Multicutural Class EDLD 7235 Summer 2012 Maria Lauro

Book Review I decided to read and report on Among the Righteous by Robert Satloff because I wanted to learn more about what happened during the Holocaust. I found out pretty quickly that it was going to be heartbreaking accounts of the Holocaust and its detrimental effects on the Jewish population. As I read the book, I felt that by viewing loss of lives through statistics was dehumanizing. Often, I would catch myself shaking my head in disbelief or sharing statistics and quotes with my family. Sometimes things are so horrific that I have to tell someone to make it click in my own mind. Call me simple, but it was hard for me to grasp when the Holocaust took place. It seemed that human annihilation of such magnitude would have taken place back in ancient times. It was astounding to recall that it wasnt that long ago. All of this took place around the time my parents were born. In fact, my husbands Grandmother had relatives who lived in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust. As I read the book, I highlighted the statistics or quotes that resonated with me. I had well over the required fifteen, so I had to whittle my selection down. As I pulled the quotes from the book, I began to realize that the testimonies dealt with: living, torture, human suffering, dying, love, betrayal, denial and ignorance. Page 15 painted a scene of a father who would soon meet his demise. He wrote these last words to his wife: Teach him to give is better than to receive, that friendship is the greatest blessing in the world. Teach him to live. I was astounded by the strength this father showed. He wanted the boy to understand the importance of friendship, although he had been betrayed by his friend. He wanted his son to live, not merely exist, but to live.

Multicutural Class EDLD 7235 Summer 2012 Maria Lauro

Page 30 spoke to the injustice that the disadvantaged group always seemed to face. The French saw a scapegoat in the Jewish people. Disgraced at the rapid loss of honor, pride, and confidence, the French sought a scapegoat and the Jews were a ready candidate. Page 34-35 addressed how the Jews were stripped of their homes and possessions and were forced to relocate. North Africa: all Jews who live in the modern neighborhoods of large cities had to give up their homes and relocate back to the narrow alleys and crowded lanes of the tradition Jewish court. This echoed the similarities to the trail of tears. The dominant culture swooped in and took what they wanted. Page 44 gave description to the dehumanizing treatment and the animalistic executions of Jews. It hurt my heart to read the following: There was no mercy, to shoot a person was like today to kill a fly. It is difficult to phantom how a human can kill another human without remorse. Page 52 offered an example of how the Jews addressed their devils in their grim reality while under the thumb of the German regime. The Germans were known to us only by their nicknames: Memento, Grandma, the killer, etc. Perhaps, using nicknames was a way for the Germans to perpetrate evilness, without forethought. It was as if they had alter egos which performed the dirty deeds. Nicknames allowed for emotional detachment and helped solidify how the regime was able to maintain control and carry out such detrimental crimes against the human race. Page 60 gave example of the persecution that the Jews faced because of their bloodline. They earned their punishment for simply who they were, not for anything they thought, did

Multicutural Class EDLD 7235 Summer 2012 Maria Lauro

or said. The discrimination, torture, and death sentences that the Jews faced werent called for. It was ludicrous and unjustifiable genocide. Page 60 also gives way to a verification of the crude condition in which prisoners were forced to live out their remaining days. The description gives explanation to hell on Earth. We never really knew what hell was but when we got into that camp and stayed there awhile, we really found out what hell was. I agree that the prisoners experienced hell on earth and probably prayed for death to come. Page 71- The next quote, I found to be heart wrenching. It was the account of a best friends last days. I told him he had to keep on working. Hitler will lose, the war will be over, and we will be free. But you have to live, and to live you have to work. The words of advice fell on ears too weak or broken to hear. His friend didnt make it and he still remains in his thoughts, truly sad. I agree with the quote on page 79, there is always a dominant group willing to discriminate against and persecute the disadvantaged group. The willing participants were everywhere, performing every duty necessary to make the wheels of persecution turn. The Jews had enemies lurking at every turn and could trust no one. The quote on page 83 was a prime example of how guards who were given dominant power over the laborers took it to the extreme: abused their power and handed out sadistic punishment. The cruelty and barbaric manners of the guards, that came out by themselves. Nobody told them to beat us all the time.

