Introduction

The Holocaust is one of the most documented events in human history.  Indeed, despite the two major world wars in the 20^th century, the activities of Hitler against the Jewish in Germany received and continued to receive extensive attention from historians and archaeologists. Since the Holocaust was associated with different horrors with a distinct aspect of the impossibility of escape, individual accounts that describe escape from the Nazi often are evidence of human flexibility.  The paper asserts that the tale of the flight of the members of the burning brigade that has since been collaborated with scientific evidence illustrateshope and courage in building resilience in the face of horrors and it is an inspiration to the current generation.

Summary

For decades, historians and archeologists have worked tirelessly to uncover a tunnel that was said to be used to escape Nazi extermination site in Ponar, currently known as Paneriai in Lithuania.  The article states that more than eighty thousand Jews were killed at Ponar forest an area outside of Vilna in Lithuania.  For three years, between July 1941 and July 1944, locals and Nazi Einsatzgruppen exterminated Jews with shootings (Shaer, 2017).  In December 1943, the Nazis decided that it is necessary for the evidence of their crimes to be destroyed to avoid accountability in the near future.  Therefore, they enlisted slaves, mainly Jews who were known as the burning brigade. According to the article, the burning brigade had the responsibility of burning the bodies of the compatriots. The team was expected to burn at least 3500 bodies weekly.  Seventy-six men worked in different capacities to collect the wood, dig the graves and burn the bodies while four women were responsible for cooking and doing laundry (Shaer, 2017). Since they were practically an accessory to the crimes of the Nazi, the burning brigade realized early on that they would be the last victims.

The article begins at a personalized level describing the Holocaust and the escape of the members of the burning brigade from the perception of MotkeZeidel, the longest surviving member of the burning brigade. One day in January 1944, 18-year-old Zeidel found himself in a German military truck that was rattling Southwest from Vilnius in what is currently known as Lithuania to Ponar (Shaer, 2017). Zeidel had already made his peace with his situation and was sure that the halt of the truck was his end.  For more than two years, living in a walled-off Jewish ghetto in Vilnius City, Ziedel had watched as initially hundreds then thousands of Jews were sent to the Ponar forest to meet their end. Indeed, the people who managed to flee returned with tales of how thousands were machine-gunned to close range. Therefore, the paper describes Zeidel was more than surprised when he did not hear the crack of the rifle upon reaching their destination.  Instead, Zeidel was informed that he had to work with other prisoners to cut pine trees and transport the lumber to the pits. From the moment the prisoners started working together, they understood that they were no situation where they would live the Ponar forest alive. Therefore, Zeidel accounts that they all thought of an escape.

The article proceeds from the personal account of Zeidel to describe the endeavors of Richard Freund an American archaeologist at the University of Harford who specializes in Jewish history to discover the tunnel that the survivors used to escape. Freund practices noninvasive archaeology that relies on the ground-penetrating radar in addition to the utilization of other types of computerized electronic technology to discover and describe the different structures hidden underground. Freund and his colleagues including Harry Jol,  geology and anthropology professor at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and Philip Reeder a mapping scholar and geoscientist scanned and explored the area for days with the intention developing a digital map of the region (Shaer, 2017). Utilizing a ground-penetrating radar, the scientists developed a digital map of the Vilnius’s Great Synagogue dating back to the mid-17^th century.

The synagogue, which was the central aspect of the Jewish life in Eastern Europe was damaged in 1941 when Hitler’s army in June 1941forcing thousands of Jews into walled ghettos and who were subsequently sent to their graves in the Ponar shooting. Upon providing a digital map of the synagogue, the team offered to do anything else on behalf of the Vilna GaonJewish State Museum.  Mantas Siksnianas, an employee at the museum, requested the team to analyze a large green that has since been overgrown with foliage that other archeologists had not investigated. It is this particular request that prompted the discovery of the tunnel.

Before the discovery, there were stories of how a group of prisoners escaped, but there was no indication of how they made it out since the tunnel had never been identified.  Indeed, almost three-quarters of a century after the escape, many thought that it was to remain merely a legend. Intending to analyze the area, in June 2016 Freund returned to Ponar forest with the intention of finding clues on how the escapees made it out.  Utilizing a survey device, the total station, Reeder measured minute elevation changes throughout the land with the intention of identifying any gradations or anomalies.  The device zeroed on a hummock that appeared like a side of a bunker that was overgrown with moss and foliage (Shaer, 2017). Employing the use of an electrical resistivity tomography from the transitional engineering company, the group pulled the data from the control box to a laptop which proceeded to run a conversion.  Not long into their research, the group identified a previously unmarked burial bit in addition to ascertaining the existence of a tunnel that was three feet by three feet in width and 15 feet at points beneath the ground (Shaer, 2017).  The group also confirmed the distance between the entrance of the tunnel and the position the prisoners emerged to be 110 feet.

