A Lonely Asiago Bagel

Once Vladek left to go talk to Art, I sat there alone in the study and began contemplating the Holocaust and everything that is wrong with it. 

Best Served with Jalapeño Cream Cheese

There is a certain crude irony to the Holocaust which no one else seemed to observe. For example, despite the fact that Hitler perpetuates the glory of the Aryan race and despises the Jewish people, he is not even a member of the Aryan race. In fact, he has Jewish ancestors including his father. Also, at the gates of many concentration camps is written “Arbeit Macht Frei”, which in German means “Work sets you free.”

This is an awful lie told by the Germans, because once the Jews were in the concentration camps, they were as good as dead no matter how much they worked. However, this lie is truly ironic because the freedom the Jews received was not freedom in the traditional sense, rather the freedom from life, or death. Also, after many Jews were freed by the Americans, they were given food to eat. However, this food killed them because their digestive systems were not used to proper nutrition. Literally, those who were their saviors simultaneously killed many of them. Another example of irony is Vladek’s racism, especially toward African-Americans. It seems ridiculous for Vladek to “talk about blacks the way the Nazis talked about the Jews” (99 VII) when he has experienced the full effects of racism at the hands of the Nazis. This shows that racial beliefs are so ingrained in human minds and they are very difficult to change even with enormous personal experience to the contrary. This almost comical yet tragic irony in the Holocaust is seldom discussed because it is taboo. However, it must be talked about in order to teach morality and the ramifications of racism.