Written Task

Why Us?

I was at school when the teacher called my name and told me the principal was looking for me. As I entered his office he told me my mother needed me back home because father was feeling sick. I was glad to be asked to leave school because my classmates were not being so nice to me. Second World War had started and they said it was the Jewish’s fault. So I ran back home with the schools permission and got to my house, luckily, I had my keys, or I would have been waiting a long time since no one really hears the door knock. Father was lying on the couch and looked very happy to see me. I asked him where mom was, I could barely hear him so I had to look for myself, it’s like he couldn't even speak because of the fever, so I searched the house and found her in the kitchen.

She said she needed some ingredients and she couldn't leave father by himself, so she made a list and asked me to go to the market as fast as I could. On the way to the market I felt stared at by many people. I went inside the market and got the ingredients mom needed, I only needed some potatoes that were dad’s favorite on mom’s homemade soup, unfortunately an old man took the last ones a few minutes ago. I paid the cashier and later head home to give mom the ingredients. After doing my job It was already 6:00 pm and school finished between 2:00 and 3:00 pm. I still didn't have something for lunch so I decided to have mom’s soup leftovers for dinner. I had to eat by myself as mom was helping dad on the couch to hold the spoon in order to eat. After dinner it was already time to go to bed, and I had school next day so had to rest a lot.

It wasn't my alarm the one who woke me up in the morning; it was my mother who by the look on her eyes seemed very worried. She was shaking me and telling me several times to get dressed and go to the living room.  In the living room there was mom and dad as usual and 3 German officers who didn't look so friendly. Each one of them had a cloth with a yellow star, they called it a yellow badge, and told us we should always have it on ourselves in order to be identified as Jewish. If we didn't use the yellow badge it was against the regulations and it was not convenient to be against them.

It was just a month ago since the Second World War started, and Germans were already making us do things we had no interest on doing. Mother said it was better to stay home and skip school; we should wait until people on the streets have a clear idea of what is happening to the Jewish community, they could still think it was our fault. So I obeyed my mother and skipped school. I had rest plenty on the last few days, so I decided to get up early next morning and get a good shower. When I went back to school using the yellow star, it was like everyone respected me and was a better person with me. I wasn't the only one wearing a yellow badge, there were a couple of classmates who were also Jewish and had to use the star because of the regulations. Classes were normal, on break I decided to spend my time with the other Jewish kids. One of them was about my age, his name was Amir, he lived very lose to our house and was very friendly. After school I spent the day on his house, Amir’s father died when he was 5 years old and he lived with his mother and both of his grandparents. I almost forgot that the curfew was until 9:00 pm so I had to leave in a hurry.

Years have passed and everything has been almost the same here, but from what I have heard on other radios it’s been awful, they have been separating families and sending some of them to concentration camps. Here in Budapest it has not been that bad. We just follow the regulations such as the curfew and wearing the yellow badge and everything seems okay. Today there was something different. Mother told me we were moving, she said we couldn't take all of our belongings; we should just pack the right amount of luggage. As I went through the living room, I could overhear mom and dad’s conversation. They were talking about how it was not our choice, we didn't decide whether to move or not, or even where to move. It was the Germans decision and we could not say no. We had to follow the rules and keep up with the regulations. We were not the only ones, Poland already went through this and all the neighbours who were Jewish were also moving to the Ghetto.

I went to Amir’s house to say goodbye and also to see if he knew something that I didn't  but no one answered the door. I peeked in the window, everything was messed up, the luggage they were packing, the bags were opened and all their belongings on the floor.

Rationale

I have chosen to write a new imaginary chapter that comes before the first chapter, in other words a new opening to the novel “Fatelessness”. My written task is an exploration of the effects on the way that the Jewish community In Budapest lived before and during the beginning of the Holocaust which is between 1938 and 1945, and how it affected their daily life. The purpose of this new chapter is to provide some historical context to the novel.

I decided to write this chapter between September 1939, when Second World War began, and the spring of 1944, when the Jewish community in Budapest were sent to live in the Ghetto. The narrator continues to be Georg Koves, in a first person point of view. To give the audience the opportunity to have a better approach towards Georg Koves perspective and life in the Jewish Community, I used an informal language on my new opening.

The title of this new imaginary chapter is called “Why Us?”.  It’s called like this because it shows a innocent question asked by the Jewish community in general towards the effects they had to go through and suffer because of the Holocaust during the Second World War. It is based on a global discrimination towards them.