“Borderlands are physically present wherever two or more cultures edge each other; where people of different races occupy the same territory, where under, lower, middle and upper classes touch, where the space between two individuals shrinks with intimacy.” Anzaldua
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. "
Martin Luther King Jr.US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)
FATHER BRESSANI CATHOLIC HIGH SCOOL: A SCHOOL FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Post #9: Schindler's List (the film)
Students are asked to post their reactions, comments, questions, opinions to the film "Schindler's List" by Stephen Spielberg, Relate to other genres of Holocaust literature that we have studied thus far.
Schindler’s List was both horrifying and amazing at the same time. The film was a perfect example of how ‘The Single Story’ may apply to some people, but does not apply to everyone as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said. I think dan important part in this film was when the soldiers were burning the Jewish bodies. The looks on some of their faces were the looks of horror, scared and sadness. Even though they tried to mask it with cruelty and indifference, it still showed through. This proves that not everyone was completely with Hitler’s ideas, and even if they did what he wanted, they still are human and have human emotions.
When Schindler and his assistant are typing their list, Schindler has a sense of urgency about him. It looks as if he feels if he does not finish the list in time, all these people will die and it would be his fault. This ties in at the end when Germany surrenders and Schindler is talking to the Jewish people he employed in his factory. He ends up on the ground crying. A fully grown, high-ranking army official on the ground crying. Crying about how he wishes he could have saved more people, and how he hasn’t done enough to correct his past wrong doings. Oskar Schindler was a very brave man. He may have started out in the beginning as looking out for only himself and with a new woman everyday, but in the end he was a great person. Even the Jerusalem government recognized this and allowed him to plant a tree on the Street Of Righteousness. Oskar Schindler’s tree still grows there today. To me, that is a symbol, even today, no matter what you have done in the past, you can still do good. It is a symbol that shows us that good always triumphs over evil and corruptness.
What I also noticed in the film was when the Jewish people were being called up, they all had a look of defeat and exasperation on their faces. Everyone, except the children. This is just like The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. Bruno had no idea what was going on and that was why he could be so happy with all the chaos that was going on around his family. This is the same with the kids in these Jewish families. They were very young and they could not understand what was going on. This gives credence to the saying “ignorance is bliss”. Since these kids were ignorant they could still be ahppy, despite all the terrible things that were happening.
The Hollywood motion picture Schindler’s List was a very eye-opening and inspiring story based on true events. It demonstrated that not all Germans were cold-hearted and evil at the time of the Holocaust. It is also a film about doing what you know is right even if it’s not expected of you to do. Oskar Schindler employs the Jews at first thinking it would make him a quick buck by hiring cheap labour, but then he grows to care for them and does it out of the love and compassion in his heart. He, like a few other German do not fit the typical German stereotype that they were horrible, ruthless people who deserved what they were doing to the Jewish people at the time.
The purpose of our class watching this movie was to show us a different perspective of what the German culture was all about and erasing the single story in our mind about them. Most of the holocaust related media forms we’ve looked at so far have encouraged this message. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas showed that not all Germans were horrible people by adding the grandmother in the story who was completely against the murdering of the Jews. Also, the speaker from the Ted Talks video’s message was that a single story can put you in tough situations and makes you a bit ignorant. Although the movie showed that there were Germans like Oskar Schindler who were against the Jewish massacre, some scenes in the movie were horrific and disgusted me, as I never really realized how bad things really were for the Jews at the time.
At one point in the movie someone says, “Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.” When I heard this quote I felt the need to write it down immediately because I feel it sums up the whole message of the movie perfectly. Schindler was a Nazi who could have easily let all those Jews working for him go to concentration camps, or even kill them all himself, but he chose not to. This was the reason he was the hero of the story ad was remembered and appreciated by so many people even after his death. Power is being able to do the worst thing possible just like everyone else is doing, but controlling yourself and doing what is right.
I must say, I really enjoyed Schindler’s list. Even though it was at some parts a shockingly accurate portrayal of the horrors of the holocaust, it eventually became a beautiful story.
I found it truly inspiring, especially in the last few minutes of the film, to see how people like Oskar Schindler would have acted when faced with atrocities on such a scale as the holocaust. He saw it. He did everything he possibly could. And then he looked back and wept at wishing he could have done more.
Also, he serves as a model for the fact that no one idea about a culture is ever complete, because while many of Germans were firm Nazi supporters, many still may have just been going along with it, much like Oskar Schindler, in order not to stick out. It has occurred to me recently that we will never know how many people were like this, however, because we don’t really know. And we can’t. So we should not assume that the most popular German image was the only German image.
As a last point, I think that the interactions between Oskar and his business partner “Izhak Stern”. Whenever they talked, it was not Jew to German, or Superior to subordinate. It was man to man. So, I think that, just like with Bruno and Shmuel from “the boy in the striped pyjamas, they tore down the fence that divided them so they were two equals.
After watching Schindlers list, I had a strange sense of pride. I was proud that Oskar Shindlar saved all those innocent Jews from death. I was also proud that at the end he kept saying that he could've saved other people if only he sold some of his things. Although he tried to mask his caring for the Jews behind the profits he would make, we could really understand how much he really DID care.
It was definitely an eye opener. After being taught in school that the Holacost was all about one man who wanted to kill everyone else for no reason, it makes yousee the double side to it. Not all Germans were for the Holacost. The luitenet of the Nazis wasn't even for it.
It reminded me of two things. One, that the grandmother in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was not for what the nazi army was doing. Her own son, the commandant, she wouldn't not speak to because of this. And two, the Ted Talks video. Every stereo type is not necessarily untrue, but it is incomplete. I don't think I was ever taught "oh there we're some people who were against murder but they couldn't do anything about it unless they wanted to get shot!" that brings us to the topic of the interview. Dan Boyne says that there is complacency in human society and because of that we don't npdo anything about what goes on in our world today.
The motion picture “Schindler’s List” completely eradicates the single story that many of us have grown to know so well—that all Germans were cruel and mean people who agreed with everything Hitler was doing. It showed the Holocaust from a completely different point of view, which was very refreshing. The movie followed the journey of Oskar Schindler in his attempt to save as many Jews as possible from being murdered at concentration camps. I thought this story, which is based on actual events, was very eye-opening and powerful. It captured the very essence of everything we have been discussing in class—that there is no single story about anything. There are always more sides, more stories, more opinions and ideas, and it is our job to learn as much as we can about them. Believing in only the single story about anything is like watching a 3D movie without wearing the 3D glasses; everything becomes blurry and unclear and it is impossible to fully understand what is going on.
In regards to my reactions to the actual movie, the overall feeling that I got was one of chaos, confusion, and urgency, which is only to be expected during a movie about the Holocaust. A lot of the time people were being pushed around, taken this way and that, and separated from their loved ones. There was a great sense of urgency among Oskar, which was clearly evident in the scene where he was calling out names and Stern was typing them out. He felt that if he did not move fast enough, it would be too late (and in one situation, when Stern was on the train and Oskar came just in time to be able to stop the train and get him off, it almost was). In addition, what I find amazing is how different Oskar is from the other Nazi soldiers. While most of the soldiers were practically shooting Jews as often as they were blinking, Oskar was trying to save them, even if it meant putting his own life at risk. Oskar was a very brave, courageous, and honorable man, and what he did is truly admirable.
In relation to the other pieces of literature that we have studied so far, there are both similarities and differences among them and Schindler’s List. This movie and the documentary “Night and Fog” definitely elicited similar emotions—horror, disgust, fear, anger—however, while the documentary simply showed us the horrifying facts and undeniable truths about the Holocaust, the movie took a definite standpoint. It completely eliminated the single story, an idea that was first presented to us through the TEDTalk. In regards to the novel, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, I think it is fair to compare the relationship that formed between Bruno and Shmuel to the one that formed between Oskar and the Jews he saved, particularly Stern. These two men were able to look past the superficial differences that society was putting so much emphasis on and did not view each other as one being superior to the other. They spoke man to man, not German to Jew.
Schindler’s List was something I had to see. Unlike Boy in The Striped Pajamas and Night and Fog, that followed the single story of all Germans being horrible people, my heart and mind needed to see that this single story wasn’t true. In fact, after watching Schindler’s List, all that was left of this single story was destroyed. It proved not all Germans agreed with Hitler and that some were even willing to risk their own lives to help save a few victims. Oscar Schindler, was one of these people. He was a German business man, but he didn’t achieve what a business would want and he did not accept the fact that all Jews were going to die. He cared too much for them, his people, to let them die. He did whatever he had to do to keep them safe; he bribed, yelled, convinced, and even ensured that any soldier who killed a worker at his factory would go to prison. And in the end, these Jews knew what he went through to help them and everything he felt towards them, all the love, care and respect, they truly felt back. He saved over 1100 Jews but it is very ironic how he felt. He was a German who did right but even after this already extraordinary action, of being German and disobeying what he was supposed to follow, he still did not feel like he had done enough, that he should have been able to save more lives. It sickens me that he felt this way because meanwhile the ones responsible for the death of millions, felt nothing towards the people they murdered but in the end I think this just proves even more than that the single story is not 100% true.
