Movie "Schindler's List"
I truly believe there are some things that no one will see if I don't take pictures of them. --Danny Arbor
Heavy and depressing is the most direct feeling after reading this book, and in two hours, through the text description in the book, it is like following the author's memory and suddenly returning to the history that cannot bear to look at directly.
Brasser recorded that history with photographs, and he also helped some of his fellow people in danger with his strength.
The Photographer of Auschwitz is a book about the true experience of Auschwitz survivor, Polish photographer William Brasser, who was not Jewish, spoke fluent German and Polish, and twice refused to become a German citizen.
Attempting to cross the Polish border into Hungary to join the Ranks of Polish exiles in France, he was arrested by the Nazis in August 1940 and subsequently sent to Auschwitz. On 15 February 1941, Brasser was transferred to the Identification Section and forced to take photographs of the SS, where he not only took archival photographs of prisoners, but also recorded notorious "medical trials".
History is heavy, but I don't want to dwell too much on that history, but instead I see something more positive in Brasser's real experience. Today I will interpret this book from three aspects: the reasons why Brasse survived, the goodwill in the dark, and the open-mindedness to let go of the past.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >, you have to have a skill that will save your life if necessary</h1>
In the face of an interviewer's question: "The conditions in the concentration camp are so terrible, how can you survive?!" "When the problem is,
Brasser puts it in for 3 reasons:
(1) Luck
Luck was part of the reason he survived, and he thought it was pure luck that had prevented him from changing the labor squad without permission, or he would have died.
(2) Craftsmanship
He was proficient in photography, working in his uncle's photo studio, and it was nothing new at that time, most people knew about this craft for a living, and the concentration camps just needed this skill.
(3) Friendship
In such difficult conditions as in the camp, he needed to show others that he was trustworthy, and he needed someone he could trust. In difficult times, he needs comfort and encouragement, and he needs someone who can talk to him and speak out about his worries and fears. Because he was always afraid that he would be killed.
It turned out that the friends he met in the concentration camp really helped him a lot, not only for survival, but also for spiritual comfort.
There is a universal survival rule in concentration camps, that is, people with craftsmen can usually live longer and have some privileges, they can get extra food, less beatings, and even live longer. Bricklaying, car repair, haircuts, photography, etc. are all survival skills that can keep you alive.
Photographed in December 1942 for Cheslava Watja and by William Brasser in Auschwitz' main identification section
However, what needs to be explained is that in such a big environment, skilled people cannot guarantee that they will be able to survive, and their lives are also full of randomness, the difference is that the probability of them dying of heavy labor is reduced, and the hope of living is more, which is a necessary and insufficient condition.
In the film "Schindler's List", there is a detailed part of the film, people who have just entered the concentration camp are reminded by others to write a technique they know when filling out the form, and this scene is also mentioned in many movies, which means that the probability of the survival of the technical prisoner is higher.
Because brasser, who knew German, was freed from heavy labor for the first time and became a translator, at least for a short time without having to do heavy physical work;
He was later transferred to the Forensic Section for photography, a skill that allowed him to avoid heavy labor, get more food, reach more prisoners and enable him to help other victims.
Many people may think that Brasser's luck component accounts for the majority, but if it were not for his familiarity with photography techniques, would he be able to persevere to the end based on this luck that no one can say?
The most intuitive feeling is that under this epidemic, some people can rely on their skills to open a second career, while some people can only face the powerlessness caused by unemployment.
A Western philosopher once said, "Learn to cut nails with your left hand, because your right hand may not always work." ”
Everything must have a sense of preparation with both hands, and programmers must have a backup when programming. In case of hard drive failure, code loss, and no backup, the loss can be quite heavy.
This is the law of backup, life is so, life is also so, leave yourself more back road, a variety of choices, once this door is closed, there is a window to choose, rather than helplessly do the battle of the trapped beasts.
It can be prepared instead of used, but it is never used without backup.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, in the darkest place, still the greatest goodwill is shining</h1>
In exchange for the chance of survival and relatively good living conditions, some prisoners chose to take up positions as guards of other prisoners in concentration camps, and they cruelly beat other prisoners and vented their emotions.
Brasser works around contagious areas, gas chambers, "dead walls", gallows, crematoriums... Every day, a large number of prisoners can be seen starving, freezing, or even killed due to physical weakness, and although Brasser as a photographer can save himself from the pain of labor, he is also a prisoner in this "hell camp" who faces death threats at any time, and he cannot guarantee his own life and death.
