Introduction
The reading under analysis describes what difficulties a brother and a sister experienced in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland during World War II. Holliday presents excerpts from the children’s diaries to demonstrate what they felt, thought, and did while surviving the terrible conditions of the Holocaust. Thus, the author aims to show what terrible lives children experienced under the Nazi rule while publishing the diaries of this anonymous brother and sister can allow for paying respect to all unknown victims.
Summary of Content
It is possible to divide the reading into two parts. The first of them serves as the introduction and presents the author’s thoughts on the topic. In particular, Holliday explains that numerous children wrote diaries describing their sufferings at the Nazis’ hands, but few of them have survived to modern times (395). The author then tells about the unknown sister and brother and describes that a man named Avraham Benkel found the boy’s diary in a neighboring house after the war (Holliday 396). The book contained his thoughts and included copied entries from his sister’s diary.
The second part of the reading consists of the diary itself. Holliday publishes selected entries to demonstrate how the children described their sufferings and life. In particular, the sister describes that she dreams of bygone childhood while she is only twelve years old (Holliday 396-397). In turn, the brother focuses on the terrible living conditions, including hunger, hard labor, the absence of clothes, and others. The boy also raises a religious aspect of the situation and refers to God to identify why the Nazis are allowed to conduct all these atrocities (Holliday 401). The reading ends with the boy’s obvious statement confirming his Jewish origin.
Critical Comments
It is possible to state that the purpose of the reading has been achieved. It seems that the author wanted to demonstrate that children were subject to horrible conditions and sufferings under the Nazis’ rule. That is why the boy’s words about “dehumanization,” “terrible hunger,” and “the cave of the wild beast” perfectly serve the objective (Holliday 397, 398, 400). There is no doubt that the first-person experience is the best way to reveal what the children thought and felt.
It is impossible to state that the reading brings much new information, but its contribution to the field is still enormous. In particular, the chapter is not the first and, woefully, not the last writing piece describing the Nazis’ atrocities. However, one cannot overestimate the importance of the articles, chapters, and reports on the topic. They should remind modern people of what cruelty the Nazis brought. Individuals should remember this information to ensure that similar events will not occur in the future.
The treatment of the subject matter is objective to the extent that is possible in covering the topic. On the one hand, Holliday entirely relies on the subjective comments of the boy who survived the terrible conditions. This data is the perfect source of information when it is necessary to discover personal experiences. On the other hand, the author avoids making his own commentaries about the entries. That is why it is possible to conclude that Holliday remains objective in covering this sensitive topic.
It is challenging to state whether any evidence or facts have been omitted. The boy described what he and his sister ate, did, and wore, and these were the only activities that the children were allowed to do. That is why there is nothing surprising in the fact that the boy does not provide many details about his daily routine. The children were fully obsessed with surviving and could not draw attention to unnecessary details.
As has been mentioned above, the author relies on subjective data to support his statement. In scientific literature, this instrument is known as self-reports, and they can perfectly describe people’s personal experiences. For example, the boy’s single quote, “we are so tired of life,” only allows readers to imagine what atrocities the children faced (Holliday 400). That is why it is possible to conclude that the author utilized an efficient strategy to support his thesis statement.
It seems that no one can interpret the same data to alternate ends. It is impossible to state that these and numerous other children deserved to experience those atrocities. One can also claim that no individual should be subject to this treatment irrespective of their actions, beliefs, ethnicities, and others. Moreover, even the most brutal criminal is not subject to such conditions in the civilized world because an inhumane approach to people is prohibited. That is why one can hardly imagine who would defend the Nazis’ attitude toward the children.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is worth admitting that the reading material raises an important topic for discussion. The article makes people understand what atrocities the Nazis brought to the world. Individuals should recall these events from time to time to pay respect to millions of victims. Such discussions are also necessary for humanity to understand what consequences people like Adolf Hitler can bring to the entire world.
Work Cited
Holliday, Laurel. Children in the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries. Atria Books, 2014.