I think the mental pain is much worst than the physical pain. Physical pain is very hard to over come, but it will heal in time. What happened to Gerda mentally will never leave her mind and soul. Since she was a littler girl she has had so many horrible things happen to her that will svar her for the rest of her life. How could it not? She witnessed so much cruelty, so much loss, and so much sadness at such a young age. These hard times will haunt her forever. She lost a lot of her close familym members and friends at such a young age. How could she have possibly have understood why all of this was happening? She stared death right in the face being in the middle of everyone's opinions and everyone's losses. Her family was having enough issues before all of this happened, she had to say good-bye to her own brother in such short notice and never got a chance to be close with her family...not like they used to be. It was a sad time. At some points, she considered suicide to be the only way out of this mess. The physical toll and mental toll both could contribute to horrible experience but mentally is by far the wrost.

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Knowing myself, i would have definitely have taken the opportunity for freedome choice. I would find it better to get out of the situation and then try to tell Abek about my feelings later than to try and go on how I was going. Especially if i knew that it would only get a lot worse.

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Gerda and her family probably didn't think the war would last very long. They thought it would last a couple of months maximum. It felt like World War I had just ended so they didn't find it logical for there to be a second war that would be worse. Also, they were worried about Papa's health. Since he was sick, they didn't want to be going anywhere. Gerda and Arthur were the ones who decided to stay as a family instead of going off with Arthur's girlfriend's family. They could have had a chance to escape but they didn't know what was coming their way therefore chose to stay so that Papa's health didn't worsen. Had they known, they definitely would have taken the easy escape.

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Because Gerda is so strong, I still think she would've been able to make it through. Gerda is also very good at making friends. But, I think it would have been very difficult for Gerda of Ilse weren't with her. They relied on each other for many things such as dealing with emotions, staying strong and having each other's back (like what Ilse did for Gerda in Marzdorf). Ilse also made Gerda's birthday memorable. If Ilse had died earlier, I think Gerda might not have made it through. Her hope would only rely on seeing her parents again which she knows deep down won't happen. I think her hope would eventually fail her and she would not have lasted much longer.

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I think it was her the almost insane amount of hope she had for life. All she ever would dream about is life after the war. These thoughts were what kept her going through all the hard times she had. I would also say having her friend Isle with her almost the whole journey helped keep sane.

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Yeah, they weren't even hints, the author made it very blatant that they were dead. Though this made their deaths more dramatic and sad throughout the entire story, because I kind of kept forgetting that they were dead. Then, even though Gerda tells us how Ilse dies, it's still really heart-breaking.

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With the kind of tension that must be in that house, yes. I would feel really awkward. I wouldn't know who to help. Vladek is "my" father but he seems so disrespectful and mean to Mala. Mala isn't "my" mother so how could i defend her against Vladek? Plus I wouldn't know what her motives truly were. I think that unlike Artie, i would make more than a token suggestion that they get marriage counceling and insinst that they talk to someone or at least have them both talk to me so that i could be an unaffected party that could see the situation clearly.

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Labeling definitely takes place all around us today, but it is never as obvious as it was during the Holocaust. While Hitler actually put bright labels on people, we put labels on people as broad as race, or as narrow as rumors about a specific person. Labeling can even be sneaky and invasive enough to cause people to believe their labels actually mean something and to act accordingly. When this occurs, it is a sad sight, to watch someone destroy their future by paying attention to their label.

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I think that Arthur's life was flashing before his eyes as he ran for his safety. I'm sure his family, his girlfriend and faithful memories crossed his mind. I'm sure his soul concentratinon was getting to safety though! Just so he would be able to see the ones he loves so much again. I would certainly be thinking about my family and friends as well. Probably a "i'm too young to die!" too. It would be so scary

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