Abstract This paper surveys the passage and impact of the Nuremberg Laws in Germany in 1935. It explains that these laws lead to greater persecution of Jewish people, and deprived them of their natural rights.
From the Paper "For example in May the German government passed a law prohibiting Jews from joining the army. And that summer anti-Jewish propaganda appeared in Nazi German shops and restaurants Racial Policy of Nazi Germany. It was not a major surprise therefore when on September Hitler announced two Nuremberg Laws titled the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour at an annual Nazi rally ..."
Abstract The paper discusses survival, resistance and rescue during the Holocaust, explaining the various modes of resistance and strategies employed for survival. The paper contends that no one method of resistance was the best.
From the Paper "The analyses and narratives presented in the three books suggest very strongly that modes of survival, resistance and rescue were possible during the Holocaust. Without question, instances of the failure of these modes of behavior likely outweigh instances of their success. Nonetheless, the text establishes that such activities were possible and practiced regularly throughout the Holocaust. The paper examines the Holocaust through the essays of numerous scholars and other writers."
Abstract This paper explores Hannah Arendt's theory which she called "the banality of evil." Arendt's hypothesis is critiqued and studied through the example of Adolf Eichmann, a figure responsible for orchestrating the Nazi Holocaust. A disturbing facet of Arendt's argument is based on the belief that Adolf Eichmann lacked intrinsically evil psychological makeup. It is debated in this paper whether a human being could willingly devise a scheme that was the most sadistic and systematic killing in world history. A brief portion of the paper examines common instances where the 'banality of evil' could excuse wrongdoing.
From the Paper "The term 'banality of evil' can be explained in a variety of ways. Literally, the word 'banality' translates as "dullness". The word evil can be defined as "something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity" . On the surface, a basic analysis of the phrase implies that sadistic behavior does not always have a starting point. Arendt's use of this phrase offers an alternative explanation to our traditional perceptions of evil. She refutes the notion that an ulterior motive must exist to commit sinister acts such as the Holocaust. In Eichmann's example, this would imply that he was not motivated by Anti-Semitism or inner-resentment towards any race. Instead, Arendt proposes that some individuals' capacity for evil derives from their superficial character. Their superficiality dulls their ability to make informed and moral decisions."
Abstract Using the books "Kiss of the Spider Woman" by Manuel Puig and "If This Is a Man" by Primo Levi, this paper looks at how plot is developed through the characters' tales of their lives to help lift them from their oppressive environments. The paper shows how characterization and setting are often key elements in plot development in a novel.
Introduction
Analysis
Comparison of Works
Contrasting
Conclusions
From the Paper "In both novels the settings and characters affect the plot. In each instance the characters attempt to rise above their gloomy existence through narrative. This is done via use of a fictional telling in Puig's novel, and Levi's real life day to day encounters in his work. In "Kiss of the Spider Woman," only two characters exist and the prison cell is enough to cause a chemical reaction to take place. In this case each of the characters must pass time and do so through story telling and by caring for one another. In "If This is a Man," Primo has to bury his dignity and identity. This is an essential part of the plot and structure of the novel. This aspect of the work also represents transformation much like that which occurs in Puigo's work. For example, in Chapter 1 prior to his arrest Primo is rebellious. However by chapter two the main character is presented as a hollow man, reduced to suffering and needs. Here he has reached the lowest of lows. Later Primo's name is replaced by a prison number that allows him to get food. This too represents the lack of dignity and respect the character must undergo. In Chapter 13 during the selection to the gas chamber, the experience of cold and hunger, the reader is left with little margin for thought. The main character must under these circumstances and challenges resign himself to despair which occurs on page 131."
Abstract This essay compares and contrasts two works of literature written during the Holocaust. Two diaries, one written by Elie Wiesel and the other by Chaim A. Kaplan, are examined from their differing approaches to a shared horrific experience. The paper further explains that the authors both needed the diaries to survive the war to act as testimonies of their trials. The paper describes the two authors' backgrounds as contributing to their different approaches to the tragedy of the Holocaust. Finally, the author views these two works as being of tremendous historical value.
