Sonderkommando

Sonderkommandos http://upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Auschwitz_Resistance_280_cropped. jpg/555px- Auschwitz_Resistance_280_cropped. jpg Table of contents Introduction3 The need of sonderkommandos4 Politics4 gas chamber5 The work of the sonderkommandos8 Revolts within the camps10 Survivors12 Resources16 Introduction When one thinks of concentration camps, the link to the gas chambers will be made without difficulties. However, do people really know how they worked and who where needed to let these killing machines function?The answer is no, some can still tell how the gas chambers worked, but barely anyone knows who worked inside them and that they had to abide the most horrific events that took place in the second world war. This paper is dedicated to those who we don’t know about, the ones we would rather know nothing of, the ones who can never be forgotten. In order to understand what really happened inside these sonderkommandos and their highly unusual workplace, it is vital to obtain some knowledge about the Nazis and their ‘final solution’ first.This paper will try to give a clear overview of the road towards the implementation of the gas chambers, the life of the people that lived inside of these sonderkommandos, the uprise that took place within the sonderkommando of Auschwitz Birkenau, known survivors from sonderkommandos, and the aftermath. There is barely any information available about this topic, I tried to use as many different sources as possible. There are some testimonies made about some of the survivors filmed by the SHOAH foundation, which can be found on Youtube.Some other survivors have written down their story in books, and others drew pictures of the events that they witnessed. All of these sources where extremely important in the creation of this paper because the Nazis never documented anything of these events that took place within the gas chambers. Their primary goal was to extinguish all evide nce created around their ‘final solution’ of the non Aryans. This paper will mostly be focused on Auschwitz and its sonderkommando, since most information available is from this camp. The need for sonderkommandosBefore explaining what the sonderkommandos did and how they operated it is necessary to explain why they were needed. There will be an explanation from the political point of view as well as the invention of the gas chamber. Politics After the first world war, Germany was forced to oblige to the Versailles treaty. This treaty stated that Germany and its allies were fully responsible for the damage and losses during the first world war. This resulted in paying a high sum of money namely, 132 billion marks for reparations, it lost around 20 percent of its territory and it had to minimize the army.The German population was devastated by this treaty but they never saw it as official. During the Weimar government Germany experienced hyperinflation which was the effec t of the Versailles treaty, this was the first time that Hitler tried to get the power in Germany in November 1923, however, it failed but it made him and his party the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) known with the public. Hitler got arrested for his attempt and was sentenced to 5 years in prison, he got out within one year.While he was in jail he wrote his infamous book ‘Mein Kampf’, in this book he describes his view on the Versailles treaty, the Jews and other minorities, the superiority of the Aryan race, and that Germany needs more territory for the Aryans. Hitler on the cover of his book, Mein Kampf http://www. nazi. org. uk/hitler-racial-state_files/image004. jpg During the elections of 1932 the NSDAP won a significant amount of seats in the Reichstag, it rose from 107 to 230, and it became the largest political party with 37,4 percent of Germany.Hitler became chancellor on the 30th of January 1933 from a government that was quite divided, even though the NSDAP was the largest party the SPD and KPD were also represented in the Reichstag. In this government there were only two ministers from the last named parties whereas all the other ministers were members from the NSDAP, Hitler almost took over all power within one year after the elections. The NSDAP made the ? enabling pact? which basically gave the parliament the power to make laws without consulting the Reichstag.When President von Hindenburg died on the second of August 1934, Hitler became president due to a law that passed one day before. This law stated that the office of president would no longer exist and that the powers of the president would merge with those of the chancellor. Hitler now had all power in Germany and he was able to implement his vision of Germany without any resistance. The Final Solution can be divided in three phases. The first phase was between 1933 and 1939, it affected Jews within the borders of the German empire.As Hitler described i n his book, Germany needed more space for the Aryans to live in and that the German race should be purified, this meant that the non Aryans had to leave. At first mass immigration sounded like the solution, it would be the easiest and cheapest option, however, the non Aryans would not just leave their homes and mother country for no reason, most of these families lived in Germany for generations. Therefore the NSDAP came up with a boycott of Jewish stores on the first of April 1933, this had barely any effect on Germany.Some