Chapter One
Reading chapter one, I found out how bad the discrimination was against
the Jews. I had always assumed that that at the beginning they were just
ostracized by the "Aryans". I didn't know how big the following was that Hitler had. I was surprised to read that it was illegal to teach Jewish children.
All I could think about while reading the chapter was, "I'm so glad I didn't have
to witness this." When I say that, I mean it had to be a dismal place and I'm lucky
that I didn't go through it. I can't imagine the
feeling all those people had in the pit of their stomachs as they watched dozens of
innocent people being beaten in the streets every day, knowing they might be next.
When Professor Isseles told Lisa he couldn't teach her anymore, I was in
disbelief, not only that this happened, but because I realized that this
happened only sixty-five years ago. Then I realized that these bad feelings are still
around today. It's just sickening when you think about the events that occurred in
chapter one and in the time period back then.
ChapterTwo
The infamous night of Kristallnacht was described through the eyes of a
Jewish bystander. Lisa watched helplessly as people were beaten in the streets,
while Jewish-owned stores were broken into and burned, and while synagogues
and Jewish scrolls, along with the Torah was burned. Also, she and her family
watched as mobs made a bonfire tossing the belongings and assets of Jewish families.
When Lisa saw her bloody father my heart sank for I thought something awful had happened. Thankfully, he survived that terrible night. I was thinking that when that happened, Lisa must have been so terrified, because I know I would've been. After that, when she watched her father being forced to scrub the street, I thought to myself, "that took a lot of courage just to sit there and watch what happened. It wasn't until after I finished reading chapter two, that I noticed my heart was beating fast and that my hands were lightly shaking. I could picture what happened in my mind. It had to have been a scary time for her entire family, and I think its scary that it even did happen.
Chapter Three
As Lisa and her family were approaching the park they were going to eat at,
they saw a sign on the gate that said "Juden und Hunde verboten" which
translated, means "No Jews or dogs." Then it hit me. That's how they were treated
then, like animals. They were not thought of as humans and therefore weren't
treated like humans. They were treated even worse than animals. They were
punished for no other reason than their heritage and religion.
I don't know how I would have reacted if I were in Lisa's shoes, and my parents had chosen me to leave my home and country to escape the Nazis. I think I would | probably ask for one of my siblings to go for I couldn't endure the thought of my family back there when one other person could have gone instead of me. I also couldn't stand my family being split up anyway. Lisa must have been heartbroken when she found out she might be leaving her family forever. I think of how Lisa probably felt when looking back at her family from the train station, knowing she might very well never see them again, and it makes me honestly sad.
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