So, I have decided to change my novel from Herland to The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal. Although I have read numerous (rather, too many to count) novels about the Holocaust, I had a feeling this one would be a little different. I am about 55 pages into the story, but I still have yet to connect with it. Yes, the novel is different because it presents an unusual scenario, yet for me, the plot is nothing special. The story has not caught my complete and undivided attention so far.
As I was reading, I came across a line in the novel that described the SS as, "...the winner in this game of hide-and-seek with death." I thought this particular line was very effective and describes the Holocaust accurately. One can think of the Holocaust as a game where the "players" hide from the enemy in order to escape death, yet for the most part, none of these players make it out alive. It is extremely sad to think that an event as dreadful and horrifying as the Holocaust has actually occured in the past and left millions alone and devastated. If you want to watch a sad, yet accurate video, check out the link in this paragraph. It features the song "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap.
The narrator in the story brings up an interesting point that God must have "been on leave" in order for such a horrible event to happen. How else could He allow something so destructable to happen to the world? All throughout hebrew school, as well as regular school, I have learned about this horrible event and have seriously questioned how the Holocaust could have occured. Didn't God care enough about the Jews to not let them be treated this way? How could he allow the death of over 11 million people to happen? Obviously, no one knows for sure, but I think the idea that he was on leave is an interesting way to look at such an event. I know my friend used to believe this theory when she was younger. What other possible reason was there for God to allow such a disaster?
As I read on, I came to a part I knew would come in the novel. This part entails the horrible treatment of the Jews. It portrays them as inhumane and shows how they were not even thought of us as real people by the Germans and officials. This quote was said by a leader who had been ruined by the Holocaust. He states, "You and your sensitive feelings! Men, you cannot go on like this. This is war! One must be hard! They are not our people. The Jew is not a human being! The Jews are the cause of all our misfortunes! And when you shoot one of them it is not the same thing as shooting one of us - it doesn't matter whether it is a man, woman, or child, they are different from us. Without question one must get rid of them. If we had been soft we should still be other people's slaves, but the Fuhrer..."
.jpg)
