Jack P., 12th Grade
The History of Discrimination
Throughout history, and even today, discrimination has been present in many countries throughout the world.
Very many people, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, worked against this awful hatred for outward appearance and beliefs. Article 2 in the Human Rights Declaration states, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). This article, Article 2, proclaims that no one should be discriminated for race or physical attributes; however, in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, it is apparent that several characters are discriminated against by Adolf Hitler.
“Jewish books were burned. Physical persecution commenced with orchestrated anti-Jewish riots, on the infamous
Kristallnacht, or night of broken glass” (Rossel). This quote shows how easily persecution and discrimination happened during the Holocaust. As previously stated, in Article 2, it makes it clear that , by law, it is illegal to persecute any human being because of color, race, physical features, and more. This quote explains how the Germans felt toward the minorities. They burned their books and physically beat them all because they were different. The Human Rights Declaration is meant to protect the people who are different and to prevent any sort of discriminatory acts, such as the genocide in Rwanda between the Hutu’s and Tutsi’s, from happening again.
The Book Thief gives you an idea of what it was like to live during the Holocaust from the perspective of Death, who is the narrator in the book. Death makes it clear that it is not him that is taking the innocent lives, but the hateful and derogatory acts of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. In the book, a specific quote stood out. “The Star of David was painted on their doors. These houses were a lot like Lepers. At the very least, they were infected sores on the injured German terrain” (Zusak 51). In this context, being a Jew meant being like some sort of a criminal guilty of innocence. The Germans persecuted anyone who was not going to help create the “Ultimate Race”. For example, the Jews were said to have bigger noses and curly brown hair. Article 2 now prevents this persecution from happening; however, in the novel, Max Vandenburg had both of these traits. Max asks Leisel to give him a haircut because it would be less likely to tell he was Jewish. During the Holocaust, no one wanted to be Jewish because of fear of what might happen if they were caught.
In the clip, A Class Divided, the teacher demonstrated how easily discrimination can happen among everyone, even third graders. At the reunion of those third graders, one of them said, “It felt tremendously evil, all your ambitions were gone, and no matter if they were my friends or not, any pent up hostilities or aggressions the kids caused, you had a chance to get it all out” (“A Class Divided”). This ties to the research because all of the evidence now shows that peace can be created amongst countries, races, ethnicities and more. This quote clearly gives a great example of the mindset people had during that time, and especially the German soldiers, who violated Article 2, which now illegalizes discriminatory acts among humans everywhere. Finally this quote makes the novel make a little more sense. There is one example in which Rudy starts to run away from home. He put all his ambitions aside and had his mind set on killing the Fuhrer. He did not care what would happen to him, he just wanted his dad back along with thousands of other children who had the same experience with losing loved ones. Adolf Hitler took away one of the people he loved most. My creative element is going to be a newspaper article written from the perspective of Leisel Meminger. She is going to tell people that these acts of discrimination are unlawful, as Article 2 stated.
Discrimination is an act of prejudice against an innocent human being. Just because someone has different color skin or different color hair, does not give anyone the right to judge them. They are completely innocent and are the same as you and me, just different characteristics. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (Intellectual Properties Management). Martin Luther King Junior stated this because he was tired of being judged by the color of his skin. This speech was an act of God telling Luther that it was time for a change that will impact the world forever. History has displayed events that should
never be repeated, such as the Holocaust. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Works Cited
“A Class Divided.” Frontline. Dir. William Peters. Public Broadcasting Service, 26 Mar. 1985. PBS.org. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Intellectual Properties Management. "American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream."American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream. American Rhetoric. Web. 03 Dec. 2012.
Rossel, Seymour. "Holocaust." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012.
United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations Department of Public Information, 1948. PDF File.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Random House Children’s Books, 2005. Print.
Throughout history, and even today, discrimination has been present in many countries throughout the world.
Very many people, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, worked against this awful hatred for outward appearance and beliefs. Article 2 in the Human Rights Declaration states, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). This article, Article 2, proclaims that no one should be discriminated for race or physical attributes; however, in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, it is apparent that several characters are discriminated against by Adolf Hitler.
“Jewish books were burned. Physical persecution commenced with orchestrated anti-Jewish riots, on the infamous
Kristallnacht, or night of broken glass” (Rossel). This quote shows how easily persecution and discrimination happened during the Holocaust. As previously stated, in Article 2, it makes it clear that , by law, it is illegal to persecute any human being because of color, race, physical features, and more. This quote explains how the Germans felt toward the minorities. They burned their books and physically beat them all because they were different. The Human Rights Declaration is meant to protect the people who are different and to prevent any sort of discriminatory acts, such as the genocide in Rwanda between the Hutu’s and Tutsi’s, from happening again.
The Book Thief gives you an idea of what it was like to live during the Holocaust from the perspective of Death, who is the narrator in the book. Death makes it clear that it is not him that is taking the innocent lives, but the hateful and derogatory acts of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. In the book, a specific quote stood out. “The Star of David was painted on their doors. These houses were a lot like Lepers. At the very least, they were infected sores on the injured German terrain” (Zusak 51). In this context, being a Jew meant being like some sort of a criminal guilty of innocence. The Germans persecuted anyone who was not going to help create the “Ultimate Race”. For example, the Jews were said to have bigger noses and curly brown hair. Article 2 now prevents this persecution from happening; however, in the novel, Max Vandenburg had both of these traits. Max asks Leisel to give him a haircut because it would be less likely to tell he was Jewish. During the Holocaust, no one wanted to be Jewish because of fear of what might happen if they were caught.
In the clip, A Class Divided, the teacher demonstrated how easily discrimination can happen among everyone, even third graders. At the reunion of those third graders, one of them said, “It felt tremendously evil, all your ambitions were gone, and no matter if they were my friends or not, any pent up hostilities or aggressions the kids caused, you had a chance to get it all out” (“A Class Divided”). This ties to the research because all of the evidence now shows that peace can be created amongst countries, races, ethnicities and more. This quote clearly gives a great example of the mindset people had during that time, and especially the German soldiers, who violated Article 2, which now illegalizes discriminatory acts among humans everywhere. Finally this quote makes the novel make a little more sense. There is one example in which Rudy starts to run away from home. He put all his ambitions aside and had his mind set on killing the Fuhrer. He did not care what would happen to him, he just wanted his dad back along with thousands of other children who had the same experience with losing loved ones. Adolf Hitler took away one of the people he loved most. My creative element is going to be a newspaper article written from the perspective of Leisel Meminger. She is going to tell people that these acts of discrimination are unlawful, as Article 2 stated.
Discrimination is an act of prejudice against an innocent human being. Just because someone has different color skin or different color hair, does not give anyone the right to judge them. They are completely innocent and are the same as you and me, just different characteristics. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (Intellectual Properties Management). Martin Luther King Junior stated this because he was tired of being judged by the color of his skin. This speech was an act of God telling Luther that it was time for a change that will impact the world forever. History has displayed events that should
never be repeated, such as the Holocaust. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Works Cited
“A Class Divided.” Frontline. Dir. William Peters. Public Broadcasting Service, 26 Mar. 1985. PBS.org. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Intellectual Properties Management. "American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream."American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream. American Rhetoric. Web. 03 Dec. 2012.
Rossel, Seymour. "Holocaust." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012.
United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations Department of Public Information, 1948. PDF File.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Random House Children’s Books, 2005. Print.