The movie, Schindler’s List is probably a movie I’ll remember for a long time. The way the Holocaust is portrayed on the screen was enough to leave a lasting impression on everyone who watched it. The thing that I like the most was the way they showed Oscar Schindler. They didn’t show him as some war hero who saved the lives of 1300 people; they showed him as someone human who saw right from wrong, and did what he knew was right, no matter the cost that he’d pay. Schindler obviously didn’t fit the single story of the Nazi army, and through him we saw other people who didn’t fit the single story either. I’m not sure, but I think it was a Commandant of a camp who Schindler went to talk to. Schindler said to him that he knew that he was paying for extra clothes for people right out of his own pocket. This shows me that it’s not just Schindler who doesn’t fit the single story, but many people. The end truly showed how good Schindler was. While everyone knew the war was over, Schindler was thinking that if he sold his car, or his pin, he could have saved more lives. I think that Schindler never saw the Jewish people as people beneath him, because if he did than he wouldn’t have saved all the lives that he did.
There were a lot of connections from the movie and the other things we’ve seen and read about the Holocaust. One was the way that the movie showed both sides of the “fence”, just like in the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Schindler became friends with the Jewish people, just like how Bruno became friends with Shmuel. And just like how the fence was a place that Bruno and Shmuel could meet and not have boundaries, the factory was almost the same. The people were just people, not a race that needed to be killed. Another thing that reminded me of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas was when we saw the Auschwitz camp, and the room the girls had to go into. I thought that they were going to a gas chamber, and was relieved to see that they weren’t about to die. This scene reminded me of when Bruno and Shmuel died. I don’t think I could have watched a person being killed like that. In the end, the movie showed that not everyone fits one story, whether it is two small nine-year-old boy, or two men who run a business together. The story of a culture is not set in stone, where everyone is the same; it is something that people should see both sides before judging.
The movie “Schindler’s List” did in fact bring the message of the single story to life. As we are all well aware by now, not all Germans were people of evil spirits who truly hated the Jews. I grew an interest to how this movie was told based on the true events of Oskar Schindler’s good doing during the late 1930s to mid 1940s. It demonstrated a different view of the Holocaust, the side of a German soldier, specifically one of high ranking. By seeing the other side of the story I discovered that German people didn’t necessarily hate the Jews. For example, Schindler spoke to Mr.Stern as just another human being not a Jew nor German. They both looked past cultural difference and viewed each other as equal, they appreciated each other for who they were, thus built a relationship. I was surprised about how Stern and Schindler remained so calm about their situations throughout the movie. Knowing if they were to be caught, both of them would pay the debt of life. Also, I really admired how Schindler chose to go above and beyond the expectations of making his list of Jews and the sacrifice he would make for people who his culture was at war with. What baffled me was despite saving 1100 Jews from death he still was upset with himself as he wished he could’ve helped more. After becoming broke and a wanted man he continued to have such a passion to help and serve people. Before we began watching the movie I had an idea of what the movie was already about but I had never expected to see traits like this demonstrated by a Nazi, it seems almost impossible.
The motion picture one hundred percent relates to the other forms of literature based on creating borderlands. Throughout the unit our main focus has been to witness both sides of the story, being the Holocaust between the German and Jewish people. The book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas showed both sides of the story. We see the obstacles two young boys, of opposite cultures but alike qualities, encounter during world war II. This educated and gave us a brief idea about the lifestyles of a Jewish boy and German boy during this time of hatred. The interview helped us acknowledge that we must be aware of what is present in our world today. It is scary to know that in reality something just as dark as the Holocaust but maybe not as drastic could happen today and we wouldn’t even bother to help our fellow man. There have been various occurrences like the Rwanda genocide and were not put to a stop until it was too late. This is where the topic of complacency is stressed. The documentary about the cold hearted truth and facts of the Holocaust is shown vaguely but effectively with just a series of images. Now we have the movie, which showed the story of a German Nazi who showed characteristics of compassion and care and chose to help “the enemy”. This can relate to the book as Bruno’s father the commandant of Auschwitz may have had feelings of Oskar Schindler’s but didn’t posses the will to carry out his emotions (reasoning could be the wealth difference of the two). The grandma of Bruno relates to Schindler how they both didn’t support the wrong choices of Hitler’s regime and extermination of Jews. They both showed extremities as Schindler chose to help over 1000 Jews and save their lives and the grandma refused to speak to her son because of his actions in the war. This showed me and everyone that it is certain that not all German people were cruel people.
In addition, after watching the film a theory had come to my mind about the “single story”. I think there is actually three sides to the story. This would include the stereotypical side, the other side and the truth. In this case for example, the stereotypical side would be that German people are Nazis and are enforcers of evil and Jewish people are the victims of the world and hated the Germans. The other side would be that not all German people necessarily hate the Jewish people and not all Jewish people necessarily hated the Jewish people. Then there is the facts, the truth. The two sides of the story always have some truth and may be twisted and morphed to something very similar to the truth. In the movie you see the stereotypical side, where some Nazi soldiers hated, mocked and had fun killing thousands of Jews. For example, just outside the ghetto the Nazis were burning bodies and one soldier was laughing and mocking the Jewish people who were burning in flames and then began to shoot them as they suffered. We also see Jewish people getting tortured and despising the Germans. For example, when the men and women were being divided many Jews tried attacking or protesting their way out of a crowd they were just shot and killed. We see the other side when Oskar Schindler befriends and develops a relationship with Stern as they both work together, Jew and German, to save the victims of the concentration camps. The complete truth of the Holocaust and the true reason why Adolf Hitler would ignite such chaos is untold. This is why it is important for us to understand the stereotypical and the other side to the stories. By becoming aware and open minded to the two sides helps give us a better idea of the truth.
To be honest I felt like the movie “Schindler's List” was the most powerful form of literature that we watched. This is because it took all of the information that we compiled over the course of this unit and then added a completely new side to the story to it. The movie showed us that not all Germans were Jew hating Nazis and that not all Nazis hated Jews. Instead, it showed us that there were people who did in fact oppose the Holocaust and were willing to risk their own lives and fortunes to save others. We were able to see that in the face of so much evil there were people who were willing to make personal sacrifices for the good of others.
The film does an excellent job of showing the truth behind Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s lecture on the single story. Before viewing the film, I had read several novels about regular German people who had hid and protected their Jewish neighbours but this was the first time that I had heard of a member of the Nazi party who was willing to save Jewish people. This is an example of how no matter how much about an issue we believe we know there is always more to be discovered and always an additional side to the story. One major difference between the various types of literature is that this is the only one where we see the other side of the Nazi lieutenant. “The Boy in the Striped Pajama’s” and “Night and Fog” both portray ALL Nazi’s as heartless beasts who found great pleasure in the death of the Jews. From the film we learn that not all of them were evil but many were. It seems to me that even some of the other forms of literature even embraced the “single story” to a certain extent. My final comment is in reference to the interview, in it John Boyne speaks about the complacency of the German people. I believe that this film demonstrates that not all Germans were as complacent as they seemed to be and that some kept up the pretext of being complacent while doing their utmost to aid the Jews they seemed to be shunning.
Ultimately, “Schindler’s List” was a very interesting and important movie as it shone a new light on the German people and showed us that all humans are capable of good no matter how evil a position they appear to hold.
This movie was completely different from what I saw in the documentary. I couldn’t relate at all to the people in the documentary. I couldn’t even imagine their pain or the intense fear that the Jewish people had to go through. Yet in the movie, they seemed so much more… human? Instead of frightened people who would flinch at anything and witnessed every horror that nobody should’ve, they held conversations that people would normally have, had jobs and families that they lost. In the movie, I could relate to them more. From everything that had to do with the Holocaust, the Jewish seemed so vulnerable and weak. Even though they are vulnerable, they were extremely strong and would do anything to escape and survive this terrible event. The movie portrayed this very well. To delve into the plot and characters, I absolutely despised Schindler. I did not believe that he was a good person and was employing Jews because he wanted to save them. He was a profiteer! Why would they make a movie about him if he did this? He evidently saved people’s lives but that seemed totally intentional. There was a part where the one armed man came to thank him with such intensity and sincerity and Schindler degraded him after the man left. He asked, “What is a one armed man doing in my factory?” I was appalled. How could he! Another flaw in his character was that he was a womanizer; he played women and hurt so many of them. He had the money, the women and he was a Nazi. Yet, as the movie continued to develop I started to see him slowly change. When Sam Cesario and I were talking, the little red coat that the girl was wearing seemed to signify something. When Schindler witnessed her death, and the death of so many others, it seemed like something clicked and he tried to save their lives with even more urgency. He threw away all his money, just trying to save them while making none for himself. What made me stop analyzing him so critically was when Stern finished the list and finally realized what Schindler was doing. That he was actually not using the Jewish for his own needs but to save them.
I was actually slightly shocked that before, Jewish and German people talked about business while the war was raging on. I did not really expect Schindler to want to be in the same room as a Jew, much less go through business plans with each other. I realized that not all people looked down on the Jewish. In fact, Oskar Schindler always talked to Stern as a human being. He never spoke with a condescending tone or disgust. The ending was terribly sad. Every single person that Schindler saved and took under his wing was there. Even though they were the ones free now and he was the one being hunted, he still worried about them. “I could’ve saved more.” That completely blew me away. I could not believe that the people who I judged so harshly could be so humble and selfless. I was completely wrong in everything I thought about the Nazis. Going through this unit, from the Boy in the Striped Pajamas to the tedtalk, I realized that not everyone was bad and that everyone had their own story. But the movie made me see that not only did people realize what they were doing was wrong; they also tried to help the situation (like Schindler). A quote in the movie that really touched me was, “To save a life is to save the whole world” Oskar Schindler saved so many lives, 4000 people! To this day, 6000! One life, can impact so many! Evil is not the only thing that contains the human mind. And this film showed me that. Every scene was filled with perfection and realism. I thought it was brilliant.
