Bach Tran
7/24/2019 02:00:30 am
I had a little understanding about the holocaust before so I am not too shocked about the cruelty that occured in the story but unlike documentaries, this is the story of somebody experience created by blood. I feel very empathetic towards the father of the author. I feel sorry for him that he had to live through such an event but the most disheartening part for me was after the holocaust. I think the best thing that had been shown in this novel is not the horrifying events the occured nor the Jews being hunted but the aftermath and how even survivors are still haunted by the shadows of the holocaust. The holocaust had robbed Vladek of everthing: his properties, his love ones and even his sanity. Though he lived through the holocaust, we still see him tramatized when he lost his wife, how he accumulated money and lived a life preparing for a war that had yet to come, how he doubted his love ones. The holocaust had truly borken this once happy man.
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Lizette Gallegos
8/9/2019 10:21:43 pm
Bach I completely agree with everything you have said! I was also aware of the holocaust; however, I gained more knowledge about this terrifying event. Throughout the story, Vladek has went through a numerous amount of challenges. He had encountered a lot of obstacles throughout his life time. There were times were he could have been taken away and killed instantly. As I continued reading Maus, I felt as if I could understand Vladek as if I had experienced the Holocaust. People throughout those days had to undergo so many obstacles that made them want to end their lives. They wanted to end the pain and misery they had to go through each and everyday fighting for their lives.
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Isabella Toler
8/14/2019 11:17:29 am
I definitely agree with this. Vladek was not the same as he was before it all happened. He wasn't happy anymore after he lost his wife and when he got remarried it seemed like he wasnt even in love with Mala as he was with Anja. His whole story stands out and i liked the fact that the author showed us the how Vladek changed.
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Jocelyne salgado
7/28/2019 03:55:56 pm
In the beginning I was expecting it to have more to do with mice. As I read through the book I actually found the overall story interesting. I loved the beginning when the son, Vladek, was so interested in his fathers life and stories to want to base his book on him. I did feel bad for the dad because of everything he had experienced in his life, he was left with very little.
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Nikya Warren
8/7/2019 10:42:03 am
Yes I agree JJ. As you continue to read on within the story you start to feel bad about all the stuff Vladek (the father) went through. I was already familiar with some of things Jewish people went through during the Holocaust but in Maus I it was more to it than I thought it would. Be.
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Diamond Russell
8/7/2019 09:52:06 pm
JJ,
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Elizabeth Asamoah-Baffour
7/29/2019 01:55:17 pm
I felt that the illustrations made it very emotional because it shows similarly to how it really looked back then. I think Artie used mice to calm down the reality of how it was while still keeping that reality there. I thought that this idea of making this book made it really easier for people to look into how that time than going through all the trouble just to get the info. I believe it was a splendid series of books.
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Samuel Barrera
7/29/2019 05:29:24 pm
At first it was hard to concentrate on the words because there were so many pictures. As I kept reading I became use to the pictures and I made sure to analyze the pictures very carefully because along with the words, they also told a story.
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Diamond Russell
8/4/2019 11:01:25 am
Sam,
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Rafael Garduno
8/10/2019 09:48:48 pm
I had to do the same! some parts of the book were confusing so I had to look at the pictures!
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Alani Waites
8/11/2019 02:10:46 pm
I agree with you Sam, I get distracted easy so it was hard for me to concentrate on the words at first, but after awhile I got to use to it and realized even without the words you could still get a sense of what the author is trying to tell you.
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Isabella Toler
8/14/2019 11:26:02 am
When i was reading the book, i noticed that some of the grammar used, was incorrect and im not sure if the author did that on purpose or not but i agree that the pictures were very helpful as well which is very nice. Other than that i really liked the pictures.
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Christopher Camarillo
8/24/2019 09:43:37 pm
I also agree with you that some parts of can be confusing and the pictures can bring another meaning as it showing what it’s trying to present.
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Ryan Sarau-Young
7/30/2019 03:50:12 pm
The art style in this book is much better than other books that i have read. Not only is the style much better than other books I've read, but it makes it better. I feel though if it was in a different style, the books would be less. The book is enhanced by the story and is made better by it.The book would be worse if it wasn't like it.
