Nazi Guards-Crimes Against Humanity

When I read this article I see only one way that it could go, to prosecute these nazi guards. These three nazi guards, Johann Leprich, John Kalymon, and Iwan Mandycz, are hiding in the US and have been running away from their past ever since the war. Many say that these men are just old men who deserve mercy because of their age and the fact that their death is just around the corner. But why should these men not be punished just because they were able to hide for this long? Why should their victims families not see their loved ones murders be put to justice just as any other serial killer?

Johann Leprich was a member of the SS Death's Head Battalion where he guarded a concentration camp that killed 119,000 innocent people. John Kalymon assisted the Nazis in capturing nearly 100,000 Jewish residents and atleast killed one Jew. Last time I checked murder is murder no matter how long you hide or how old you are. Lastly Iwan Mandycz was a SS-guard at not only one but two slave camps where he kept watch on 14,000 Jews, not only men but women and children, as they were shot. These men are guilty of murder and abuse and torture among a number of other crimes. They are especially guilty of crimes against humanity.

Crimes against humanity can be defined as a widespread attack directed at one group of people in the form of murder, torture, extermination, and enslavement. These men helped Hitler capture, torture, enslave, and murder innocent families. The Holocause was a large extermination of Jews because they were not up to the German standards. That fits crimes against humanity to a tee and that makes them guilty and deserving of punishment.

These men whether for fear or ignorant prejudice killed millions of innocent jews and they should not be allowed to die in peace in our country. Ukranian Auxiliary Police harrassed, kept Jew from escaping the ghettos, shot at Jews at random, walked them to their execution, and even shot them if they walked too slow. John Kalymon was a member of this group (yad-vashem.org.). As you can see these men did horrible and terrible things and now that they are within justices grip, they should be punished. These men were part of major nazi parties. They do not deserve mercy or pity, but punishment like any other serial killer

Chapter Four

"Hans looked at the knuckles of his right hand and swallowed. He could already taste the error of his mistake." (Pg 182)

Quote Analysis: This quote is describing the scene in which Hans Hubberman continues to punch the door and window of the NSDAP. One of the greatest Nazi' watched as he finished this act of vandalism. This is ironic to me considering that just a little before this violence he was righting a wrong. He was erasing the vandalism done to a Jewish store keeper. I wonder if at times Hans temper, which he hides well, sometimes makes him believe he is above the law. He knows that it is wrong to treat the Jews in the fashion that the Nazi regime does, however he goes and treats the Nazi headquarters with that same lack of respect. I am in no way saying that the Nazi regime deserves respect, I just see this as extremely ironic. Another event that causes me to wonder how the novel would have progressed if Hans Hubbermans membership to the Nazi regime had not been denied. Would he have helped the Jews? Would his promise to Erik Vandenburg been broken? Would he have secretly harbored a Jew? I think that all these events would have been erased and his families lives not threatened. If Hans Hubberman had gone with the flow of Germany and applied for memebership sooner and been granted membership I do not believe that he would have punched that door or that window. I do not believe Max would be living in their basement. I do not believe that his first mistake was in that public act of violence but in his procrastination; if he had been part of the Nazi regime the Hubbermans lives would have been safe instead of thrown into the sticky situation people who hide Jews.

Compare/Contrast: Hans Hubberman and his public protest which I quoted above makes me wonder how similar Liesel is to him. It makes me wonder if Hans is frightened by their similarities and Liesels tendency to follow in his reckless behavior. On page 115 Liesel boldly states," I hate the Fuhrer....I hate him." Her bold defiance of the government scares Hans enough to slap Liesel. Is this act of tough love to protect her from becoming him? Hans does not want Liesel to behave in his reckless behavior. Both of these statements are dangerous and could kill. Hans was more dangerous because his was public and Liesels was behind the protection of their house walls. Liesel looks up to Hans as her hero and when he gives her a watschen it hurts her much more than those from nuns and Rosa. Does Liesel act differently from most German students because she is naive or because she sees her idols different thoughts of this world she lives in? Liesel and Hans are similar in many ways because of their bond. They have seperate motives though I believe. Hans is from loyalty and kindness while Liesels is from admiration and following her papa.

Hans VS Rosa-Free write

As I am reading the book thief, I must think to myself, whose more dangerous, Rosa or Hans. Most would probably argue that Rosa is most dangerous, I however disagree. Yes Rosa is a rude and at times abusive woman who is 99% of the time complaining, but she is predictable. She does in her peculiar way love her husband and Liesel.