I have to admit Schindler’s List was on of the best movies I have ever seen, and contrary to the countless emotions that ran through me, I was left kind of speechless. It was a movie that, to me, was like a rose. If you’ll humor me, I’ll explain why. Schindler’s List was beautiful, in a complex way, and it was so sorrowfully beautiful that sometimes it was painful to watch, heart-wrenching to witness. Like a rose, you see it and are mesmerized by its fragility, its beauty, but when you go to pick it up you feel the sharp pricks of pain, the inevitable thorns that mark every rose. It don’t want to sound choppy but I have so much running through my mind, so much I am willing to share, so many fleeting ideas sparked and elicited by this film, that I don’t how the foggiest notion of what to say and what not to. One thing I know for sure, though, is that this movie has done what it was meant to do; powerfully and bluntly. It has erased the single story of the Holocaust from my mind, irrevocably (as it probably has for every other viewer). Better yet, it shows the expected “evil” side of the Germans, the typical bad guys that we degrade every German from World War II to be. It shows the truth in stereotyping as well as the ignorance of those with a sole belief in it. This makes the eradication of the single story that much more powerful, it shows that yes, there were the crazed Nazis, bent on the mass murder, the annihilation of the entire Jewish culture. Then, it shows Oscar Schindler, holding his list of life, a man condemned to the title of a Nazi Lieutenant, but not by the actions he refused to take, the very actions that stole the lives of over six million humans; the people who did nothing more than we do every day at school, acknowledge and practice our faith. How very ironic it is that in the interview Boyne points out that complacency led to such action, such murder, and while to maintain inaction and noninvolvement, it took courage that so few had.
Oskar Schindler is a hero to me, a modern-day hero. Heck, he’s even a hero by Aristotle’s standards. His is a story that should be told over and over in the history books, his is the persona that should be timeless; not Hitler’s. Ask anyone and they know about Hitler, he’s bad, he has a funny mustache, he’s a hypocrite, and blah blah blah. What about men like Schindler? Men who, despite the circumstances forced upon them, tried to fight back, to make a difference? Their stories deserved to be told just as much as the untold stories of the millions of Jews who were silenced by death. If not, those Germans are just as victimized as every Jew murdered in Auschwitz. I am not saying that Schindler was the clichéd hero; he had his flaws, his hamartia. He was a womanizer and a profiteer of war and I think he smoked and drank a little too much, but he was a damn genius. He was clever, sly, suave, and impressive and knew how to play that game. He used money, what seemed like the root of all evil at the beginning, to save lives. Schindler was desperate and horrified though, his humanity gave him that desperation and empathy, and that is what made him brave; so he faced discharge from his status (a status that he didn’t even want) and death but he did not let death be the only mercy, the hopes of a painless bullet to the back of the head the only reason to continue living. In the end, though, when he broke down, I just wanted to break down with him. I wasn’t satisfied that he was feeling pain for what some of his people inflicted on the innocent. I was sitting there with him, crying because I wished more lives were saved too. That he wasn’t the only one crying when so many more had so much more for which to repent. That he wasn’t the only one that paid for Jews because they were worth something, even if it is something more than money. That he wasn’t the only one that got away with doing what he did, using business as a guise; that this whole thing never happened in the first place, for we are still managing to deal with unwarranted and unwanted repercussions today. I can only think of what Stern says to Schindler in response, the ray of hope, blinding and unforgettable in a dark time…“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.” This movie was the ray of hope that I was so desperately searching for, some sort of proof that humanity can exist in men like Bruno’s father, one that I searched for as desperately as Schindler searched for names of people to put on his list of life.
We have read a novel, listened to a TedTalk, and witnessed a gruesome documentary focusing on the theme of eliminating the single story, in relation to the Holocaust. However, I have to say it was the Hollywood film we watched in class today that spoke to me the most. It was one thing to visualize the events of the Holocaust in your mind, or to hear the story being told to you, or even to lay your eyes on real images of the vicious killings; but to me it was completely different to actually step foot inside the lives of some people who partook in the events, with the help of a feature film. With watching Schindler’s List I had a real sense of connection to the people involved and what was happening to them. For one thing, the audience can personally witness the happenings through their own eyes, but also see for themselves the reactions of the different characters. It was eye opening to me in many ways. The pivotal point in the movie was when Schindler notices a little girl in a red jacket, being carried in a wheel barrow—dead. That was the only moment where the audience saw a glimpse of colour. I’m not entirely sure if it was a trick on my eyes, a glitch on the screen, or purposely included by Speilberg, but after that scene, I could have sworn I saw other brief flashes of colour in the movie. Whether these flashes were really a part of the movie or not, to me, they symbolized hope. Not only for the Jews, hoping to escape the torture they were facing, but also to Schindler, hoping to find some way of putting the Jewish people out of their misery. This is why I was happy to see the ending of the film in full colour; the people have broken free of the dreary black and white concentration camps, and are finally living in colour—freedom—again. This film really triggered my emotions in way I never thought it could. Frankly, at the beginning of the movie I was bored and completely lost as to what was going on. I’m not sure when, but at some point about halfway through, something clicked inside me. I realized what was actually happening. People were dying…soldiers were laughing…and Oskar Schindler was caught in the middle of this, doing what he can. I obtained such a feeling of compassion for him when he broke down into tears saying “if only I saved one more person…” but it’s simply amazing how many lives he did save. Six thousand descendants came out of the people he saved alone! Watching this movie allowed me to really connect to the people on both sides of the “fence” in ways I felt I was unable to do before. I thought I knew everything there was to know about removing the single story from our minds, but this movie just exposed so much more to me. And this helped me realize that there is always more to learn about others; we can never tell ourselves we know it all.
Schindler’s list was captivating an intriguing in every aspect – as a film, a story and a doorway to understanding. It gives viewers the perfect opportunity to experience the German life during the Holocaust, and this alone is an extraordinary quality. I have mentioned in past blogging responses that it is the Nazis who aren’t given a complete story when we look back today, hence this movie was reminiscent to a sigh of relief, letting us finally place the remaining piece of the puzzle so that a greater picture can be shown.
At the outset of the movie, I was quick to judge the Nazis whom I’ve learned to take a negative perspective on. I thought, Schindler may be going through with his plan to save the Jewish People, but he’s only doing enough to keep himself alive at the same time. I reasoned that Schindler really wasn’t so heroic, as he hadn’t done so much as to put himself into any position of harm. My thoughts changed through the duration of the movie and I was perplexed when it dawned on me that Schindler was not only more brave, but also more keen than I had anticipated. He knew that saving too many prisoners would put him in suspicion’s light, and ultimately risk every one of his employees. He was also cognisant of the fact that his death would cease the entire project of saving his workers, thus leading to their eventual death also. In the manner with which Schindler did fulfil his aim, he avoided suspicion and saved himself with the ultimate purpose of saving his workers. This transformation of perspective I found to be very peculiar with regards to my mindset at the beginning of the movie and afterwards.
Looking at the rest of the Nazis, I’ve gained a deeper, more angular outlook on these soldiers, facing the circumstances they were under and unravelling the truth about their captivity. Were these men given a choice as to whether or not they wanted to partake in the events that they did? I’m sure that no one asked them, “Would you like to work in a dirty ghetto, yell at innocent people and then watch them burn, literally, to their death each day?” That is the first obstacle with the single story of German soldiers – the fact that they did not act upon their free will. Furthermore, I deem that many of them would have done something about the situation if they could have, but after watching this film, I sincerely believe that these soldiers were as withheld as the prisoners by invisible fences. I looked at Oskar Schindler in this movie I observed his wealth, power and position. What makes his story possible is not only his willingness to change something he felt was unjust, but also the magnitude of resources that he had to do just that. It isn’t a black and white picture on the inside of this entire catastrophe and one cannot settle with only a fence and two races on either side because it is important to look at how the fence got there, how the people found themselves behind it and who those people really are. Who is to say that every one of those Nazis wouldn’t have done something if they simply COULD have? But they couldn’t. Not even Oskar Schindler could have saved more than a handful of the killed. Yes, the Nazis need be held accountable for their actions, but the unseen reason behind these actions cannot be overseen.
Of all the media which has carved a path through boarders and into borderlands, this movie portrayed the largest German perspective. It has made me think back to Bruno, back to John Boyne and to the horrific scenery of the holocaust to think... maybe Bruno’s father didn’t want to tell his son about the prisoners because he was downright ashamed. Perhaps while Night and Fog told of the prayers that prisoners said in hopes of escaping their horrid reality, the Nazis did the same. And certainly, there is anything but a single story to this story that will hopefully only occur a single time. The more dimensional my thoughts flourish, the farther I can see into the cavern of undiscovered borderlands, waiting to be found.