He has also complained about God, complained about why his mother gave birth to him, if it were not for his mother he would not have come to this world, he would not have suffered the pain of the present, he has also suffered from pain and entanglement,
But he did not choose to be honest and peaceful as a prisoner who only knew how to accept instructions and ensure that he could survive, he still retained a goodwill in his heart, and constantly looked for opportunities to encourage the prisoners around him to bravely persevere and bring them a little help as much as possible;
When he took the picture, he met acquaintances from his hometown, brasser handed them cigarettes, and gave each of the three of them a piece of bread, and in the face of nazi repression, he resolutely opposed and said:
"If you're going to kill them," he said hesitantly, "then don't let them suffer too much." "Before he went on, Brasser wrapped his hat in both hands." "Maybe," he said again, "maybe you can beat them to death with just a shovel." Brasser put on his hat, turned and went into the studio to do his job.
How he wanted to do something more for these three people, to free them from violence and free them. But he had neither the power nor the slightest possibility. It was the only thing he could do for these three acquaintances. For this he had risked losing his life. If he is accused of intercessing because of the intercession of the prisoners, then he himself is finished.
For a long time afterward, his intercession for acquaintances haunted him like a nightmare, and he was afraid that he would be killed, and he woke up sweating for weeks.
He also helped a teacher by telling him to be a craftsman, writing down his number, and finding a wall-building job for the teacher through a guard with whom he had a good relationship;
The other was a friend of his brother's, who wrote down his friend's number and helped him find a job as an electrician in the same way, and within a few days the friend was transferred to work as an electrician until the day the camp collapsed;
While taking nude photos of the girls, he removed a moving wall in the studio that was usually used only for photographs of SS officers and men, allowing the girls to undress behind the wall. When taking pictures, he asked the two nurses accompanying him to help arrange the position so that he could take better photos if the lights were not enough to take group photos. He never wanted to get too close to them or touch their bodies. He gave the girls the greatest respect possible;
He found that the prisoner with the wound on the face could only wait for the wound to be healed before taking pictures, but they would not have a chance to come again, so when taking the picture, he turned a blind eye, he patiently communicated with the prisoner to relax and avoid tension, and he patiently waited for the girl to wipe the blood off her mouth.
He can do little for them, but within his power to help those victims who are in danger.
As the Nazis retreated to destroy the evidence, he risked his life to preserve thousands of negatives from the fire, so that the victims of the Holocaust were no longer a string of statistics, but a living life, and now a precious material to witness the history of Auschwitz.
He didn't know what else he could do, but he tried to help the people around him as much as he could, and the photos he left behind were both incriminating evidence and testimonies.
Even in the darkness of the human world, there are always indomitable souls that radiate kindness.
In addition to Brasser, who twice refused to become a German citizen, there were other indomitable souls in the concentration camp: they were Bible researchers who refused to say the five words "God does not exist" and were dragged to death by hitting the wall; German girls who could not stand the tragedy of the concentration camp and committed suicide; and vienna car mechanics who encouraged everyone not to give up and persevered, etc., whose kindness brought a little light to others in the darkness.
Mark Twain once said, "Kindness is a universal language that can be felt by the blind and smelled by the deaf." ”
Brasser's purpose had always been to make sure he didn't go hungry and survive, but I still had a lot of respect for the goodwill he had in that environment, and he wanted to help everyone, rather than choosing to be a guard of beaten prisoners who also had access to food.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, letting go of the past does not mean forgetting the past, life is moving forward</h1>
Brasser, who returned to his normal life, tried to return to his old business and make a living by taking pictures, but slowly he found that he could no longer pick up the camera, because the fearful faces always appeared in the viewfinder and lingered, and he did not want to talk too much about that history with the people around him.
Asked if he hated Germans, Brasser said, "No, I don't hate all Germans. The Germans of today will not be hated just because a leader revealed his true face to seduce the people. There were also Germans who behaved humanely and kept their human nature despite the difficult times in the camp. I have a lot of respect for these people. ”
The people who can come out of the darkness are a minority, and the people who treat that period of history objectively are even fewer, and the partiality is all an emotional instinct that each of us has, which allows us to see only the one-sidedness of things, as Brasser said: "I don't want to convey the emotion of hatred, I just want to state what has happened." So that these terrible things we have experienced will not happen again. ”
What should be put down is open-mindedness, what should not be put down is stupidity, what should be put down is attachment, and what should not be put down is life.
History is a cautionary tale that we need to understand it, but as the book says:
Memories from generation to generation cannot be directly passed on, and memories are passed on or passed on through "storytelling". Even among peers, unless there is a common experience or experience, the sharing of memories needs to be done through storytelling.
However, such memory sharing is often fragmentary and lacks both in content and meaning. This is the characteristic of purely linguistic post-memory, and images and objects can make it constantly enriched and enriched.
Old photographs provide supporting material for our understanding of history, as Danny Arbos said at the beginning: I truly believe that there are some things that no one will see if I don't take pictures.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
Brasser is a photographer, but he is also a witness to a piece of history, in the dark abyss, but still has the courage to yearn for the light, through history I see an indomitable soul struggling to make its own cry.
After reading this book, I hope that we can all remember 3 points: to make a backup of our lives, to be kind, and to learn to let go.
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