Journal #1

Journal #1-from chapter 1 He is a strange guard, a German soldier bustling with arms. We do not see him because of the thick darkness, but we feel the hard contact every time that lurch of the lorry throws us all in a heap. At a certain point he switches on a pocket torch and instead of shouting threats of damnation at us, he asks us courteously, one by one, in German and in pidgin language, if we have any money or watches to give him, seeing that they will not be useful to us anymore. This is no order, no regulation: it is obvious that it is a small private initiative of our Charon. The matter stirs us to anger and laughter and brings relief. I think this passage is significant, because it shows how scared and relief the Jews were at times. The Jews can never predict what would happen to them, so they had to live in fear. The SS knew that the Jews would have no use if they had money or watches, so he would ask kindly, so the Jews would hand him what they have. Some Jews were upset by the fact that the SS took their possessions, but at the same time, they must have felt relieved that they weren't going to die. Many Jews would have predicted or believed that they would be killed soon, but knowing that the German SS only wanted their possession may have gave them joy. Some Jews may have believed that the it would be impossible to kill so many people without any mercy or feelings. The Jews may have doubt that they may all die and predict that they would go through hard labor. However, basically every Jew knew that they had no hope. From this passage, I was able to see how difficult it was to be a Jew at that time. Always having to worry what would happen next and having to live with fear at all times. If I was also a Jew at that time, I would also feel joy when I found out that I wouldn't die as I predicted. I would also hate to live a life not knowing what would happen next to me. When I begin to have hope, I may be gone in this world. It may have been difficult for the Jews to have hope in their life in concentration camps. Overall, there was no hope and even if there was hope it vanished like ashes.