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14 years ago
Saturday, April 10, 2010
The Fahrenheit of the Holocaust
Today I visited the Holocaust museum as a remembrance to those who were killed by the Nazi's and those who graciously fought to liberate the individuals whose races were being destroyed. At one part in the Museum it talked about the burning of books done by the Nazi's. This made me reflect to Fahrenheit 451 and how books were burned and outlawed in that society. The burning of books in Nazi Germany was completely different than that of Fahrenheit 451. They, the Nazi's, burned books to put a race down and turn everyone against a particular person or persons. A quote that really struck out to me was something Heinrich Heine said. Which is "Where books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too." This stuck out to me because in the book Mrs. Blake burns herself with her books. Is it possible that Ray Bradbury wrote his story from what was going on in the 1930's-1940's?
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Wow, this is a really great question. I have never been to the museum but imagine how inspiring it is to visit there. I also have to wonder if Bradbury's words reflect the events you described. I feel that Bradbury may have related the burning of the books to that in the 30s-40s, but I also feel that he related this all to the loss of free-thinking. This loss was also felt by the Jews but in a different way. Very good connection.
ReplyDeleteYeah its a good possibility he got some of his ideas from that. Its interesting to think about. We questioned if making books illegal and burning them would ever happen but in a way it already has. It may not have been all books but its a start to what the book portrays.
ReplyDeleteOh I bet that was a great experience I have always wanted to go :) it is very interesting how alot of the themes of the novel make you think about what hitler did..i remember Montag saying looking at the firefighters was like looking himself in the mirror..that made me really think about that!
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