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Elias Lopez
8/11/2019 03:33:05 pm
Yes Mr Young, I agree with you. Some graphic novel styles are just plain, but this style that Art went with made me like the book more and made it more entertaining. Also I feel if this didn’t have pictures, it would be boring because sometimes pictures help us visualize things and don’t make us fry our brains trying to picture things.
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Damian Garcia
8/11/2019 04:13:03 pm
I agree with you Ryan, I like the art this book really has, not a lot of books come out the way this one did, Especially since it was very detailed and well told.
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Ryan Sarau-Young
7/30/2019 04:10:06 pm
I think the underlying meaning of this book is that is a relationship of a son and father, when the father has gone through a tragedy. The constant theme is that whenever something happens, Art expects his father to act in a certain way. One prime example of this is that when Art picks up the hitchhiker. His father complains and complains about the situation, but Art just points out the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Not only that, Art is trying to express that his father is a hypocrite in these instances. It is like that he expects something out of it.
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Isabella Hernandez
8/3/2019 12:10:52 pm
To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from the book. I assume that it was just going to be another comic book story. I didn’t think anything of it but once I was reading I was completely shocked by the story from the perspective of a Holocaust survivor as the story was very well detailed and how horrifying it was for them to lose everything and suffer under all these rules from the Nazis when they took over Germany. It gave me anxiety as I kept reading but knowing if there will be a good or bad outcome to the story. It was so much to take in that I couldn’t process it all and clouding even imagine the suffering they had to live all those years during the war. It was so sad that Arties Father had to lose everything; his son, his luxury goods, his friends and family to the Germans because they were discriminated due to their religion. It is such a good book but I can’t believe that life in Germany for the Jews was like that and the people there thought it was a normal thing to do to a group of people. So much has happened in history and I definitely hope that none of this is repeated. That is the last thing that we need
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Xi Cheng
8/11/2019 01:06:56 pm
Yes! I totally agree with Bella. These curel killing and hunting not only hurt the people but also influenced the entire family, no matter the people is or not survive. The shadow would always surrounding them and accompany them forever. Just like the family of Spiegelman, although the mother and father survived from the holocaust, they are forgetting how to live in a normal life. In order to be alive in the camps, Father did anything they need and sees different people, that makes him to have some eccentricity and hard to commnicate with his son. The Holocaust not only makes a group of people suffering, it also harm their gerenation.
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Anissa Mayas
8/4/2019 02:21:54 pm
So I’m the beginning I’m not going to lie I wasn’t pulled into it at first, like it took me awhile to finally get into the book and actually like it and get pulled into to it. As I kept reading I really liked it and the pictures even though as first all I was focused on was the pictures. I also like how the writer wrote in everything not just his fathers story. For instance when he’s talking to his dad while his dad is on the bike or when he would have dinner with his dad and Mala.
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Rozlyn Ross
8/12/2019 07:03:58 am
Same thing for me I think sometimes the story was boring and hard to understand so looking at the pictures helped a lot but I focused more on the pictures in the beginning but once you keep reading you get to understand and like the book
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Marco Nova
8/6/2019 08:04:22 pm
Maus is a good book and was a nice read. But there is some sort of an issue here. It is hard to understand what it is. I feel that it isn't a graphic novel, because its not a novel since its not fiction. It is more of a comic instead.
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Nikya Warren
8/7/2019 10:55:11 am
For Maus II it talked about Auschwitz. It also talked about the hardships they went through in Auschwitz. Maus II I felt was more into that than anything else really. So it really emphasized what was going in there during this terrible time period.
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Darius Little
8/8/2019 07:46:53 pm
I thought the books told a heartfelt story of a Holocaust survivor and what it was like to live back in time filled with discrimanation and hate. It shows the ugly face of war and how it affects people. Reveals a grim nature of humanity by depicting how humans will discriminate against people because they're different.