Jews tried to leave Germany but foreign countries were not eager to let them in, emigration was not an option. The Nuremberg laws was the next step, these laws were written in 1935 and are also known as ? the laws for protection of German blood and German honor?. These laws had a large impact on the life of the Jews. The Jews were deprived from their citizenship, they were not allowed to marry or to have an Aryan, that marriages and relationships between Jews an d Germans were prohibited, Jews were not allowed to show the national flag or the national colors.Besides these new rules, the Nuremberg laws also stated who was considered to be a Jew. Half Jews were considered to be full Jews and were only allowed to marry a full Jew or another half Jew, whereas a quarter Jew was only allowed to marry an Aryan. After the murder on Vom Rath, a member of the Nazi party, by a 17 year old Jewish boy, on the 7th of November 1938. The Nazi? s retaliated on the Jews by destroying Jewish property on the 10th of November, such as stores and synagogue, this night became known as Kristallnacht. Besides the demolishment, 91 Jews were killed, and an estimated 30. 00 Jews were sent to concentration camps. After this event the majority of the Jewish population tried to emigrate away from Europe? s mainland, but again, like a couple of years before, other countries were not willing to let them in and most were deported back to Europe. Gas chambers As said before, Hitler wanted to free Germany from the non Aryans, when it became clear that mass emigration did not work, other options had to be considered. The Nazis had started with the compulsory sterilization of disabled people since 1933, an estimated 360. 00 persons were sterilized between 1933 and 1939. When Aktion T4 started in 1939 it began by killing children with a shot of phenol, who suffered from the down syndrome or another non curable illnesses. The second step was to murder adults with a range of different diseases such as: dementia, syphilis, epilepsy, and others. A lethal injection was a not very effective method because it was time consuming and too expensive. It was Hitler who recommended to use carbon monoxide on adults, the first test with gassing people took place in January 1940.The results were satisfying for the people who were concerned and it was applied to multiple euthanasia centers across Germany. Aktion T4 made 70. 273 victims and was shut down in 1941. Before the Jews and other non Aryans were sent to the gas chambers they were murdered by special SS groups. These SS groups also known as Sonderkommandos, when working on German territory or Einsatzgruppen, when working on foreign ground, performed killings by shooting entire Jewish populations to death. These mass murdering started from 1941 in the western part of Russia as well as in Ukraine, Bulgaria, and other eastern European countries.All victims had to undress themselves and they would be shot or killed by a gas van. The estimated amount of deaths that these SS groups are accountable for is around 2 million, which is 25 to 30 percent of the deaths on non Aryans made by Nazi Germany(approximately 6 million). These large scaled murders were quite hard for the SS men to deal with, the SS soldiers that were selected for these task were not able to keep on doing this without experiencing mental problems. Himmler himself had witnessed the work of one of the Einsatzgruppen in Minsk were a 100 Jews were shot.According to Karl Wollf, his face turned green and vomited after witnessing the event. Killing all Jews by guns was not doable mentally and economically, since gassing disabled people was a ‘success’ during Aktion T4, camps were designed with the implementation of gas chambers. When Germany took over Poland in 1939 all Jews were forced to live together in ghettos in big cities, that were easily accessible by railroads. By having all Jews together in large ghettos it will make it easier for the Nazis to deport them to concentration or death camps.Concentration camps were around since 1933, Dachau was the first official one to open, they were build to house political prisoners of the Nazi regime, they were forced to do intense labor, the living conditions were miserable. Around December 1941, Hitler decided that all the European Jews had to be exterminated, Hitler putted Himmler in charge of his ‘final solution’ which stated that the Jews were forced to work till death and the weak, old and disabled would be killed immediately. The code name of this project was operation Reinhart, and it’s sole purpose was to create extermination camps that could kill all the Polish Jews.Multiple death camps were build such as: Chelmno, Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor, even though Auschwitz and Madjanek are considered to be death camps too, they were also functioning as labor camps. Death camps in occupied Poland http://upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/WW2-Holocaust-Poland. PNG The death camps that were designed and build during operation Reinhart all had overall the same layout and were all located near a rail line, this was important in order to get the victims easy in to the camp. Chelmno used gas vans and had no crematoria, the bodies were burned in pits in the woods.Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka all had gas chambers that worked on diesel engines, Auschwitz and Madjanek both used Zyklon B to gas the victims. The f irst test with Zyklon B took place in Auschwitz in the infamous block 11 on Russian prisoners of war, Zyklon B was previously used to disinfect clothes. These tests with this gas were very effective, it was less time consuming that using gas chambers operating with diesel engines and it was less expensive. The work of the sonderkommando When a train would arrive in Auschwitz, a selection was made between the ones who were fit to work and the ones who were assumed not to be able to work.The group of people who did not pass the selection would be sent to the gas chambers. Once arriving in the crematorium, they were told by the SS guards to undress themselves and to proceed to the showers. To make the process faster the victims were told that after the shower they would be provided with a meal. Within the undressing rooms there were little hooks which were intended to hang clothes on, the SS guards would tell the people to remember their number so that they would be able to find their clothes back after the shower. When entering in the gas chamber it didn’t look that suspicious since showerheads were placed on the ceiling.When the whole selected transport was inside the gas chamber, the door would be locked and an SS guard would pour the Zyklon B gas from the roof into the gas chamber trough a little opening. It took a couple of minutes before the gas started to work, it would spread from the bottom to the top of the room, after 20 minutes all the persons inside the room were dead. Once the gas chamber was cleared from the corpses, the whole room had to be cleaned and repainted in order not to look suspicious for the next victims. The bodies were send up to the furnace area, in which they were cremated.The whole process of arriving till death took place within 3 hours, multiple transports per crematorium would be processed during a day. The members of the sonderkommando were forced to participate throughout this whole process, their job consisted out of di fferent tasks. A few would assist in the undressing room where they helped people to undress and to get into the gas chambers, if a member would speak the language of the people who were about to be murdered, he would translate the orders from the SS guard in order to make the process go faster.Two members of the sonderkommando were needed on the roof of the gas chamber were they had to lift off the heavy lid to the opening for the Zyklon B crystals. After the people were deceased, an air ventilator would be switched on the refresh the air, the door to the gas chamber would be opened, after which the members from the sonderkommando had to drag every victim out by using a cane of a string of fabric. The Zyklon B gas had a weird effect on the dead bodies, a person would get rid of all its body fluids when the gas started to work.This meant that all the bodies were covered in urine, blood, vomit and feces. Once the bodies came out of the gas chamber, the members of the sonderkommando h ad to place the bodies on a small elevator which would bring the bodies up to the furnace area. Up in the crematorium other members had to put the corpses on a metal stretcher and throw them into the ovens. Once the bodies were cremated, the large pieces of bones would be crushed by some members in a huge grinder, all the ashes would be collected and dumped in a river close by.Besides working inside the gas chambers, the members of the sonderkommando also had to burn people in massive pits, the crematoriums could not always handle the amount of corpses that needed to be cremated. Another task that they sometimes had to perform was to walk a victim, mostly elderly, up a stair where a SS guard was hiding, who would shoot the victim in the neck. These people were not able to go in to the gas chamber and therefore were murdered in a different way. The members of the sonderkommando were not allowed to communicate with other prisoners within the camp.Their standards of living were higher than in the rest of the camp, they all had a bed and the food supply was better due to what they could find in the victims possessions. Even though they had a bit more advantages from other prisoners, the Nazis did everything possible to make their live harder and more complicated. A member of the sonderkommando dragging people out of the gas chamber, drawn by David Olere http://1. bp. blogspot. com/-GwK8gwHiSn0/TdLwHbiBY5I/AAAAAAAABfo/o5dL0rdbRas/s1600/Sonderkommando. JPGIn the Jewish faith it is not appropriate to touch a body when it is not clean, this is just one example of the methods the Nazis used to make the lives of the Jews inside these sonderkommandos more miserable. Besides witnessing the horrors of their job there was another factor that was a threat to them, the Nazis tried to replace the members of the sonderkommando regularly, they did not want to have survivors who could testify what they had seen and witnessed. In Auschwitz there were approximately 1200 workers imp risoned in the different sonderkommandos spread over the five different crematoriums.Revolts within the camps After news of the revolt in the ghetto of Warsaw and the losses of the German Army in Stalingrad and north Africa, the Jewish prisoners within the death camps got a little more faith in surviving their ordeals. Multiple uprisings against the Nazis took place within the camps. Treblinka After the last transport came into the camp in the beginning of 1943, the Treblinka prisoners were participating in clearing all the