Klein Brother Arthur example essay topic

During the Holocaust, Jewish people were submitted to the vilest and most inhumane conditions the world had ever seen. Their most basic freedoms were taken from them almost instantly. At first, all they lost were items such as flour, eggs, sugar, and even cocoa. Later on, they were stripped of their land and businesses and separated according to their ability to be productive slaves to Hitler Third Reich. Those that were deemed unfit were sent to slaughter houses.

Entire families were torn apart, much like what happened to Gerda Weissman Klein family. Despite watching her mother, father, and brother being taken from her, knowing that she would never see them again, she found the strength to survive three years in German labor camps through her family, friends, and her own strong will for survival. After Poland fell to German forces, all Jewish men of a certain age range were required to register. Klein brother Arthur was the first family member she lost when he was called to duty. e strong, they will need you. (p. 21) Those were Arthur last words to his little sister, and Klein took them very seriously. Even after she found herself separated from her family and imprisoned by the Nazis, Klein drew strength from Arthur plea. Klein parents were a major source of strength for her.

They were who she looked to for guidance and support, especially after Germany invaded Poland. After the Nazis were in power and before she went away to labor camps, everything Klein did revolved around her parents. She was extra careful in her actions because she feared that her actions could spell doom for her parents. Unfortunately, nothing Klein could have done would have saved them. Her father was suddenly sent away on a train, and Klein and her mother watched him depart for his death from a cold platform.

His advice to his daughter proved instrumental in her survival later on. hat ever you are thinking now t is cowardly. Promise me ou will never do it. (p 32) He begged his daughter to never give up, to never take her own life, and Klein relied on that plea for many years after her father death. Her mother was taken from her as well. Her last words, e strong! (p 92) echoed through Klein mind and stayed with her throughout her struggles against the horrific conditions she would soon find herself in. Though her family was her main source of strength, Klein had to find someone else to rely on when she lost them. Her childhood acquaintance, a girl called Ilse, filled that void in Klein life, and Klein did the same for her.

Together they pushed each other through illness, back-breaking labor, and a 350 mile death march through freezing rain and snow. Klein and Ilse became more like sisters than best friends. Ilse last gift to Klein was a single, bruised raspberry for her birthday. Klein held Ilse as she lay dying on the freezing ground. Before she drew her last breath, Ilse begged Klein to o on for one more week romish me. (p 205) Exactly one week later, the war ended and Gerda Klein found herself a free woman.

Klein also met many other girls who had experienced the same pain that she had. Her story introduces them, and then suddenly they are gone, murdered by a madman ambition. Part of the reason Klein survived, another factor that gave her the strength to go on, was the fact that she felt responsible to live on so that she could tell the stories of the many friends she lost. She realized that unless she did live, they would be forgotten by history.

Klein story is one of great tragedy, but it also shows how remarkably strong one person can be when faced with the gravest circumstances. Klein lost almost everything she held dear: her home, mother, father, brother, friends, everything but her life. Despite experiencing the full blast of Hitler insanity in labor camps, Klein found the strength to survive from her family, her soul, and the many friends she made and lost throughout her journey.