1. The Holocaust Emily Stone Alex Berman Michael Bouaziz

2. Jews in the concentration camps had almost nothing to live for. The hunger, degradation, filth, and cold drove people to insanity. According to SollyGanor, “they didn’t even look like people. They looked more like walking skeletons.” People were losing faith and hope by the day. But it was events such as reading the megillah on Purim, or even a silly Purim play, that helped them make it through.

3. Having suffered through several days of high fever and typhus, JJ was weak. But when he woke up one seemingly typical morning in Dachau, he felt a sudden surge of strength. It was Purim, and he now had something to live for. He planned a Megillah service, and brought great joy to all of those around him. He restored hope to the ghetto-- the message of Purim, the downfall of Haman and the saving of the Jews, left everyone in great spirits at a time and place where happiness and laughter were rare. Purim in the Valley of Tears

4. SollyGanor was scared out of his wits. New prisoners were coming into Dachau from Auschwitz with stories of the deaths of thousands of Jews from gas chambers and crematoriums. The one small light in the concentration camp came in the form of ‘Chaim the Rabbi’, who, from time to time, would gather the prisoners for evening prayers. On one particular Sunday, he ran into the middle of the camp and started calling “Fellow Jews, what is the matter with you?! Today is Purim, let us play a Purim shpiel!” After acting out the Purim story, the ‘Rabbi’ predicted the end of the war, which occurred two months later when Hitler (Haman) shot himself. Purim in Dachau

5. Both testimonials are true. But many Holocaust stories published are not. Do these fictional accounts trivialize the Holocaust? The movie Life is Beautiful is a comedy about a family living in a concentration camp. Is this appropriate? Can we laugh in light of the horrors that millions had to endure? The Happening Truth vs. The Story Truth

6. DEVALUE People make fake memoirs for personal gain. Devalues what survivors have been through--fake stories end up making the true stories seem petty in comparison. Does Fictional Artwork help us grasp the Holocaust of devalue it? GRASP Cynthia Ozick: even though she didn’t live through the Holocaust, her short story, “The Shawl,” is in some ways more powerful than mere numbers. Her story conveys real, conceivable emotions that many felt during the Holocaust. Understanding comes through art” - Yann Martel, author “ How many did not live and simply vanished? The souls listen, cry, and warn” -Eli Wiesel, holocaust survivor

7. In the Book of Job, Hashem makes clear that the way to deal with tragedy is to admit that we can’t understand it, but Hashem is still there. How does one do that? HOW DO WE COPE? (Once we’ve been confronted with either the fictional or real narratives of the Holocaust, how do we, as Jews, still keep our faith?)

8. Talmud Bavli Rav Ami: One is punished for his sins, Hashem wouldn’t just punish someone for no reason. The wicked are successful because they must have done something right. BUT WAIT: What about innocent children barely a week old? What could they have done? Children aren’t given any mitzvot, so they don’t have any punishments either (Gemara in Sanhedrin)

9. Modern Rabbis RavSoloveitchik: What is fate? Fate is events and situations that we cannot control. We don’t try to understand it, because we never will be able to. We don’t need to give reasons, but if we want to, wecan. To each his own, and there is no set way to grieve. Rav Lichtenstein: It is healthy to question- weshould be trying to find answers and we should be thinking. But we have to stay commited to Hashem regardless of the outcome. We need to attach ourselves to Hashem as Hashem attaches Himself to us.

10. “I begin believing despite doubt; I end by believing all the more firmly because of doubt”. Rav Lichtenstein is right: we need to question. And we can struggle, but, we need to see it through. We can’t give up during our search, and need to acknowledge that we can’t answer certain things because of fate. NORMAN LAMM- compromise ***INTEGRATION*** In Maimonides's introduction to one of his books, he asserts that one should only engage in philosophy if he is learned, because people who don’t have a strong belief in Hashem will end up straying.

11. To stand up for our fellow Jews through… Lobbying. People criticized the Jews in America during the Holocaust because they didn’t do enough to influence FDR. The S.S. St Louis: America refused to accept ship full of Jewish refugees from Europe. The lack of intervention told Hitler that nobody cared about the European Jews, not even the American Jews. UNITY, pluralism, acceptance of other Jews. Rabbi Steven Wise: a Rabbi in FDR’s inner circle told him not to meet with Orthodox Jews because they were not representative of Jews all over. This only caused more anti-Semitism! OUR JOB: