Sunday, February 8, 2015

Risk Taking Researcher - Ji Won

This image is a poster that replicates
the objective of the Geneva Convention.
Link
Maus tells us the story of Spiegelman's father, Vladek, as a Polish Jew surviving the Holocaust. The first pages of the book gives us some background knowledge to Vladek's story. After, we learn that Vladek was in the Polish Reserves Army and is ordered to report right away. After his first loss in a battle, we learn that Vladek and the other survivors of the battle became prisoners of war (POW). During World War II, prisoners of war were to be controlled by the Geneva Convention. The armies were given strict orders to treat each other's prisoners according to the convention. The book tells us that the Jewish POWs were given very little food. And my research also shows that Allied POWs complained about the lack of food within German POW camps. In the book, Vladek receives a food package of chocolate, cigarettes, and jam. My research also shows that the International Red Cross distributed food packages to ease this complaint. Nevertheless, sometimes, US troops shot some German POWs. An example is the Dachau Massacre, when the soldiers that liberated the camp shot some SS guards. On the other hand, as the Soviet Union did not sign the Geneva Convention, Soviet prisoners were treated with brutality by the Germans.

The is the document of the Geneva Convention. It shows the signatures of major western powers including Britain, Italy, the US, and Germany. The Soviet Union is not present in the list of signatories.
Link
The way the story of Vladek is told in the book is the same way Art Spiegelman learned about his father's life. The book is basically the story of Art Spiegelman getting to know more about his father. The story is obviously focused during the second World War. 

 History. "Prisoners of War." HISTORY. AETN UK, 04 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/prisoners-of-war>. 
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2015 at 6:00 AM

    Nice job JIBBY!!! I think it was a great post since you know what is happening by now. The POW camp, the Red Cross, and the times they had. But you could have talked more about the History of the Holocaust. and more about what they did to the Jews. Even though the book hadn't mentioned about the Holocaust, but it is very related to the book since Vladek was a holocaust survivor. Also you could have mentioned the World War 1 and could have told some parts about the Versailles Treaty since you have mentioned about the Convention in Geneva. In addition you could have talked more about the SS guards since you have mentioned about it. Also you could have looked more into the history and where he lived before. As a risk taking researcher, the history of where he lived or the history about what you at least mentioned. Otherwise interesting post JIBBY!!! :D:D

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2015 at 6:04 AM

    Ji Won, I can tell you worked hard on this post and you knew what you were talking about. Everything is in your own words, you used good language (such as "my research shows") and included your sources instead of just putting the link. Your image matches the post, and there is even a description for the image. I also like how you made detailed references to the book and to what you learned from your research. Your post has quality and is informative.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2015 at 1:12 PM

    To add to your information on POW camps in WWII the Japanese also were at war and created a much different type of POW camp. In these camps the Red Cross Packages never arrived they were always taken and POW never received them, but they also would have consisted off the same things. The POW were starved, POW only received enough food so the POW could survive (this was usually consisted of poorly cooked rice). The POW were also forced to work for the Japanese for no pay. To add to that they were tortured and beaten (some to death). This was the Japanese POW camp and if your still interested you can read the book Unbroken which is a story of Olympic Athlete who survived one of this camps.

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