Abstract This paper discusses how God could have allowed the Holocaust to happen. It also looks at how the Jews have coped with this question after the Holocaust. The paper describes some of the diverse reactions to the Holocaust by both victims and other people, such as acceptance of God's will, denial of God's existence and the movement of Holocaust denial.
From the Paper "Perhaps the most troubling reaction to the Holocaust has been the minority theory that it never happened. This theory, called "Holocaust denial" by many, uses some of the misinformation first broadcast about the Holocaust as evidence the event never occurred. Another historian states, "While originally an obscure movement, since the rise of the internet in the mid-1990s, Holocaust denial has grown significantly, and new adherents continue to set up web sites dedicated to 'debunking the myth'" (Mathis). While this has been horrific to many, especially those who survived the camps or lost loved ones there, many Jews see it as a mixed blessing, because it has brought increased attention to the Holocaust and created new interest in discovering the truth. Thus, it is another example of God's will and His overall plan for the Jews. He creates naysayers who want to convince others the Holocaust never happened, and in doing so, he creates more understanding and interest in the fate of the Jews."
Abstract The paper explores why Denmark and not other countries took the risk of contradicting Germany. The paper relates the history of Jews in Denmark and portrays how the Danes refused, despite German pressure, to take measures against the Jews. The paper discusses how in most of European history, anti-Semitism was ingrained in many of the cultures, but in Denmark there was always a strong sense of civic equality that extended to the Jews and created an atmosphere of tolerance and respect. The paper acknowledges the unanswered questions regarding this terrible time in history for the Jewish people.
From the Paper "In April 2004, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen accepted the Lyndon B. Johnson Moral Courage Award from the Holocaust Museum Houston honoring his country's World War II rescue of thousands of Jews from occupying Nazi forces. The award was given to Denmark for ''the miraculous action by people of all levels to save the Jewish population during the Holocaust.'' In Jerusalem, a boat-like monument signifies the 25th anniversary of the rescue of Danish Jewry, a school is named in Denmark's honor and many Israeli cities and towns have a street or square commemorating the heroism of the Danes. In addition, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem displays a small boat used to ferry Jews to safety in Sweden."
Abstract This paper discusses how, even though they often express themselves in multiple languages, through diverse media and with differing intentions, Jewish American authors are somehow united in creating a common body of literature that can be identified as both Jewish and American. It looks at how, although the links between some Jewish American works may seem obscure, authors such as Isaac Rosenfeld and Elie Wiesel have elucidated their common underpinnings by exploring the obstacles, responsibilities, and strengths shared by their writers.
From the Paper "Since many early writers of Jewish American fiction focused on the experiences of new immigrants and their children, they by definition had to deal with balancing their Jewish and American selves. In doing so, they questioned aspects of mainstream American culture ranging from adherence to religious standards to prioritization of material success, consequently delving more deeply into staples of American distinctiveness than their non-Jewish peers. Precisely as Rosenfeld suggests, early alienation was fruitful in that it forced writers to question their surroundings. As the protagonists of Jewish fiction seek to move from outsider to insider, they confront the very meaning of Americanism and are forced to choose which aspects of their earlier Jewish identities they are willing to sacrifice."
Abstract The paper describes how General Motors and Ford became an integral part of the Nazi war effort in Germany. The paper discusses the subhuman conditions faced by slaves and forced laborers who performed strenuous, back-breaking work for these corporations. The paper addresses how a modern state came to rely heavily on forced labor through cruel and oppressive measures. The paper looks at the compensation finally offered by Ford, Volkswagen, Daimler-Benz and General Motors and the survivors' reaction to this.
From the Paper "After the autumn of 1941, the German political-economic logic of occupation was set aside and the Third Reich vision of total conquest took over. Taking its cue from the political regime, the automobile industry threw tens of thousands of foreign workers and concentration camp inmates into its battle to produce airplane motors, trucks, tanks, and spare parts. The facilities of the automobile factories had become collections of labor processes and assembly lines which the brutalized men and women deported from their homes could service. The dialectic which haunted the history of this industry- the seemingly inescapable economic vulnerability of its enterprises in a land where most people still couldn't afford to purchase their own cars, coupled with its constant effort to project power and to accumulate wealth- consumed the thousands of laborers working in its factories."