evidence from the Treblinka site.Mass graves were opened and all corpses had to be burned, when this work was almost completed, the Jews noticed that once the work was finished they would be killed to erase the last trace of evidence. On the second of August 1943 they revolted against the Nazis by attending a mass escape. Their plan was to take over control of the camp, however it failed, all prisoners stormed to the main gate and around 300 were able to escape. Most of the camp of Treblinka was burned down during the revolt. Sobibor When the prisoners realized that less transports were coming in, like in Teblinka, they decided to take matters into their own hands.Individual escapes were not a good option, since the SS would retaliate against the remaining prisoners, a plan had to be created that could get the whole prisoner population out. When a transport with Russian prisoners of war came in everything changed, one of these inmates was Sasja Petsjerski. He and a Jewish inmate created a plan where the SS guards and Ukranians would be killed, telephone cords would be cut, and the whole camp population would escape at once. The revolt took place on the 14th of October 1943, from the 600 camp population, 300 made it out of the gates alive.The estimated number of survivors is around 50 to 70 people. The 100 members of the sonderkommando of Sobibor did not participate in this uprising and were all murdered the next day. Sobibor closed down aft er this revolt. Auschwitz Within Auschwitz the plan of revolting against the Germans already existed for a longer period of time, there was contact between the polish underground and members of the sonderkommando. Even though members of the sonderkommando were not allowed to communicate with other prisoners, they established contact when picking up the soup in the kitchen in the women’s camp.Besides exchanging information, gun powder which was taken by female prisoners, was given to members of the sonderkommando. When the incoming transports were reducing rapidly in the fall of 1944, the revolt was planned, which was executed on the 7th of October 1944. The plan was that all crematoriums would escape at the same time, however, it started in crematorium IV by accident. The members of the sonderkommando used the gunpowder that was smuggled in to blow up the crematorium. Members of the sonderkommando of crematorium II and IV tried to escape through the fences into the woods.Insi de crematorium III the kapo decided that it would be better not to attend the revolt and to remain inside. The men from the two other crematoriums were either killed in the revolt, or killed after they were captured again. After this event crematorium IV and crematorium III were not in function anymore and they were demolished, the members of the remaining sonderkommando were given instructions to tear down the gas chambers, they were the only ones who were allowed down there. The outer part of the buildings were taken down by normal prisoners.After the revolt the members of the sonderkommando slept in a small building in the men’s camp of Birkenau. When the death marches started in January 1945, the members of the sonderkommando blended themselves into groups of other prisoners who were leaving the camp with these marches. After they mingled with other prisoners it was impossible for the SS to find the members back. These survivors have been important in order to understand how the final solution took place. Survivors of sonderkommandos Known survivor Treblinka: Martin Gray 27-4-1922-Born in Warsaw, he was able to escape from Treblinka, after the war he married a Dutch woman and got four children together, whom all died in a forest fire in 1970. He remarried and is still lecturing all over the world. Known survivor Chelmno: Michal Podchlebnik Worked in Chelmno in the waldkommando, his job was to bury the victims of the Chelmno gas trucks, he also tidied up the changing rooms after the people were gassed. He heard how the people were gassed. He was able to escape from Chelmno in 1942. Known survivors sonderkommando Auschwitz: The highest amount of survivors is from Auschwitz as described in the previous chapter.The list created below, is putted together with the use of multiple websites and books. There are more survivors but some were not willing to share their stories and never wanted to speak their ordeals ever again. Israel Gutman 1923- Born in Wars aw, participated in the Warsaw revolt. He was send to several camps afterwards, he was one of the creators of the sonderkommando revolt. After the war he testified in the Eichmann process. Milton Buki 1909-1988 Prisoner number: 80312 Morris kesselman Prisoner number: 11900 Yosef sackar Prisoner number: 182739 Avraham Dragon 1919-2007 Prisoner number: 80360 Szlamo Dragon Prisoner number: 80359Brother of Avraham Dragon Daniel Behnnamias 1923-1994 Prisoner number: 182477 Greek Jew with Italian nationality who after the war, wrote a book called the holocaust odyssey of Daniel Behnnamias, he died in Oakland, United States. Alter Fajnzylberg 23/10/1910-? Prisoner number: 27675 Arrived in Auschwitz on the 27th of March 1942, he witnessed the gassing of the gypsies. Shlomo Venezia 29/12/1923-1/10/2012 Prisoner number: 182727 Wrote a book about his experiences in Auschwitz called ‘inside the gas chambers’. After the war he found his older sister Rachel back, his mom and two litt le sister were murdered on arrival.Morris Venezia 2/1921-? Prisoner number: 182728 A Greek Jew with Italian nationality, he is the older brother of Shlomo Venezia. Dario Gabbai 1922-? Prisoner number: 182568 A Jew from Greece, he was in the same transport as a lot of other survivors. After the war he shared his story with many others, he believed that his testimony is important to picture the complete story of the horrors that took place. Dario Gabbai, Shlomo and Morris Venezia went back to Auschwitz to participate in a documentary called: Auschwitz, the final witness. Jakov Gabbai 1912-1993 Prisoner number: 182569 The older brother of Dario Gabbai.Henryk Tauber 8/7/1917-? Prisoner number: 90124 A Polish Jew who arrived in Auschwitz at 19th of January 1943, he had a few different jobs in the camp before he was selected for the sonderkommando. After the war he testified for a Polish court. Filip Muller 1922- Prisoner number: 29236 Fillip Muller, born in Czechoslovakia, worked for alm ost 3 years in the sonderkommando, this is an extremely long time whereas most others would not work longer that 3 months to a half a year inside the crematoriums. After the war he wrote a book about his ordeal called ‘eyewitness Auschwitz: three years in the gas chambers’ Henryk Mandelbaum 5/12/1922-17/6/2008 Prisoner number: 181970 After the war, Henryk dedicated himself to teach others about his own experiences of being a member of the sonderkommando. He always kept his tattoo to remind himself what he went through. Leon Cohen 1910-1989 Prisoner number: 182492 Wrote a book from Greece to Birkenau, which is dedicated to the uprising in the crematoriums. While he was working in the sonderkommando, he carried out a job as a dentist, he had to pull out the golden teeth from the deceased in crematorium III. David Olere 19/01/1902-2/8/1985Prisoner number: 106144 David Olere was transported from transition camp Drancy in France to Auschwitz on the 49th transport on the seco nd of March 1943. He worked as a member of the sonderkommando his entire stay in Auschwitz. On the 19th of January he was evacuated from the camp by participating in a death march which led him to Ebensee in Austria, he got liberated on the 6th of May 1945 by the American army. After the war, David Olere used his painting skills to create an image of what happened inside the crematoriums and gas chambers of Auschwitz.No pictures or video material of the gas chambers and the crematoriums was ever shot, therefore his drawings and paintings are considered valuable. Miklos Nyiszli 16/6/1901-5/5/1956 Prisoner number: A8450 Miklos Nyiszli was deported to Auschwitz in June 1944 with his wife and daughter, at arrival he told the staff he was a doctor. He was forced to work as Mengele’s assistant and to perform autopsies in the crematorium. After he got liberated from the Donau camp on may 5th 1945 by the U. S. Army he found his wife and daughter back. He died of a heart attack in 195 6. ResourcesThe need for sonderkommandos http://www1. yadvashem. org/yv/en/education/languages/dutch/encyclopedia/19. asp http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Mein_Kampf http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nuremberg_Laws http://yalepress. yale. edu/yupbooks/excerpts/greif_wept. pdf http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler http://www. duitslandweb. nl/naslagwerk/Geschiedenis/Derde+Rijk+tot+1939/Machtigingswet+en+gelijkschakeling. html http://www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14977. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Action_T4 http://www. youtube. com/watch? =LJ8ogV5e8co&feature=related http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Karl_Wolff http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmler http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Operation_Reinhard uprisings http://www. holocaustresearchproject. org/revolt/sonderevolt. html http://cohen. gr/newsite/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=2278:-2&catid=69:2011-03-21-15-02-30&Itemid=78 http://www. sobiborinterviews. nl/en/the-revol t/the-revolt http://www. ushmm. org/outreach/en/article. php? ModuleId=10007747 survivors http://fcit. usf. edu/holocaust/ARTS/DOBIO/DOarts. HTM http://www. ewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/biography/HenrykMandelbaum. html http://www. go2war2. nl/artikel/2541/Mikl%C3%B3s-Nyiszli-het-Sonderkommando-in- Auschwitz-Birkenau. htm http://www. mazal. org/archive/documents/Tauber/Tauber01. htm http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=P-IinMCbdJA http://www. nytimes. com/2012/10/07/books/shlomo-venezia-auschwitz-sonderkommando-and-survivor-dies-at-88. html? _r=0 http://sonderkommando. info/proces/cracovie/temoins/feinsilber/index. html http://www. schoah. org/shoah/holocaust/greif-0. htm http://www. martingray. eu/ Books used: Sonderkommando Auschwitz Shlomo VeneziaISBN: 9789026321016 Europe reborn Harold James ISBN: 0-582-21533-1 Ooggetuigen van Sobibor Jules Schelvis ISBN: 9789026323140 ————————————— Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [ 1 ]. Official number from the Nazi party, however, the number of deaths is probably much higher. [ 2 ]. Reichsfuhrer of the SS, he formed the SS einsatzgruppen and created the extermination camps. He is accountable for the deaths of millions of Jews. [ 3 ]. SS grupenfuhrer, and Himmler’s ‘ears and eyes’ within Hitler’s headquarters. [ 4 ]. First death camp build. [ 5 ]. Might contain errors, since no real official lists excists.

