Alicia post 1

First off, I cannot believe the pain that the Jewish population went through during these times. It was terrible what the Hitler did to them, and I was amazed at all the terrible things that were done. The one thing that really shocked me was the Jewish's initial reaction to the bad news. One of the first times the Jews were taken away from their homes was the situation in which Moishe the Beadle was one of the prisoners. It was a normal day in Sighet, and no one was expecting anything like this to happen. All foreign Jews, including Moishe, were packed into cattle cars and shipped to Galicia. I was shocked at the communities response. No one really made a big deal about, it seemed like no one cared. One person in the crowed even said, "What do you expect? That's war..." (6). I think that they took the situation too lightly, maybe if they had realized the danger of the situation the could have prepared themselves for the bigger events to come. This wasn't the only thing they took lightly. When Moishe came back and told people what had happened to him, some people didn't believe him. Moishe was brought to the woods were himself and the other Jews dug a trench and then were all shot one by one. Fortunately for Moishe he escaped, and he took his escape as a way to warn his fellow Jews back home. When he got home and told his story, no one believed him. I don't understand why people didn't believe him. Why would he make something like that up? People knew what kind of person he was but they still doubted him. I think the people were in denial. They must have somewhat known what was going on but wanted to be wrong and pretend like everything was okay. In spring of 1944, Germany would be defeated. The radio had announced that the Fascist party had seized power, but yet no one was worried. The Jewish people weren't worried about what was going to happen. If I were in that situation I would automatically bring myself to assume the worst. I would have been worried for my family and for myself. The people remained optimist, telling themselves that the Germans wouldn't go as far as they lived, but unfortunately they were wrong. When the Germans arrived it no one knew what to do, it was chaotic. They didn't know what they were in for but if they have payed attention more they may have gotten an idea.