Pre–World War II European Jewish Life Photo Project
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Aimee Young, Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools’ High School, Loudonville, Ohio
STUDENT WORK SAMPLES
Date: 1981
Locale: Orlando, Florida
Date: 1937
Locale: Kraków, Poland
USHMM, courtesy of Hadassa Cudzynowski Gerstner
AMY DAHL, SOPHOMORE
I knew that life was normal for Jews before the war because the kids are outside playing on a bike or hanging out with their friends. They are also dressed normally and seem to be happy.
When I was searching through my family photos, I came across several that were similar to the pictures I had researched. I chose the picture of my brother on a tricycle because I found a picture of a little Jewish boy on his tricycle before the war. Both pictures show typical life, whether recent or back then, because most children have tricycles at some point in their early childhood.
The main similarity of both pictures is that they picture kids. Everywhere you go today you see children playing, and this also shows that Jewish children also did that before the war.
The comparison of these photos tells me that before the Nazis invaded their communities, Jews were free and able to live happily without persecution, just like me, because my photos are similar.
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