Abstract This paper reviews and discusses the short story, "Envy; Or, Yiddish in America" by Cynthia Ozick. According to the paper, the story reveals the author's nuanced feelings toward the disappearance of the Yiddish language and culture. The paper discusses how, although on the surface "Envy" seems mostly critical of Yiddish writers-- as if they either are talentless or almost betray the Jewish community--its underlying message is that a once vibrant community has been destroyed to such an extent that its survivors are hopeless unless they are able to escape it. The paper reports that the story is about the need to rebuild in order to preserve at least some aspect of the Yiddish community Ozick loves and respects.
From the Paper "Ozick structures her essay around the claim that "in order to believe in the real possibility of translation, the translator must believe in certain impossible theses... [which are] important, useful and false" (Metaphor and Memory 200). The first false premise a translator must accept is that poems are "uncovered" rather than translated "because without this belief a translation can never be seen as a thing achieved, concluded finished" (Metaphor and Memory 200). Thus, the hack fails even Ozick's first premise for translation. Although Ozick's essay focuses on poetry, the hack's translation methods stray so far from those suggested by Ozick that it is reasonable to conclude Ozick disapproves of the hack's technique. The hack continues to search for synonyms until Ostrover chooses one to his liking--she strays from Ozick's ideal in which a work is "uncovered" and the translator determines the final form of the work."
Tags: Yiddish assimilation Jewish Judaism, Holocaust Jacob Glatstein Isaac Bashevis Singer Diaspora
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that the relatively easy accessibility of sources from the archives of former Nazi organizations or the state bureaucracy has inevitably resulted in a large number of analyses from the perspective of the German government, as long as material from company archives remained difficult to come by. Although a good deal of compromising primary material came to light in connection with the Nuremberg trials, the writer points out that it was only in the 1960s that the archives of some of the major companies involved in the use of forced and slave labor became available, making possible a serious testing of the various studies that had been written on the subject. As important data became more accessible, scholars have been able to approach the problem from the perspective of Germany's industrial elites. In this essay, the writer provides an extensive comparative analysis of several of these works.
From the Paper "Published in 1942, Neumann's Behemoth was, arguably the most significant attempt of its day at a scholarly and painstaking analysis of the background, working principles and practices, and state of Nazi Germany. His research led him to reject many of the accepted explanations of both the origin and character of the Nazi ideology and practice. Neumann, a former member of the Berlin bar who was for a time counsel to the German trade unions, came to the conclusion that there was not one ruling class in Germany, but four- the Nazi party, the army, the bureaucracy, and the industrial leaders. The industrial leaders arose with the growth of German capitalism and did not acquire real importance until after the aims of a greater Prussia found fulfillment in the German Empire created by Bismarck."
Tags: Third, Reich, industry, Daimler-Benz, Volkswagen, Hitler
Abstract This paper introduces the topic of the Holocaust with a focus on its remembrance and lessons. In particular, the author stresses the importance of transmitting the history and lessons of the holocaust on to future generations to ensure that an event so evil never occurs again. The paper describes actual incidents perpetrated by the Nazis and examines Jewish resistance movements.
From the Paper "The Jews did attempt to fight back, even though we do not hear about that very much. One resistance fighter was Anna Heilman, who helped smuggle minute amounts of gunpowder out of a plant at Auschwitz to help create a bomb to destroy one of the crematoriums at the concentration camp. She remembers, "We smuggled the gunpowder from the factory into the camp. It was smuggled in tiny little pieces of cloth, tied up with a string. Inside our dresses we had what we called a little boit'l (small sack), a pocket, and the boit'l was where everybody hid their little treasures, wrapped in pieces of cloth" (Rittner and Roth 132). The Nazis never noticed the smuggling, and the bomb was a success, a crematorium was destroyed shortly before the end of the war."
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that the common perception and image of America and the Allies during the Second World War is one of liberating the world from tyranny and oppression. Further, the writer points out that the image has to a great degree been tarnished by recent historical studies and research findings. The writer then explains that there have been many questions asked about the apparent reticence of the Americans and the British to intervene and help the victims of the Holocaust. The writer concludes that the fact that there was little real action on the part of the American government to prevent the Holocaust is not disputed by most historians. However, what is not clear are the reasons for this inaction or apparent lack of concern.
From the Paper "These assertions pertain to the fact that the Allies had knowledge of the holocaust and of the German concentration camps long before the end of the War. Questions have been raised as to why Allies and America did not do more to prevent these crimes or at least retard their progression. Answers to these questions have led to a certain amount of controversy and have not reflected well on the policies or government of the time."
