Holocaust

We've all heard of the holocaust, but I don't think anyone really knows the horror that went on. So maybe you cried watching this, or your chest felt like it was about to burst, but it's nothing compared to what these people suffered through. The smell of burning flesh every day; flesh that was so recently alive; breathing; warm. Your family. But you don't know that your mother was just gassed to death in what they were told were showers; suffocating along with a thousand others. You don't know that the belongings of your neighbors are piled together, while their bodies are bulldozed into a pit to be burned. Worthless. No graves for these lost souls. Only a pit; only ashes that will be used for fertilizer.
You don't know what you have until it's gone, right? Or maybe, we don't know what suffering is, until we live through it. Only those who have survived such tragedies understand what it's like to not have any idea when you might die from starvation, or too much work and harsh climate conditions. What is supposed to keep you holding on? The armies against you break down your hope, so what is it then, that you're living for? There is no end in sight, no light at the end of a tunnel.
Suffer or die.

Brandon'a thoughts on oprah and elie wiesel

I think it was bad what happened to the kids during the holocaust . I think they shouldn't even done what they did (nazi). My thought on the movie was it had a lot of details on what had happened. I know what the camps and gas cambers look like. I wouldn't think anyone would be so mean to do that to people. When I saw all that hair I felt disgusted.

Elie Wiesel

I thought that it was good segment. it really showed Auschwitz in detail I think you probably could make alot of blankets out of that hair, im just kidding that would be really gross. those were so many pair of shoes, you can just tell that there were a lot of people there because 2 shoes per person i dont know i think it would be really crazy to go there and actually see that i really want to take a feild trip there.

Response to Oprah episode with Elie Wiesel

I just can't picture three people on one bunk. I couldn't believe that they would just pull out their hair like that. Well. I just can't believe he is still alive. The picture of then laying down with their bones sticking out. It just made me fell sick! I just would like to ask him. How he felt while all of that was happening.

Oprah and Elie Wiesel

I really enjoyed the video but it was really sad. When I saw all of the shoes and suitcases of all the people that had died it made me want to cry. The pictures is what killed me the most. I can't stand to see people suffering. I mean especially all of those kids that didn't stand a chance. The babies didn't even know what was going on. The women didn't really get a chance to live they were usually just sent straight to the gas chambers. If they had babies or children of course they are going to choose to stay with them. They didn't know what was going to happen until they got into the locked gas chambers. Once they knew that they were going to die like what would you do? I would cry and cry and cry until I just died. I can't imagine those kids having to go through that.

Promise's response

I thought the movie was pretty sad because he had to talk about something horrible that he had to experience and probably doesn't want to really remember. I thought that the suit case, hair,and baby clothes was nasty, disgusting, and not right. I thought a lot of stuff that Ellie said was wise and he used a lot vocab. I would like to know how many people live throw this and I would like to know if people would no that there great grandma was in it could they go there and see if her suit case is in there.

Oprah movie

I thought all of the kill was horrible an nasty. I found the bodies to be shocking. They were really skinny and all gross. It was weird that Elie couldn't really describe everything. I thought the pictures of the children were very powerful. I have a couple questions for Elie. I wonder if everybody had to have their hair cut off. What kind of a work did they have to do? How bad were the living conditions? All of this was very informational and moving.

Response to Oprah Episode

One thing that stuck in my mind about this showing was the massive amount of hair and shoes. It's hard to imagine that much of one thing. I think for many people it's difficult to find words for what happened during the Holocaust- even for those who survived. After reading the novel it was still hard to fathom what went on. I think what Elie Wiesel was very inspiring; He's extremely against hate. I feel that this episode was eye-opening, and so was the book.

Oprah Respons

I don't know how I feel about it and it's not really a big deal. It happened in the past and we can't fix it now. No one could really stop it there isn't much you can do about it. It is sad to think about.

Elie Wiesel

I think this is really sad and touching. The part that got to me the most was the babies. That part made me want to cry. When Elie said I never walked I don't remember ever walking. slaves ran, we ran, we are slaves. This was a rally good comparison for me I could visualize it very well. One thing that wasn't exactly clear to me is were there other survivors that are still around. The only thing that annoyed me is Oprah she's annoying.