The film Schindler's list to me was the most emotional and multi-storied piece of media we have viewed. During this unit we have witnessed different media sources so we get different views and interpretations of the same event so we, like Mr. Racco has repeated "eradicate the single stories in our heads" or stereotypes and labels. We are not viewing these sources for historical learning but to understand the true message within, that there is more than one story to any event, and this movie demonstrates exactly that! We have learned from the Ted Talks presentation that stereotypes are single-sided stories that are incomplete, and twisted by the people with power. I and many others used to have this single-sided image or label of Germans due to the twisted stereotypes we have learned and have been engrained in our heads since we were young. This presentation has helped shed light on this, as well as the book the "Boy In The Striped Pajamas", that not all Germans were Nazi party citizens killing Jews or supported the death of Jews, like Bruno's grandmother. This movie though, showed an actual person , Oskar Schindler who was against the Nazi beliefs but was actually a Nazi Lieutenant/Commandant himself. This film has shed even more light that there were people against the Nazi party and beliefs but actually some Nazis like Schindler that hated what they were forced to do, but will others did what they were forced to do and kill innocent Jews because they would have to face death themselves, Oskar didn't succumb to that, he risked his life, spent all his money and efforts for what he believed was right. He is in all ways a hero, who had his own problems like being a womanizer, and a war profiteer, like any other human but put his life in risk for the sake of others and for what is right. He was such a humble and selfless man who cried after saving thousands of Jews and wished he saved more. That just broke me down, this ability to be so selfless and want to be even more than he already is and save them all, I wish I could be that way, I admire him. Oskar himself during this journey of saving the Jews also improved on overcoming his own problems in my opinion, he no longer was a war profiteer , he spent every dollar he had to hide these Jews from torture and injustice. This movie displayed the other side of the story, and also showed some historical/ documentary information of the Holocaust like the life at Auschwitz and the tortures that go on in this camp like the documentary "Night and Fog" another perspective of the Holocaust. This movie was almost the perfect conclusion of this unit summing up all the information and messages we learned into one powerful movie. This film in conclusion was incredibly heart-moving and it gives me hope that there is some light in these dark periods of history that there is goodness in people, even if they are labelled in a certain way. While the documentary Night and Fog made me feel hollow, empty, and depressed this movie gave me this solemn happiness that there is a way of this bad times due to the actions of inspirational people like Oskar. Everyone should work to be like him.
Tears poured down my face as I watched the heart-breaking scenes on the screen. Images of screaming families being torn apart, burnt ashes of human remains and large masses of human corpse were all I saw. These startling images would not be erased from my mind, no matter how hard I tried. If you are wondering what exactly I saw on the screen, it was the Hollywood Motion Picture, “Schindler’s List”. What I saw was two different stories of the Holocaust, (for lack of better terms)—the good German, bad German. Before beginning this culture unit, I had this single-story of the German and Jewish people in my mind. Gradually through reading ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’, the interview with John Boyne, watching the documentary ‘Night and Fog’ and watching the TED video by , Chimamanda Adichie, my single-story changed. My “story” of the Germans was that they were horrible, cruel, cold people. This impression was given to me through the different types of literature and media that I read and watched throughout elementary school. These forms of literature and media were told in a way that made the Germans seem like very bad people. During this unit of “single-stories”, I began to think that maybe single stories are determined by who exactly is telling the story. I believe that the past Holocaust literature and media that I have read were told from a Jewish perspective. With the story being told through the Jewish perspective, it made the Germans seem bad because the Jewish narrators spoke about the horrible things that were being done to them. I have now realized that once the perspective changes, the story changes it with it. When reading ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ which was told through the eyes of a nine year old boy, I learned that not all German people were cruel and hated the Jews. Through watching “Schindler’s List”, I clearly saw two different stories being told. The first story—the bad German was told through the countless scenes of the German soldiers abusing and killing any Jew for no good reason. A specific scene that stayed in my mind, was one of a German soldier shooting a man and his son. They first tried to shoot the young boy who attempted to run away but once the boy’s father stood in the way of the bullet making him the new target. Once the father was shot, soldiers chased the young boy and shot him in the head. The second story, which in my opinion is what the story is truly based on, is the Good German. In this case, the ‘good German’ is Oskar Schindler who is a German womanizer, industrialist. Oskar becomes the good German when he uses the line ‘for the sake of production’ to save 1100 Jewish people. This shows that not every German was a horrible person, there were people like Oskar that helped protect the Jews. In this movie, it was evident that the Jewish people were very grateful for what Oskar did for them. They showed this appreciation by consistently wanting to personally thank Oskar for saving their lives. At the end of the movie, when the war was coming to an end the ‘Schindler Jews’ presented Oskar with a token of their appreciation. They gave him a ring that had the words, ‘Whoever saves one life saves the world entirely’ in Hebrew engraved on it. Although Oskar thought he could have done more, saved more, it had meant the world to the people, his workers what he had done. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. " I’d like to end with this thought that is posted on our classroom blog because it is very true. Oskar was not silent about what truly mattered—saving the Jewish people. Although, he may not have said it directly, it is apparent that Oskar’s main goal was to the save the Jewish families.
Seeing the film 'Schindler's List' has certainly brought out some heartfelt emotions. Personally, I found that watching the motion picture in the view of a German lieutenant was much more shocking than reading about a naive boy or witnessing the events from the perspective of a Jewish person, and what they would have needed to go through. Because Oskar Schindler was a part of the Nazi regime, he was a profiteer, and at the beginning of the movie, I thought that he would be selfish, cheap, and monstrous. I had only based my opinion on the single story of the Nazis that I had learned about – the hateful murderers. But as the movie progressed, I noticed a difference from the stereotype when compared to Oskar Schindler. He seemed like a kind gentleman, eventually willing to sacrifice everything he had to save others. It was an unbelievable turn of events. There I was, thinking of the worst possible image of a Nazi lieutenant, and I had been wrong. Oskar risked his fortune and livelihood in order to possibly (and successfully) save thousands of innocent lives from sure-death, all due to his thought of the whole process being wrong. Eventually, he realized that human life has no price, and is the most valuable gift anyone can ask for. He gave up his wealth to save people, and what I found most humble was the fact that after all of the lives he indeed saved, Oskar Schindler was still convinced that he could have done more, more than what many would've considered impossible. It was a pleasing ending to a rather gloomy setting. The Schindler Jews would not be here today if it wasn't for the kind actions of a courageous man. As each survivor of the Holocaust passed Oskar's grave, they must have all felt very thankful to be where they were, alive and free. It was all due to Oskar Schindler. He may have died a poor individual, but definitely rested as a rewarded human being.
Schindler’s List is an very powerful movie. Incredibly powerful. Oskar Schindler is a profiteer of slave labour, a womaniser, and an extremely rich man. I understand that when the movie starts Schindler only uses the Jewish people as workers so that he can make money. He does not treat them like trash but does not really care for them either. The only thing he has interest in is money. But as the movie develops Schindler becomes closer to the Jewish community and has sympathy for them. By the middle of the film he seems extremely desperate to obtain the Jewish people, so that he could save their lives. He returns their rights and even betrays his country by giving them fraud military equipment. He clothes them and feeds them, directly out of his own pockets. He experiences such a drastic change in personality. When he first starts his factory he did not even want to talk to one of his workers who wanted to express his gratitude, to a man who even lets his workers to pray instead of working. He starts for the money not the people, but in the end he loses all his fortune but saves more than a thousand Jews. Schindler Jews. And at the end, he even regrets not selling his other belongings. To save another life, just another single life.
Through out the entire film I watch but try to not take much of it serious. Making snide comments and joking about the film. I think if I did not do that the movie would have touched me much more. It is not that it did not, but that I tried not to get to into it, because I know if I did I would have left that room with an aching heart. The movie was a roller coaster of emotions, so without my “immaturity” it would have been much harder to watch and enjoy.
Another thought I had during the film was the thought of all the workers would have ended up massacred, one way or the other. The film makes you feel such hope at times, but I already know that the Holocaust was a tragic event and I have been brainwashed to think that way. But it was not based on the single story that I was expecting the movie to end off with a sad not, I just did not want to be devastated when they all did die. I did not want my hopes to build up, only to be crushed and torn to shreds. So I always thought of the worst-case scenarios as a ‘shield’ around my heart, just in case of tragedy and death.
A touching scene was when Schindler and Stern were embracing. For some odd reason it reminded me of Bruno and Shmuel, when they finally embrace as ‘best friends.’ The two stories and their similarities, even though they are talking about children in one and grown men in the other.
It was interesting viewing Schindler's List; however, facial expressions and comments during the viewing were priceless. It was quite obvious that many made the link(similarities) between Schindler and Bruno's father.As Kyle said, "it was a roller coaster of emotions." I enjoyed everyone's comments about power. "Power is being able to do the worst thing possible just like everyone else is doing, but controlling yourself and doing what is right." Good point Caroline. Martha offers an excellent simile: "It captured the very essence of everything we have been discussing in class—that there is no single story about anything. There are always more sides, more stories, more opinions and ideas, and it is our job to learn as much as we can about them. Believing in only the single story about anything is like watching a 3D movie without wearing the 3D glasses; everything becomes blurry and unclear and it is impossible to fully understand what is going on." Samantha write, "It was an unbelievable turn of events. There I was, thinking of the worst possible image of a Nazi lieutenant, and I had been wrong. Oskar risked his fortune and livelihood in order to possibly (and successfully) save thousands of innocent lives from sure-death, all due to his thought of the whole process being wrong." I agree with this and all classmates commented on this turn of events. Congrats! Terrific link Veronica: ""Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. " I’d like to end with this thought that is posted on our classroom blog because it is very true. Oskar was not silent about what truly mattered—saving the Jewish people. Although, he may not have said it directly, it is apparent that Oskar’s main goal was to the save the Jewish families.