Multicutural Class EDLD 7235 Summer 2012 Maria Lauro

I agree with the quote on page 97 that stated: None, however, could truthfully claim ignorance about what was going on around them. People who didnt agree with the war or what Hitler was doing couldnt use ignorance as an excuse to not act. The Jewish population was too wide spread and the persecutions were too openly obvious for ignorance to be used as an alibi. The persistence of one Jew wanting desperately to tell her story and give an account of what she and her family had gone through, was inspiring. I really appreciated the fact that she finally had her chance to be heard by a willing listener. Page 122: Eight weeks after having told her story for the first time in rich detail to someone who had come just to listen to her, Anny died. After reading account after account of hideous behavior inflicted on innocent people, I found it refreshing to read an account of the mosque helping the Jews. Page 152 explained that it was part of human nature to want to help mankind. Absolutely, it was courageous. It was very courageous. Courageous and natural at the same time. I would have to say that before reading this book, I was among the ignorant. Page161 gave a good explanation of how, over time, we tend to forget or at least ignore the severity of human suffering. With the benefit of time and distance, none of this should really be surprising. But ignorance on this topic, especially among young people who should know better, is nearly universal. Just as the conspiracies of 9/11 and John F. Kennedys murder have swarmed about, the same is surprisingly true for the Holocaust. Some would say that it was all a ruse and that it

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never happened. Page 162 stated that: The Holocaust itself became the big lie, the greatest conspiracy of all time. The methodical murder of millions of Jews simply did not happen. My mind is blown; I cant believe that on the other side of ignorance is denial. To those who can convince themselves to such a lie that the Holocaust never happened, I would pose the question: what about the Holocaust pictures? How does one account for the millions who lost their lives? For there to be any doubt to the validity of human suffering and deaths of such proportion is degrading. To minimize the pain and the torture that the families endured because of who they were is unforgivable. Much like Jesus, they were persecuted and put to death because of who they were not because of a crime they had committed, but who they were. That line in the book will probably stick with me for the rest of my life. I know why it was important for sweet Ms. Anny to tell her story. She wanted to make it real, to breathe life into it, and give it form, substance and legitimacy. She needed for the story to live on long after she had passed away. Death allowed enough time for her to share her memories of her childhood. She recalled things from a childs perspective, innocent and playful. I found that Anny was probably being protected from all the horror that surrounded her during that time. What her loving parents tried to do for her and her siblings was to protect them. It seemed like she knew just enough about what was going on around her, but not too much. They wanted her to have the freedom to live her life. Just as the father who was writing his last words to his wife. If he had had the freedom of choice, he would have chosen life and love. Since his freedom had been taken from him, he at least wanted to ensure that his son lives his life and that his wife found love again.

Multicutural Class EDLD 7235 Summer 2012 Maria Lauro

Finally, I dont want to say that I enjoyed this book because it saddens me to think of what a population of people went through because they identified with a certain culture. I found myself cheering for those Jews who were able to keep their identity either by: marrying outside the Jewish population or gaining their citizenship in foreign lands. Then it dawned on me that they had to conform and give into to the most extreme peer pressure. So to say that I closed the book with a conflicted mind and little solace would be accurate. As I reflected on what I read and how it related to this class, like it or not, there were certain things that I had to come to terms with: there will always be those who discriminate and those who are discriminated against. There will always be self-interested hidden agendas among groups of people. There will always the choice to agree and to disagree. There will always be catastrophic happenings that will leave society scratching its head in disbelief. So what do I do with what I have learned? Albeit small, I can make changes within myself and how I decide to view and react in regards to the injustices that take place around me. As Lucius Annaeus Seneca cautioned those who reign under injustice will one day fall, A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts (Seneca, 2012 ).

References
Satloff, R. (2006). Among The Righteous . New York : BBS Public Affairs . Seneca, L. A. (2012 ). Retrieved from Brainy Quote : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/luciusanna118163.html

Multicutural Class EDLD 7235 Summer 2012 Maria Lauro