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Dioseline Hernandez
9/2/2019 09:33:36 pm
I agree with your response Darius, it was a very special and heartfelt story Artie shared with his audience, I also feel a strong agreement to how the war is portrayed and how, sadly, it was before.
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Nathan Borja
8/9/2019 02:54:16 pm
As I was reading the book it was very mournful. It was sad to hear that Tosha decided to poison herself and Richieu. I found that part so depressing because they rather die quickly then suffer the gas chambers which is worse. The Holocaust is already a sad topic but reading made my feelings toward this book sad. During the whole book I just had the same type of emotion.
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Lizette Gallegos
8/9/2019 10:09:24 pm
As I opened the book Maus, I noticed that it was not a regular chapter book. Instead it turned out to be a graphic novel. I thought it was going to be difficult to read; however, it turned out to be much more easier to understand. The illustrations helped a lot as well. I love how the author used mice instead of actual human beings. I have also noticed how not only were there mice but pigs as well playing as germans while the mice were the jews. This book had only taken me a day to complete and I had really enjoyed it. The writing style and the way the drawings were depicted kept me really engaged.
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8/9/2019 11:12:27 pm
As I read Maus, a scene that I came across really surprised me. It was on page 111 where the lady had poisoned not only herself but her three kids. She would have them poisoned rather than having them go into the gas chambers and I found that interesting. The lady did not want the children to go through all that pain and suffering. It had to take a lot of courage to kill those three children. She wanted the best for them and she was aware that there was nothing to get out of that. It is extremely sad that that was the only option the lady had thought to be the only one.
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Jailyn Adames
8/10/2019 11:27:41 am
I had no previous knowledge on the holocaust before I read this book. I knew it was a really bad time but this book does a good job with painting the picture and setting the reader in that time. I could really connect with the characters and have empathy for them, especially Vladek. I think the author was smart to have his father narrate the story because it gives the reader personal insight on a tragic event.
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Valentino Lara
8/10/2019 12:35:40 pm
As I was reading, I thought the book was really interesting. The holocaust is something that I don’t know a lot about so reading these books gave me a personal view about that time. I have a better understanding of the history.
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Randhy Perez
8/10/2019 01:59:27 pm
I feel like maus 1 was more detailed in the holocaust than muas 2. Maus 2 for me was more family based, for example when Vladek got sick and Artie had to go visit him, etc. I feel like Artie and Vladek got closer together once Vladek got hospitalized.
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Alani Waites
8/11/2019 02:58:28 pm
I agree, maybe Maus 1 was meant to be more about the holocaust than Maus 2. Like maybe the author planned that from the beginning, to set everything up in the first book and then in the second book to focus more on Vladek and Artie
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 06:18:42 pm
Yes i saw that as well in Maus 2. I feel like Art put a lot more scenes of Vladek and Artie in the present. That was somewhat surprising since i barely saw them in Maus 1. But i think the author did that because he wanted us to see Artie's personality in the present from what Vladek was telling us during the Holocaust. And it helped being able to make that connection from Vladek's actions from the present to when he was in the camps and during the Holocaust.
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Rozlyn Ross
8/10/2019 04:57:27 pm
At first the book wasn’t so interesting but I like how they give more details and illustrations about the holocaust. I knew a little from this event because I met survivors before in my old school but I liked this book because it’s telling a story about what someone actually went through.
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Alejandra Sotelo
8/10/2019 09:13:58 pm
When I first started reading this book and really understanding what was really going on and how how people must have felt anger, depression, anxiety, etc. It made me think of what was happening around me at the moment. The germans wanted to get rid of the jews which in a way Mexicans are feeling like a target just like the jews did at the moment. This man wanted to get rid as many Mexicans as he could at a Walmart. They are also leaving immigrants in camps treating them like animals just like the Jews must have felt in their own camp while being separated by their families must have felt just terrible. It is just depressing how we are letting everything we have fought for these past few years go to waste and starting to repeat history.
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Samuel Barrera
8/10/2019 09:22:06 pm
While I was reading Maus II I got really confused. In the middle of the book the illustrations changed. They changed from regular drawings of animals to people wearing masks of mice or cats. This came I think after his father died. I'm not really sure why the author decided to do that.
