World War and War

Heroes of the Holocaust: A Comparison of the Hubermanns and Jeanne Daman Jeanne Daman Belgian Roman Catholic school teacher, Jeanne Daman-Scaglione, was twenty-one years old at the time of the Second World War, when she was invited by Fela Perelman to assist in a dangerous initiative. Perelman was a hero among Jews in the day, organizing extensive, remarkable missions for saving Jews from the Nazi genocide.

With the increasing restriction imposed on Jewish children, from enrolment in public schools, Jeanne was invited to work at Nos Petits -- Perelman's private kindergarten school for Jews in Brussels. Jeanne responded in the affirmative and ultimately rose to the position of the school's headmistress. But in spite of these pro-Jews' tremendous efforts, their little Jewish pupils were absolutely at risk, at least in the city of Brussels. No Jew was safe in public.

Nos Petits was forced to close down, owing to looming Nazi threats and the dreadful tales of roundups. The school's closure was the start of Jeanne's new and riskier job, that of getting in touch with generous Belgians ready to grant refuge to Jews in their homes, alongside fellow Nos Petits teachers. On several occasions, Jeanne herself smuggled Jewish kids to these safe havens, thus risking her own life (Kuznitz).

According to Kuznitz, Jeanne is estimated to have protected almost 2,000 Jewish children faced with deportation, not to mention the many adults she successfully rescued, as well. Among her clever ideas was that of arranging the job of "housemaids" for innumerable mothers of Jewish kids, in Belgian residences. With the war drawing to a close, Jeanne started actively participating in various resistance movements. Delivering of intelligence and weaponry transportation were some of the invaluable tasks she performed during the war.

After the Holocaust, she went all-out to ensure hidden Jewish kids were reunited with their families. In the years that followed, Jeanne traveled to Israel to visit survivors, on a regular basis. She even joined the Bureau of Speakers of the United Jewish Appeal. Yad Vashem conferred the honorific title of "Righteous among the Nations" on Jeanne, among several other non-Jews, in the year 1971. On 12th October, 1980, she was honored by the Belgian king for her courageous efforts.

An informative interview with Jeanne, conducted by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, reveals that she felt compelled to take action with courage and strength after being witness to the atrocities visited on innocents. She claimed her sense of duty had become so powerful that, had she held back from doing what she had done, she would have considered herself personally guilty. Jeanne, a self-labeled compassionate person, maintains that her childhood laid the critical groundwork that would subsequently lead her to being counted among the Righteous Gentiles.

Her reasons for saving the lives of countless Jews were "ethical," "rational," and "emotional" (Kuznitz). The Book Thief Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" features a young girl, Liesel, who is sent off to a foster home as her mother lacks the funds needed to raise her. The narrator of the tale is, bizarrely, 'Death' -- a character readers ultimately end up respecting and even pitying. The tale's setting is Nazi Germany, during the Second World War's outbreak.

While journeying to her foster home, her little brother perishes, and Liesel steals her very first book titled "The Gravedigger's Handbook." Upon arrival at her foster home, Liesel is presented with a new mom and dad, her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Bad dreams of her little brother's demise haunt Leisel night after night, leading her new Papa to set Liesel and himself a challenge of reading the Gravedigger's Handbook -- the final link Liesel has to her beloved deceased brother (The Guardian).

Several characters in the book portray heroism and bravery throughout the course of the story. Individual characters are prepared to defend the things they believe in despite popular opinion being against their beliefs. Liesel is one such courageous character, who pretends to get hurt when playing soccer, in order to go and warn her Papa and Mama of the approach of Nazi soldiers, coming to raid their basement. She is the epitome of a real, brave hero, ready to risk her own welfare to safeguard Max and her family members.

This was in blatant opposition to the Nazi strategy she witnessed every day. In a similar manner, Jeanne Daman participated in resistance campaigns, as wells, whose punishment was concentration camps or death, a threat that did nothing to dampen her motive to aid innocent, helpless Jews (Passerotti). Liesel's foster father, Hans Hubermann, displays valor as well, by agreeing to aid the Jew, Max Vandenberg.

Munich -- a Nazi stronghold -- was definitely one of the most dangerous places in the world for assisting and harboring a Jew at the time of the Holocaust. In spite of the grave risk to his entire family, Hans readily aids Max.