Schindler's List

Schindler’s List

What makes a person “heroic?” Does a hero possess certain qualities? Or is a hero defined by his or her actions? Was Schindler a hero?

The traits that would make someone heroic would be to do a good deed for some one. They might have to put there self at risk but they would do it not because they have to because they know that it's the right thing to do. For example a fireman could be heroic just look at what he does. He saves innocent lives and he helps the wounded get out alive. An average person could be your hero. A hero doesn't have to be like superman but a hero has the heart to help people while others will just stand by and watch the show. A hero can also be someone who was a bad person but then did something good that saved many peoples lives. There are many examples of hero types but now I am going to move onto the more important question. Was Schindler a hero? Some of you might be wondering who is Schindler? but I am here to tell you who he is and what he did to become a hero. Oskar Schindler was indeed a hero. He was a member of the Nazi party in World War II just looking for a "fast buck." He hired Jews so that he could make a buck or two. but when he went to one of the concentration camps in Poland he realized that these people should not be treated like this. So Schindler decided to take jews out of camps and hide them. He did this so that they could be able to live. Literally. So in this blog I thing that Schindler was a hero and he did put himself at a huge risk. If he were to have bean caught he might have bean executed or sent to a camp.

Sonia Weitz's: My Black Messiah

This is a poem about this Black soldier who saw what terrible state that these people were in. My annotations might help you understand this poem. This poem is called "My Black Messiah."
First paragraph. When she says that she never saw a black before she really meant that she has never saw an African American before. the reason that she has never saw a black before is because, at this time, Germany was under Hitlers control. meaning that only Germans could live in Germany that basically leads to the extermination of anyone or anything that wasn't German by Hitlers perspective. Next annotation. Her instant reaction is that this GI will set her free before she dies. A Messiah is a leader or savior of a particular group of people. most likely a religious savior.
Second paragraph. My first annotation is about here relief that the Messiah had come for her. My second annotation was a metaphor. This metaphor was interesting because she compares a mans vision with a blind mans vision. She says, "Stared with eyes that didn't see." This is a metaphor because it compares without like or as. After that line in the second paragraph she states that he never heard a single word that hung absurd on my tongue. Absurd, in this case, means unreasonably.
Third paragraph. This paragraph is not what you would expect if you were in Sonia Weitz's position at the time. The "savior" did not set her free but just stood there. She saw his shock and horror in his eyes and she new the kind of of shock that he was in. For here it was the cruelty to Jews and how no one would speak out and say that Jews were not the enemy of new Germany. The only thing that gave his emotion of horror away was in his eyes. Hi did not cry, he did not say a word all he did was stand there and let a flood of devastation was him away as if he innocence was forever slain.
Forth paragraph. This paragraph is about how the black GI had left her in her camp with her sister. "We went our separate ways without a trace." she said. I joined the last and second last paragraph together. my next annotation was a bout how they still hold a tight bond of a dare. A dare to live, to hope, to smile... and yet they vow not ever to forget.
This poem is very interesting because You will almost never think that a Black GI would just storm into a concentration camp and stop at the horror of this murderers. I honestly think that his choice to leave was good so that he didn't get her killed as well. I can connect because my best friend in India was a black and he left and went to Jordan. This poem made me feel sad because that GI just left her there to suffer.

Germany 1918-1933

What conditions were present that allowed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party to take control of Germany in 1933?
There are quite a a lot of of events that Hitler gave Hitler a great opportunity to take control over Germany. One of those Events was the Hyperinflation and economic crisis that devistated Germany in 1923. Taxes went up and prices for everything soared to an unbelievable amount. That gave Hitler a chance to speak out and overthrough the government but he did so in a violent manner. His actions gave him a 9 month sentence in jail. In Jail Hitler rights a book called "Mein Kamf" or my struggle. In jail Hitlers popularity soared. When Hitler was released he decided to run for presedent. Hitler only receives 2% of Germany's vote. Germany's Weimar Republic was hit hard by the depression that made stocks and markets shut down. The bank was shut down so that they could repay the damage of world war I. American loans to help rebuild the German economy now stopped. As unemployment soared the rate reached nearly 30% in 1932. Since lots of Jews were bankers Hitler decided to use propaganda do set the german people against the Jews. People started listening when Hitler told them that he was going to change his way of running for president without making violent marks. In the next election Hitler gained 33% of Germany's vote making his party go from the 9th largest to the 2nd largest in Germany. The government decided to put Hitler as chancellor of Germany. Shortly after Hitler was appointed chancellor the president died. Hitler then took power and became president of Germany. In 1933 there was the mysterious Reichstag burning Hitler blamed the communists for this burning though in the present day we now think that it was the Nazi's. Hitler ordered that there be no other legal parties except for the Nazi's. After those orders Hitler initiated the Nuremberg laws forcing that there be new Identity cards for Jews and that there be only the marriage of an Arian and an Arian or a Jew and a Jew also that a Jewish doctor was not allowed to operate on an Arian person. Those are just a few of the many Nuremberg laws and now you can se that the rise of the Nazis was through many events of government failure, baking disasters, propaganda and plane luck.

1935 rules

1.  Who could now be defined as a "Jew"?
Anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents was defined as a Jew, regardless of whether himself or herself as a Jew or different religious beliefs.
2.  What was meant by "Aryanizing" Jewish Businesses?
The Nazi's Aryanized Jew shops and business owners and replaced them with no jew owners.
3.  How were Jews who were professionals (lawyers, doctors etc.) restricted?
Jews who were doctors were not allowed from treating non-Jews, and Jews that were law students were not allowed the practice of law.
4.  What did Jewish identity cards need to include now?
the government added special marks to their cards. They added a red "J" stamped on them and new middle names for all those Jews who did not possess a name that can easily be a jewish name. "Jewish" first names -- "Israel" for males, "Sara" for females.
5.  What was the "Law for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of the German People" (sum up in your own words)?
The "Law for the Protection of Hereditary Health of the German People" made it so that any two people who wanted to get married had be citified by the public health authorities. That stated that those people had the right to marry. These certificates were not given to people that were ill, contagious with something or were trying to marry, but were violating the Nuremberg Laws in any way. An example coulds be of a Jew wanting to marry a non Jew.

Hitler Seized control

What are civil rights? well I think that civil rights are things that people have the right to do. For example, One civil right would be to vote for president if you are a citizen of that country, the right of freedom and the right to protection from wrong or harmful doings. These are just a few of the many civil rights.

So if you are wondering why I am talking about civil rights it's because Hitler took away Germany's rights. When the Reichstag was destroyed Hitler blamed it on the communist. He did this because he disliked them and he thought, what better way to get rid of an enemy that turn the people against them. So the people thought that the communist should be punished for there bad deeds. The punishment was so devastating that Hitler ordered that they, The communist, should have their civil rights taken away from them. The Nazi's believe that an action such a taping into a phone was necessary to over here enemy chit-chat about rebelling against the government so that when the Nazi's over here any talk like that they will put an end to it.

The Treaty of Varsillies

In My opinion I think that the treaty of Varsillies is more than fair. I think that since the Germans mad a huge mess of things in WWI that the treaty had to be made. It's only fair that the Germans pay for the damage and release their grip on their colonized land. They also had to cut down their army. If the decision was up to me I would have done the same thing a President Woodrow Wilson did.