https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss Final Book Club activity of the semester en-us 2021-12-07 17:34:09 UTC 2022-03-30 16:20:45 UTC hello@padlet.com ColinNguyen22 https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934152996 Summary: During the time period from 1938 - 1939, both Poland as well as Czechoslovakia had been invaded by Germany, which in return, had caused Vladek to move back to Poland. A short period of time after Vladek had moved back to Poland, he was forced to serve in the Polish army after being drafted. 

Event Type: This event is a turning point due to Vladek beginning to experience war itself, as well as tedious labor, and all the tough hardships that come with war. Vladek also begins to see all of the antisemitic Nazi influences spread throughout Poland for the first time. 

Quote: "It was the beginning of 1938 - before the war - it was a Nazi flag. Here was the first time I saw, with my own eyes, the swastika."

This quote supports my claim because after seeing all of the antisemitic Nazi influences, it changed him especially because he was a Jewish person. Seeing these influences for the first time, and having real interactions with them instead of hearing it from his family frightened him. Having to see flags and banners of words that oppress your community everyday is difficult for anyone to have to endure. ]]> 2021-12-07 17:38:46 UTC https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934152996 ColinNguyen22 https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153158 Summary: A battle occurs in Poland where the Polish army are fighting against the Germans. During the battle, Vladek kills a German person and two hours after the battle had occurred, Vladek was captured by a German soldier and put into a prisoner of war camp. Due to the fact that Vladek was Jewish, he was separated from other Polish soldiers in the prisoner of war camp. Vladek was told, "He'll find work for him." after a German soldier felt Vladek's hands and told him they were too delicate, and that he had never worked a day in his life. 

Event Type: This event is another turning point in the story due to Vladek being captured by a German soldier and forced to go into a prisoner of war camp, where he experiences the most difficult hardships, including not having much food or water, living in poor conditions, and having to suffer difficult and tedious manual labor. 

Quote: 
"Well Jew, don't worry. We'll find work for you."

This quote supports my claim because of how Vladek is being oppressed by Nazi influences immediately when he arrives to the prisoner of war camp. The Nazis order Vladek and other Jewish people to do seemingly impossible, laborious tasks and abuse them. This changes Vladek's life completely and turns his life into a life of survival. ]]> 2021-12-07 17:38:50 UTC https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153158 ColinNguyen22 https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153286 Summary: After a while of being in the prisoner of war camps, the prisoners are told to line up in long lines, not knowing the reason as to why. When the line was beginning to shorten as people moved down, the prisoners began to realize what was happening. The prisoners were lining up to sign release forms in order for them to be released from the prisoner of war camp. After Vladek signs his release form, he is put on a train with other prisoners set to the destination of Poland. 

Event Type: This event is yet again, another turning point in the story. This is when Vladek is finally released from the prisoner of war camp, and he is free from the labor, and abuse of the Nazis. During one of his dreams when he was sleeping, he dreamed of "Parsha's Trauma" which was something that happened every Saturday. The day that they happened to be released was on Saturday, and only after he was released, did Vladek make the connection between "Parsha's Trauma" and the releasing of the prisoners from the camp. 

Quote: 
"But do you know what Saturday is? It's Parsha's Trauma!"

This quote explains when Vladek made the connection between Parsha's Trauma and the release of the prisoners from the POW camp. He begins to realize how significant this date is to him. This date was the day that Vladek was married to his wife, and in 1948, the second out of two sons that Vladek has was born on on the date of Parsha's Trauma.]]> 2021-12-07 17:38:54 UTC https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153286 ColinNguyen22 https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153429 Summary: Vladek was taken to a death camp with other Jewish people to eventually be killed. The death camp's name was Auschwitz, an notoriously infamous camp known for taking in Jewish people, and mass murdering them. During Vladek's time in the death camp, his perception of life and perspective changes. He has to endure terrible living conditions, without much food or water, being starved and overworked due to all the labor that the Jewish people were put through before getting killed. However, due to his intelligence and knowledge, he has three languages learned under his belt, as well as useful trade skills. He became someone useful to the Nazis, which helped him survive because the Nazis would select people who were useful and wouldn't kill them. Later on, when the Russians attempt to reach the camp, Vladek was instructed to destroy any evidence of the crimes that the German Nazis had committed, such as the gas chambers used to murder the Jewish people. 

Event Type: This was a major event that changed the way Vladek thought and lived from that event forward. He became more depressed and much more grim during his experiences in Auschwitz. When he was hiding before the time he was in the prisoner of war camp, he was still very hopeful and gave back to those who were suffering, however, during Auschwitz, Vladek completely changed and became much more negative and selfish. 

Quote: 
"If you ate how much they gave you, it was just enough to die more slowly."

This quote explains how much more depressed and grim Vladek began to feel during his time at Auschwitz. He had lost all hope of the war ending, and he believed that the war would not end any time soon. He thought that he most likely would've died before the war could end due to the living conditions he was put under, supported by the quote, "it was just enough to die more slowly." indicating that Vladek was truly suffering during his experience at Auschwitz. ]]> 2021-12-07 17:38:58 UTC https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153429 ColinNguyen22 https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153605 Summary: 
Multiple years have passed by now, and Vladek has grown old, and forgotten dates of past events. An event he remembers is when the Germans had taken the Jewish people, including him  on a train to yet another death camp. No food was given to the Jewish on the train for multiple days, however, Vladek had survived by using snow that was on the top of the train as his sustenance. Frequent stops are made to transport dead bodies of those who died from lack of food off the train. They are supposed to be sent off to Switzerland as prisoners of war, however, the train stops due to a notification that the war was officially done. A friend of Vladek's and Vladek find their way to freedom and reach a farm that Americans were using as their base. From there, they were sent to a Dislocated Persons camp where they are finally free from everything they've been through. 

Event Type: This event is a denouement, because at this point, Vladek has finally been released and is now free from any death camps, prisoner of war camps, pain and sorrow he experienced during the many years that World War II and the Nazi influences have stretched out over. He then hopes to connect with his wife and find her after all this time being separated from her. 

Quote: "It was such a moment that everybody around was crying together with us."

For context, Vladek attempted to find his wife and contacted many people to try and get to her, but nothing came. He then attempts to send a letter to his wife including a picture of Vladek wearing his Auschwitz uniform. Later on, Vladek discovers that his wife is living in Sosnowiec, and he immediately takes a train to get there. He then gets to reunite with his wife and has a great moment of joy. After all of the horrible experiences that Vladek has been through, and the tragedies that he has seen, he still has the joy of reuniting with his wife again. ]]> 2021-12-07 17:39:03 UTC https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1934153605 ColinNguyen22 https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1937404544 Summary:
A few years after the war had happened, Artie (the main subject (Vladek)'s son) asks Vladek if he could write a story with his experiences and daily life in the war.

Event Type: Exposition
This begins the story, and starts the beginning of the retelling of Vladek's experiences and life during World War II. 

Quote: 
"I still want to draw that book about you, the one I used to talk to you about. About your life in Poland, and the war."

This quote supports my claim because in the story, after Artie asks to write his book about Vladek's experiences in the war, it zooms into Vladek's arm where numbers have been tattooed (relating to how the Jewish people had been numbered as if they were items, and how they were treated so poorly). He has a grim, traumatized kind of look on his face in the scene. ]]> 2021-12-09 04:30:18 UTC https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1937404544 ColinNguyen22 https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1937478681 Traumatic events can change a person completely, and break them down, no matter how optimistic and happy they can possibly be. ]]> 2021-12-09 05:42:04 UTC https://padlet.com/ColinNguyen22/xssjvb4fqxx2rtss/wish/1937478681