words.

After escaping from the land of the lotus eaters, They find themselves in the territory of the vicious man-eating cyclops, Polyphemus. While trapped, Odysseus tricked the giant, then blinded him, allowing time for them to escape safely.