Nazism In WW11 Lit Device Short Story

His eyes shot open. Ben Müller had been awaken by his loud dog barking. He quickly got out of bed to see what was going on, since his dog didn’t usually sound like that. Ben ran downstairs, only to find that his dog was sound asleep.

Where had the barking come from?, he thought.

Ben looked out the window, and people were being carried around the streets. Buildings were burning. It was only 2:09 in the morning.

What is going on?, Ben thought. Is there some sort of evening parade or celebration? A dance of sorts?

He was tired, and didn’t think much of it, so after watching out the window a few more seconds, he went back to sleep. He was only eight years old.

Ben woke up the next morning as usual, and after brushing his teeth, he quickly headed on his walk to school. Ben didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. He had also forgotten his glasses at home. To him, the trees were green, the sky was blue, and the cement of the sidewalk was white and bland as ever. He knew he had nothing to worry about. What he did notice, though, was that everything felt eerily quiet. A little peculiar, but Ben had an explanation for that too. He hadn’t seen his Dad in the morning, so he thought maybe he was giving a speech somewhere, as his Dad was the mayor of town, and that’s why no one was on the streets- they were busy watching a speech of his. Once again. Ben didn’t think much of this eerily quiet walk, as he had a perfectly logical explanation for it.

When he got to school though, that’s when things started to get really odd. He knew his friends didn’t want to go listen to a speech, yet none of them were their. In fact, everyone; the teachers, the students and the principal, were all MIA.

Do we not have school today? Is it a holiday? Is that what the parade was for?

But as much as Ben wanted to believe that, he knew it was not the case. He knew that that day was not a holiday, as his parents would have told him. And while Ben couldn’t see very well without his glasses, he could tell the school looked different. Something had gone wrong.

“A FIIIIIIIIRRRRE!!!??”, Ben screamed, “A FIRE must’ve destroyed the school! That’s why the buildings were burning, and that’s why there were people being carried!”.

Those people carrying those other people, they must have been firefighters. Saving people, carrying them away from the fire, Ben thought.

But even that explanation for this strange day didn’t quite satisfy Ben. He was still very worried.

Ben kept thinking, But where are all the people? Where are all the people?

Ben knew he needed to find mom and dad, to tell them what happened. He started running home, but after sprinting about 10 feet, he stepped on a piece of broken glass.

“Ahhhhhh!!!!”, Ben screamed. He couldn’t contain himself.

Ben could barely see his foot, since his vision was blurry without glasses. He was like a jellyfish with no eyes, ears, nose, hands or mouth, helpless and terrified- with no way of knowing what to do.

As fast as he could, Ben tried to pull the glass out of his foot. It wasn’t easy, since he could barely see it, but with a good grasp and strong pull, he got it out. His leg still killed though,  it was on fire.

As he tried to stand up, his Jewish star lockett that always stayed on his neck fell, and blew away in the wind, as it had been broken. Ben couldn’t see it in the rubble that covered the outside of his school, and he knew he would never get it back again. Gone forever.

Ben was crying. He tried to go home, he tried his best, but he felt like he was stepping on coals. His foot killed. He couldn’t go anywhere. But he knew that now, at least he was safe. No more fire or glass in his foot. He just sat their, crying, in the middle of the rubble.

Meanwhile, about a block away, four Nazi soldiers stood guard in front of the giant, white mayor’s office- it was one of the only buildings that looked just about unharmed.

“This went well”, one stated. “Yeah, I don’t think anyone survived!”, said another.

“Do you think we should go check out the area? No that it’s over?”, said the third of the soldiers.

“I don’t see why not,” stated the fourth. “It’s not like anyone’s over their watching us!”, he joked.

The four headed towards the school, towards the bank, and towards the shops. Towards the glass, towards the rubble, and towards Ben.

Within minutes, Ben noticed the four nazis coming towards him. He knew they would take him out at any cost, but Ben figured they were responsible for the destroyed town. So, rather than hiding, Ben decided he needed to do something. He would try to show Adolf Hitler who is boss.

Ben ran. He ran towards the men at a speed that was much faster than any eight year old should have been able to run. He kicked each Nazi soldier where they shouldn’t have been kicked, and they all at once fell to the ground. It was like Ben was given this amazing strength as a gift from the heavens for his bravery.

But before Ben could celebrate, he felt a bag being pulled over his head from behind, and the lack of air made Ben pass out on the ground.

The End

Epilogue

While Ben isn’t a real character, this story is based off the Night of Kristallnacht and it’s aftermath, with Ben representing one of the few survivors who were not carried from their homes while their town was being destroyed by Nazis. The Night of Kristallnacht, aka the Night of Broken Glass happened on November 9, 1938, and was in response to a 17 year old Jew from Paris who had shot down a member of the German Embassy. The point of the night was to destroy this town and many more, and transport all the Jewish citizens to Poland in boxcars where they would meet their death. That is probably what would have happened to Ben too.

Foreshadowing

In the beginning of the story it is stated that Ben saw people being carried from their homes and buildings on fire, he also hears his dog barking, but his dog is asleep. This foreshadows that something bad is happening, and someone is “barking” at others to do there job. It is supposed to represent Adolf Hitler yelling, as his voice was supposed to sound like a bark. Later, it is stated that Ben’s walk to school was eerily quiet, which foreshadows that again, something bad has happened.

Simile

“Like a jellyfish” and “like Ben was given this amazing strength… from the heavens” are both examples of similes. A simile is when two things are compared with like or as, which is shown here. The first simile shows that Ben was helpless, the second shows that Ben was almost magically given this strength he never knew he possessed.

Symbolism

This short passage: “his Jewish star lockett that always stayed on his neck fell, and blew away in the wind, as it had been broken. Ben couldn’t see it in the rubble that covered the outside of his school, and he knew he would never get it back again. Gone forever.” is symbolism. It symbolises that he know longer has control, as his necklace he wears everyday flies away, and it symbolizes that he know longer can be Jewish, he must become someone else entirely, or die.

Dramatic Irony

This passage:  But he knew that now, at least he was safe. No more fire or glass in his foot. He just sat their, crying, in the middle of the rubble.

Meanwhile, about a block away, four Nazi soldiers stood guard in front of the giant, white mayor’s office- it was one of the only buildings that looked just about unharmed.

“This went well”, one stated. “Yeah, I don’t think anyone survived!”, said another.

“Do you think we should go check out the area? No that it’s over?”, said the third of the soldiers.

“I don’t see why not,” stated the fourth. “It’s not like anyone’s over their watching us!”, he joked.

The four headed towards the school, towards the bank, and towards the shops. Towards the glass, towards the rubble, and towards Ben.” shows dramatic irony. We know that this is ironic, as both the Nazis and Ben think they are alone and safe, but the characters don’t know it is ironic.