We started this week out with sharing what all of us read in our ‘Last Letters” from the Holocaust. I read two letters, however one really stood out to me. Marianne Cohn’s last letter. For context, Marianne Cohn was an underground activist at the time who tried to save the children during the Holocaust. I may have made this connection last week, however I strongly noticed it again this week so I’m making this comparison again. Marianne Cohn very strongly reminded me of Miss Breed and her mission. Both women provided hope and comfort to children during a really brutal time (WW2 & the Holocaust), and both were extremely selfless and put others first. This leads me into the main themes I noticed today after hearing my classmates share their letters from the Holocaust. These themes include:
1.) Hope : example is how Marianne provided hope for these children ad how many of the letters my classmates read people found ways to be positive ad optimistic.
2.) Selflessness : example could be how many of the writers of these letters try and keep things positive in attempt to not worry the reader. Marianne is also an example because she put the well-being of theh children above her own.
3.) Defeat : example is in some of the letters my classmates read it was obvious that the writer predicted they were going to die.
4.) Adults prioritizing children : In many instances the adults try to protect the children or even sacrifice themselves & their well-being to assure the safety of their children. This connects to the Selflessness theme.
Many of these themes and examples overlap and intertwine, which is why I believe these letters would be such a strong topic to write about.
These themes are significant because they not only overlapped within all of the letters from the Holocaust that our class examined, but they can also be found in the letters from the children from Miss Breed. The themes and situations of all of these letters are closely tied together, and I would like to consider finding a group of letters from both to write my paper on.
Another parallel between the letters to Miss Breed and the letters about the Holocaust is the constant need to protect the children. The children in all of these situations, of course, don’t have much of a clue as to what is occurring. However, they are always extremely positive and optimistic in the letters written by them. This has let me to believe that their ignorance is responsible for their positivity. I am going to continue looking into this possible theme and finding a way to incorporate it into my final writing piece.
