WWII in Europe

The troops and I arrived in Berlin the day after the Nazis surrendered. I am here because I am a photographer and was hired to take pictures of what Hitler's reign had affected people. We arrived at Auschwitz at 11:00am. When I was on the plane, the soldiers asked me why me, a woman, was taking pictures of the horrible affects of Hitler. I just simply told them that I had seen both my parents die and lived through it. I thought that I would be able to handle this.


When we were in sighting distance of the camp, the smell of rotting flesh overcame us. I asked what the smell was and one of the soldiers told me that there were roumers going around that the Nazis had, after killing the Jews, burned their bodies. I was horrified at what I had heard, but I was not all that scared. When we entered the camp, I immedieatley started taking pictures of the courtyard where there were Jews walking around and every one of them had confused looks on their faces. All of them smiled st me when they saw my American flag badge on my arm. They must have heard that Americans were coming to save them.



When I was done taking pictures in the yard, I asked (in German) one of the Jewish men to show me where the barraks where they lived are. He pointed to a small building that looked like a barn stall. I walked in (they must have cleared out a bit) and saw many men sleeping and others talking and praying. When I walked in, one of the men asked me who I was. I told them my name and I was an American. I also told him that I was hired by the American government to take pictures of the concentration camps in Germany. He smiled and told me that he and the others were waiting for a savior to come save them from the hell that they had to go through. He statred showing me the beds and I even felt one of them. It was very hard. He told me that many could not sleep because of the beds. Plus, all the food that they had recieved was either rotten or very little. They were all so skinny. They looked like walking skeletons. I took a few pictures of the men in the bunks who were awake, but seemed exhausted.

When we left the camp that day, I never got out of my mind the sadness that I saw. I have heard of the horrible things the Nazis had done to the Jews, but have never seen them. I am glad that I have not. That young Jewish man will stay in my mind and I hope that today he is home with family, or at least he is happy.

Great Depression Essay

I never thought that I would be out of a job and selling apples on the street in New York City. I mean, of course other people were in the same problem that I was in, but I never imagined that I would be the only provider for my parents and my two brothers and sisters. How did I get this way, you ask me. Well, it all started on the Tuesday of October 29, 1929, or known as Black Tuesday. I was at home, making breakfast for my mother, who was recovering from a very mild, but nasty cold. The sounds of the radio, the bacon sizzling in he frying pan, my brother and sister fighting in the other room. I look out the window and see a cloudy day and see many men running down the street... Wait, what? then I realize that these men have faces of panic across their faces. Then I see my father. I see him dissappear underneath the window of our building. See, my fatheris a stock broker. Well, he was before the Crash. Then I hear him running up the stairs and the door to the apartment flies open. "The Market is down." "Get your mother" "Where is your brother and sister?" He is shouting at me all these commands and I cannot move. I just stand there. Then he stops shouting and hugs me really tight. Is he crying? My dad does not cry. Well, at least I have never seen him cry...but I know that something is truly wrong. I calmly ask him what happened at work. He tells me that the Market has crashed because of overspeculation and basically all of his clients have lost their money that they had put in the stock. Then he tells me that we have to take any money that we have, even in the bank, to keep it at home. Then he tells me that when he is looking for a job, my mother and I would have to work too. I ask him what will happen to my brother and sister. He tells me that if need be, we would have to send them to live with Grandma and Grandpa until things get better. I am scared, but I am brave. A day after the Crash, my brother and sister were sent to my Grandparents, and I went looking for a job. Dad has been going to employment agencies and looking for daily jobs. Some days he comes home with money, and some days he comes home with none. I found a job selling apples, and to make a long story short, my father hurt his leg and cannot work, my mother lost her job, and I am now supporting my family on my shoulders. I just hope that things get better soon.

After the Fire

I cannot believe that the superintendents for the factory do not fix even the smallest mistakes that could turn really big. I mean, the factory didn't even have decent fire escapes. No safety precautions. I heard that the superintendents locked the doors so the workers would not sneak out to take a break or to get a drink. The factory owners are eing questioned. I hope that they get a good punishment for killing all those women and girls. Lucy and her family are moving to another part of New York and away from the fire. The do not want to live near where the girls were killed. I don't blame them. Well, I think that it is time for me to go, too. Lucy's mother offered for me to come live with them in the other city, but I said that I had to go back home and help my family. Now I know firsthand what life was like living in the 1800s.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

At work today, the superintendents were yelling at us like usual, and then we heard a fire engine coming down the street. Of coure, us being girls, we just had to see what was going on. The engine got closer and closer until it stopped in front of the building right next to ours. We all peered out the windows, and just at we saw the flames, the superintendents started rushing us out of the building and away from the fire that was ensuing. As soon as Lucy and I got to the sidewalk, we could not believe our eyes. The Triangle factory was ablaze with huge flames. licking the building and the fces of the women in the windows. Their faces were formed in grotesque expressions and we could hear their cries for help. Then one of them clibed on the windowsil and jumped. A sickening thud followed her dead body. Then another girl jumped. Thud. She was dead too. The women who gathered around the building with their husbands shrieked with horror, and some started to faint. Lucy vomited on the pavement and I helped her sit down on the opposite sidewalk. She looked at me and said "Now I know why our superintendents helped us out of the building; that could have been us". We stared in horror as the girls fell to their deaths. We realized that the firemen were there, but they seemed to be doing nothing, until we saw their ladder being raised and holding a safety net. I thought that this terrible event would be over, but the girls just kept falling. They broke the safety net. I could not watch these girls falling like birds with broken wings, so I helped Lucy home. When we got home, Lucy's mother asked us why we were home so early, and I told her what I saw. She wanted to go and see for herself, but I told her that that place was not to be seen in its present state. I could not sleep that night. The sound of bodies hitting the pavement was ringing through my ears and every time I closed my eyes I saw those girls' faces that would never be seen alive again.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Strike

Well, I think that today was not a good day at all. I realized that the factory that was right next to us is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and I know what will happen to the wonen inside the building. I cannot stop it, though. No one can change history. But today, the women went on strike and the superintendents were in an uproar about the women demanding stuff, but they would not tell us specifically what. The superintendents also said that if anyone wanted to use the bathroom or have a drink, that they would be fired. Lucy and I looked at each other and we just rolled our eyes because they said this everyday and we had "trained" ourselves to use the bathroom when work was over. When work was over, Lucy and I wanted to see if the women who were on strike were still outside. A few of the women were, but not very many. Only five or six at the most. Lucy and I went up to one of the women and asked her why they went on strike. She told us that the factory owners were not giving them breaks, giving low pay, they locked the doors when work started, and there was no proper fire escape. She told us that the owners said that if they did not get inside the building in five minutes, they all would be fired. She did not want to work in the filthy place again, so she quit and she is going to look for another job that has safer precautions.