The Change-Personal Narrative Essay - 1259 Words

The Change-Personal Narrative The New Year filled me with the desire to pursue new adventures. Like most people, I became consumed in the January resolution ritual of making promises of changing my life, but retreating from them as March approaches. But I decided to carry through with my commitments this year. Three of my closest friends and I decided to challenge ourselves after days of relaxation in the safety and shelter of civilization and to return to the isolation of the wilderness. Despite the nobility of our quest we were forced to bring along miniature symbols of the world we were leaving for basic survival such as a propane stove, expensive sleeping bags, and two light weight tents. A eighteen mile overnight adventure†¦show more content†¦After a brief navigational error from a missed turn, the starting point of our journey came upon us. The sun had just climbed over the first huge hill and its brilliant rays shone upon us as we set off on our journey. 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What are tax expenditures What are their strengths and weaknesses - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1077 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? What are tax expenditures? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Definition: Tax expenditures or tax breaks are revenue losses attributable to tax provisions. According to (OEDC, 2010) â€Å"tax expenditures are provisions that let certain groups of people, such as small businessmen, retired people or working mothers, or those who have undertaken certain activities, such as charitable donations, to pay less in taxes†. Tax expenditures often result from the use of the tax system to promote social goals. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What are tax expenditures? What are their strengths and weaknesses?" essay for you Create order In addition, tax expenditure reflects the ways in which governments spend money indirectly, through special provisions in the tax code (Howard, 2003). Tax expenditures include credits, deductions, preferential tax rates, and deferrals of tax liability (Howard 2102). Tax expenditures can take many forms. For instance: refundable tax expenditures at The US are the earned income tax credit (EITC), the child tax credit (CTC), and Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC). Tax expenditures strengths: I consider that tax expenditures have three main strengths: 1) Tax expenditure concept is broadly accepted among public finance and specialists as well (Howard 2003). 2) Most budget experts view tax expenditure as a useful tool in managing the size and scope of the federal government (Burman, 2003). According to Howard, tax expenditure is good tool for seeing â€Å"The hidden welfare state.† 3) From the point of view of moderates and conservatives, tax expenditures suggest greater possi bilities for social policy expansion, they are less intrusive and less bureaucratic, and promote individual choice (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). Tax expenditures weaknesses: From my point of view tax expenditures have three main weaknesses: 1) Unfair distributional effect. According to Howard (2007, 2012) in the case of The United States tax break significantly aggravates inequalities of income and wealth (Howard, Tax Expenditure: What They Are and Who Benefits, 2012). Most U.S tax expenditures favor high earners. Tax relief is most valuable to people who have high taxes (Halfmann 2014). For instance: mainly tax expenditures like the home mortgage interest deduction benefit primarily the middle and upper-middle classes (Howard 2007). Another example that shows this disparities is the fact that affluent workers are more likely to work for companies that offer pension and health benefits subsidized by taxpayers, while many low-wage workers work at small businesses that do not offer benefits and hence do not enjoy this tax break (Howard 2007). 2) Limited transparency, tax expenditures are tax provisions that are not structural features of the income tax or necessary to measure income accurately. Therefore is hard for policy-makers to control (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014) 2) Tax expenditures reflect political power.As I said before, U.S tax expenditures favor high earners. Therefore the most interest to maintain this scenario are employers, insurers, health care industry who participate directly or indirectly from the benefit of tax expenditures. Tax expenditure is pushed by providers not beneficiaries (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). These providers play an important role in support political campaigns (Howard, 2007). 3. What are the main differences between the social welfare systems of the United States and Sweden? From my point of view, there are three main differences between the social welfare systems of the United States and Sweden. These a re: 1) Spending as proportion of GDP 2) Welfare regime, and 3) Gender equality. Spending as proportion of GDP. The public social expenditure as a percentage of GDP is 15.8% at The U.S. and 35.7% at Sweden. Considering tax expenditure, the relative size the American welfare state is 16.5% and at Sweden 28.5%. Therefore, under the last comparison Swedish welfare states is 1.7 times larger than the U.S. (Howard, 2003) Welfare regime. According to Olsen (2002) The United States of America has a liberal welfare regime, where the logic of the market and minimal state intervention are highlighted. It is decentralized and tax expenditure plays an important role. The U.S. as a liberal welfare state has very basic social safety net. In general liberal social programs are reactive rather than preventive. Liberal welfare states are characterized by the predominance of social assistance. This is mainly direct cash transfers or social services that use some income test to define eligibility or in some social programs the recipients for receive the benefit must be working. A good example of that is Earned Income Tax Credit. In contrast, Sweden has a social democratic welfare regime. This regime tries to provide optimal condition than only to provide basic social safety net. Their objective is not only to help the poor. They try to abolish poverty and they fight for a more egalitarian distribution of the income. In this con text full employment, well-paying job, active labor market policy, universal health care services, sickness insurance, safe working environment, generous unemployment insurance, and decent retirement are considered basis right for the residents among others (Olsen, 2002), (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). In addition Swedish welfare has other specific programs for target population such as elderly, disabled, substance abusers, refugees and immigrants (Olsen, 2002) Furthermore, Swedish welfare has high decommodification, making people less reliant on on labor market for subsistence (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). Gender equality. There is a huge difference how The U.S and Swedish welfare addresses gender equality in its policies. At The U.S. exists a difference between gender roles. For instance: in some areas men are getting paid more than women, there are employer discrimination in relation to women (Mommy tax) (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). In addition, Orloff, (2002) states that The U.S. welfare has eliminated social rights and caregiving. For example: poor single mother has to work in order to receive the benefits of EITC program, but they cannot take care for their children full time. According to (Bennhold, 2010) there is gender equality in Sweden and it is fair for both women and men. For instance, it exists: job protection for non-working mothers until child is school-age 2) Paid pregnancy and Swedish fathers are mandated to take parental leave 2) and also it exists tax relief for working parents, especially single ones (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014) References Bennhold, K. (2010, June 9). In Sweden, Men Can Have It all. New York Times. Burman, L. (2003). Is the Tax Expenditure Concept Still Relevant? National Tax Journal, 613-27. Halfmann, D. (2014). Social Policy [PowerPoint slides, Lecture Notes]. Howard , C. (2003). Is the American Welfare state Unusually Small? Political Sciences and Politics , 411-416. Howard, C. (2007). The Haves and the Have-Lots. Democracy Journal, 48-58. Howard, C. (2012). Tax Expenditure: What They Are and Who Benefits. Cambridge: Scholars Strategy Network. OEDC. (2010). Tax Expenditures in OECD Countries. Paris: OECD. Olsen, G. (2002). The Politics of the Welfare State: canada Sweden and the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Orloff, A. (2002). Explaining US welfare reform: power, gender, race and the US policy legacy. Critical Social Policy, 96–118.

