Reflections on the film, "Defiance"

Honoring the Defiant
by: Sonjanita L. Moore

Defiance…
A word that on its surface seems to hold a negative connotation
That invokes thoughts of rambunctious children of weary parents
Now takes on a different meaning –
A means of survival, of living, of thriving
Of beating the odds stacked against you like bricks
A bold offensive against a towering enemy
A vehicle into the eternal walls of collective memory
I, here, invoke the name as the ancient elders of an African village would do…
BIELSKI
My African ancestors would’ve immortalized them in the griot’s song
My indigenous fathers would have asked the 4 winds to bless their movements
My generation would pour out libations in their honor
We would create colorful “burners” on city wall that would become a visual representation of their struggle – graffiti for the great
Ancient Kemites would chisel their names in immortal glyphs on pyramid walls
Shakespeare would compose sonnets that live longer than any monuments that men could build
Their defiance defied the laws of man but upheld the laws of God
To live on in the face of adversity is the highest reflection of faith
May we all be strong enough to face life’s tests with such dignity and grace.

The World Was Watching

The World Was Watching
By: Sonja Moore

The world was watching -
In times of crisis they always do

What happens when individuals and leaders make choices that cause violence to ensue?
Negative events spark a change
In relationships around the nation
Controversial events cause changes
In one’s universe of obligation
Which one takes precedence – federal rights or the state’s?
How is it that racial hatred led to a desire to litigate?
Why was there such uproar to the call for integration?
Would the world really be turned upside down with the end of segregation?
How did innocent children become the dreaded enemies of a community?
Why did mothers work as agents of hate rather than agents of unity?
Lynch mobs and militia formed a barrier to academic success
Now, they are immortalized as perpetrators of civic unrest

The world watched as Little Rock showed its ugly side
It’s unfortunate that those hard lessons seem to have now been tossed aside
They seem to be forgotten in the annals of history
Why the world stopped watching remains a mystery.


December 12, 2008
Inspired by a Choices in Little Rock seminar session led by Steve Becton.

Review of I Promised I Would Tell by Sonia Weitz

“Their cries of longing and our screams of terror formed a chorus of inhuman sounds that filled the universe, but no one heard those awful sounds, except for us. I know this is true because no one answered. We had been abandoned by the world.”
- Sonia Weitz


If one were to read “The Hangman,” they would think that no one else could write something that would express the negative effect bystanders have in violent situations. Watching “Schindler’s List”, one might think that nowhere else could they see or visualize the horrors committed by the Nazis upon the Jewish people. In both the audience is drawn to inevitably hate the perpetrators and bystanders, while sympathizing with the victims. I Promised I Would Tell evokes a different kind of sensory experience. While Weitz does write of the atrocities committed and her experiences in a labor & death camps (no doubt interacting with some of the so-called, “Schindler Jews”), her words urge you to feel pity for the extreme levels of inhumanity and immorality that the perpetrators sank to. It is a similar sentiment one might have when considering the moral decay of slave masters of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade as detailed by Harriet Beecher Stowe and others.

I marvel at how life’s simplest pleasures brought moments of joy and reprieve from the insanity of life under the Nazis - the ability to fall in love, write in one’s diary, listen to music, and dance with someone you love. Weitz, even in the prose sections of her book, finds a way to make everyday experiences lyrical, lovable and memorable. In this way, they live on for her, those that survived it with her and for those of us lucky enough to read about it.

Although her words now serve as evidence of a horrible crime against humanity, Sonia’s diary no longer exists. She burned it while in camp after reading passages to her fellow inmates, but it was not done so in vain. This “record of her young life” has been resurrected from the ashes, like a mighty phoenix, in the publishing of this book. In the camp, her diary provided emotional, spiritual and ultimately, physical warmth for all her heard it. We are privileged to be able to have a semblance of that experience today.

Like a scientist witnessing the results of an experiment gone terribly wrong, Sonia Weitz carefully observed the horrors afflicting her family, her friends and her people. In light of the ban on writing supplies to Jews, she recorded these observations in the recesses of her mind - her subconscious. Over time, she recalled these horrific events back into the present as one would call up details from a computer’s memory. She promised her mother that she would tell and she has – poignantly, powerfully and poetically.

Weitz, in considering the inhumanity towards the Jews asks – “How dehumanized can we become? Is there no limit to the depth of our misery?” These are questions that still go unanswered as we look at world history since the Holocaust and see more senseless genocides.