From the Paper "Kaplan seems ready to place blame upon virtually every group within and without Europe, for the historical and political forces he deemed responsible for his experiences. At times he condemns the ancient prophets for bringing down the wrath of heaven; he also expresses anger towards the Jewish police in the Ghettos; he also identifies what he calls the "conspiracy of silence" among Western leaders who allow Jewish persecution to continue. Similarly, Wiesel is not content to merely blame the Germans for what he was forced to endure. Wiesel takes great care, within the pages of Night, to illustrate the notion that the evil he felt and witness was not merely limited to the soldiers who inflicted the various forms of torture and death upon those in the Holocaust; instead, he sees the historical circumstances as having brought out the evil in everyone. He documents the terrible selfishness that conditions within Auschwitz awakened within the prisoners: "Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else. . . . Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone." (Wiesel, 70-1). "
Tags: Diary, testimony, survival, World, War, II, Shoah
Abstract This paper explains that the Holocaust can be conceived of as an entirely rational act. The author points out that Freud and others have posited the idea that human beings lack an internal moral compass, which is a belief that presupposes that human beings lack the capacity to determine the innate rightness or wrongness of a particular act. The paper relates that Frayn focuses on the indeterminacy of truth and suggests that the subjective nature of the truth makes any efforts to rationally arrive at universal ones.
From the Paper 'There can be little doubt that the Holocaust was one of the worst - if not the worst - acts of iniquity ever carried out by human beings. Nearly six million European Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime as Hitler and his thugs attempted to wipe an entire ethnic group from the face of the earth - and many more lost family members, homes and all of their personal possessions as a result of the Nazi rampage. With that grim specter in mind, this paper confronts the fallacy of believing that enlightenment conceits or ideals - championing as they do the 'rationality' of human beings - are possible in the real world."
Abstract The paper explores the role of prostitution in the Nazi concentration camps and how they related politically, economically and socially within these environments. The paper explains that by examining, in detail, all three of these tiers of Jewish women and the prostitution rings they were forced to participate within, one can realize the horror of German political and military policy in humiliating these marginalized peoples.
From the Paper "This holocaust analysis will examine the role of Jewish women and prostitution within the economic, social, and political formats of concentration camps within the Third Reich of World War II. Outline: A. Introduction. B. Political Issues of Prostitution in the Holocaust I. The concentration camp prostitution policy. II. The validity of concentration camp implementation of prostitution policy III. The military politics of prostitution for Jewish Women C. Economic variables of prostitution within Hitler's concentration camps I. Women and monetary profit from prostitution in concentration camps II. The profiteering of concentration camp officials through prostitution. III. Indentured servitude and prostitution in concentration camps."
Abstract The paper explains how both Lipstadt and Cohen offer poignant views of revisionist history and the subjectivity of historical evaluation that makes their arguments more politically based, rather than accurate. By the objective facts and witnesses that were part of the Holocaust, Stiles defines their experience as invaluable to historical accuracy when he states: "The last victim of a genocide is truth." In this manner, the victims become the ultimate historical objectivity that records and holds sacred the tenants of memory, which prevent history from repeating itself.
From the Paper "This Holocaust study will analyze the premise of revisionist history through the varying aspects of the Jewish Holocaust, but more importantly through the larger premise of genocide. By analyzing the negative aspects of revisionist theory that deny the Holocaust, one can argue the invalidity of politics that become unraveled behind the truth of genocide. In this manner, historical revision can be warped through political subjectivity and power, rather than observing the very policy that define a genocide under the Geneva Convention. The modern claim that "The last victim of genocide is truth," written by Richard Cohen in the article: "Killing Truth," portray the last, but only reason that the Holocaust was a real historical event."
Abstract The paper examines the meaning of nationalism in the context of Joseph Goebbels' Nazi propaganda pamphlets. The paper claims it is evident that the form of nationalism he was promoting was a synthesis of nationalism and anti-Semitism. The paper explains that this was not a Nazi invention, for nationalist sentiments and attitudes in Europe had been conditioned for centuries by anti-Semitism. Hitler, Goebbels, and the Nazis simply synthesized endemic European anti-Semitism and combined it with their ideology of a pure Aryan master race in order to unify the German people behind the Nazi Party.
Abstract In this paper, the theme of self versus other through national identity is important through the Nazi example due to the horrific genocide that was aimed toward the Jewish peoples. History has developed along these lines in understanding the dangers of fascism or dictators that pose as socialist or democratic institutions. This paper shows that by understanding the dangers of governments that govern with extreme reactionary differentiation toward minorities, one can realize the scope of the Nazi Party and its evolution over the 20s, 30s, and onward into the genocide of the 40s.
From the Paper "The aim of this study is to present an argument for the development of Nazi nationalism that developed over a time line of the late 1920s and into the 30s. The development of psychological propaganda was critical in how the Nazi Party developed from a Socialist platform in regards to the evolution of a nation state in the 20s. In this manner, the theme of self versus others becomes the dictates of a national identity through race and economic political objectives in the 1930s. By understanding the basis of self (the national identity) and the others (Jews and other foreigners), the theme of identity through Nazi nationalism becomes the basis for realizing the evolution of the Nazi Socialist Party into a fascist regime into the Second world War of the 1940s."
