Thursday, May 10, 2012

PERIOD 3 - THE GREY ZONE

This week you watched "The Grey Zone." The film is based in part on the true story of Dr. Miklos Nyiszli, a Hungarian Jew chosen by Josef Mengele to be the head pathologist at Auschwitz. The film showcases the moral delimma of the the Sonderkommando Jews and follows their plans to carry out the only armed revolt that took place at Auschwitz. Please post your reflections about the film.


Dr. Nyiszli is pictured in the photo wearing the white lab coat when U.S. troops liberated Donau concentration camp.

23 comments:

Matt Demers said...

I thought The Grey Zone was a very powerful film. It not only have a very good depiction of what happened in the concentration camps but it also gave view of what the prisoners were going through and the decisions they had to make. It showed how although the ones that chose to to help the Nazis it still weighed on their conscious a great deal which I think had some influence as to why they saved the little girl.

Olivia Tortolini said...

This film was the most disturbing and shocking film we have seen yet. I could not believe what I was seeing, and in many scenes I felt sick to my stomach and had to look away from the screen. The things that took place in this concentration camp left me feeling so empty and sad, and I could not believe that the Nazis actually did these things to the Jews. This movie taught me a lot about what really happened to the Jewish people during this horrible time, and made me feel almost as if I was there with them. Watching this film was a complete eye opener for me.

Kim W said...

This film was an eye opener for me. It really showed me the harsh conditions inside these camps. I never realized how bad the situation was, and this film helped these realities become real. Especially inside the gas chambers, the Natzis tactics of painting the walls white every time really showed me how devious and sneaky the

shaina lariviere said...

This movie was F@*&^% UP. I WAS SOO ANGRY WHEN THEY KILLED THE GIRL AT THE END OF THE MOVIE. sHE TRIED TO RUN, SHE DIDNT EVEN TALK, I WAS SOO ANGRY WATCHING THAT. Honestly i can't even, and i dotn even want to belive what i saw in that movie. At the end when there was the lttle girl saying that poem, i can't even lie i had a few tears in my eyes. Everything was so stratigic. The numbers and the head counts. I could feel the tension ,and the anger, through the whole movie. I feel for the dotor. Not only because i dont think he betrayed his people but how he had to operate on his people, little children. I couldn't do it. I know in class i say that i would refuse,but when i think about it my life is more important to me than anything else. I would have done what ever i could in order to survive.

Vanessa Clemons said...

I thought that The Grey Zone was a very powerful film. I never realized how difficult it was for Jews to survive in the camps. It was amazing how relentless and motivated they were to fight back even after all they had already been through. This film showed me how harsh the Nazis were and how unaffected they were of how poorly the Jews conditions were.

Juliette Lloyd said...

This film was very disturbing and difficult to watch. This movie did tried really hard to capture the true horror that went on in the camp. It's difficult that for some at the camp, the last months of their life were spent burning dead bodies, and then they end up getting killed the same way. The dedication that the nazis had to keep the lie that the jews would be safe confused me. Another really shocking part was when the nazi soldiers forced those two rebel women watch as they shot the womens' fellow bunk mates. Basically every part of this movie was difficult to watch and awful. I wasn't there for the last five minutes of the movie, so I'm unsure of how it ended, but I'm guessing there was no happy ending because happiness didn't exist in that place.

Sadie Smith said...

This movie was extermely powerful. It really shocked me to see the conditions of the death camps and the inhumane and filthy methods the Nazis used. At first, I was confused about my feelings for the sonderkommando Jews. I couldnt understand how someone could in essence, assist in the murders of thousands, but this film helped me to understand that they in fact did not like their jobs at all and were just trying to make their life a little bit better. Personally this was a very hard movie for me to watch because it was so graphic, but I am glad we watched it in class.

Mary Schmitt said...

I think that this film showed a great variety of moral conflicts that the Jews faced when in the death camps. The doctor had to choose between saving his family and medically torturing prisoners, or letting them die. The women had to choose between giving up the plans of the revolt and watching each of their groups getting shot in the head execution style in front of them. They chose suicide, a terrifyingly sad choice. the men in the Sonderkammando had to choose between living in horrible conditions, or lying to the incoming Jews, locking them in the chambers, and disposing their bodies. They all had reasons to choose what they did, and it really made me think of, what would I do in the situation? Would i be able to hurt my people the way they had. Could i resist the torture to keep a secret? This movie captured the essence of what this class is really about. Learning about myself, as well as learning the atrocities the Nazis committed to the Jews

Rachel Siegal said...

The Gray Zone and Sophie's Choice both did a good job of trying to put the viewer in as close a place as possible as the people in the camps were. Watching these men and women in the film- first off its overwhelming to think that it took 12 groups before a group of people wanted to rebel against the Nazis in the camp. It shows their bravery, and also the power the Nazis had. It shows how desperate they were. The movie made me realize that I really can not judge any of the people in the camps- each day they were trying to stay alive, in a place that had no humane rules. It reminded me of the question from an earlier movie- can a moral man remain moral in an immoral world? I think to survive in the camp you had to shut off a part of yourself, if you wanted to survive.

Max Pabon-Young said...

