Question

Think about the way Gerda described her town as they were being deported: “We had to march through our town. It was like going to an execution. People could be seen looking out from behind curtains. One man was painting a sign on a business. They were changing the marquee on the theater. And we were marching. The SS men took us to the railroad tracks, where the circus used to come.”

What must the deportees have been remembering and feeling? What were they maybe noticing that they hadn’t before? Can you imagine how it would feel to be in this position – to be kicked out of a community t

Answer 1

I think, with anyone forced to leave a community or land, you remember all of the aspects of the town that you won't ever be able to find again. I'm not sure where this is from, but I remember reading a book by Primo Levi (Holocaust survivor / author) where he talks about how when his family was forced to move to avoid capture, he thinks about all the people who there will never be a version of, such as the kid they all made fun of but was actually part of the gang, the girl he had a crush on but knew he would never tell, etc. I think there is a sense that you can never, ever encounter the exact same elements in your lifetime that you are leaving behind. Whether you are being deported in today's society, or being forced to move due to persecution, or being taken to a concentration camp (which is where I infer these people in the passage are being taken), I would imagine there is a sense that you'll never see the exact same things. For example, the business with a sign,, the marquee, the circus... they are still going to be there, but you will never get to participate in them, or ever find a version of them that feels the same.