Abstract The paper shows how life is difficult for Anne Frank, a lonely Jewish girl, who goes into hiding with her family to be safe from Hitler and grows into a mature young lady with keen insight into her family's feelings of fear and frustration. It presents an analysis of the diary that Frank kept during her period of hiding.
From the Paper "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support" (Frank 1). Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family to hide from Hitler's army. The story begins with Anne Frank having a birthday party where she receives her diary. Frank loves the diary because she will be able to use it to express her feelings. "
Abstract This paper examines the history and missions of the SS. SS units such as the Leibstandarte became Hitler's most effective fighting units for they were the most ideologically motivated and the best equipped divisions in the German military. The paper shows that like all SS units, the SS Leibstandarte had originally been formed as a one hundred twenty man personal bodyguard for Hitler and guarded him at the Nuremberg rallies.
From the Paper "On September 1, 1939 Adolph Hitler unleashed the overwhelming and terrifying military might of the German Luftwaffe and Whermacht upon Poland. Over the next few months Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, and France were also attacked and conquered. And in 1941, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Russia were invaded. All of this was done with the fervent and overwhelming approval of a great majority of the German people, tens of thousands of whom took a direct role in establishing the lethal infrastructure of Hitler's Final Solution, which was operated by Heinrich Himmler's SS. One the war began the original security role of the SS was expanded. In addition to being in charge of security, the SS also began to provide elite combat units."
Abstract This paper discusses the play, 'Bent' and its historical significance. It further discusses elements within the script which evoke emotions and which are controversial in nature, yet necessary in relaying the event of the story. The play serves as an education to the world in the treatment of homosexual men in Nazi Germany during the 1930s, and allows the audience into the suffering of these 100,000 men who have been ignored for decades.
From the Paper "The play, Bent, by Martin Sherman, is one which tells a story that has been little known to the world for decades. It depicts the lives of homosexual men who were forced into concentration camps, and who endured lives of fear and suffering by Hitler, and Nazi Germany. As the world recalls the horrors that Hitler inflicted on the Jews, this issue is one that received neither public condemnation, nor acknowledgment until the play was produced. While Bent is an important statement on the historical world of our society, it is also filled with moments that engage the audience in emotions that are universal in their impact. The main character, Max, is a self-centered man who has no respect for himself, nor anyone else in his life. "
Abstract This paper examines the argument of Wolfgang Benz about the legal framework that was passed in Germany leading up to the Holocaust. In particular, it notes how Benz explains the rise of National Socialism and the policy they instituted leading to the Holocaust in terms of the institutional mechanism of the Third Reich's systematic legal implementation of laws to legitimate the structural dehumanization of the European Jewish community. It also looks at how Benz explores this legal framework in terms of a number of developments in the law in Germany beginning in the early 1930s and continuing into the war.
From the Paper "The European Holocaust of the twentieth century represents both a singular event in the course of modern European history and a significant global event of the twentieth century. The complexity of such a historical event, such as the bureaucratic and technological administration of extermination, has made this particular historical moment one of the most difficult to understand and comprehend. Nonetheless, a thorough understanding of the historical documentation can only assist us in coming to comprehend one of the most barbaric moments in modern human history. Wolfgang Benz explains the rise of National Socialism and the policy they instituted leading to the Holocaust in terms of the institutional mechanism of the Third Reich's systematic legal implementation of laws to legitimate the structural dehumanization of the European Jewish community. "
Abstract The paper analyzes the movie "Seventh Cross". The paper discusses the characters of Zillich and Wallau. The paper discusses their differing attitudes: Wallau was certain that the structure of the world held firm and would continue to hold firm regardless of what struggles might come; Zillich lived a self-fulfilling prophecy that the global structure was unreliable. The paper further discusses how the entire Nazi movement was, unlike communism, a revolt against Western civilization, reasoned discourse, and human rights.
From the Paper "Serve their Paradigmatic Function Zillich and Wallau are similar only in that both are doomed; they differ radically in attitude. In the last moments of his life, Wallau was certain "that the structure of the world held firm and would continue to hold firm regardless of what struggles might come" (Seghers 294). Zillich lived a self-fulfilling prophecy that the global structure was unreliable. At the same time, Zillich exemplifies the bureaucratic efficiency and brutality of the Third Reich. He represented the entire Nazi movement which, "unlike communism, was a revolt against Western civilization, reasoned discourse, and human rights"."
