Ignorance Will Get You Nowhere In Life

In the comic book, "MAUS", by Art Spiegelman, the protagonist (Or in other words, Art Spiegelman himself) interviews his father Vladek Spiegelman (Who was a textile worker) for a book he is drawing that focuses on his fathers life during World War II (The Holocaust). Throughout the story, Vladek told Art all about his life from the year 1937 (When Vladek married Anja Zylberberg who was the youngest daughter of a wealthy family that lived in Sosnowiec, Poland in which took business of hosiery) to the year 1944 (When Vladek and his wife Anja, along with the Mandelbaums (Another Jewish family that were also looking for a safer place to live. They had agreed with the Spiegelmans to travel with them to Hungary) boarded a train to Hungary. However, they were soon found and arrested by Gestapos. They then were escorted to Krakow (Auschwitz/Birkenau), Poland. I believe that many Jewish people during World War II were very ignorant to believe that if they bribed the Germans enough, they would let them go without a fight. Even Polish people, who could easily snitch on them to the Germans. How could they think like that when they already knew and experienced how Germans acted towards Jews? First of all, the Germans were the ones who had captured the Jews and put them in concentration camps and many other places. Why would Jews feel the need to put their life's in the hands of the Germans when in reality the Germans were the ones who made them miserable?

Before the Germans even started to take away Jewish people, they raided their towns and treated them unfairly. They forced them to give up/sell their businesses and bullied them for self pleasure. In 1939, the Germans then started to capture Jewish soldiers from opposing teams of the war and turned them into prisoners to slave away on their side. Not only that, but Germans took almost all of the Jews valuables. They were given small tents to share with other prisoners in the cold weather. For clothing, they only wore their uniforms and thin blankets that were given to them. Jewish prisoners only had one meal a day, consisting of just a crust of bread and a small quantity of soup. Even Polish prisoners were treated more kindly, for they stayed in heated cabins and were given two meals a day. During the story, Vladek told Art that he had a dream that his grandfather was by his bedside and spoke the words: "You will come out of this place - FREE!... on the day of Parshas Truma." After three months had passed, and soon it was Parshas Truma. Surprisingly, his dream did come true! Many Gestapo and Wehrmacht's came to inform the Jewish prisoners that they were able to finally be set free. They filled out and signed their release forms that were basically just their destination upon release. The morning after that, they boarded a train going to Poland. However, when Vladek's stop had passed, he knew something was up. Vladek was soon informed by Jewish authorities of what had happened to the Jews that boarded before them and what was about to happen to them. They were going to be killed! The Germans had lied to them. Before Vladek's party was saved, the Nazis marched a group of 600 Jews and had shot them all in an isolated forest. Seniors that had lived at least 70 years were taken to Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia on May 10th, 1942 to a convalescent like home. However, the Jews were lied to again, for the elders were taken to be gassed and then thrown in ovens. Additionally, in the ghetto, children (Some even as young as two years old) were also being taken away to be gassed and thrown in ovens. Some homes were raided by Germans who were searching for Jews that were sometimes hidden in. Vladek had told Art of when he was in the ghetto with a group of friends. They had bribed a German with valuables to look the opposite direction when they tried to escape. Of course, the German agreed, and took the valuables without hesitation. Sadly, they were played again and were quickly shot down in the process of escaping. The Jewish people were raided, murdered, prisoners all because of the Germans, the Nazis and of course, Adolf Hitler and yet they still relied on them to change ways and help them escape. Well, they never planned on doing anything to even help. When the Holocaust began, Germans, Poles, Austrians, French, Croats, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Lithuanians and others were all taught that Jewish people were bad. Rumors were spread, and soon a hate was built. If that was the reason the Holocaust began, then they weren't going to change their minds anytime soon.

Since I believe that Jewish people during World War II were very ignorant with their beliefs and intentions, it makes me think deeper about humanity because I wonder if we all are like this. On the verge of death doing anything we can to keep ourselves alive. Begging and pleading. I understand that that would be the first thing that registers in someones mind when in a postion like this, but lets be real. Captors aren't willing to give up and let go of their prisoners, no. They make them suffer, because that is their intention, no to capture us then happily agree to let us go. This also makes me wonder if everyone would be ignorant at a time like that. If so, then that really is depressing.