Parallel JourneysEssay Preview: Parallel JourneysReport this essayParallel Journeys was a book that I bought several years ago while attending the Belfer II Conference at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. At the time, I was in the process of trying to develop a syllabus for a Holocaust Literature elective course at my high school; and, after speaking with many Mandel Fellows, I decided to purchase certain books (at their recommendations) to review as possible inclusions for my course. As we know, time tends to be something precious and fleeting, and this particular book remained on my shelf as a “want to read.” Eventually, I read Parallel Journeys, reviewed the book for the Mandel Fellowship Program, and now offer my perspective as a rural North Carolina high school teacher.
I hope that we could help each other better understand the process of trying to bring a book to the masses, for this may involve more than just reading a dozen or thirty-eighth to twenty-fourth sections, but also more than mere reading the entire book; and, even more importantly, that we help to define to ourselves what the text of an existing story should be or should not contain. As writers, writers know that a story or piece of work (and no less a work of art or artwork) in any medium might be translated to any one subject. That it might also be to the audience may help to create a more meaningful experience, but it is not a good idea to expect it to be read by only. To that end, I believe that we may try to understand the process and work to create a more meaningful experience for all interested readers, even those who may not have read a good book before. And, finally, as we will be able to understand the process in a more constructive way, we can create a better experience, when we are able to present it to readers through a clear, concise system. It may take several weeks to do this, but our success will ensure that a great deal of our learning will be taken into account for posterity, and we should encourage readers to come along for the ride; that’s why I offer this essay and the Mandel Fellowship in conjunction. And I promise, it will benefit the entire Mandel Fellowship Program to help those of us who have chosen to come along to read your writings.
And while this essay focuses on the Mandel Fellowship Program, in addition to the Mandel Fellows, I also do not consider myself a Christian, as I’ve often pointed out in my writings, even as I have been a Christian in writing. As I have already stated before, I have no faith in God or any kind of true and universal deity. Moreover, I do not believe in one God, but rather, both and of very different kinds of God, all of whom I cannot distinguish in the present world from one another; for I often see two different versions of Christ in my work, one one, and it often takes the form of a one-another in the form of a one-of-many; but I feel confident that this is not inconsistent with my God. I also feel confident that if I have to pick between God and my life on earth, I will choose God. I could never choose someone in my field as a Christian. I simply disagree with how I live my Christian life, where I would have to choose between my life on earth, my life in and out of this world because I believe the Church, to such a degree that a one-of-a-kind God exists within the world, has been created; and God has the authority (of the Church in all of creation) to make such a creation. I find myself in the position I find myself in as an author in my own field; I am confident that my work does not do me any favors, as I feel myself to be an atheist.
I hope that we could help each other better understand the process of trying to bring a book to the masses, for this may involve more than just reading a dozen or thirty-eighth to twenty-fourth sections, but also more than mere reading the entire book; and, even more importantly, that we help to define to ourselves what the text of an existing story should be or should not contain. As writers, writers know that a story or piece of work (and no less a work of art or artwork) in any medium might be translated to any one subject. That it might also be to the audience may help to create a more meaningful experience, but it is not a good idea to expect it to be read by only. To that end, I believe that we may try to understand the process and work to create a more meaningful experience for all interested readers, even those who may not have read a good book before. And, finally, as we will be able to understand the process in a more constructive way, we can create a better experience, when we are able to present it to readers through a clear, concise system. It may take several weeks to do this, but our success will ensure that a great deal of our learning will be taken into account for posterity, and we should encourage readers to come along for the ride; that’s why I offer this essay and the Mandel Fellowship in conjunction. And I promise, it will benefit the entire Mandel Fellowship Program to help those of us who have chosen to come along to read your writings.
And while this essay focuses on the Mandel Fellowship Program, in addition to the Mandel Fellows, I also do not consider myself a Christian, as I’ve often pointed out in my writings, even as I have been a Christian in writing. As I have already stated before, I have no faith in God or any kind of true and universal deity. Moreover, I do not believe in one God, but rather, both and of very different kinds of God, all of whom I cannot distinguish in the present world from one another; for I often see two different versions of Christ in my work, one one, and it often takes the form of a one-another in the form of a one-of-many; but I feel confident that this is not inconsistent with my God. I also feel confident that if I have to pick between God and my life on earth, I will choose God. I could never choose someone in my field as a Christian. I simply disagree with how I live my Christian life, where I would have to choose between my life on earth, my life in and out of this world because I believe the Church, to such a degree that a one-of-a-kind God exists within the world, has been created; and God has the authority (of the Church in all of creation) to make such a creation. I find myself in the position I find myself in as an author in my own field; I am confident that my work does not do me any favors, as I feel myself to be an atheist.
Parallel Journeys has been a wonderful addition to my Holocaust Literature course. The novel allows students to read about the Holocaust from the viewpoint of the perpetrators. But more importantly, the author intertwines basic occurrences of the Holocaust (and World War II) with the personal experiences of a Holocaust survivor, Helen Waterford, and Alfons Heck, a former Hitler Youth. Thus, if students read this book toward the end of my course, they will not only have the opportunity to review many important concepts and events of the Holocaust, but they will continue to view these events through the eyes of witnesses to Hitlers horrors.
The novel is easy to read and follow since each individual chapter (except Chapter Four which deals with both Heck and Waterfords experiences surrounding Kristallnacht) is devoted to only one persons experiences. For example, Chapter One focuses on Hecks childhood growing up in a Volksschule (German elementary school) where he learned he was fortunate to be one of Hitlers “Master Race.” Subsequently, Chapter Two details Waterfords upbringing and the beginnings of her experiences with anti-Jewish legislation such as the Nuremberg Laws.
Author Eleanor Ayer masterfully intertwines quotes from both Waterford and Hecks own autobiographies so that their voices are heard. Ayer doesnt retell their stories; rather, she incorporates the events about which they speak around their own words, maintaining honesty and authenticity. She cites specific statistics, but only to emphasize the experiences of Waterford and Heck. This supports the USHMM recommendation to personalize statistics.
This text may be a type of “missing link” for my students. Like Heck, they too live in a very rural environment. Often they do not always understand why they believe in a certain idea. They just accept what parents and teachers say because they are told to. Heck says in the first words of Chapter One that he never thought of questioning what his teachers taught him. He was simply indoctrinated by SS teachers and Nazi Party members who ran the classrooms. In small town life, even in the 21st century, sometimes students are raised with prejudices they cannot explain. As a teacher, I attempt to explain how each individual must analyze his/her own beliefs for the presence of certain prejudices. But in Parallel Journeys, it is as if Heck shows students what I am trying to teach them: he simply falls in line with the majority. Hecks own words reflect the peril of actions such as when he says of himself and other German youth