video response

Ethan Knapp

Mr. Neuburger

English Comp 101

20 March 2013

            Video Response

            In the world we live in today, we wake up and we turn on the news to hear about shootings, natural disasters, war and famine. It has become such a natural occurrence we have become somewhat desensitized to it. That is at least until detrimental disaster strikes close to us or effects us directly. We buy our coffee, we eat our cheap take out, and we become completely complacent and satisfied in our daily “struggles.”  Which is not harmful to certain extent. Of course our capitalist way of life depends on trade and flow of currency. When we buy our coffee and our food we perpetuate our monotonous lifestyles. It is not until an urgency sweeps our sleeping hearts that we even think about changing anything.

            When the Germans first began their assault on the Jewish people it was subtle. They began with infringements on their rights such as when they were allowed to shop and various daily routines. Naturally, like any other people, they became uneasy when their monotony was interrupted. Though uneasy, no one had ever expected in a relatively short period of time their lives as they knew it would be over.

            The germans were intriguingly clever in their ability with words and propaganda. It is my idea that Hitler, having done so much for Germany by the way of mechanization and industrialization, was believed by all to be trustworthy and intelligent in his methods.

            The germans were obsessed with technology. The camera at the time was still a rarity to see, so people would do things they would not normally do to be in front of one. The Germans used this to their advantage when they were filming in the ghetto. This is one thing that I thought peculiar about the film. Even though conditions were extreme for most people, the sight of the camera and the possibility to be on it, brought a smile to some faces.

            Watching a once proud people be reduced to such standards is so difficult to watch and impossible to un-see. As I stated in the beginning, we go untouched by tragedy for the majority of our day to day lives and until it strikes us or someone close its no more than a picture on television. This was different.

            I could not help but try to imagine my life upturned the same way the Jews’ lives were. Seeing the anguish the film brought to the faces of the people who had lived through the conditions absolutely breaks a normal human being’s heart. To see my family and the people I know reduced to such indignity just seems so surreal. Our traditions and norms completely disregarded and things like hygiene and human interaction coming second to the need to find food and survive. It seems impossible. Which I am sure the Jewish people thought as well at the time.

            I fear we inch a little closer every day to another situation such as the holocaust. More people should see this film. We hear about it and read about it growing up. We spend a chapter or two learning about World War Two in general where we read thing like “America defeated the Nazis! Oh yeah hitler killed millions of Jewish people and put them in unbelievable conditions.” you are never given the chance to get so close to it when you learn about it in junior high. More people need to understand how small the holocaust started. Never take your most basic freedoms for granted.