“One
Survivor Remembers” What insights into life do you believe that Elie Wiesel and
Gerda Weismann
have gained as a result of their
experiences during the Holocaust? How
has this overall experience shaped their perspective on life? Their chosen careers? You may have to do a bit of research
regarding the persons Wiesel and Weismann
have become in their later lives.
Both Elie and Gerda received a sense of strength. They received how to deal with loss. With Elie, more was taken than gained. He lost his faith; a part of himself in the Holocaust. He used to be very religious, but his experienced turned his heart to stone. You can see this with the the line of work Elie has chosen in his literature. I believe he still has a sliver of hope in humanity. If he did not, then he would not be a human rights activist. Gerda on the other hand, lost her hope in humanity, but when she was saved; immediately gained it back. She too is a writer, but a writer that still has hope. You can see it in her works. "The Blue Rose" is not a book about the Holocaust, but one about autism. It was made for her mentally ill neighbor who was a little kid. She also made a book called "The Windsor Caper". It was a book that was uplifting. She says it is "the only book that I have written that was not rooted in pain.". Even though it is the only book not rooted in pain, not all of her books are rooted in the pain of the Holocaust, like Blue Rose. Elie was left with a negative outlook on life after the Holocaust. Gerda was left with a positive outlook in humanity after the the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteI think that both Elie Wiesel and Gerda Weissmann both lost more than they gained from the holocaust. Both Gerda and Elie have gained respect for all life, they have both seen the difference between good and evil and well as the difference between disrespect and demoralization and they both never want to feel the way they did during the holocaust. The overall experience shaped their lives in many ways some of which are probably indescribable. Gerda and Elie both became writers and human rights activists because their rights were taken without question and they don’t want the next generation to go through the same struggles they went through in the horrible event that was the holocaust. Gerda Weissmann wrote the books “All but my life”, “The hours after”,” A Boring Evening At Home”, “The Windsor caper”, “Promise of a New Spring”, “The blue rose”, and “A passion for sharing”. Elie Wiesel also wrote many books but one main series of books he wrote are the “Night” trilogies, that included the books “Night”, “Dawn”, and “Day”.
ReplyDeleteI believe that both Eie and Gerda see's life to be more of a privilege and definitely do not take it for granted now if they did before. They both gained more strength than anything from their experience. They also gained a voice in the world through their writing career; both are widely recognized for their courage to fight on and them spreading awareness through their careers. Elie let's his Holocaust experience dawn on him. You can see this through his works because the change he went through, like in the book "Night" is very well illustrated. Elie was left a unspiritual and unemotional man. On the other hand, Gerda's faith and hope in humanity was restored after she was found by her husband. She doesn't let her Holocaust experience dawn on her. You can see this because all her books aren't focused on the Holocaust horrors like her book "The Blue Rose".
ReplyDeleteElie*
DeleteI believe that both Elie and Gerda realize nothing is ever a guarantee, not your life, family, or even God. I also think they gained the true value of a life. Their lives were so close to ending many times my but by the grace of a god they may or may not believe in they survived, and now they truly know how precious a life is. They see the world as a place full of horrors with only a few blessings, instead of a world full of blessings with only a few horrors. The holocaust was the basis of their careers, majority if not all of Gerda and Elie's books steam from the events of the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteI think Elie and Gerda both realized how hard life can be and also how cruel some people are. I also think through their experiences they received strength and the values of life. I think through their experiences it shaped them to become people who look at the meaning of life differently. Elie and Gerda both became writers who shared their life stories to others. The holocaust caused Elie to become an unemotional, non spiritual man, while through the experiences of the Holocaust Gerda's faith and belief of humanity was found when she met her husband. Both survivors used their gift of writing to describe the indescribable through their books. Their writing allowed others to become informed on the terrible events during the Holocaust and what they went through as an individual.
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