Source #3, The Visual History Archive

I began my search in the archive with a topic that has always interested me from the moment I heard about it. The Rwanda Genocide was extreme and it hurts me to know that many countries did not take action to help these people, including the United States. This also did not take place long ago, the recency and awfulness of this event made me more interested about the people who lived through it. I began looking at people who were Tutsi survivors. I first looked at Kizito Kalima, a Tutsi survivor. His testimony struck me and allowed me to understand the impact these events had on him. He discussed his family and seeing the death of his loved ones. He talks about his mom being taken away into a car, the last time he would see her, as she died because of the genocide. All of this was extremely difficult for him as the anti-Tutsi prejudice was amplified and created more destruction.

I also enjoyed listening to Laska Vera. A woman who was apart of the resistance during the Holocaust and smuggled people across the border. She spoke of fake documentation and how she got people over the border, such as items people brought and couples she encountered. When she talks about illegal crossing and the risks she took for others. This was incredible for me to watch and listen to as this woman put herself at risk for the sake of others.

I listened to other testimonies as well including one of man who was homosexual during the Holocaust and another man who was a rescuer during the Rwanda Genocide. All of the testimonies I listened to were amazing and I wish to learn and discuss more about these people.

Movie and Disscussion

The film seen on Thursday in the evening moved me in many ways emotionally. I was able to see the pain that these people felt for those who were suffering. I loved that those who were willing to rescue did not care of the risks but cared only for the people in need and their well being. Something that stood out to me was when a rescuer stated that he would die and his family would die before his guest would parish. This is remarkable to me because not many would consider putting themselves or their families at risk in order to save another. I myself have a hard time with this idea, but I am so grateful that there were people willing to do so for those who were desperate need.

The story of the man who was so determined to get the books back was striking and I am so grateful it happened. It allowed the son of the man wishing for the books return to grieve and have a different perspective of his father. It was emotional and powerful to see the two men together and the passing of the books, the gratitude was overwhelming.

The discussion after was incredible as well. I was honored to ask questions and see others ideas as well. I really appreciated when they talked about the scripture and the connections made through religion with helping and giving for ones neighbor. I enjoyed listening to their opinions and am appreciative that they gave their time to answer difficult questions.

Mans Search for Meaning to pg. 94

In this section of the book, Frankl takes a step away from the stories, although still uses them frequently to show expression of what he was explaining and provided the reader with more knowledge about the things not talked about in camp. Such as the art, where he describes having to bite his lip and clap loudly for the capos terrible poems in order to not be so badly beaten. He discusses the solidarity he was in while taking the smallest break from helping the sick and dying. This gave him some sense of peace as well as the friendships he made. Friendships in camp were vital, friends motivated each other to keep strong and to keep going. All of this may seem unnecessary to write about, but it was all about survival and whatever Frankl could do in order to live he did so.


This section of the book intruded me as I got to see a deeper side of the psychological mindset of a prisoner. I found myself questioning what I would do in this case, an almost impossible question. What stood out to me was those who decided to take their lives, in all do respect. I can not fathom how incomprehensible they must have felt. Hopeless and emotionally dead they had nothing left in them and felt there was no meaning to their lives or futures. Other prisoners were told to not stop these people, even those some did reminding them of their family, work or future. Some choose not to because of this, but it did not stop others.

Mans Search for Meaning, Pages 1-42

In the beginning of the book, Mans Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl, allows the reader to see into the life in a concentration camp specifically from Frankls point of view. I found this to be quite challenging and heartbreaking as I have read throughout these pages. The push for survival and to forget the horrors surrounding them the focus among the prisoners interested me. What I  found most interesting was the concentration on nature. Nature largely impacts the narrator and those surrounding him. For example, while working out on the train tracks he looks up at the sky and sees the beauty around him and the sun setting. This distracts him from his horrors for a brief second, allowing for some beauty to be seen during the treacherous and ugliness of a death camp. I also found it curious how they spoke of food so often. When food is rationed from you it is all you can think about. Your entire life becomes occupied by your own malnutrition therefore many prisoners talked about food. Food, for many, is also a source of comfort, allowing them to feel intimate with another inmate as they sheared recipes and spoke of what they could not have. Overall, these pages lead me to wonder why and how this evilness could exist, although interesting it is also horrifying killing millions in the process.

From Cruelty to Goodness

Cruelty can be unseen and unheard as well as kindness can. In From Cruelty to Goodness, by Phillip Hallie, we are able to see a different and interesting perspective on good and evil and cruelty and kindness. He refers to historical events, such as the Holocaust to highlight where cruelty and goodness lie. He talks of institutional cruelty, such as can be seen in slavery, and discusses cruelty and relationship with power. He discusses kindness as a form of cruelty and choosing perspectives which we all have the power to do. All of what he discuses focuses on that cruelty and kindness are around us, it is for us to choose which we side with.

While reading From Cruelty to Goodness, by Phillip Hallie, I was persuaded to look differently at cruelty and kindness, and how it impacts my life. Hallie describes pain and looks closer at the Holocaust and the terror it caused so many, as he says, "Still, the word "pain" seemed to be a simplistic and superficial way of describing the many different sorts of cruelty" (Hallie 4). This really spoke to me. Pain is to common of a word, and when it comes down to such circumstances of the Holocaust, pain does not express enough meaning. Horror and cruelty are seen in the Holocaust, and as Hallie says there are many different sorts of it. There are many different types of cruelty seen often including relationships and institutional cruelty. The one I found to be interesting was the idea of kindness being a form of cruelty. The extent of our kindness may still be cruelty, such as Hallie describes about slaves, "The kindness of the slave-master only gilded the chain. It detracted nothing from its weight or strength. The thought that men are for other and better uses than slavery throve best under the gentle treatment of a kind master" (9). Although kind to move the chain, it is an evil act to chain this person. Kindness does not amount here and the cruelty is hard to look away from. Cruelty and kindness are both very different, and after reading this passage I was able to recognize what affect they both have on others.