University History Assignment: Inside Hana's Suitcase Analysis

This assignment analyzes two texts: 'Inside Hana's Suitcase' and Elie Wiesel's 'Night'. Assignment A focuses on the establishment of the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center, the information revealed by Hana's suitcase, the restrictions imposed on Jews during the Holocaust, and the experiences of George and Hana Brady in Terezin and Auschwitz. The assignment explores the children's art, the transport lists, and George's reflections. Assignment B delves into the restrictions imposed on Jewish people, Wiesel's experiences in Birkenau and Buna, including the horrors of the gas chambers, dental examinations, and forced marches. It examines the factors leading to the death of Wiesel's father and the resistance efforts in the camp. Both assignments collectively examine the impact of the Holocaust on individuals and the importance of education and remembrance.

Running head: ENGLISH
English Assignment
Student Name
University Name
Author Note

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Assignment A
1. The Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center was established in Tokyo in the year
1998 to teach the children about the perils of intolerance, discrimination and prejudice.
One of the major reasons for Ishioka to learn about the process of genocide is the
oppression faced by the Japanese people from the outer-world countries (Weinbaum, 1).
The center was established to help educate the children about the consequences that could
arise if Japan goes with war with a country.
2. From the suitcase of Hana, it was found that she had a brother who had reportedly
survived the Holocaust. In addition, it was also found that she was 13 years old when she
was brought to the Auschwitz center and even died the same day at the camp.
3. It is from the movie which highlighted the restrictions the Brady Family had to encounter
during the Holocaust. The Jewish people were forbidden to leave their homes whenever
they wanted to and hence, travel restrictions were imposed. In addition, some shops in the
locality were instructed to not allow Jewish people for certain hours in a day. It is because
of the start of a war, the Jewish children are expelled from their school.
4. Form the movie, it could be understood that the siblings were saddened to be not be able
to go to the school anymore because of the restrictions imposed on them. However, it was
Hana’s desire to become a teacher when she would be growing up.
5. The Germans had changed the name of Terezin to Theresienstadt as a camp for displaced
Jews. George and Hana were brought in here after they were ordered to appear and
described the living conditions as terrible. There were around 20 people in a single room
with burlap mattresses with a crammed-up space.
6. Hana and other children took art classes from a famous artist and drew certain pictures of
the surrounding like a group of people gathering for a picnic under a tree beside a river. In

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addition, Hana had also drawn her and George’s situation while arriving at Terezin with
one suitcase and walking a few distance for the barracks.
7. From the list of 90,000 people, every name in that list had a check mark on them. The
check mark signified that the person was unable to survive the Holocaust. However,
under the name of Hana Brady was another name that ended with Brady and that was of
George where a check mark was not given.
8. It is learnt from the movie that the ride from Terezin to Auschwitz of George was terrible
in terms of less space and feeling suffocated with so many people in a small compartment
of the train. While arriving, he was asked by one of the frowning soldiers about his
identity and redirected to a barrack where he would be staying for an indefinite period of
time.
9. During the time of the arrival of Hana in Auschwitz, she was fourteen years old. It was
learnt that she had been directed to a gas chamber right after her train had stopped with
other children and died.
10. After George arrived in Tokyo for the meeting with Fumiko, he was taken to see the
suitcase of his sister Hana which made him feel weak and let his tears flow freely. Hana
had wished to become a teacher and make the individuals understand the true meaning of
compassion, respect and tolerance. It is with the help of Fumiko and her children in the
center that the aim of Hana is being achieved, which, in turn, healed George.
11. In the memory of the beloved Hana Brady, a memorial had been created in the Tokyo
Holocaust Education Resource Center with the replica of the suitcase carried by Hana
during her deportations. It is with this memory that millions of children visit the museum
to learn about her story and understand the conditions of the deportation camps for
children.

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Assignment B
1. Among the restrictions that had been imposed on the Jewish people, one of them was the
prohibition to leave their residence for at least three days under death penalty. In addition,
they were told to deposit their jewelry and other values to German counterparts (Wiesel).
It is after this that a yellow star was required to be worn by the Jewish people for early
recognition of their identity and not being able to roam around the streets after six o’clock
in the evening.
2. Upon Wiesel’s arrival in Birkenau, he was shown a chimney on fire with huge smoke
around it. It could be thought that it has been set alight quite recently. The stench of the
burning flesh was felt by Wiesel and other friends. It is after this that a soldier
commanded them to leave their belongings inside and come outside of the wagon
3. After the arrival of Wiesel in Birkenau alongside his father, he had been taken to a
barrack where they were stripped naked and tortured. It is after this that they were
forcefully taken to a barber where every bodily hair was chopped off. The next morning
they were again tortured in their sleep and were commanded to run. We ran and reached
the shower room and then again resumed running where they gathered any piece of
clothing which was thrown by them.
4. The main purpose of the dental examination conducted on Wiesel and other prisoners was
to examine the presence of gold teeth in humans. Some of the prisoners who had gold in
their mouths were listed and the others were taken back to the barracks.
5. It was part of the tradition for Wiesel to witness individuals being held convicted for
engaging in sabotage, possessing weapons and stealing. Hence, it was normal for him to
be a part of their proceeding in the makeshift German court with only punishment: death
penalty. During the hanging, they are instructed to gaze at the dying body of the
individual hanged.

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6. The patients back at the infirmary in Buna, the Russian troops had arrived and liberated
them after two days of evacuation. Majorly, the ill, frail and wounded people were part of
the patient party who were left behind.
7. The forced march from Buna to Gleiwitz was made because of the Russian Army
approaching to liberate. The march was laid in pitch black darkness where the individuals
were commanded to keep on running. The individuals were famished and lost all energy
while running such a long distance without rest. Wiesel would sleep while running slowly
and all of a sudden receive a kick in the back to be awake and run faster.
8. The major factors that played a key role in the death of Wiesel’s father was the constant
running of the marching party from Buna to Gleiwitz. In addition, to this, he has become
frail and weak due to the constant snowing. Furthermore, the dysentery because of the
unhygienic conditions in the camp made his situation worse without the availability of
medicines and good care.
9. On the start of April, the remaining Jews were ordered to gather in Appelplatz which they
thought was for their liberty and Hitler was to keep his promise. However, some
whispered they had indeed, planned to shoot the Jews because of which Wiesel returned
to the block. The underground resistance in the camp had decided to prevent the
liquidation and not abandon Jews.

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References
Weinbaum, Batya. "Inside Hana's Suitcase." Women in Judaism 6.2 (2009): 1.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Hill And Wang, 2006.