The Mysterious Major

 Julius Schmahling was a teacher before he became the major of the Haute-Loire district in France.When he was a teacher Schmahling crushed a little boy in his classroom. After this happened the boy didn't say a word for the rest of the year. Schmahling meant that he was destroying the boys self-confidence, his idea's, and his spirit when he was crushing him. He was also destroying something in himself in the very act of destroying the moment of joy in the little boy's life. He was destroying a piece of himself a piece that he could never get back. A part of his personality, his happiness, and his self-confidence. This was like the relationship between the Nazi's and the people that they ruled. The Nazi's destroyed who they were, and their joy. They made them scared, and full of fear like Schmahling made the little boy feel.

Victory

I danced with you that one time only.
How sad you were, how tired, lonely...
You knew that they would "take" you soon...
So when your bunk-mate played a tune
You whispered: "Little one, let us dance,
We may not have another chance."

To grasp this moment...sense the mood;
Your arms around me felt so good
The ugly barracks disappeared
There was no hunger...and no fear.
Oh what a sight, just you and I,
My lovely father (once big and strong)
And me, a child...condemned o die.

I thought: how long
             before the song
                           must end

There are no tools
             to measure love
                         and only fools

Would fail
             to scale
                  your victory

Victory is a poem written by Sonia Weitz's a Holocaust survivor who died June the 23ed, 2010 at the age of 81. Sonia and her sister surveyed five concentration camps; Plaszow, Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Mauthausen, and Venusberg during the Holocaust. She wrote this poem about the last time she saw her father before she was taken away. Victory is also about Sonia Weitz and her father dancing to a song played by one of the men in her fathers camp. One part in the poem that really stood out to me was when she wrote, "Only fools would fail to scale your victory". To me this meant that only silly people would try to measure her father’s victory because it was immeasurable or in other words the victory was so substantial that no one could put it on a scale. The mood in the poem shifts, in the first few lines it seems sad. Then further towards the end I sensed that the words became full of hope, joy, and happiness. Victory is about a small spark of hope in an endless eclipse of darkness. Out of all the unimaginable event that occurred in the Holocaust Sonia and her father were able to bring hope to the situation with their unbreakable bond. I think that the poem was called Victory because no matter what the Nazi's did to the Jews they could not take away who they were. They could not break the bond between father and daughter, no matter how weak, hunger, or small they made them.

Germany 1918-1933

  There are few conditions that occurred allowing Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party to take control of Germany in 1933. The Treaty of Versailles (which was established in 1919) was a great benefit for Hitler because it meant that the people of Germany had to pay reparations for World War 1. The Germans felt that is was dreadful, now they have to pay for other countries losses as well as their own. Hitler took the hate of the Treaty of Versailles and used it to win over the people of Germany. The Treaty of Versailles also led to the hyperinflation and economic crisis because Germany couldn't find the money to pay for the reparations. Hitler took advantage of this because the people became desperate and they needed the Treaty of Versailles to be abolished and he wanted to do just that. Another great bonus that appeared was the Reichstag Fire in 1933. This fire was not just any fire it was burning down Reichstag Building in Berlin, where German's Parliament sat. Hitler blamed the fire on the Communist's this gave Hitler the power to imprison them and make the Nazi's the only party allowed in Germany because the German’s thought that they had been saved from the evil Communist’s they voted for Hitler and the Nazi party. I beleive that these main event's helped Hitler and the Nazi party to take control of Germany. 

  

The Nuremberg Laws

1.  Who could now be defined as a "Jew"?
A Jew was not only defined by there believes bur also by their heritage. If they had 3-4 grandparents that were Jews they would be classed as one as well. 


2.  What was meant by "Aryanizing" Jewish Businesses?
Aryanizing Jewish Businesses ment that a Jew employees and manegers were replaced with "non-Jews" Nazi's. This left the Jews with nothing, no money or any way to earn it. 


3.  How were Jews who were professionals (lawyers, doctors etc.) restricted?
Professionals (lawyers, doctors etc.) were restricted so that they could not have any contact with "non-Jew's".  Jewish doctors were not allowed to treat "non-Jewish" patience. Lawyers were prohibited to practice the law. 

4.  What did Jewish identity cards need to include now?
The Jewish identity cards included a red 'J' stamped on them, and a Jews middle name would be changed. If you were a boy 'Israel' would be changed to your middle name, and if you were a girl 'Sara'. This allowed police to identify the Jews with more ease.

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 the Hereditary Health of the German People" was to prevent the population from being harmed. If a couple were to be married they were entitled to have a "health check-up" and if one of them had a health problem they wouldn't be able to marry. 

Hitler Takes Control: Targeting the Communists and other Political Parties

 During Hitler’s rise to authority one of the things that he wiped out Civil Rights. Civil Rights are the entitlement of individuals to social and political liberty and equality. Some of the Civil Rights are freedom of speech, being able to practice any religion; it's unlawful to seize people’s homes and property without due cause and freedom to assemble. The reason that some people thought that taking away Civil Rights was necessary was that it would take away the threat of Communism, as political parties could no longer meet.