IRB Post #4

The book A Night Divided by Jenifer Neilsen raises questions about judgement. The decisions one makes has more of an impact on his/her life than anything else. This is especially true when there is a chance of death. This is exactly what Gerta and her family did. They were lving behind closed walls, both literally and figuratively. They weren’t able to express their thoughts, or even able to purchase simple foods for that matter. This made the family feel like they had to leave, in order to be able to live a free life. Gerta, along with her brother and mother felt they had un opportunity many people would never have the chance at in their lives. A way to escape East Germany. They knew that they would die if caught, along with almost everyone who was associated with them. However, each individual member of the family felt they knew what had to be done, even their mother, who was extremely conservative.The entire story their mother had been nervous of doing anything to mess with the police. She was the one who held back the entire family from going to West Germany years back as she felt it was too risky. However, she overcame her fears and used her judgement to realize it was the right thing to do, no matter the risk.The family was extremely fortunate to get through and survive. There judgement and courage paid off. All of this took a lot of courage and wouldn’t have been able to be done without a collective effort. Fritz, Gerta’s older brother goes on to say,”Courage isn’t knowing you can do something; it’s only being willing to try… “ and this is what the family felt they had to do. It is difficult for everyone to muster up the strength inside of them and make a decision knowing they will die if not performed correctly. This was a risk Gerta and her family were willing to take, knowing that no matter what, they would go down as fighters.

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