I was shocked to read that some Jews began to think that relocating
was for their own good. Even when the Nazis were mistreating them, they had
hope that they would be taken to a better place away from the war. They used
words like vacation and even though they had heard the rumors about what had
been happening from Moishe the Beadle, they thought the Nazis were not after
them but their possessions. I think they didn’t want to face the reality of
what was happening to them and decided to trick themselves into believing something
that wasn’t true.
Arlene, I was shocked too to read the vacation part, but I also understand them because many truly believed the Germans wouldn't do them harm. Even as the soldiers stayed in some Jewish homes, they weren't rude to the household members. I believe some people were really trying hard to stay optimistic, therefore they would pay special attention to the good things they heard on the radio or carefully observed how nice some of the German soldiers were to them because that's what they wanted to hear.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the German Nazis purposefully tricked the minds of the Jews by doing things like bringing the women chocolate in order to gain their trust so it would be easier to manipulate them? Or do you think those kinds of things were individuals acting as humans, trying to cope in their own way with a difficult situation?
ReplyDeleteSchulz, I believe it could be a little of both. I remember from our reading today about sympathy that sometimes our feelings interfere with what society has told us. In this case the German Nazis were told that the Jewish people were below them. So perhaps some of these soldiers allowed their feelings to surpass what society had told them and be kind to the people. On the other hand, because a lot of them were being nice and being scary and rude was unheard of (at least it wasn't exactly mentioned in the book) then it could have been done purposefully to trick their minds to easily manipulate them.
ReplyDeleteI was definitely a little thrown off by the Nazis being nice and giving the women chocolate...but when I first read it I don't think I thought of it necessarily as a trick or even as an act of humanity. I thought of it more as the Nazis knew that they were about to do something awful to the Jews, and as a way to feel better about it they were nice to them - then they could at least say they had been kind to them before sending them to the camps or killing them and that they weren't always cruel.
ReplyDeleteMarisa I completely agree with you. I feel like the "kind gestures" the Nazis did was to make themselves feel as if the bad things they did to the Jews canceled itself out and made it okay for them to do the atrocities they did all because they treated them nicely at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteArlene, I believe during this part Elie is only accounting for what the Jews actually felt, versus what they said they felt. Their community shared a feeling of togetherness and would say anything to make each other feel more comfortable with what happened
ReplyDelete