Outstanding work everyone. Our social learning enviroment: the classroom blog is definitely an asset to our understanding and learning about cultures.
Schindler’s List was both horrifying and amazing at the same time. The film was a perfect example of how ‘The Single Story’ may apply to some people, but does not apply to everyone as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said. I think dan important part in this film was when the soldiers were burning the Jewish bodies. The looks on some of their faces were the looks of horror, scared and sadness. Even though they tried to mask it with cruelty and indifference, it still showed through. This proves that not everyone was completely with Hitler’s ideas, and even if they did what he wanted, they still are human and have human emotions.
ReplyDeleteWhen Schindler and his assistant are typing their list, Schindler has a sense of urgency about him. It looks as if he feels if he does not finish the list in time, all these people will die and it would be his fault. This ties in at the end when Germany surrenders and Schindler is talking to the Jewish people he employed in his factory. He ends up on the ground crying. A fully grown, high-ranking army official on the ground crying. Crying about how he wishes he could have saved more people, and how he hasn’t done enough to correct his past wrong doings. Oskar Schindler was a very brave man. He may have started out in the beginning as looking out for only himself and with a new woman everyday, but in the end he was a great person. Even the Jerusalem government recognized this and allowed him to plant a tree on the Street Of Righteousness. Oskar Schindler’s tree still grows there today. To me, that is a symbol, even today, no matter what you have done in the past, you can still do good. It is a symbol that shows us that good always triumphs over evil and corruptness.
What I also noticed in the film was when the Jewish people were being called up, they all had a look of defeat and exasperation on their faces. Everyone, except the children. This is just like The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. Bruno had no idea what was going on and that was why he could be so happy with all the chaos that was going on around his family. This is the same with the kids in these Jewish families. They were very young and they could not understand what was going on. This gives credence to the saying “ignorance is bliss”. Since these kids were ignorant they could still be ahppy, despite all the terrible things that were happening.
The Hollywood motion picture Schindler’s List was a very eye-opening and inspiring story based on true events. It demonstrated that not all Germans were cold-hearted and evil at the time of the Holocaust. It is also a film about doing what you know is right even if it’s not expected of you to do. Oskar Schindler employs the Jews at first thinking it would make him a quick buck by hiring cheap labour, but then he grows to care for them and does it out of the love and compassion in his heart. He, like a few other German do not fit the typical German stereotype that they were horrible, ruthless people who deserved what they were doing to the Jewish people at the time.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of our class watching this movie was to show us a different perspective of what the German culture was all about and erasing the single story in our mind about them. Most of the holocaust related media forms we’ve looked at so far have encouraged this message. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas showed that not all Germans were horrible people by adding the grandmother in the story who was completely against the murdering of the Jews. Also, the speaker from the Ted Talks video’s message was that a single story can put you in tough situations and makes you a bit ignorant. Although the movie showed that there were Germans like Oskar Schindler who were against the Jewish massacre, some scenes in the movie were horrific and disgusted me, as I never really realized how bad things really were for the Jews at the time.
At one point in the movie someone says, “Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.” When I heard this quote I felt the need to write it down immediately because I feel it sums up the whole message of the movie perfectly. Schindler was a Nazi who could have easily let all those Jews working for him go to concentration camps, or even kill them all himself, but he chose not to. This was the reason he was the hero of the story ad was remembered and appreciated by so many people even after his death. Power is being able to do the worst thing possible just like everyone else is doing, but controlling yourself and doing what is right.
I must say, I really enjoyed Schindler’s list. Even though it was at some parts a shockingly accurate portrayal of the horrors of the holocaust, it eventually became a beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteI found it truly inspiring, especially in the last few minutes of the film, to see how people like Oskar Schindler would have acted when faced with atrocities on such a scale as the holocaust. He saw it. He did everything he possibly could. And then he looked back and wept at wishing he could have done more.
Also, he serves as a model for the fact that no one idea about a culture is ever complete, because while many of Germans were firm Nazi supporters, many still may have just been going along with it, much like Oskar Schindler, in order not to stick out. It has occurred to me recently that we will never know how many people were like this, however, because we don’t really know. And we can’t. So we should not assume that the most popular German image was the only German image.
As a last point, I think that the interactions between Oskar and his business partner “Izhak Stern”. Whenever they talked, it was not Jew to German, or Superior to subordinate. It was man to man. So, I think that, just like with Bruno and Shmuel from “the boy in the striped pyjamas, they tore down the fence that divided them so they were two equals.
After watching Schindlers list, I had a strange sense of pride. I was proud that Oskar Shindlar saved all those innocent Jews from death. I was also proud that at the end he kept saying that he could've saved other people if only he sold some of his things. Although he tried to mask his caring for the Jews behind the profits he would make, we could really understand how much he really DID care.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely an eye opener. After being taught in school that the Holacost was all about one man who wanted to kill everyone else for no reason, it makes yousee the double side to it. Not all Germans were for the Holacost. The luitenet of the Nazis wasn't even for it.
It reminded me of two things. One, that the grandmother in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was not for what the nazi army was doing. Her own son, the commandant, she wouldn't not speak to because of this. And two, the Ted Talks video. Every stereo type is not necessarily untrue, but it is incomplete. I don't think I was ever taught "oh there we're some people who were against murder but they couldn't do anything about it unless they wanted to get shot!" that brings us to the topic of the interview. Dan Boyne says that there is complacency in human society and because of that we don't npdo anything about what goes on in our world today.
The motion picture “Schindler’s List” completely eradicates the single story that many of us have grown to know so well—that all Germans were cruel and mean people who agreed with everything Hitler was doing. It showed the Holocaust from a completely different point of view, which was very refreshing. The movie followed the journey of Oskar Schindler in his attempt to save as many Jews as possible from being murdered at concentration camps. I thought this story, which is based on actual events, was very eye-opening and powerful. It captured the very essence of everything we have been discussing in class—that there is no single story about anything. There are always more sides, more stories, more opinions and ideas, and it is our job to learn as much as we can about them. Believing in only the single story about anything is like watching a 3D movie without wearing the 3D glasses; everything becomes blurry and unclear and it is impossible to fully understand what is going on.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to my reactions to the actual movie, the overall feeling that I got was one of chaos, confusion, and urgency, which is only to be expected during a movie about the Holocaust. A lot of the time people were being pushed around, taken this way and that, and separated from their loved ones. There was a great sense of urgency among Oskar, which was clearly evident in the scene where he was calling out names and Stern was typing them out. He felt that if he did not move fast enough, it would be too late (and in one situation, when Stern was on the train and Oskar came just in time to be able to stop the train and get him off, it almost was). In addition, what I find amazing is how different Oskar is from the other Nazi soldiers. While most of the soldiers were practically shooting Jews as often as they were blinking, Oskar was trying to save them, even if it meant putting his own life at risk. Oskar was a very brave, courageous, and honorable man, and what he did is truly admirable.
In relation to the other pieces of literature that we have studied so far, there are both similarities and differences among them and Schindler’s List. This movie and the documentary “Night and Fog” definitely elicited similar emotions—horror, disgust, fear, anger—however, while the documentary simply showed us the horrifying facts and undeniable truths about the Holocaust, the movie took a definite standpoint. It completely eliminated the single story, an idea that was first presented to us through the TEDTalk. In regards to the novel, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, I think it is fair to compare the relationship that formed between Bruno and Shmuel to the one that formed between Oskar and the Jews he saved, particularly Stern. These two men were able to look past the superficial differences that society was putting so much emphasis on and did not view each other as one being superior to the other. They spoke man to man, not German to Jew.
Schindler’s List was something I had to see. Unlike Boy in The Striped Pajamas and Night and Fog, that followed the single story of all Germans being horrible people, my heart and mind needed to see that this single story wasn’t true. In fact, after watching Schindler’s List, all that was left of this single story was destroyed. It proved not all Germans agreed with Hitler and that some were even willing to risk their own lives to help save a few victims. Oscar Schindler, was one of these people. He was a German business man, but he didn’t achieve what a business would want and he did not accept the fact that all Jews were going to die. He cared too much for them, his people, to let them die. He did whatever he had to do to keep them safe; he bribed, yelled, convinced, and even ensured that any soldier who killed a worker at his factory would go to prison. And in the end, these Jews knew what he went through to help them and everything he felt towards them, all the love, care and respect, they truly felt back. He saved over 1100 Jews but it is very ironic how he felt. He was a German who did right but even after this already extraordinary action, of being German and disobeying what he was supposed to follow, he still did not feel like he had done enough, that he should have been able to save more lives. It sickens me that he felt this way because meanwhile the ones responsible for the death of millions, felt nothing towards the people they murdered but in the end I think this just proves even more than that the single story is not 100% true.
ReplyDeleteThe movie, Schindler’s List is probably a movie I’ll remember for a long time. The way the Holocaust is portrayed on the screen was enough to leave a lasting impression on everyone who watched it. The thing that I like the most was the way they showed Oscar Schindler. They didn’t show him as some war hero who saved the lives of 1300 people; they showed him as someone human who saw right from wrong, and did what he knew was right, no matter the cost that he’d pay. Schindler obviously didn’t fit the single story of the Nazi army, and through him we saw other people who didn’t fit the single story either. I’m not sure, but I think it was a Commandant of a camp who Schindler went to talk to. Schindler said to him that he knew that he was paying for extra clothes for people right out of his own pocket. This shows me that it’s not just Schindler who doesn’t fit the single story, but many people. The end truly showed how good Schindler was. While everyone knew the war was over, Schindler was thinking that if he sold his car, or his pin, he could have saved more lives. I think that Schindler never saw the Jewish people as people beneath him, because if he did than he wouldn’t have saved all the lives that he did.