Oprah Movie

I just don’t understand how someone can be that evil. This is the most horrific thing I’ve been learned about. The photos of all the dead and burnt bodies were just hard to look at because of the sadness. I couldn’t believe that the Nazis didn’t even let the children go. I wondered about what he said if the children would have lived. One of them could have cured cancer, or some other sickness. The Nazis weren’t only monsters; they were thieves. They took everything from hair, to clothes, to people’s identities. I also don’t understand why they didn’t fight back. The women and children had no idea they would be killed, but the men knew that they were dying. They saw the smoke and smelled burning flesh. Why didn’t they fight?

Elie Movie

I thought the movie was interesting. It was sad to see all of the babies clothes and the shoes. The hair part grossed me out. I definitely would not want to have a blanket made out of human hair. Or buy anything made out of human hair. I thought it was interesting how they could feel the presence of all the dwelling spirits. Elie also made a good point about how one of the people that died could have invented a cure for cancer or AIDS. The population could be a lot bigger than it was now if it wasn't for the Holocaust.

Oprah Comments

This was a very informative movie. There were some parts that stuck out to me, including, the mad woman in the train, who saw the flame. She wasn't mad, she actually knew what was coming and no one would believe her. I think it is so sad, because there was so many deaths. And how would you feel if you were in that situation? Stripped of everything you own, including possessions, you shoes, you identity, even your hair. Then you go to a gas chamber and die, you don't even see it coming. I don't know how their government got that much power that they could just target a religion like that and take them all out.

-Samantha Koehn

Response--Oprah, Elie Wiesel

As Dylan mentioned, this is sort of like a review for me after going through it in both Strand's class and Davidson's class. However, it's still powerful stuff even after having it go through my head at least 7 times. Recently, the only things I can think of that Elie said that moved me most was the ancient legend about the two tears for the death of one just person. Another one that stuck with me was when he and Oprah were in the barracks and Elie mentioned something along the lines of them not being alone. Out of all of the pictures and exhibits that they showed, the ones that influenced me most were the shoes and the babies clothes.

Oprah's Interview

I'm just writing about my thoughts on the Holocaust in general right now. Seeing the Auschwitz camp makes you really get a feel of how bad the holocaust was. And it wasn't even the only camp. There were many more other death camps spread throughout Europe. Whenever you hear about people dying, not many people truly care about it. They may think about how sad it is, but they don't lose any sleep over it. We read and hear of the holocaust killing millions of people. To me, yeah it's a lot of people, but I don't feel a whole lot about it. It's not necessarily the best thing to say, but to actually feel and connect with that is kind of hard to do. Seeing the pictures of piles of bodies being hauled around like animals makes you get even more of a grip on how cruel the Nazis were and how much they hated those they killed. To treat people like they don't even deserve to live is just unthinkable. Another thing that's weird to think about is when it all happened. It wasn't even a century ago. To think that your grandparents were alive during this is crazy. I'm kind of excited to start reading the book, just to really see Elie's first hand account of what happened.

The Movie

I think that its wrong for them killing the Jews and what they did to them before killing them. If i was a jew in that time period i think i would be so confused on what to do and what i can do. I also think its neat how there are survivors of the holocaust, so they can tell what they saw and how they were treated. Oprah actually stayed strong in the movie i didn't see her cry once and when there is stuff like that she usually cries. i thought the movie was good but it was showing to much depression but i guess thats what they are trying to show because thats what it was like to them.

Noah Oprah Comments

I enjoyed the movie, for the most part. I knew most of the stuff they talked about, other than that they shaved all their heads so they could use the hair for cloth, although I kind of feel like I've heard that somewhere before. Oprah seemed a little awkward throughout the whole thing, and it seemed like she was uncomfortable. She was always looking around or looking at the camera and she never really had anything to say. That kind of situation isn't really her strong suit I suppose. I liked Elie Wiesel's style of speaking. Everything he said was very deliberate and well thought-out. It was also neat to see all the suitcases and shoes from the prisoners.