American Sniper Essay - 1331 Words

â€Å"Al-Shaitan† â€Å"The American Sniper† by Chris Kyle is an account of the deadliest American sniper ever, called â€Å"the devil† by the enemies he hunted and â€Å"the legend† by his Navy SEAL brothers. From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109). Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (â€Å"the devil†) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Kyle presents the gripping and unforgettable accounts of†¦show more content†¦There are two primary views that rise from this question. The first argument claims that Chris Kyle’s actions are immoral because of his military service. T he first reason is that military service, such that Kyle served in, does not allow us to exercise our moral freedom as human beings. One 20th century thinker wrote a book entitled â€Å"Moral Man, Immoral Society,† pointing out that people are often corrupted when they are part of institutions that pressure them to act in ways they might not choose to act as individuals. In comparison no military organization could operate if it respected human moral independence, that is, the capacity of individuals to take full responsibility for their actions. In all military training anywhere in the world there is unquestioning obedience to orders, no matter what these orders are. Recruits are forced to do agonizing exercises or other absurd tasks to ensure that they will obey any order no matter what. Once in the military, there is no discussion of the rightness or wrongness of actions, just blind obedience and absolute, unquestioning submission to authority. This means that people are trained, forced under extreme pressure, to give up their moral independence and substitute the false dignity of the state and the military. The substitute values are forced upon recruits under such slogans as loyalty to one’s fighting unit, courage, honor, and discipline. But to give up one’s moral self-government is to give up one’sShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Movie American Sniper 1641 Words   |  7 Pageshorrors of terrorism on 9/11 he was ready to fight for his country and enlisted into the military. He goes on to fight in four tours and becomes the deadliest sniper in American history. After each tour, he felt that he had to go back. He had two goals that he couldn’t give up on; protecting his team and taking out the deadliest enemy sniper, Mustafa. Chris would not stop until he achieved his goals, when he finally did, he faced a new battle. He struggled with normal daily life, but even then heRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie American Sniper 1550 Words   |  7 PagesThe opening scene of the movie American Sniper, â€Å"which tells the story of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who shot his way to 160 confirmed kills in Iraq,† (Buckley) starts out when Chris Kyle was just a child and him and his father are out in the forest shooting deer and him beating up a bully who was picking on his little brother at school. Later on into Kyle s young adulthood he made a decision to quit being a cowboy rodeo star and instead enlist with the Navy SEALS in 1998. During this time Kyle meetsRead MoreAmerican Sniper Analysis1487 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿How does Clint Eastwood generate emotional response in ‘American Sniper’ (2014) I am going to micro analyse the scene from ‘American sniper’ when Chris Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper shoots a Taliban soldier carrying a rocket launcher and a little boy then picks it up. American Sniper is a film based on the biography of Chris Kyle (America’s most dangerous sniper), it was released in 2014 and was directed by Clint Eastwood. This essay will focus on the way that key micro features help to createRead MoreThe American Sniper By Chris Kyle1307 Words   |  6 PagesEnglish 11 â€Å"Al-Shaitan† â€Å"The American Sniper† by Chris Kyle is an account of the deadliest American sniper ever. He was called â€Å"the devil† by the enemies he hunted and â€Å"the legend† by his Navy SEAL brothers. From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyle s kills (the previous American record was 109). Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much theyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie American Sniper 1733 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"I’m willing to meet my creator and answer for every shot that I took†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (www.imdb.com). Kyle, in the movie American Sniper, says these exact words for a reason. Just like how Kyle had a specific reason for the words he said, Matt Taibbi, who wrote American Sniper Is Almost Too Dumb To Criticize, had a reason why he structured and presented the article the way he did; he has answers within the words to explai n why he wrote what he did for the most likely audience of Rolling Stone. Not only does TaibbiRead MoreArchetypal Analysis : American Sniper1003 Words   |  5 PagesAmerican Sniper: An Archetypal Analysis The movie American sniper is produced by Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Peter Morgan, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar. American Sniper was released in 2014, and America feels sympathy for this unfortunately true story. American sniper is about a Navy S.E.A.L, Chris