"Scholarship leaves little doubt that knowledge of the crimes against Jews in Europe was well known to the Allies at an early date."
Abstract This paper presents a brief look at the beginnings and evolution of the Nazi concentration camps. The writer looks at the original purpose of these camps and at their evolution into death camps. The writer also argues that the Jewish people were not the only victims and the prisoners were not just Jews. The writer points out that righteous people, trying to stand up for the rights of their fellow man and people of many different ethnicities and religions were all victims of the Nazi campaign. The writer concludes that World War II and the Jewish Holocaust changed humanity.
From the Paper "World War II and the Jewish Holocaust is remembered as the darkest moment of humanity in recent history. It is generally believed that the Nazi party, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, was on a quest to rid the world of Jewish people. The pictures of starving men and women in German concentration camps are probably remembered most. Most people believe that those men and women are the poor Jews hated by all Germans. However, the persecution included people of many faiths and ethnicities. The truth of the matter is that the camps were not originally planned to be extermination plants, and actually for the first few years only a small percentage of prisoners were Jewish."
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that 'Todesfuge' or Death Fugue is one of Paul Celan's earliest creations, and, at the same time, one of his best-known works. Roughly speaking, the writer points out that the poem describes the experience of the Holocaust, from one of the horrifying concentration camps. The writer maintains that the most interesting aspect of the poem is however the way in which Celan translates the experience into language. The writer points out that the text has been sometimes criticized because it transposes the hard reality of the Holocaust in a highly aesthetic manner, which seems, at first sight, to divert the attention from the atrocities of death and of the concentration camp. However, the writer concludes that the gist of Celan's Todesfuge is the aesthetic representation of the Holocaust experience and that through symbols and metaphorical oppositions, Celan translates the terrible experience of the Jews during the Nazi regime.
From the Paper "There is obviously no easy or direct way to talk about such a dehumanizing experience as that of the slow torture that the Jews had to endure in the death camps. Language inevitably fails to convey the horrors by itself. But the language used in Celan's poem, as well as the structure of the text form the core of an artistic experience that translates the reality of the Holocaust in a very effective way. Thus, Celan's Todesfuge reveals the nightmarish Jewish experience during the Nazi regime through its musical form, which superimposes two opposed realities, that of death and that of love and beauty."
"Therefore, the most powerful effect of the text is given by the sharp contrast between two contradictory realities which are united in the structure of the poem through the musical rhythm that imitates a fugue. First of all, the lack of punctuation and the frequent and rhythmical repetitions of the same phrases or metaphors throughout the poem, make the text resemble a fugue."
Abstract The paper identifies and discusses five places where Elie Wiesel lived in order to demonstrate how his experiences shaped him as a modern Jew. The paper describes Sighet, the Auschwitz death camp, Paris, New York and finally Jerusalem. The paper illustrates how Wiesel's colorful and eventful experiences and adventures all over the world were clearly influential in shaping his personal and religious views. The paper lauds Wiesel for overcoming the hardships and suffering he experienced in the Nazi death camps to thrive and prosper as a modern Jew.
Outline:
Review and Discussion
Conclusion
From the Paper "Sighet. Even though his "Childhood" segment begins with Wiesel's recollection of a dream in which his father, Shlomo Wiesel, "the man I loved most in the world, the man whose merest glance could stir me," appeared to him as he appeared in his death camp rags, the author's childhood appears to have been unremarkable and pleasant enough, and he seems to have gone through the same trials and tribulations that most normal children experience. For example, "Like all children," Wiesel writes, "I had my share of rebellion against this or that teacher or classmate, and even against my parents. Sometimes I felt they didn't understand me, that they judged me wrongly or were unfair" (p. 18)."
Tags: death, camps, suffering, Jew, religion, Israel
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that as a wartime leader Hitler did things right at the beginning, but made major mistakes later on that led to the destruction of his nation. The writer then looks at some of Hitler's military considerations and calculations. The writer looks at Hitler's greatest errors and miscalculations, making use of different relevant works of literature. The writer maintains that Hitler's greatest error, besides underestimating the ability of the Allies to beat him back, was probably the invasion of Russia.