Elie & Oprah

I don't know how he could have done it going back there. It would be so hard for me. Going through all the pain and suffering. I don't know how he could have handled the smell of humans burning. I didn't know that they shaved off everyones hair, so it was interesting to see that. I can't believe how much hair they collected. I don't know if I could have lived through what he did, or any of the survivors. I hated seeing all the pictures of people starving and sick. It is so disgusting seeing people with absolutely no meat, but just bones. It is even more horrible that the Nazis did that to them. I wonder if Elie looked like some of the picture of people there. I can't picture him being that skinny and small now, but I'm sure he looked like them. I think it was nice to hear the story from someone that was there. When I read about it, it's just not the same. I think it will be interesting to read Night. I liked reading Anne Frank and hearing what she had to say about things. Now its his turn to share his story.

Oprah Movie

The Holocaust is really interesting. It's terrible what they did to the Jews. I just can't believe anyone would want to or have the strength to want to kill that many people. It was crazy how they shaved everyones head and kept the hair. Seven tons of hair is a lot. I think it would be hard for Elie to go back to where he saw millions of people die. He lost his family and everything he had. I'm thinking that if you didn't know you were going to be gassed, wouldn't you notice the previous people going to "take a shower" never came back? I would be like, where did the other people go who were taking showers? I think I might have noticed. I feel really bad for the babies. All of them died right away and that would be really hard for a mom.

Oprah WWII

Watching these videos was very powerful and a lot to take in; it's just nasty and insane what the Nazi's did to them. I didn't know that they burned some of the bodies and made the Jew's put them into the burners. That must have been terrifying to do that, because I wouldn't have been able to handle a dead body. . . I would probably just kill myself or let one of the mean people do it if I was sent to the camp.The pictures of the dead bodies and the hair grossed me out a little, I think the hair did a lot! I don't see why people would make cloth out of human hair, that's just wrong in every way! I understand why they preserved it, but I still think it was gross looking at it. If I were to ask Elie a question I'd ask why he tried to stay alive and why he listened to the Nazi's. I would rebel and let them kill me because I would probably think that this war would never end until they got what they wanted; death.

Oprah: Elie Wiesel

Topic: Elie Wiesel

That episode kind of hit me in a sort of way that I didn't know that people could be that cruel. For them to go day after day killing innocent people who did absolutely nothing to deserve this. What sticks in my mind so clearly is the shoes, and the clothes of the children. How can they just toss a child into the air and use it for targeting practice. I was surprised that Elie said that he could actually feel the presence of all the women and children around him. The photos of the mangled bodies still gets me. How you could see their bones, and yet none of the soldiers did anything. Aren't soldiers put in place to help the people? My biggest question is: Why didn't we step in soon than what we did? And why didn't any one stick up for what was right? Die or die trying?

Oprah & Elie Wiesel

This movie was very moving and depressing. We've somewhat learned about the holocaust from reading Anne Frank but other than that I didn't really know much about it. It was so sad just thinking that the women and children had no chance to even stay alive once they got to the camps. They were put in gas chambers right away. It was also very misleading because they would say they were waiting for showers, which obviously wasn't true. It just makes your heart break just thinking about the whole situation and how terribly they were treated. This just opens my eyes way more and I'm really excited to read this book so we can understand the holocaust better and how he lived when he was captured.

-Kate

Thoughts on Oprah with Elie Wiesel

It is awful, but yet incredible how the German Nazis decided to wipe out the Jews. It is sad, but the types of killing that they came up with. Gas chambers? Really? I would think that the cost of Zyklon B would be very expensive. The Nazis probably threatened to kill the producers of the gas if they didn't provide it to them. I realize that the gas was probably cheaper in the long run than using guns. And it would take a while to shoot and kill all the Jews that the Nazis did. I think it was a great show of courage that Elie Wiesel had to be able to go back to where he was tortured about 50 years ago. I think that it is disgusting how they have all the hair still in Auschwitz. I was starting to think that he was delusional how he kept saying, "The shoes tell stories. And, "poor shoes"." I also think that all of the people that like Oprah would have liked this. But in my opinion, all she did was restate the facts. She made it boring. I think that if they want to catch our attention, they should have had someone other than Oprah there.

Oprah movie

Well, It was nice, but I'v already known all of it. In 11th grade you take a class about it. So it was a nice refresher and a good movie for someone who knows nothing about the holocaust. The only think I didn't know was the fact the Nazis blew-up the gas chambers. I also don't understand why were watching and reading stuff about the holocaust in english class. But oh well.

~CaBoOsE~
smith