Kyle, who is played by award winning Bradley Cooper. Chris Kyles is a confirmed sniper legend, taking on four tours in Iraq to protect his comrades. He faces much internal conflict in this time periodRead MoreAmerican Sniper By Chris Kyle1107 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"one shot, one kill†. American Sniper is written by Chris Kyle, and is an account of his four tours in the Iraq War as a Navy SEAL while earning his spot in history as the most lethal sniper in the United States military. During Kyle’s tours in Fallujah, Ramadi, and Sadr city he recorded over 160 confirmed kills. Kyle’s autobiography covers not only daily life on the war front, but the personal and family struggles at home while on hiatus f rom the War in Iraq. In American Sniper Chris Kyle providesRead MoreAmerican Sniper by Chris Kyle826 Words   |  3 PagesAmerican Sniper by Chris Kyle, is one of the most accurate depictions of the life in special operations as a US Navy Seal. Chris is the most lethal sniper in US. military history. With over 160 confirmed kills between 2003 to 2009. 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Chris Kyle Joined the Navy Seals leaving his wife and kids to protect his country. Throughout the movie it shows how being faithful and perseverance plays a big role in the world we are living in. Based on the complexity and actions of the characters, imagery, symbolism and the angles the camera took, the movie, â€Å" American Sniper† illuminates and emcopa sses a theme of Love and Perseverance. First of all, the movie â€Å"American Sniper†

Arthur Millers formation of a miserable story The Crucible Essay Example For Students

Arthur Millers formation of a miserable story The Crucible Essay The great play writer, Arthur Miller formed a miserable story The Crucible during the dark Mc Carthy Ela. The story was based on Salem Witch Trials and the event behind the history. The author created a parallel story to spend the reader the message of how he thinks about the Anti-Communism activity of the 1950s. The Salem Witch Trials and Anti-Communism activity of the 1950s are parallels. Many of the events are similar within The Crucible and the Red Scare. For example, Parris said, You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, (pg44) a situation often seen in the Red Scare. The people in The Crucible are forced to confess-which is very similar to when people needed to confess to keep their job or their life in the Red Scare. The author used these lines to show the evilness in Salem Witch Trials in relation to the Red Scare. For people to get freedom in the Red Scare they had to accuse others and that was the hunt rule. The same thing showed up in The Crucible, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of being a witch by poking a needle in herself as proof. To help Abigail accuse other, the helpers shouted Herrick, Herrick, it is a needle. (pg74) The author points out that there are people who know the truth but do not stand for it, like the girls in The Crucible. It wasnt easy to stand for the truth because people fear it so much. Certainly, the phrase crush him might indicate kill and destroy the devil when Parris tell the girl I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face. (pg39) No one really knows how the devil is and people think the devil is in the witchcraft, but the real devil is the fear of difference. Parris think the devil is going to destroy the town so he should destroy the devil. If there is fear inside him, the devil will never disappear; in reflection to the Red Scare, the whole idea about Anti-Communism was fear. So, Arthur Miller used The Crucible as a story to reflect and parallel the Red Scare in the 1950s. The Crucible is the message about how the author feels about the Anti-communism activity in the 1950s. The Arthur Miller used many symbolic phrases or events in The Crucible to express how he fells about the Red Scare. Like when Hale says, But you must understand, sir'(pg94), shows the people have been forced to understand. The word must conveys the people in the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare are making their choice under pressure. No one knows why the witch and the Communism are here because they can not know. But someone doesnt chose to exchange accusing others with freedom. When Giles says,I can not give you his name'(pg96), for himself, it means there are no name for him to give out; however, for the officers, it means he does not want to give out the name. The difference between the Giles and the officers are Giles believes in the truth, and the officers believe in a twisted mental idea. The officers are the people who have been twisted and twisting others, that was what authors message trying to say. Even though, they may find out they are wrong, they still think they should always be right. At one point of the story, John Proctor anger shouts in the front of everyone in the town before he die, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! (pg143). That proofed John Proctor made a real mans choice, and so did the author-Arthur Miller, he went to jail because he didnt want to twist the truth. John Proctors cry is the steadfast decision of the Arthur Miller. The author spends the reader his message of how he feels about the Red Scare by the symbolic story of The Crucible.