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of connections from the movie and the other things we’ve seen and read about the Holocaust. One was the way that the movie showed both sides of the “fence”, just like in the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Schindler became friends with the Jewish people, just like how Bruno became friends with Shmuel. And just like how the fence was a place that Bruno and Shmuel could meet and not have boundaries, the factory was almost the same. The people were just people, not a race that needed to be killed. Another thing that reminded me of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas was when we saw the Auschwitz camp, and the room the girls had to go into. I thought that they were going to a gas chamber, and was relieved to see that they weren’t about to die. This scene reminded me of when Bruno and Shmuel died. I don’t think I could have watched a person being killed like that. In the end, the movie showed that not everyone fits one story, whether it is two small nine-year-old boy, or two men who run a business together. The story of a culture is not set in stone, where everyone is the same; it is something that people should see both sides before judging.
The movie “Schindler’s List” did in fact bring the message of the single story to life. As we are all well aware by now, not all Germans were people of evil spirits who truly hated the Jews. I grew an interest to how this movie was told based on the true events of Oskar Schindler’s good doing during the late 1930s to mid 1940s. It demonstrated a different view of the Holocaust, the side of a German soldier, specifically one of high ranking. By seeing the other side of the story I discovered that German people didn’t necessarily hate the Jews. For example, Schindler spoke to Mr.Stern as just another human being not a Jew nor German. They both looked past cultural difference and viewed each other as equal, they appreciated each other for who they were, thus built a relationship. I was surprised about how Stern and Schindler remained so calm about their situations throughout the movie. Knowing if they were to be caught, both of them would pay the debt of life. Also, I really admired how Schindler chose to go above and beyond the expectations of making his list of Jews and the sacrifice he would make for people who his culture was at war with. What baffled me was despite saving 1100 Jews from death he still was upset with himself as he wished he could’ve helped more. After becoming broke and a wanted man he continued to have such a passion to help and serve people. Before we began watching the movie I had an idea of what the movie was already about but I had never expected to see traits like this demonstrated by a Nazi, it seems almost impossible.
ReplyDeleteThe motion picture one hundred percent relates to the other forms of literature based on creating borderlands. Throughout the unit our main focus has been to witness both sides of the story, being the Holocaust between the German and Jewish people. The book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas showed both sides of the story. We see the obstacles two young boys, of opposite cultures but alike qualities, encounter during world war II. This educated and gave us a brief idea about the lifestyles of a Jewish boy and German boy during this time of hatred. The interview helped us acknowledge that we must be aware of what is present in our world today. It is scary to know that in reality something just as dark as the Holocaust but maybe not as drastic could happen today and we wouldn’t even bother to help our fellow man. There have been various occurrences like the Rwanda genocide and were not put to a stop until it was too late. This is where the topic of complacency is stressed. The documentary about the cold hearted truth and facts of the Holocaust is shown vaguely but effectively with just a series of images. Now we have the movie, which showed the story of a German Nazi who showed characteristics of compassion and care and chose to help “the enemy”. This can relate to the book as Bruno’s father the commandant of Auschwitz may have had feelings of Oskar Schindler’s but didn’t posses the will to carry out his emotions (reasoning could be the wealth difference of the two). The grandma of Bruno relates to Schindler how they both didn’t support the wrong choices of Hitler’s regime and extermination of Jews. They both showed extremities as Schindler chose to help over 1000 Jews and save their lives and the grandma refused to speak to her son because of his actions in the war. This showed me and everyone that it is certain that not all German people were cruel people.
In addition, after watching the film a theory had come to my mind about the “single story”. I think there is actually three sides to the story. This would include the stereotypical side, the other side and the truth. In this case for example, the stereotypical side would be that German people are Nazis and are enforcers of evil and Jewish people are the victims of the world and hated the Germans. The other side would be that not all German people necessarily hate the Jewish people and not all Jewish people necessarily hated the Jewish people. Then there is the facts, the truth. The two sides of the story always have some truth and may be twisted and morphed to something very similar to the truth. In the movie you see the stereotypical side, where some Nazi soldiers hated, mocked and had fun killing thousands of Jews. For example, just outside the ghetto the Nazis were burning bodies and one soldier was laughing and mocking the Jewish people who were burning in flames and then began to shoot them as they suffered. We also see Jewish people getting tortured and despising the Germans. For example, when the men and women were being divided many Jews tried attacking or protesting their way out of a crowd they were just shot and killed. We see the other side when Oskar Schindler befriends and develops a relationship with Stern as they both work together, Jew and German, to save the victims of the concentration camps. The complete truth of the Holocaust and the true reason why Adolf Hitler would ignite such chaos is untold. This is why it is important for us to understand the stereotypical and the other side to the stories. By becoming aware and open minded to the two sides helps give us a better idea of the truth.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I felt like the movie “Schindler's List” was the most powerful form of literature that we watched. This is because it took all of the information that we compiled over the course of this unit and then added a completely new side to the story to it. The movie showed us that not all Germans were Jew hating Nazis and that not all Nazis hated Jews. Instead, it showed us that there were people who did in fact oppose the Holocaust and were willing to risk their own lives and fortunes to save others. We were able to see that in the face of so much evil there were people who were willing to make personal sacrifices for the good of others.
ReplyDeleteThe film does an excellent job of showing the truth behind Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s lecture on the single story. Before viewing the film, I had read several novels about regular German people who had hid and protected their Jewish neighbours but this was the first time that I had heard of a member of the Nazi party who was willing to save Jewish people. This is an example of how no matter how much about an issue we believe we know there is always more to be discovered and always an additional side to the story. One major difference between the various types of literature is that this is the only one where we see the other side of the Nazi lieutenant. “The Boy in the Striped Pajama’s” and “Night and Fog” both portray ALL Nazi’s as heartless beasts who found great pleasure in the death of the Jews. From the film we learn that not all of them were evil but many were. It seems to me that even some of the other forms of literature even embraced the “single story” to a certain extent. My final comment is in reference to the interview, in it John Boyne speaks about the complacency of the German people. I believe that this film demonstrates that not all Germans were as complacent as they seemed to be and that some kept up the pretext of being complacent while doing their utmost to aid the Jews they seemed to be shunning.
Ultimately, “Schindler’s List” was a very interesting and important movie as it shone a new light on the German people and showed us that all humans are capable of good no matter how evil a position they appear to hold.
This movie was completely different from what I saw in the documentary. I couldn’t relate at all to the people in the documentary. I couldn’t even imagine their pain or the intense fear that the Jewish people had to go through. Yet in the movie, they seemed so much more… human? Instead of frightened people who would flinch at anything and witnessed every horror that nobody should’ve, they held conversations that people would normally have, had jobs and families that they lost. In the movie, I could relate to them more. From everything that had to do with the Holocaust, the Jewish seemed so vulnerable and weak. Even though they are vulnerable, they were extremely strong and would do anything to escape and survive this terrible event. The movie portrayed this very well.
ReplyDeleteTo delve into the plot and characters, I absolutely despised Schindler. I did not believe that he was a good person and was employing Jews because he wanted to save them. He was a profiteer! Why would they make a movie about him if he did this? He evidently saved people’s lives but that seemed totally intentional. There was a part where the one armed man came to thank him with such intensity and sincerity and Schindler degraded him after the man left. He asked, “What is a one armed man doing in my factory?” I was appalled. How could he! Another flaw in his character was that he was a womanizer; he played women and hurt so many of them. He had the money, the women and he was a Nazi.
Yet, as the movie continued to develop I started to see him slowly change. When Sam Cesario and I were talking, the little red coat that the girl was wearing seemed to signify something. When Schindler witnessed her death, and the death of so many others, it seemed like something clicked and he tried to save their lives with even more urgency. He threw away all his money, just trying to save them while making none for himself. What made me stop analyzing him so critically was when Stern finished the list and finally realized what Schindler was doing. That he was actually not using the Jewish for his own needs but to save them.
I was actually slightly shocked that before, Jewish and German people talked about business while the war was raging on. I did not really expect Schindler to want to be in the same room as a Jew, much less go through business plans with each other. I realized that not all people looked down on the Jewish. In fact, Oskar Schindler always talked to Stern as a human being. He never spoke with a condescending tone or disgust.
ReplyDeleteThe ending was terribly sad. Every single person that Schindler saved and took under his wing was there. Even though they were the ones free now and he was the one being hunted, he still worried about them. “I could’ve saved more.” That completely blew me away. I could not believe that the people who I judged so harshly could be so humble and selfless. I was completely wrong in everything I thought about the Nazis.
Going through this unit, from the Boy in the Striped Pajamas to the tedtalk, I realized that not everyone was bad and that everyone had their own story. But the movie made me see that not only did people realize what they were doing was wrong; they also tried to help the situation (like Schindler).
A quote in the movie that really touched me was, “To save a life is to save the whole world” Oskar Schindler saved so many lives, 4000 people! To this day, 6000! One life, can impact so many! Evil is not the only thing that contains the human mind. And this film showed me that. Every scene was filled with perfection and realism. I thought it was brilliant.