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Alani Waites
8/11/2019 02:17:58 pm
I think the illustrations changed to people wearing masks because they're trying to tell us that that's how they're seen by others: as mice, or pigs, or cats, etc. To this day people are still seen as that by some people. Maybe that's what they're trying to say
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Rafael Garduno
8/10/2019 09:46:07 pm
I feel bad for what Vladek had gone through, thought this book and, I also feel bad for all the other people that died.
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Xi Cheng
8/11/2019 12:27:47 pm
As the first time read this special comic book, I was shocked by the simple black and white pictures which composed the whole comic book that can makes me feel so bad. Form reading, I saw the "people" who servived in the holocaustare not happy. They are not lived as we think, to live in a new happy life. Actually, the surviving is just a start of the real suffering. Although the disaster is already gone, they still cannot escape from the past, they cannot overcome it or forget it. It not only torment the victoms, it also change them. For example, Fahter Vladek was a smart bussiness man but because of the hurts during the war, he cannot adapt into the new society, and the things he experienced during the war makes him lose the confidence of evreything even the people. He becames a closefisted cheeky annoying person. That's all the consequence of the holocaustare.
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Noel Lopez
8/11/2019 01:16:38 pm
As most of my classmates have also said, I didn’t know what to expect while reading. I really liked the art style and the way the author told the story through his fathers perspective. I feel like that specific detail made the book a little more personal and dramatic.
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Donta Givens
8/11/2019 03:15:03 pm
I like how it was kind of made into a comic. I can read and enjoy books better when they have illustrations. As I read the books seem pretty good and I like stories that talk about historical events with a fictional cast of characters and events. The one thing I don’t understand is why the characters are animals.
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Jabril Muhammad
8/11/2019 05:46:15 pm
I agree Donta because I like seeing pictures while I read books which makes it very interesting to read. Also I like the sequence of the historical events going on.
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Alexandre Martinez
8/12/2019 12:24:40 am
I agree with you Donta because it makes the story enjoyable and lets us have a better comprehension.
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Elias Lopez
8/11/2019 03:15:09 pm
Before I read both Maus 1 and 2, I saw that the cover shows the camp prisoners (Jews) as mice and the Germans as cats. Automatically, I knew what this was trying to show because the SS killed many Jews just like cats hate mice. Since I know about the Holocaust and my liking to graphic novels, it made me look forward to reading this book. It turned out to be a really good book.
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 05:49:22 pm
As I read both of the books I actually felt in disbelief because of all the things Vladek had to go through just to stay alive. Maus 2 captures that even more. Vladek had to be friendly to the enemy just so they wont beat him and/or kill him. I thought that it must've taken so much courage just so he and his wife can stay alive. But I admired the courage that he had when he was in the camp and even before that.
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Monserrat Estrada
8/11/2019 06:24:28 pm
But even before i started reading I thought that the book was going to be not as interesting as i thought it was going to be. I didnt really have any expectations before i read the book since it was a graphic novel and i dont read much of those. But as i started to read the book i never really thought how much a person can suffer through a war. It was very interesting how Vladek took us through his life and all the sacrifices he made for his family.
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Mellanie Palacios
8/11/2019 10:57:40 pm
Vladek’s story really caused me to see the reality of what the holocaust and what the Jews really had to go through. The things and events that occurred to him blew my mind at how cruel they really got treated. I think I was mostly shocked at all the things he had to do to survive. It really surprised me at how a comic that is suppose to be fun and entertaining, showed me the reality and cold truth of the holocaust.
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Andrea Lagunas
8/11/2019 11:18:34 pm
My overall feeling was heartbroken , the suffering and destruction during the Holocaust was horrible . To even read apart of what people or Vladek actually went through made this apart of history I want to learn more about .
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Alexia Train
8/11/2019 11:27:10 pm
I honestly thought the book would be boring even though I like reading about the holocaust because i find it interesting. But as i read the book I felt like it was a different but interesting way of telling the story especially because of the character representation through animals.