From the article, the accounts of the survivors illustrated that they worked throughout the day to burn bodies and at night, under cover of darkness they dug the tunnel. The digging was not without challenges. For instance, at one time the group discovered they were digging towards an unmarked grave and were forced to change course which cost them days. The scientific discovery of the tunnel provided proof to the accounts of the escapees.

Strengths of the Article

The author was able to achieve a distinct writing style where he integrates a real-life story with facts associated with the Holocaust in addition to incorporating the scientific discovery of Richard Freund and his colleagues.  Like many articles published in magazines or blogs, the report remains true to the ideology that there is a necessity to create interest in the audience. Therefore, beginning the story as a narrative achieves this particular purpose.  Moreover, the article provides statistics that are important in conceptualizing how the escape was indeed an achievement. From the report, the audience gets the idea that more than 80,000 individuals were killed and buried in mass graves in the Ponar forest (Shaer, 2017).  The document mentions eighty individuals worked from dawn to dusk and as such the fact that they dug the tunnel throughout the night illustrates their dedication to their escape plan.  Ultimately, the document provides a detailed account of the escapees’ testimonies and the activities involved in the discovery of the channel as such achieving its purpose of informing the general public and experts alike.

Weaknesses of the Article

Scholars have often emphasized the importance of utilizing subtopics in writing in efforts of providing a sense of direction and organization. However, the article, which is more than 4500 words long, has no subtopics. While the lack of short headings is common in magazine publication, a report of this length warrants sub-heading. For instance, the paper quickly transitions from the personal account of Zeidel in the first paragraph to facts about the idea of the “final solution” that resulted in the extermination of the Jews in the third paragraph (Shaer, 2017). Therefore, one might argue that the paper lacks a clear flow of events a factor that may discourage some readers.

Audience Analysis

The article was intended for general society from scholars to individuals who are merely interested in the subject.  Undeniably, the article starts as a narrative where the writer envisions how events might have transpired the day 18-year-old MotkeZeidel was captured (Shaer, 2017).  The first paragraph illustrates that the document is not intended for experts but the general public. Additionally, the paper was designed to inform. It is a recognized fact that there were survivors and escapees from the Holocaust. Notably, the accounts of the escapees of the burning brigade were documented for decades after the Second World War. However, there was a lack of scientific proof to collaborate with the testimonies of the survivors. Indeed, the longest surviving member visited the forest severally but was unable to pinpoint the exact location of the tunnel.  Therefore, the article intended to inform the public that the testimonies of the survivors were correct as it collaborated with scientific evidence.  The author’s efforts to give a detailed explanation of the discovery illustrates that it was meant for the general audience.

However, it is essential to acknowledge that the paper is particularly helpful to historians, archeologists and theology students who are particularly invested in understanding all the activities associated with holocaust for accurate record keeping. To archeologists, scientific proof showcases the importance of geoscience and associated technologies and their applicability in providing evidence for particular events in human history. Historians, on the other hand, use the information for record-keeping of past events and how they affect the current and future societies. To theology scholars, the paper showcases the story of hope and courage that works to inspire individuals in contemporary society.

Relation to Today

The primary purpose of the article was to describe scientific knowledge that collaborates personal testimonies on the burning brigade escape. While declarations constitute an essential part of the research associated with the Holocaust since they provide a first-hand account, they need corroboration for accuracy.  Indeed, the link between testimonies and archaeological evidence is one of the hallmarks of contemporary society.  Like many essential activities, the holocaust needs both literary and scientific evidence to understand what occurred and how it impacts modern society fully.  Indeed, the article is relevant today since individual accounts of events from survivors such as Ziedel backed with scientific methodology assists the current generation of scholars to understand what happened. For instance, the scientific technicalities confirm what might be previously described as a legend.

Moreover, the article illustrates that geoscience and related technologies are useful in integrating a generation of young people working in different aspects of modern technology to the possibility of recovering different information as it relates to the Holocaust instead of relying on information in libraries and museums.  Therefore, the article emphasizes the concept of hands-on research that is necessary for maximizing understanding.

Additionally, since the article provides a personalized account of the experiences of the survivors in addition to facts associated with the Holocaust and subsequent research to offer a scientific backing of the testimonies of the survivors, it is a story of hope and courage. Although the events described in the article occurred more than seven decades ago, the dedication of the burning brigade to their escape illustrates that it is possible to move from a difficult situation, and grow on a personal capacity.  The article inspires individuals today to have the courage and hold hope of overcoming bad times.

References

Shaer, M. (2017, March). The Holocaust great escape. Retrieved February 16, 2019, from SmithsonianMagazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/holocaust-great-escape-180962120/

 
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