University Holocaust History Assignment: Hana's Suitcase Analysis

This assignment comprises two parts. Part 1 summarizes a reading that recounts a son's survival of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, detailing the atrocities against Jews and prisoners, the denial of burial, and the mass killings. The reading emphasizes the dehumanization and the importance of remembering the Holocaust to prevent its recurrence. Part 2 answers questions based on the documentary "Inside Hana's Suitcase." The questions address the establishment of the Holocaust Education Research Center in Tokyo, the information revealed by Hana's suitcase, restrictions placed on Jews, Hana's aspirations, conditions in Terezin, the children's artwork, the meaning of markings on transport lists, George Brady's transport experience, Hana's fate, the healing impact of Fumiko's relationship with George, and the significance of Hana's suitcase as a memorial. The assignment aims to promote awareness and understanding of the Holocaust's devastating impact.

Part 1: Summary of the Reading:
The reading is a first-hand expression of a son who survived Auschwitz and the Buchenwald
concentration camps. It is a story of a son who was forced to turn a deaf ear to his father cries in his
last few minutes of life in the fear of getting beaten by the SS. The author explains a first-hand
experience of the tragedies and the atrocities against the Jews and the prisoners that he had
witnessed. He reflects on many accounts where he convinced himself of an alternate truth to remain
sane. He describes the denial of the burial to the Jews and the forcing of the prisoners to dig their
own mass graves. Another important point in the reading was the description of the throwing of
children and infants in mass fires and cremation of Jews in huge numbers in factories. The cost of
life was decreased to a minimal and there was hardly any importance of life for the SS. The hatred
towards a particular religion or caste has never been witnessed at the extent at which it was done in
the Nazi concentration camps. The main cause for the translation of the writings of the author is to
spread awareness. His anger against the people who committed these crimes and were set free later is
clear. But the main ideology was to ensure that people do not forget what happened in the holocaust
and every measure is taken to ensure that it is never repeated again in the future.
Part 2: Answers to Questions Relating to Inside Hana’s Suitcas
1. The Holocaust Education Research Center in Tokyo was established to educate children about the
consequences of prejudice and discrimination. It spreads awareness about history so that the future
generations can be educated about the best practices that should be followed to spread unity and
harmony. According to Ishioka, people can learn that violence is not the answer to the resolution of
disagreements. People can also learn to respect the differences and the importance of interaction with
people from different cultures.
2. Hana’s suitcase provided information about her brother George Brady who was a survivor of the
holocaust. The suitcase enabled an interview and discussion with George who shared more

information about the survival in the camps and the holocaust. It also helped in learning that Hana
was 13 years old when she died at the concentration camp in Auschwitz in 1944. She was sent to the
gas chamber after a few hours of her arrival. She was from Czechoslovakia and was separated from
her brother before she was sent to that camp.
3. According to George, the restrictions that were placed on the Jews included – ban from the movie
theatre or watching movies, ban from playgrounds and no entrance was allowed in sports fields,
parks or even gyms. Restrictions on entrance into skating ponds was also levied. The Jews were not
even allowed to listen to radio and were restricted to their respective homes after 8 PM in the night.
Steadily the Jews in the region were restricted from doing anything at all. The smallest of actions
could lead them to lose their lives or end up in concentration camps.
4. Hana had hoped to enter the teaching profession once she had completed her education. However,
Jews and their children were soon restricted from entering the educational institutions and before she
knew it, Hana was transported to one of the concentration camps that ruined her prospect of
becoming a teacher ever.
5. George and Anna Hanušová-Flachová describe that Terezin’s conditions were not as bad as the
case was in other ghettos. However, the prisoners were starved and the living conditions were not
sanitary in nature. Although the conditions of living in the ghetto were not as bad as other camps, but
it was still unbearable. George and Anna described that they were schooled and given opportunity to
hear music but that was the end of it. The extra-curricular activities were not enough to fill the empty
stomachs.
6. The children drew and painted whatever they saw. The drawings and paintings were a reflection of
the atrocities that were witnessed by the children over time. The drawings included the different
ways through which torture was done on women, men and children alike. On the other hand, some
drawings were parts of imagination where children dreamed of going back home safely along with

their family members and kept those drawings with themselves to take comfort. Majorly the
drawings of Terezin included pictures of the way Germans were stuffing people up in trains to
transport them from one place to another. There were drawings wherein infants were snatched from
their mothers and words describing pain were written on these paintings as well.
7. The check mark next to Hana’s name meant that she was dead. The name with a box around it was
that of George Brady and the box meant that he was not killed and might still be alive.
8. George described the transport from Terezin to Auschwitz to be horrifying as the prisoners were
packed tightly in a cattle car. On arrival George saw that the guards were screaming and there were a
lot of dogs barking. One of the guards had asked him if he was healthy enough to work as a labourer
or not. He witnessed a lot of cruelty and violence in the camp.
9. Hana was only 13 years old when she was gassed in a chamber in Auschwitz.
10. The relationship with Fumiko and her students had greatly helped George heal as he had never
been able to forgive himself earlier was leaving his sister behind. Fumiko helped him in getting a
closure to his wounds and by the way George helped the students, he felt he had contributed towards
making the world a better place to live in for the future generations. By sharing his story and getting
some belongings of his sister, George was able to heal his discomfort.
11. Hana’s memorial is her suitcase that consists of her belongings and has become a reminder of the
tragedies that occurred in the Holocaust.