“Jews must be indoors by eight o’clock and cannot even sit in their own gardens after that hour. Jews are forbidden to visit theaters, cinemas, and other places of entertainment…Jews may not visit Christians.” (pg.4) This quote is significant because Anne is detailing some of the restrictions that Jews had to follow while Hitler was in power. Other restrictions included: specific hours during which they could shop, specific stores in which they could shop, not being able to participate in certain public sports or drive or use certain public transportation. These restrictions are just the beginning of what we now know will become harsher and more severe treatment of the Jews, culminating in their deportation to multiple concentration camps and, ultimately, death.
This quote stood out to me because it made me think of the segregation of Blacks in the U.S. For example, Blacks were required to use separate bathroom facilities, often were sent to separate schools, and weren’t eligible for certain jobs. While Jews were being discriminated against because of their religious background, Blacks were discriminated against because of the color of their skin. This connection made me question whether the treatment of Blacks would have gotten even worse without the Civil Rights Movement. Could we ultimately have gone back to the days of slavery without activists (like Martin Luther King, Jr.) who fought for equal rights?
On a lighter note, the social restrictions also reminded me of our current situation with COVID-19. Required by our government, self-quarantining restricts us from doing most of our daily routine like going to school, socializing, going out to restaurants, theaters, etc. However, unlike Anne’s situation and segregation, these measures have been put in place to protect our health. By staying home, I believe we are protecting the more vulnerable segments of the population such as my grandparents.
I’m ready Prisoner B-307 by Alan Gratz. The connection between your book and mine is that both of the main characters had rules they had to abide by or else there would be harsh consequences.All Jews were forced to. Although the main character in my book, Yanek, lived in Poland, he still had to go through the same thing before he was sent away. Yanek was stripped from his ghetto in Poland, which already had cruel regualtions. These dehumanizing rules followed Yanek throughout his journey from camp to camp.