Pure Daft

Resistance during the Holocaust

22 Jul 2007

I’ve been watching Sunshine (1999) and The Pianist (2002) this afternoon, both of which highlight Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. One question asked in both films, which I’ve also heard before from acquaintances, was ‘why don’t the Jews fight back?’ Of course, there was resistance.

A quick search found at least one source on the web which lists a few publications of stories that survived the Holocaust and inform of resistance.

Sunshine, a film by István Szabó spanning three generations, has the following moral message towards the end of the film:

If you feel you have the right to put yourself ahead of others because you think you know more than they do, you are wrong. Never allow yourself to be driven into the sin of conceit. Conceit is the greatest of sins. The source of all other sins.

— Ignatz Sonnenschein in Sunshine (2002) by István Szabó