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Isabella Toler
8/14/2019 11:21:28 am
I think it was really cool that the author told the story through mice. I thought that was very different and creative. There was a part in the book that wasnt mice and was actual humans and i actually enjoyed seeing the mice instead just because it was different and its good to view things differently sometimes.
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Orlando Ramirez
8/12/2019 06:31:00 am
I think the author did a good job describing the emotions of his father and his story. The scenes he drew were also good because they help you understand where his father was and how they lived. At first the book was a little boring to me but as you begin to read more you find it more interesting.
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Gia Aponte
8/12/2019 12:54:36 pm
My thoughts about the book is that i found it very heartbroken what Vladek had to go through. Losing Anja and suffering during the holocaust was the most traumatic events that took place in his life.
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Isabella Toler
8/14/2019 11:13:08 am
I really liked the fact that it was a comic book. It really helped illustrate where things were at. I learned a lot from Vladeks story and i really look up to the way he would approach things during the holocaust. He was a brave man who was in love and would do anything to make sure Anja was kept safe and i really liked that about him
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Pedro Martinez
8/14/2019 09:54:12 pm
Maus 1 and 2 both showed the real meaning behind cats and mice. I loved the symbolism in these books and it stuck with me throughout the whole time reading these books. I do have a question though. Why does Mala stay with Vladek if she knows he only married her because she reminds him of anja? This shows that she is after him for money.
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nghia nguyen
8/18/2019 12:24:52 pm
I”m surprised, in a bad way, “how come people at that moment, that time can be so cruel, so stupid and so disgusting?” the thought, the idea, the way they treated others is just unacceptable, they dont want to open themselves, give themselves a better view, but just a selfish bunch of crap. But in the story, somewhere i feel love, hope for the people who is trying to survive, and never stop hoping one day it will be better
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Imani Gonnigan
8/18/2019 09:28:48 pm
I found both books very enjoyable. They gave insight to a period of time that I couldn't imagine what happened but hearing somebody story and seeing what they actually went through really was interesting to me and having it Illustrated was just a bonus.
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Kailyn Adames
8/18/2019 11:57:15 pm
Honestly throughout my whole time reading the books I thought that it was very repetitive. I was getting annoyed with all the moving and hiding the Jews had to do and I couldn’t imagine having to do that myself. I thought of how unfair it was that the people were being manipulated and used as well as that many of them weren’t free in their own lands. While I was reading I found myself trying to view in their shoes and it’s unimaginable. Overall freedom and safety is something I’m fortunate to have and not many did then.
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Mitzi Flores
8/20/2019 09:18:53 pm
I had already some idea as to what had happened during that time and I wasn't very like surprised to knows that the authors father went through that. But I just overall felt this feeling of like sadness because so many people went through this and how unfair it was because they were targeted for a very unreasonable thing. It was also very different from any other book. It was a bout a very serious thing in history but it was told and and shown in a more friendly and I want to say interesting way because by now I feel like students at our age have a good understanding of the holocaust but to receive the story from a comic book form is very different.
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Jazlynn Gaytan
8/30/2019 10:34:43 pm
At first I was impressed by how this was a Novel but still well written. To fit detailed information in a novel was very unique. While reading I was already informed about the Holocaust event but while reading this I was informed more. You get a deep insight on the real terrors of this event. Art and his dads relationship really stood out to me. It saddened me that they weren’t close but how Art still wanted to tell his story because he believed that people should know how it was very hard and people sugar coat it into something that happened and wasn’t a big deal. I admire Arts character a lot. He’s an odd boy but you can still see his true character and identity in the novel such as how he still was held back from his moms suicide and how he had emotions for that and I feel like as a character in a novel it just wants to involve you more.
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Deiter
8/31/2019 02:19:46 pm
I was mostly in awe at how terrifying these experiences must have been for all of the Nazi Party's victims. It really must have been terrifying. If reading about it makes me feel horrified, imagine how these people actually living during that time must have felt! It's very sad. This event continues to and will continue to affect today's society for a while.
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