Hans on the hand is a very quiet, ironic, and loyal man who keeps his promises and treats everyone with kindness. Liesel grows very close to papa and loves her time spent with him. One day however after she voices her hatred for Hitler papa reacts by slapping her across the face and tells her to never speak like that outside the house. This is an act out of love to protect his daughter from the horrific events taking place right outside their door. This action is also ironic considering Papa continues to help Jews right in the open and more importantly right in front of a Nazi soldier. His compassion for his fellow Jewish shop owners puts his family in the line of fire as he paints over the graffitti on their door.

His loyalty also causes danger when he keeps his promise to his deceased friend of war, Erik. His son is a Jew that Hans agrees to hide in his basement. This poses the largest threat to his family. Secretly harboring a Jew during this time would most likely result in death to not only Erik, but his whole family.

This is just scratching the surface of how I see things.

Winston Churchill

"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

-Winston Churchill

As I was googling Winston Churchill, this quote from his "Never Give In" speech kept repeatedly showing up. Winston Churchill delievered this quote on October 29, 1941 in the Harrow School. This specific quote caught my attention because it shocked me of the overwhelming strength and confidence that this man had. Even though at the time there was slim to no hope for Britain, Churchill still had the talent and power to inspire those in battle. The motivation of this speech just amazes me as he repeats never over and over again. Never, to me any way, is one of the strongest words that our language possesses. I mean think about it, theres even a saying, " Never say never." This one word is a form of forever, a form of most would say is a negative forever. In our world there is always a possibility that anything could happen which makes it appear almost foolish to say never. Yet Churchill says "NEVER give in..". The power in this one fragment of speech must have motivated these men. Churchill told them to NEVER give up no matter what, to never yield to their force. How could you not be filled with the strength to defeat even the strongest of enemies, even the Germans. This quote to me is the ideal example of what an inspiration and motivational speaker that Winston Churchill was and how he gave Britain soldiers the strength and courage to fight on and NEVER give up.

FIREPROOF :)

As of two and a half minutes ago, I have a new favorite movie, Fireproof. This movie stars Kirk Cameron (the curly haired kid from Growing Pains) and Erin Bethea. This movie is a beyond inspirational movie for both Christians and even non-christians. It tells of the love dare. This movie tells of a lieutenant fireman whose anger and sinful addictions is tearing apart his marriage. I won't go into too much detail because I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone and everyone. Although I will say that it portrays the struggles of everyday life perfectly along with how hard everyday life is, Christian or not. Noone is perfect. Not only is it a beautifully produced drama is also is absolutely hilarious at parts because of how accurate it is. I won't lie, I am not the type of girl who cries at movies but this film was so moving that I was on the verge of tears, both happy and upsetting.

Like I have already said, everyone should watch this movie. It is a masterpiece. :)

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Why I chose Justice for my career...

I guess that since my last blog was my random thoughts, I should try and tell about myself with a little more organization. As of now, I am planning on majoring in psychology and possible into social work. Although my ultimate goal is to become a prosecuting lawyer for abuse and neglect cases. There are so many victims that do not have a voice and are abused on a daily basis. I do not just want to go to school and get into debt without having a career at the end thats rewarding.

I have wanted to be a lawyer ever since sophmore year when I joined YIG. YIG is a statewide gathering of youth at Lansing. I was specifically in the MJP program where I was on a four person team and we competed against other teams as witnesses and lawyers for a case.

I realized that I wanted to be a abuse and neglect case when I began my work at Pizza Hut and heard of the awful fate of a deceased employee. Her husband kidnapped her and burned her and himself alive in his car. She was bound and gagged with their son only a couple miles down the road. What disturbs me the most is that she had a restraining order and when the time came, that little piece of paper could not protect her. It is appalling how many victims there are every day and those victims are not only female but male too.

Our nation needs to realize the seriousness of the problem.

Here goes nothing...

Let me first start off by saying that technology is not my thing. I have a facebook, but I am not really sure how to use it or what to do while on it. I guess this blog assignment is as good a time as any to figure it all out. As you read my blogs, I am confident that you will realize that I hav a very random thought pattern.For instance, I made the realization today that all the Mission Impossible films with Tom Cruise in them, while entertaining, are a lot like a cheesy James Bond movie. Throughout the whole movie I was seeing the characters do activities that I don't believe anyone in real life would. This I guess is much like horror movies where the victim always runs upstair and barricades themselves in instead of runnning out the open door, which is usually closer. I over analyze everything though, I guess without those odd actions the movies would be over far too soon. Well, thats all for now I'll probably be back tomorrow with more random thoughts.