This past week in English we’ve been reading and discussing Art Spiegelman’s Maus. While interviewing his father, Vladek, about his terrifying experiences during the Holocaust, Art asks, “Why didn’t the Jews at least try to resist?” (Spiegelman 73). Vladek replies that the Jews were starving and tired, and they hoped for a saviour through the Russians (Spiegelman 73). This section of the story got me thinking about this concept, so I took some time to explore it. The answer to this question is quite simple, and echoes Vladek’s reasoning, “a civilian population, with little or no firearm experience…  all weak from starvation and exhaustion [were faced against impossible odds]” (source). They simply did have the weapons or resources needed and “deception, fear, and the overwhelming power of the Germans and their collaborators [made resistance almost impossible]” (source).

Despite these impossible conditions, there are some examples of Jewish rebellion. The Vilna Ghetto was one of the first resistance movements established in the ghettos against the Nazis. An anti-fascist party was formed in January 1942, with a motto of “we will not go like sheep to the slaughter.” Unfortunately the party was too few in numbers by the time they needed to begin fighting and many members fled to the nearby forests (source). 

Another example and the most widely known case of rebellion, is in the Warsaw Ghetto. Beginning on April 19th 1943, hundreds of Jews fought against the Germans in what is known as “the largest single revolt by Jews during WWII”. Although a large part of the uprising was disabled after a few days by the Germans, many individuals that had survived continued to fight back for over a month before they were defeated.

In the Treblinka and Sobibor death camps a similar fate played out. Both camps kept about 1200 Jews to maintain their operations, and many of these workers eventually made plans to rebel. In both camps, a few hundred fought against the Germans but unfortunately less than 100 people survived until the end of the war.

Although there was nothing that the Jews could have done to completely stop the systematic destruction by such a powerful force, the known instances of Jewish rebellion are extremely honorable and courageous. These examples also prove that the Jews in fact did fight back, with the only means they had and to the best of their ability.

Works Cited

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: And Here My Troubles Began. New York: Random House Inc. 1991. Print.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005188

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005407

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Ghetto#Resistance

http://www.aish.com/ho/i/48945626.html

http://www.ushmm.org/educators/teaching-about-the-holocaust/common-questions#answer 3

The other night as I was winding down for the day, I was exploring Instagram and came across a profile, donovanpee. His feed contains many beautifully raw images of residents from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES), and I found myself captivated, scrolling through them well past midnight. Underneath the photos were snippets of conversations with his subjects, some about how long they had been living there, or quotes about something interesting they had to say, or about nothing in particular.

I learned through scrolling his feed that he is a former addict from the DTES, thus allowing him to photograph and interview old friends and familiar faces from the neighbourhood. His experiences also give him insight and compassion about their circumstances, something that many of us don’t have. As I explored this Instagram profile I began thinking about my privileged existence, curled up at that very moment in my warm bed, clean clothing on my back, belly full of food, a roof over my head, fancy smart phone in my hand, and through reading this feed I was able to gain some of Donovan’s compassion and understanding.

Just a few days prior I had begun reading Missing Sarah by Maggie De Vries, learning about Sarah’s story has also given me more perspective. Throughout the book, I found myself wondering why at times she writes about the DTES as if she didn’t understand or was in denial. But like Maggie, sometimes I have found myself hearing things about the DTES that I don’t want to believe or think about at all.

Looking from the outside, or choosing not to look at all, can create a very warped view of what’s known as Canada’s poorest postal code. If you’ve never spent time walking the streets and getting to know the people face to face, it can seem scary and unknown. These mediums are essential to educating people about the DTES and work to remove stigma, break down stereotypes and humanize its residents. After looking around online it became clear to me that this is a movement I was entirely unaware of, and I am excited to see it exists. There are many photographers doing similar work to Donovan’s, and there have been some interesting documentaries too, helping people to realize that the residents of the DTES are not just a spectacle and they don’t deserve to be forgotten about or ignored. Like Sarah and so many others, they have feelings, they are complex, they have a purpose, and have simply fallen onto bad circumstances. It’s important for outsiders of the DTES to understand that a more nuanced view of this neighbourhood can open up their minds and educate them, myself included.