When I watched the film I couldn't help but need to put myself in it. I questioned myself What would i do," kill or be killed"? Beating a man for a watch out of fear that the Nazi troops around you would kill you in his stead? Locking a crowd of people in the "showers" then sitting outside and listening as they scream in infernal torment and utter agony. All of this to ensure that the Nazis not kill my family,that is, assuming they were true to their word. There was even an opportunity of pseudo redemption and those who were trapped were given a means of protection and artillery until the Americans ultimately freed them. I have to say, "one hell of a powerful movie".

Jodie Shrier said...

This movie was extremely surprising and sickening to me. I was in shock the entire time because I could not believe what the Nazis went through to torture these poor people and make their lives as miserable as possible. The fact that the workers on the camp handled dead bodies as if it were a normal, every day thing was disgusting and at some parts I could not even bare to watch. This film displayed every aspect of the Holocaust and showed the public what it was really like.

Joe Wallace said...

The ending to this film has left me speechless. Some scenes that appeared in this film still have my head spinning. Like when one man was working in the crematorium and was burning his own family. Powerful movie, can't think of the pain and suffering these people were going throughon a day to day basis in these camps.

Tim Jerome said...

This movie was another eye opener for me. It is sad to see how poorly people were treated, even after they were killed. Their bodies were just thrown around and disregarded like they were pieces of garbage. No person should ever be treated that way. It is correct to say that people are mislead as to what happens there. I'm surprised that some people didn't revolt as soon as they got there. The people who cleaned the gas chambers certainly did revolt and put a nazi straight into the cremator. But what still is on my mind is why didn't so many people try to break free? Yes it wouldn't have been likely to win in that case but still. What a sad ending to the movie.

Logan DeSanti said...

This movie was really powerful and hard to watch at times. This movie really made the horror of living in a concentration camp real. I couldent even begin to put my self in their shoes to understand what the Sander-commando went through dealing with death each day. At the end of the movie i was horrified how the men were all lying down already accepting that they were dead as a nazi guard went across the line shooting them all in the head. This was possible the scariest part of a movie i ever watched because these men had truly given up on hopes of living and just accepted death like it was any other normal occurance.

Ryan Crowe said...

It made the viewer posess more of an understanding for what the Saunderkomandos went through. They weren't evil jews or terrible people, they were simply survivors trying to get one more day . I feel personally that the 12th saunderkomandos were some of the bravest human beings I have ever seen, able to operate under that much stress a uprising and get something accomplished.

Jeremy Lurier said...

The Grey Zone showed a side of the Holocaust that I had never seen before. This film truly showcased just how horrible the conditions in Auschwitz were, and made the viewer feel a powerful set of emotions. The viewer grew connected to several characters who were killed in the end. Their sudden deaths emphasized how one day you would be living, and the next you would be gone.

Jonathan Soto said...

I think the Grey Zone was a very emotional film. It showed how cruel and uncaring the Germans were. It's one thing to kill Jews but the way they chose to kill them by gas chambers is just unbearable to watch. It's shocking, really, how at one instant you could be alive but know that at any moment you would be shot or killed and then it ends up happening.

Greg Alves said...

I'm on the same boat as Jeremy when he said that he didn't know this side of the Holocaust. Whenever I had previously thought about the concentration camps I figured that the Nazi's were the ones doing all of the work. I never realized that the Jewish people were forced to make these incredibly difficult decisions on whether to help the Nazi's or not. Also it gave me better insight on how the whole system of killing went for the Jews. To the Nazi's it seemed like a business that they needed to perfect. I also didn't realize how cruel they were about everything like killing a whole bay of women because 2 of the women didn't want to say something. It was pretty hard to watch at some points.

Jacob Silverman said...

I have seen this movie before. Even though I knew what was coming it still had the same effect on me. It made me sick. The amount of cold hard hatred that the nazis had for the Jews is something that makes me want to scream in anger and in sadness. I haven't been able to stop thing about this movie.

Michael Fahey said...

Not only was this film powerful but it really opened your eyes to the fact that the jews hadn't given up just yet. Even though they felt hopeless there was always a chance to fight back. Most of the scenes I saw were stomach turning and it made me feel horrible. Knowing that these types of things were happening to human beings. It's ungodlly and completely un called for. No one should have to go through what they had to go through because its completely wrong.

Michael Fahey said...

I agreee with matt when he mentioned it was all about the choices they made. Whether or not it helped them live or not. When some jews helped the Nazis it did a great deal on there conscious and even thouigh they lived, they felt dead inside. Overall the film is very powerful and does a great jon showing exactly what went down.

Connor Whamond said...

The movie the grey zone had a very strong ending that I can't even put into words what happened was so strong it truly effected me.

Colleen Mulcahy said...

I thought that The Grey Zone was a very powerful film. I think that this film reallywas an eye opener to the fact that when Jews were placed in the camps and given a choice to be treated terribly or to assist the Nazis and be treated slightly better with more privledges they had to chose for themselves and not anyone else. It is a difficult decision to make, but when placed in the situation that Jews were placed in they really had no other option but to be selfish and think of what will keep them alive longer, potentially to even get out of the camps. I think that this film helped to teach myself and the rest of the class that we cannot judge the Jews for helping the Nazis because they felt that that was what they needed to do to survive.