From the Paper "During the years between 1933 and 1938, Hitler just wanted to build up his arms while he was cutting deals to revise the Versailles agreement and keeping the Allies from pinning him down. His diplomatic strategy at that time was that he didn't want to rattle too many cages or cause too much concern among the New Conservatives in Germany, at first, so he kept to the anti-Bolshevism theme which old-time leaders in Germany agreed with; that is, Germany will take over the Soviet Union one day. Also, France was an enemy of Germany, and the old-liners agreed with Hitler that "reconciliation" with France would never be possible."
"The Germans had tried since 1918 to maintain good relationships with England, but Hitler "despised British democracy"; the United States didn't enter into Germany's immediate plans, but Hitler thought the U.S. was being dominated by "Jews and blacks." Hitler believed Italy was a natural ally, and he was right, Orlow wrote."
Abstract In this article the writer looks at various journals by different authors that examine Don DeLillo's work 'White Noise'. The different writings studied are Thomas Peyser's "Globalization in America: The Case of Don DeLillo's White Noise"; Arthur M. Saltzman's writing in Modern Fiction Studies "The Figure in the Static: White Noise"; Mark Conroy's "From Tombstone to Tabloid: Authority Figured in White Noise"; critic Noel King's writing in Critical Quarterly "Reading White Noise: Floating Remarks" and critic Lou F. Caton's writing in English Language Notes "Romanticism and the Postmodern Novel: Three Scenes from Don DeLillo's White Noise".
From the Paper "As hard as it might be to imagine a man who is a professor of "Hitler Studies" at a midwestern college serving as the believable and substantive narrator of a novel, with author Don DeLillo anything seems possible, and there is always a message to his madness for those readers who are truly "listening" as they read. Is DeLillo suggesting that America is on the road to fascism? Is the media leading American down the road to all people seeing and hearing the same repetitive propaganda, like barns that are famous because they are said to be famous? That is clearly one of the author's intents."
Abstract This paper examines Hitler's rise to power from his failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 through the beginning of World War Two. The paper examines the political and social structures that made this possible and discusses how a madman inspires millions to commit atrocities beyond the imagination. The paper also looks at how a convicted traitor transitions into the most powerful person in a nation and then explains that, through propaganda, Hitler was able to manipulate a war weary German people into supporting his efforts. The writer notes that those who opposed him disappeared and maintains that by instilling loyalty to the state through fear and patriotic propaganda, Hitler was able to achieve a position of power that allowed him to commit atrocities.
From the Paper "Over six million Jews perished during Hitler's reign. Millions more were displaced. Atrocities that defy ones belief in humanity became commonplace. Many people question how a madman, such as Adolf Hitler, was able to take power, why millions were drawn to him, and how the world looked on as the Nazi Party swept into power. Against significant odds, Adolf Hitler went from a convicted traitor to leader of a nation; a man whose actions would leave an indelible mark on history for all time. Adolf Hitler's rise to power defies the powers of logic for many people today. How is it possible that a man was capable of inspiring so many atrocities? The answer lies in a combination of world events, political intrigue, and clever moves designed to strip German citizens of their liberties and remove opposition. It is possible to trace the Nazification of Germany through an analysis of the 1930s."
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses the influence made by the Holocaust upon contemporary Jewish thought. In particular, the paper looks at the works of Richard L. Rubenstein, Eliezer Berkovits and Emil Fackenheim and notes how these major scholars are forced to grapple with an issue that threatens to permanently undermine the faith of the Jewish people in the God of their ancestors. In addition, the paper also notes the general despair which often seems to characterize Jewish works in the post-Holocaust epoch. In the end, the writer maintains that the horrors of the Holocaust have forced many Jewish theologians to consider that they may be worshipping a God who is either not omnipotent - or not omni-benevolent.
From the Paper "To start with, the holocaust was an event of catastrophic suffering for the Jewish people and this suffering forced - at least among some prominent intellectuals - a re-assessment of religion and, more especially, a re-assessment of God. Simply put, the horrors of the Holocaust challenged the traditional religious text from which the Jewish people had long read in a way that no other event could possibly have done. Specifically, traditional Judaism had frequently been at odds with modernity insofar as the proponents of historicism and positivism (to say nothing of the teachings of Hegel and Kant and even Marx) took issue with an historical narrative that emphasized the existence of a transcendent deity who not only created the world but who also designated the Jewish people as a "special people" with a special communion with God."
