Comparative Essay Assignment: The End of WWII: Ethics and Experience

This essay is worth 15 points out of the final grade; the entire assignment is worth 18 points out of the final grade (15 for this essay and 3 for the Comparative Essay Dialogue/Discussion that precedes it).

Write a minimum 1500 word double-spaced, error-free essay fully responding to the following prompt:

It could be said that, at heart, the story of the “Final Solution” to the Jewish Question is the story of a total breakdown in the realm of human relationships and the ethics governing those relationships.

Please assess this claim through a comparative analysis of both assigned course texts by Wiesel and Levi, specifically considering the following questions:

• What does each author say about this breakdown?
• What are the key narrative moments that mark this breakdown in each author’s memoir?
• Were there relationships that survived this breakdown, and, if so, how does each author—and how would you—describe them and their value?

It is important that your answer address both perpetrator and victim perspectives on/experiences of the Holocaust.  While your answer should primarily utilize the books by Wiesel and Levi, you may refer directly and explicitly, with proper citation, to secondary sources such as Rubenstein & Roth and/or class lectures, as well as to other primary sources such as those found in Hochstadt—remember to include both the original source and the page number in Hochstadt in your citation.

Course materials from “Module 3: The End of WWII: Ethics and Experience” are relevant for this essay.  For citation style, use MLA style in-text citations, e.g., “(Levi 13)” plus a works cited page (which will not count towards your total word count); for more info and guidelines