March 22, 1933 – The First Nazi concentration camp opened in Dachau
History: The very first Nazi concentration camp was opened on March 22 1933 in Dachau. What the Nazis would do was they would invade towns and ship all the Jewish people to this camp and work them very hard with little calories many Jewish people died from lack of food, different disease and the nazi would shoot certain Jews that were to weak to work. A lot of guards came to this camp to train. When the camp first opened there were close to 5000 Jewish prisoners but it increased after the Nuremberg race laws were decreed
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Source: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/othercamps/dachau.html
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Application to novel: In, “The Cage” Riva is sent to a variety of different concentration camps. In the book there’s lots of talk about lack of cleanliness and food, for using a bathroom they had to use a hole in the ground, and for food they only got soup or bread. They work long hours of hard work. Then Riva is crammed into a barrack as well as many other people with her. If one person had a disease in the Barack and it was contagious shortly after everyone inside the barrack would have the disease. Millions of death occurred from these labour camps, the deaths were cruel gas chamber shot in a line or put in a oven.
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September 15, 1935 – Nuremberg Race Laws against Jews decreed.
History: The Nuremberg Race Laws state that If any individual has 3 or 4 grand parents of Jewish decent, that that states that the individual is Jewish. Even if the individual doesn’t practice Jewish traditions they are still considered a Jew. The law also states that your are not allowed to have sexual relationship with anyone from Jewish decent. This law deprives the Jewish from there political rights and freedoms.
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Source: https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007695
Application to novel:The law applies to, “The Cage” in many ways. For example when the Nazis came to Lodz to take away all the people from Jewish decent, the Gruber family looked back on their family tree and looked for their trace of German blood. Which they found that they were German and completely turned against their friends. This is one of the most emotional parts of the story, they had there best friends turn on them. Riva and her family’s rights and freedoms are stripped from them. They are not giving any medical support or medicine to help them with the sicknesses that are going around. And the Jewish are not allowed to have relationships with any people of German decent, there can only have relationships with people of there own kind.
November 23, 1939 – Yellow stars required to be worn by Polish Jews over age 10.
History: The German Nazis, had put the Star of David of the Jewish people over 10 years of age. The reason why they did this was because it was hard to tell who were German and who were Jewish. If the Jewish did not were the yellow star they risked their life. As soon as the Germans entered Poland they immediately began to persecuting the Jewish population. This badge was to be worn from 1939 up to 1944.
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Application to novel: In, “The Cage” a characters says “Saba, are you ashamed of wearing the yellow star of disgrace” (Sender 17). In the novel the yellow star was used as symbolizing the Jews from the Germans. The tone of them talking is that they are not afraid of wearing the yellow star, it is from there religion. Even some that were German ended up slipping through the the cracks, and the Nazis thought they were Jewish, therefore making them were the yellow star. By making the Jewish were the yellow star it was more easy for the Nazis to organize the Jewish people for when they had to send them to labour camps, if they didn’t have the star on they would look back on everyone’s background just to see if there Jewish or not.
September 1, 1939 – Jews in Germany are forbidden to be outdoors after 8 p.m. in winter and 9 p.m. in summer
History: during this time all the Jewish population in Germany had to be indoors during a certain time. The reason why the German Nazis enforced this was because they believed that the Jewish people during night time would try to escape the ghettos. Also because they believed they could escape and smuggle food, medication, and weapons into the ghetto. This is so the ghetto could be more secure.
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Application to novel: This applies to, “The Cage” because in the ghettos everyone had a curfew or a time where they could not go outside. This was because the Jewish people would smuggle in food and medication. In winter time after curfew many snuck out to tear down buildings sheds to get wood for heat. One of Rivas brothers went out to steal wood to keep them warm also. If they stayed out past curfew they risked there lives, also they can be sent to a concentration camp. Motele got caught stealing the wood, this the rising action of the book because there family could get torn apart, but he only had to clean the toilets for 2 weeks the judge had compassion over him.
January 25, 1940 – Nazis choose the town of Oswiecim (Auschwitz) in Poland near Krakow as the site of a new concentration camp.
History: Auschwitz was a labour camp (death camp) and was the biggest death camp in Poland. It’s estimated that the SS police deported 1,300,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz and approximately 1,100,000 Jews died. Some of the ways they killed the Jews were gas chambers and shooting them, with all of the bodies they cremated mass amounts of body’s. The camp constantly smelt like burning flesh, in which the Jews never forgot.
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Application to novel: This also applies to, “The Cage” by when they are shipped to somewhere they do not know and they here music and when they are able to get out of the carts they can here someone talking through a bullhorn saying “Welcome to Auschwitz” but they are not there for too long then pretty soon they are shipped of to two different places. When they arrived in Auschwitz, Riva Loses her two brothers Moishele and Motele. Riva sees black smoke filling the air she looks towards where the smoke is, and can smell the horrible smell of burning flesh. Motele and Moishele could both be working in Auschwitz, Riva is quite scared that they will be worked until death there. Riva is a dynamic character and in this part of the book her glasses are token away this makes it very hard for her to see what is going on around her.
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October 26, 1939 – Forced labor decree issued for Polish Jews aged 14 to 60.
History: The German Nazis forced labour upon the Jews at labour camps. A lot of the labour the Jewish people did was heavy and hard labour with only 300-800 calories a day this is also why there were so many deaths. The labour they did took majority of the day and they had little to no breaks at all. If any could no longer labour anymore became to week they would be put to death and then cremated
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Application to novel: In, “The Cage” Riva is forced to work, her work used to be making uniforms for the Germans, but now is digging under ground hideout for the Germans when other countries are bombing. This was very cruel to the Jews, but Rivas Forman is quite nice said Rosa one of the workers, the Forman snuck a loaf of bread into Rosas pocket, this is an example of situational irony, thinking of a German Forman one would this he would be nasty and rude not give you free bread. At this time a lot of German Nazis didn’t not want to hurt anybody, but they didn’t want to get hurt them self, or there family. Some people have to do more work than others or more labour intensive work.