I have to admit Schindler’s List was on of the best movies I have ever seen, and contrary to the countless emotions that ran through me, I was left kind of speechless. It was a movie that, to me, was like a rose. If you’ll humor me, I’ll explain why. Schindler’s List was beautiful, in a complex way, and it was so sorrowfully beautiful that sometimes it was painful to watch, heart-wrenching to witness. Like a rose, you see it and are mesmerized by its fragility, its beauty, but when you go to pick it up you feel the sharp pricks of pain, the inevitable thorns that mark every rose. It don’t want to sound choppy but I have so much running through my mind, so much I am willing to share, so many fleeting ideas sparked and elicited by this film, that I don’t how the foggiest notion of what to say and what not to. One thing I know for sure, though, is that this movie has done what it was meant to do; powerfully and bluntly. It has erased the single story of the Holocaust from my mind, irrevocably (as it probably has for every other viewer). Better yet, it shows the expected “evil” side of the Germans, the typical bad guys that we degrade every German from World War II to be. It shows the truth in stereotyping as well as the ignorance of those with a sole belief in it. This makes the eradication of the single story that much more powerful, it shows that yes, there were the crazed Nazis, bent on the mass murder, the annihilation of the entire Jewish culture. Then, it shows Oscar Schindler, holding his list of life, a man condemned to the title of a Nazi Lieutenant, but not by the actions he refused to take, the very actions that stole the lives of over six million humans; the people who did nothing more than we do every day at school, acknowledge and practice our faith. How very ironic it is that in the interview Boyne points out that complacency led to such action, such murder, and while to maintain inaction and noninvolvement, it took courage that so few had.
ReplyDeleteOskar Schindler is a hero to me, a modern-day hero. Heck, he’s even a hero by Aristotle’s standards. His is a story that should be told over and over in the history books, his is the persona that should be timeless; not Hitler’s. Ask anyone and they know about Hitler, he’s bad, he has a funny mustache, he’s a hypocrite, and blah blah blah. What about men like Schindler? Men who, despite the circumstances forced upon them, tried to fight back, to make a difference? Their stories deserved to be told just as much as the untold stories of the millions of Jews who were silenced by death. If not, those Germans are just as victimized as every Jew murdered in Auschwitz. I am not saying that Schindler was the clichéd hero; he had his flaws, his hamartia. He was a womanizer and a profiteer of war and I think he smoked and drank a little too much, but he was a damn genius. He was clever, sly, suave, and impressive and knew how to play that game. He used money, what seemed like the root of all evil at the beginning, to save lives. Schindler was desperate and horrified though, his humanity gave him that desperation and empathy, and that is what made him brave; so he faced discharge from his status (a status that he didn’t even want) and death but he did not let death be the only mercy, the hopes of a painless bullet to the back of the head the only reason to continue living. In the end, though, when he broke down, I just wanted to break down with him. I wasn’t satisfied that he was feeling pain for what some of his people inflicted on the innocent. I was sitting there with him, crying because I wished more lives were saved too. That he wasn’t the only one crying when so many more had so much more for which to repent. That he wasn’t the only one that paid for Jews because they were worth something, even if it is something more than money. That he wasn’t the only one that got away with doing what he did, using business as a guise; that this whole thing never happened in the first place, for we are still managing to deal with unwarranted and unwanted repercussions today. I can only think of what Stern says to Schindler in response, the ray of hope, blinding and unforgettable in a dark time…“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.” This movie was the ray of hope that I was so desperately searching for, some sort of proof that humanity can exist in men like Bruno’s father, one that I searched for as desperately as Schindler searched for names of people to put on his list of life.
ReplyDeleteWe have read a novel, listened to a TedTalk, and witnessed a gruesome documentary focusing on the theme of eliminating the single story, in relation to the Holocaust. However, I have to say it was the Hollywood film we watched in class today that spoke to me the most. It was one thing to visualize the events of the Holocaust in your mind, or to hear the story being told to you, or even to lay your eyes on real images of the vicious killings; but to me it was completely different to actually step foot inside the lives of some people who partook in the events, with the help of a feature film. With watching Schindler’s List I had a real sense of connection to the people involved and what was happening to them. For one thing, the audience can personally witness the happenings through their own eyes, but also see for themselves the reactions of the different characters. It was eye opening to me in many ways.
ReplyDeleteThe pivotal point in the movie was when Schindler notices a little girl in a red jacket, being carried in a wheel barrow—dead. That was the only moment where the audience saw a glimpse of colour. I’m not entirely sure if it was a trick on my eyes, a glitch on the screen, or purposely included by Speilberg, but after that scene, I could have sworn I saw other brief flashes of colour in the movie. Whether these flashes were really a part of the movie or not, to me, they symbolized hope. Not only for the Jews, hoping to escape the torture they were facing, but also to Schindler, hoping to find some way of putting the Jewish people out of their misery. This is why I was happy to see the ending of the film in full colour; the people have broken free of the dreary black and white concentration camps, and are finally living in colour—freedom—again.
This film really triggered my emotions in way I never thought it could. Frankly, at the beginning of the movie I was bored and completely lost as to what was going on. I’m not sure when, but at some point about halfway through, something clicked inside me. I realized what was actually happening. People were dying…soldiers were laughing…and Oskar Schindler was caught in the middle of this, doing what he can. I obtained such a feeling of compassion for him when he broke down into tears saying “if only I saved one more person…” but it’s simply amazing how many lives he did save. Six thousand descendants came out of the people he saved alone! Watching this movie allowed me to really connect to the people on both sides of the “fence” in ways I felt I was unable to do before. I thought I knew everything there was to know about removing the single story from our minds, but this movie just exposed so much more to me. And this helped me realize that there is always more to learn about others; we can never tell ourselves we know it all.
Schindler’s list was captivating an intriguing in every aspect – as a film, a story and a doorway to understanding. It gives viewers the perfect opportunity to experience the German life during the Holocaust, and this alone is an extraordinary quality. I have mentioned in past blogging responses that it is the Nazis who aren’t given a complete story when we look back today, hence this movie was reminiscent to a sigh of relief, letting us finally place the remaining piece of the puzzle so that a greater picture can be shown.
ReplyDeleteAt the outset of the movie, I was quick to judge the Nazis whom I’ve learned to take a negative perspective on. I thought, Schindler may be going through with his plan to save the Jewish People, but he’s only doing enough to keep himself alive at the same time. I reasoned that Schindler really wasn’t so heroic, as he hadn’t done so much as to put himself into any position of harm. My thoughts changed through the duration of the movie and I was perplexed when it dawned on me that Schindler was not only more brave, but also more keen than I had anticipated. He knew that saving too many prisoners would put him in suspicion’s light, and ultimately risk every one of his employees. He was also cognisant of the fact that his death would cease the entire project of saving his workers, thus leading to their eventual death also. In the manner with which Schindler did fulfil his aim, he avoided suspicion and saved himself with the ultimate purpose of saving his workers. This transformation of perspective I found to be very peculiar with regards to my mindset at the beginning of the movie and afterwards.
Looking at the rest of the Nazis, I’ve gained a deeper, more angular outlook on these soldiers, facing the circumstances they were under and unravelling the truth about their captivity. Were these men given a choice as to whether or not they wanted to partake in the events that they did? I’m sure that no one asked them, “Would you like to work in a dirty ghetto, yell at innocent people and then watch them burn, literally, to their death each day?” That is the first obstacle with the single story of German soldiers – the fact that they did not act upon their free will. Furthermore, I deem that many of them would have done something about the situation if they could have, but after watching this film, I sincerely believe that these soldiers were as withheld as the prisoners by invisible fences. I looked at Oskar Schindler in this movie I observed his wealth, power and position. What makes his story possible is not only his willingness to change something he felt was unjust, but also the magnitude of resources that he had to do just that. It isn’t a black and white picture on the inside of this entire catastrophe and one cannot settle with only a fence and two races on either side because it is important to look at how the fence got there, how the people found themselves behind it and who those people really are. Who is to say that every one of those Nazis wouldn’t have done something if they simply COULD have? But they couldn’t. Not even Oskar Schindler could have saved more than a handful of the killed. Yes, the Nazis need be held accountable for their actions, but the unseen reason behind these actions cannot be overseen.
Of all the media which has carved a path through boarders and into borderlands, this movie portrayed the largest German perspective. It has made me think back to Bruno, back to John Boyne and to the horrific scenery of the holocaust to think... maybe Bruno’s father didn’t want to tell his son about the prisoners because he was downright ashamed. Perhaps while Night and Fog told of the prayers that prisoners said in hopes of escaping their horrid reality, the Nazis did the same. And certainly, there is anything but a single story to this story that will hopefully only occur a single time. The more dimensional my thoughts flourish, the farther I can see into the cavern of undiscovered borderlands, waiting to be found.