Ghetto resources available from FH

Eyes on the Prize "growing up in the ghetto"
http://www2.facinghistory.org/Campus/reslib.nsf/7800cc6709203e5285256f7100617eca/4918bdc35103b5d485256f8900771f06/$FILE/14_BackToTheMovement_1979-1985.pdf

Ghetto Fighters' Museum in Israel
http://gfh.org.il/eng/

ghetto life 101
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/publications/ghetto-life-101

http://www2.facinghistory.org/Campus/reslib.nsf/llbooks/Our%2BAmerica%3A%2BLife%2Band%2BDeath%2Bon%2Bthe%2BSouth%2BSide%2Bof%2BChicago?OpenDocument

warsaw ghetto memorial
http://www2.facinghistory.org/Campus/Memorials.nsf/PrintView/228CB4C57015402B85256E970070ADCF?OpenDocument

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/warsawtoc.html

schindler's list
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/publications/schindlers-list





samuel bak lesson


http://www.facinghistory.org/node/750



http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/lessons/interpreting-works-samuel-bak-se


german chancellor's apology
http://www2.facinghistory.org/Campus/Memorials.nsf/0/DC396F572BD4D99F85256FA80055E9B1

I promised I wouldn't tell (poetry of Sonia W.)
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/i-promised-i-would-tell

http://www.facinghistory.org/sites/facinghistory.org/files/images/pdf/promised/IPIWT-Activity-1.pdf

http://www.facinghistory.org/sites/facinghistory.org/files/images/pdf/promised/IPIWT-Activity-2.pdf

http://www.facinghistory.org/sites/facinghistory.org/files/images/pdf/promised/IPIWT-Activity-3.pdf


Jews of Poland (ch 5 & 6)
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/publications/the-jews-poland

http://www.facinghistory.org/sites/facinghistory.org/files/jews_of_poland_ch5.pdf

http://www.facinghistory.org/sites/facinghistory.org/files/jews_of_poland_ch6.pdf


Intro to the Holocaust PPT
www.facinghistory.org/campus/reslib.nsf/holocaustintro.ppt

Where Were the Jewish Ghettoes?

Online Resources from USHMM - Jewish ghettoes

US Holocaust Memorial Museum (online resources)


Ghettoeshttp://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005059

Types of Ghettoeshttp://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007445

Where were the ghettoes?http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/media_nm.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005059&MediaId=356

Ghetto Bibliographyhttp://www.ushmm.org/research/library/bibliography/index.php?content=ghettos

Personal Testimonieshttp://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/nesse/

Voices from the Lodz Ghettohttp://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/lodz/

Ghettoization: Personal Historieshttp://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_ghettoization_uu.htm

Ghetto Conditions : Personal Historieshttp://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_conditions_uu.htm

Ghetto Massacres: Personal Historieshttp://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_massacres_uu.htm

Ghetto Roundups: Personal Historieshttp://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_roundups_uu.htm

Resistance in Smaller Ghettoes of Europehttp://www.ushmm.org/research/center/presentations/features/details/2006-08-01/

Actual Case Study Project (as of 12/3/08)

* More detailed information on my project is available at http://sonjacasestudyproject.ning.com/


Areas of Inquiry (Essential Questions)

1. How do we explore the ghettoization of Jews during WWII?
2. How has the issue of ghettoization been explored creatively - through poetry and music?

Case Study Rationale (Introduction)

"...So with eager confidence I breathe life through parch and penQuill and ink of good intent can quell feuds and arguments...Breathing life into my penIn great traditions, now and then,Truth begins to make amends for mistakes made by the leaders of menWordsLike glyphs, stand for all timeNot even the guns of Alexander, Napoleon or Hitler could stifle these linesWillie Shakespeare said it onceOscar Wilde posed it, too -Ars longa, vita breveSo long lives this, immortality for youThe life brought to my pen is of heavenly decreeSo, these words and thoughts aren't really of me"
- excerpted from "In the Beginning" by Sonja Moore, 2006

There is the notion of life mirroring art or is it the other way around? When the content evokes painful or difficult memories or emotions, it is easy to deny the truth of what an original piece suggests. If, however, "life is but a stage and we are all players" how can the "playwright" be at fault? I submit that the artists, writers, poets and musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries have had the burden of seeing what others may have long since forgotten. They are the griots, the djelis, the bards, the storytellers charged with immortalizing the causes and effects of cultures of violence and decay. It is through their work that we can begin to deconstruct our past, present and future understanding of our life experiences.
This site seeks to look at how we have defined, explored and learned from the life experiences of Jews in the ghettoes of Poland. The purpose here is two-fold: to honor the lives and legacies of the Polish ghettoes and to compare-contrast their experiences to those in the African American ghettoes of the 20th century to the present. I intend to accomplish this by looking at how we define and use the word "ghetto" (past & present connotations) and what kinds of ghettoes existed then and now. Furthermore, I wish to archive a number of poems, songs (lyrics, audio files, video files) that relate to Jewish and African American ghettoes.