The film Schindler's list to me was the most emotional and multi-storied piece of media we have viewed. During this unit we have witnessed different media sources so we get different views and interpretations of the same event so we, like Mr. Racco has repeated "eradicate the single stories in our heads" or stereotypes and labels. We are not viewing these sources for historical learning but to understand the true message within, that there is more than one story to any event, and this movie demonstrates exactly that! We have learned from the Ted Talks presentation that stereotypes are single-sided stories that are incomplete, and twisted by the people with power. I and many others used to have this single-sided image or label of Germans due to the twisted stereotypes we have learned and have been engrained in our heads since we were young. This presentation has helped shed light on this, as well as the book the "Boy In The Striped Pajamas", that not all Germans were Nazi party citizens killing Jews or supported the death of Jews, like Bruno's grandmother. This movie though, showed an actual person , Oskar Schindler who was against the Nazi beliefs but was actually a Nazi Lieutenant/Commandant himself. This film has shed even more light that there were people against the Nazi party and beliefs but actually some Nazis like Schindler that hated what they were forced to do, but will others did what they were forced to do and kill innocent Jews because they would have to face death themselves, Oskar didn't succumb to that, he risked his life, spent all his money and efforts for what he believed was right. He is in all ways a hero, who had his own problems like being a womanizer, and a war profiteer, like any other human but put his life in risk for the sake of others and for what is right. He was such a humble and selfless man who cried after saving thousands of Jews and wished he saved more. That just broke me down, this ability to be so selfless and want to be even more than he already is and save them all, I wish I could be that way, I admire him. Oskar himself during this journey of saving the Jews also improved on overcoming his own problems in my opinion, he no longer was a war profiteer , he spent every dollar he had to hide these Jews from torture and injustice. This movie displayed the other side of the story, and also showed some historical/ documentary information of the Holocaust like the life at Auschwitz and the tortures that go on in this camp like the documentary "Night and Fog" another perspective of the Holocaust. This movie was almost the perfect conclusion of this unit summing up all the information and messages we learned into one powerful movie. This film in conclusion was incredibly heart-moving and it gives me hope that there is some light in these dark periods of history that there is goodness in people, even if they are labelled in a certain way. While the documentary Night and Fog made me feel hollow, empty, and depressed this movie gave me this solemn happiness that there is a way of this bad times due to the actions of inspirational people like Oskar. Everyone should work to be like him.
ReplyDeleteTears poured down my face as I watched the heart-breaking scenes on the screen. Images of screaming families being torn apart, burnt ashes of human remains and large masses of human corpse were all I saw. These startling images would not be erased from my mind, no matter how hard I tried. If you are wondering what exactly I saw on the screen, it was the Hollywood Motion Picture, “Schindler’s List”. What I saw was two different stories of the Holocaust, (for lack of better terms)—the good German, bad German.
ReplyDeleteBefore beginning this culture unit, I had this single-story of the German and Jewish people in my mind. Gradually through reading ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’, the interview with John Boyne, watching the documentary ‘Night and Fog’ and watching the TED video by , Chimamanda Adichie, my single-story changed. My “story” of the Germans was that they were horrible, cruel, cold people. This impression was given to me through the different types of literature and media that I read and watched throughout elementary school. These forms of literature and media were told in a way that made the Germans seem like very bad people. During this unit of “single-stories”, I began to think that maybe single stories are determined by who exactly is telling the story. I believe that the past Holocaust literature and media that I have read were told from a Jewish perspective. With the story being told through the Jewish perspective, it made the Germans seem bad because the Jewish narrators spoke about the horrible things that were being done to them. I have now realized that once the perspective changes, the story changes it with it. When reading ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ which was told through the eyes of a nine year old boy, I learned that not all German people were cruel and hated the Jews. Through watching “Schindler’s List”, I clearly saw two different stories being told. The first story—the bad German was told through the countless scenes of the German soldiers abusing and killing any Jew for no good reason. A specific scene that stayed in my mind, was one of a German soldier shooting a man and his son. They first tried to shoot the young boy who attempted to run away but once the boy’s father stood in the way of the bullet making him the new target. Once the father was shot, soldiers chased the young boy and shot him in the head. The second story, which in my opinion is what the story is truly based on, is the Good German. In this case, the ‘good German’ is Oskar Schindler who is a German womanizer, industrialist. Oskar becomes the good German when he uses the line ‘for the sake of production’ to save 1100 Jewish people. This shows that not every German was a horrible person, there were people like Oskar that helped protect the Jews. In this movie, it was evident that the Jewish people were very grateful for what Oskar did for them. They showed this appreciation by consistently wanting to personally thank Oskar for saving their lives. At the end of the movie, when the war was coming to an end the ‘Schindler Jews’ presented Oskar with a token of their appreciation. They gave him a ring that had the words, ‘Whoever saves one life saves the world entirely’ in Hebrew engraved on it. Although Oskar thought he could have done more, saved more, it had meant the world to the people, his workers what he had done.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. " I’d like to end with this thought that is posted on our classroom blog because it is very true. Oskar was not silent about what truly mattered—saving the Jewish people. Although, he may not have said it directly, it is apparent that Oskar’s main goal was to the save the Jewish families.
Seeing the film 'Schindler's List' has certainly brought out some heartfelt emotions. Personally, I found that watching the motion picture in the view of a German lieutenant was much more shocking than reading about a naive boy or witnessing the events from the perspective of a Jewish person, and what they would have needed to go through. Because Oskar Schindler was a part of the Nazi regime, he was a profiteer, and at the beginning of the movie, I thought that he would be selfish, cheap, and monstrous. I had only based my opinion on the single story of the Nazis that I had learned about – the hateful murderers. But as the movie progressed, I noticed a difference from the stereotype when compared to Oskar Schindler. He seemed like a kind gentleman, eventually willing to sacrifice everything he had to save others. It was an unbelievable turn of events. There I was, thinking of the worst possible image of a Nazi lieutenant, and I had been wrong. Oskar risked his fortune and livelihood in order to possibly (and successfully) save thousands of innocent lives from sure-death, all due to his thought of the whole process being wrong. Eventually, he realized that human life has no price, and is the most valuable gift anyone can ask for. He gave up his wealth to save people, and what I found most humble was the fact that after all of the lives he indeed saved, Oskar Schindler was still convinced that he could have done more, more than what many would've considered impossible. It was a pleasing ending to a rather gloomy setting. The Schindler Jews would not be here today if it wasn't for the kind actions of a courageous man. As each survivor of the Holocaust passed Oskar's grave, they must have all felt very thankful to be where they were, alive and free. It was all due to Oskar Schindler. He may have died a poor individual, but definitely rested as a rewarded human being.
ReplyDeleteSchindler’s List is an very powerful movie. Incredibly powerful. Oskar Schindler is a profiteer of slave labour, a womaniser, and an extremely rich man. I understand that when the movie starts Schindler only uses the Jewish people as workers so that he can make money. He does not treat them like trash but does not really care for them either. The only thing he has interest in is money. But as the movie develops Schindler becomes closer to the Jewish community and has sympathy for them. By the middle of the film he seems extremely desperate to obtain the Jewish people, so that he could save their lives. He returns their rights and even betrays his country by giving them fraud military equipment. He clothes them and feeds them, directly out of his own pockets. He experiences such a drastic change in personality. When he first starts his factory he did not even want to talk to one of his workers who wanted to express his gratitude, to a man who even lets his workers to pray instead of working. He starts for the money not the people, but in the end he loses all his fortune but saves more than a thousand Jews. Schindler Jews. And at the end, he even regrets not selling his other belongings. To save another life, just another single life.
ReplyDeleteThrough out the entire film I watch but try to not take much of it serious. Making snide comments and joking about the film. I think if I did not do that the movie would have touched me much more. It is not that it did not, but that I tried not to get to into it, because I know if I did I would have left that room with an aching heart. The movie was a roller coaster of emotions, so without my “immaturity” it would have been much harder to watch and enjoy.
Another thought I had during the film was the thought of all the workers would have ended up massacred, one way or the other. The film makes you feel such hope at times, but I already know that the Holocaust was a tragic event and I have been brainwashed to think that way. But it was not based on the single story that I was expecting the movie to end off with a sad not, I just did not want to be devastated when they all did die. I did not want my hopes to build up, only to be crushed and torn to shreds. So I always thought of the worst-case scenarios as a ‘shield’ around my heart, just in case of tragedy and death.
A touching scene was when Schindler and Stern were embracing. For some odd reason it reminded me of Bruno and Shmuel, when they finally embrace as ‘best friends.’ The two stories and their similarities, even though they are talking about children in one and grown men in the other.
It was interesting viewing Schindler's List; however, facial expressions and comments during the viewing were priceless. It was quite obvious that many made the link(similarities) between Schindler and Bruno's father.As Kyle said, "it was a roller coaster of emotions." I enjoyed everyone's comments about power. "Power is being able to do the worst thing possible just like everyone else is doing, but controlling yourself and doing what is right." Good point Caroline. Martha offers an excellent simile: "It captured the very essence of everything we have been discussing in class—that there is no single story about anything. There are always more sides, more stories, more opinions and ideas, and it is our job to learn as much as we can about them. Believing in only the single story about anything is like watching a 3D movie without wearing the 3D glasses; everything becomes blurry and unclear and it is impossible to fully understand what is going on." Samantha write, "It was an unbelievable turn of events. There I was, thinking of the worst possible image of a Nazi lieutenant, and I had been wrong. Oskar risked his fortune and livelihood in order to possibly (and successfully) save thousands of innocent lives from sure-death, all due to his thought of the whole process being wrong." I agree with this and all classmates commented on this turn of events. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteTerrific link Veronica: ""Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. " I’d like to end with this thought that is posted on our classroom blog because it is very true. Oskar was not silent about what truly mattered—saving the Jewish people. Although, he may not have said it directly, it is apparent that Oskar’s main goal was to the save the Jewish families.
Outstanding work everyone. Our social learning enviroment: the classroom blog is definitely an asset to our understanding and learning about cultures.