Questions for Further Study (based on Scope & Sequence)

For further study by teachers or PA's....

1. How is identity formed or affected by life in the ghetto?
2. Who were the inhabitants of the ghettoes?
3. How does society view ghetto inhabitants?
4. What kinds of ghettoes existed in Poland during WWII?
5. To what extent did the Jewish ghettoes affect the development of contemporary ghettoes?
6. What are the social, emotional, political and economic ramifications of ghetto life to its inhabitants?
7. What has been their contribution to society?
8. To what extent do/did ghetto inhabitants proactive citizens?

http://sonjacasestudyproject.ning.com/

Initial Idea for New PA Case Study Project (12/1/08)

Art & Freedom of Expression in Democratic & Non-Democratic Societies

Research Questions

• How do art produced in a democracy compare to & contrast with art produced in a non-democratic climate?
• How does having (or not having) the right to freely express oneself affect the type of art produced in a society?
• How are these art forms depicted or made available to the public?
• Which artistic mediums are authentically engaging to students?
  

Defining Terms

For the purposes of this project the following definition of art is implied:
Art is any original or creative product based on real or imagined events or experiences. It is a product that can be expressed in a written, oral, visual, kinesthetic and/or multimedia format and that can be used as a vehicle for introspection, social commentary, propaganda and/or social justice. It can, therefore, be interpreted as a positive or negative form, depending on the audience.

Related Facing History Resources (for those interested in further study)

• “Weimar Republic” Online Module
• Holocaust & Human Behavior (specifically, Chapters 3 & 5)
• I Promised I Would Tell
• Blessed is the Match (video & guide)
• Painted in Words
• Jews of Poland, “Hatred” by W.S.
• Stitching Truth
• “Be the Change” (Arn Chorn’s on music)
  

Other (Non-FH) Related Resources (resources I've used over in the past)

• Maus I: My Father Bleeds History by: Art Spieglemann
• Maus II: And Here My Troubles Begin by: Art Spieglemann
• Spertus Museum of Judaica (exhibitions, online resources & Asher Library)
• US Holocaust Memorial Museum (online)
• Arts with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen
• SurveyMonkey.com, “Learning about the Holocaust Survey”
• Origins & Uses of the Word, 'ghetto' " ( a unit exploring past & present connotations of the word & writing associated with those connotations)

Comments on The Sunflower

victim: a person against whom a crime has been committed;a person who suffers from some adverse circumstance; a person who is tricked or swindled

perpetrator: a person who allegedly committed a crime, victimized or attacked others; a direct or indirect participant in the killing of the Jews


Is a victim obligated to forgive his/her perpetrator? If so, is the obligation of a spiritual or religious basis (does God require it of them)? There are, of course, several groups of that can identify with the narrator's dilemma. As I see it, there are two major dilemmas being discussed.

1. Was the narrator required as a Jew to forgive the Nazi since atonement is a major tenet of the Jewish faith - even if his faith was wavering?
2. Was the narraror obliged to grant the last wish of a dying man who was a stranger to him? Is that a human obligation?

The first dilemma is difficult to answer because the narrator was questioning his faith at the time and so, in a way he wasn't the best candidate to repent to....or was he? Perhaps, one could see this as a test of the narrator's faith..a challenge that he failed in the eyes of God. The consequence of that failure was being plagued with constant memories of the soldier. Could it be that the narrator found some peace in visiting the soldier's mother? Or did that aggravate things? It seems that not only did the narrator not forgive the soldier, but in the end he hasn't forgiven himself for holding back his blessing.

This is a problem that plagues the mind of victims of horrible crimes and their descendants until someone in the chain forgives the perpetrator. It's a hard thing to do and I can't say that I would be able to do it either. I would not have forgiven the soldier, but unlike the narrator, I would've freely expressed my reasons to the soldier before I left his bedside. I would not forgive him on behalf of "my people"because I am not an official representative of them, but as an individual he wouldn't receive my full forgiveness either. I would not be able to forget the suffering his people inflicted on mine. I would merely wish him well in the hereafter adn remind him that only God can judge and forgive him.

As far as the 2nd dilemma, in times of war, can people really be held to norms held in times of peace? I wouldn't feel obliged to grant his wish because I would have no connection to him. I would urge him to seek out a nurse, doctor or priest - those whose earthly duty it is to save, comfort or heal. The narrator shouldn't be held accountable for obliging this dying wish because the soldier committed acts that could only be attributed to an animal or a monster.What moral obligation does man have to forgive an animal?