20 pounds...
A Writing Assignment
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| A photo, taken circa 1937, of Gerda's father, Julius Weissmann, which Gerda kept in her ski boot during her years in Nazi slave-labor camps. Remember, Julius helped save Gerda's life by insisting that she wear her ski boots when the Nazis took her away. She had boots on the forced death march while others were barefoot or wearing sandals in the snow. |
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| A photo, taken circa 1939, of Gerda's mother, Helene Weissmann, which Gerda kept in her ski boot during her years in Nazi slave-labor camps. |
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| A photo, taken circa 1937, of Gerda's brother, Artur Weissmann, which Gerda kept in her boot with the other photos. Artur was the first in Gerda's immediate family to be taken away by the Nazis. Sixty-seven of Gerda's relatives, including her mother, father, and brother, died in the Holocaust. Only Gerda and her Uncle Leo, who had moved to Turkey, survived. |
Imagine you are forced to leave your home. You are allowed only 20 pounds of your most precious possessions. What would you take? What would you be forced to leave behind? How would this make you feel? On what would you base your choices? Would monetary value (how much something cost) mean less or more than emotional/personal value? Why?
If you'd like, you may write your short response in the comment section. If this assignment is too personal for you to publish on the blog, feel free to word process your "20 pounds" response and either attach it in an email, or print it and hand it in Monday.
*Lesson plan courtesy of Teaching Tolerance, One Survivor Remembers teacher's guide, pg 21.
If only 20lbs is all I could take I would just take a small back pack or something and put some clothes in it and a few pictures and my phone if it isn't past 20lbs. And I would be forced to leave my dog which would be heart breaking since I grew up with my dog since I was like three. Something that is more pricy but not as much value would be my phone or anything related to tecnology basicly. And even though I love my phone I just don't feel like I would need it plus I'd propbably not get service wherever I would be going most likley.
ReplyDeleteIf I could only take 20lbs I would take a backpack that would carry my most important items. I would take the ring I got from my Grandma after her daeth, I would take pictures of my family. I would deffinitly take a picture of my brother because he is my closest sibling and my hero, I would take a picture of my niece Ezlyn because she would make me laugh when I am sad. I would have to leave my room and all my friends behind. It would kill me to have to leave my best friend behind, but if I had no choice it would have to work. I would have to leave my dog behind, too.
ReplyDeleteThinking about having only 20lbs of belongongs is hard to think about. If i could only bring 20lbs of things I would put it all into a backpack. I would pack some clothing. I would make sure to bring a jacket and other warm clothing along with a pair of shorts maybe. I also would bring some family photos.I would bring a photo of both sides of my family from Christmas and an individual picture of everyone in my close family. I would also bring a picture of my dog that died named Sammy. It would be hard for me to leave behind my friends, my room, and all the other things that are in my house. It would be really hard to never see my house and every thing in it again.
ReplyDeleteOnly 20 pounds, it may sound like a lot but in reality its not nearly enough. If i were only to bring 20 pounds, one of the things I would bring would be pictures. Pictures hold things that you won't always be able to remember. If you have those pictures, your family would always be with you. I would also bring warm cloths with layers so I can be flexible with the weather, along with big boots like Gerda did. I would die leaving my dogs and my best friends behind. They mean everything to me. But the worst part of the whole thing is, I would be seperated from everyone I love. My family, my friends, my home, everything.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to take 20 pounds worth of things I would take a pair of good jeans, a wool shirt, books, also I would take as much pictures as I could. I think the worst part would be to be away from my family and friends. I would also die because I would be starved and would not have any electronics. I would be going insane because everyone I knew was probably never to be seen again.
ReplyDeleteOkay 20 pounds well first I would probably pack a lot of food and water and stuff that I needed to survive and things like that. Also I would bring my cat [and no not because I want to keep him] because he would hunt birds and mice and stuff to eat and bring them back to me because you know he does stuff like that, he's a cat and anyway if he died I would eat him and that would supply me for like a week alone because he's really fat. And finally I would bring a knife so I could fight back or steal other peoples stuff if I needed it and that's all I would really need I don't really need electronics because good luck finding a place with reception or an outlet to charge whatever you brought and I don't need pictures I have memories so I think I would survive pretty well.
ReplyDeleteIf i could only take 20 pounds of stuff with me I would take lots of pictures and things that remind me of my family, so when I miss them I have something to remind me of them. I would also bring lots of warm clothing and a pair of good shoes for the winter. I would hate to be separated from my friends and family. Leaving home would be one of the hardest things for me. i don't think i would need my phone or any electronics because you wouldn't have any service. I would much rather have personal items and pictures rather than a bunch of electronics and items like that. The pictures would mean so much more to me.
ReplyDeleteIf I could only take 20 pounds of stuff with me i would bring my cat, lots of pictures, and warm cloths. I would also bring my phone (if that wasn't already 20 lbs) so I could communicate with my family and friends but I would much rather bring personal items that remind me of family and friends. My phone would probably die anyway. I would be forced to leave all my family and friends. That would be the hardest thing for me. i would be separated from everything and everyone I love. That would tear me apart.
ReplyDeleteIf I could only take 20 pounds I would defiantly take warm clothes since Girdas boots saved her life. I would bring lots of pictures to remind me of good things in life. I would also bring the necklace my mom gave me so if we got separated I could remember her. It would be very hard to leave behind my dogs because they mean so much to me, but they are too fat to come.
ReplyDeleteIf I could only take 20 pounds of stuff with me I would bring a lot of pictures. It would remind me of the good times I had with my family and friends. I would also bring warm clothes and warm pair of shoes for the winter. I would be hard for me to leave my friends and family behind. They mean so much to me. It would be difficult, but it would have to work. I would die if I had to leave my dog behind too.
ReplyDeleteI would have such a hard time trying to choose between multiple items. I have so much in my room and home that mean a lot to me. First off, I'd definitely take my warmest clothes, and a lot of pictures of my family because they are my whole life and I wouldn't be where I am today without them.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be very hard to leave a lot of stuff behind. There is a lot of stuff that I could not live with out. I would probably bring mostly cloths for warm and cold weather. Extra pairs of shoes. Food and water so I don't die from starvation and dehydration. I would have to leave behind my pets and all of my games. It would be really hard to leave my pets behind because I love them a lot. Then I would have to leave my phone which I am using 24/7.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pack 20 pounds of stuff I would pack almost all essentials. That includes food clothing and water. I would also pack like a gun and a knife and some pictures of my family and pets. I would have to leave behind my pets and electronics. In other words it would suck to have to leave home with only 20 pounds of stuff. Again most of my stuff I bring with me would be based on survival.
ReplyDeleteIf I was forced to only take 20 pounds of my belongings, I would take all the pictures that really mean something to me,I would take 2 outfits and 2 pairs of good shoes, I would take as much light food as possible and water. If I had to leave behind all my things and my home I would not feel complete. I know I would be able to survive, but it would be really hard to leave my home and everything I know to go to a place where nothing would be the same. I dont think I would try to bring the most expensive things because they dont mean as much as something sentimental.
ReplyDeleteIf I was only allowed to take 20lbs of belongings I would pack all my favorite clothes. I would also pack pictures of all my close family members and friends. I would have to leave all my friends behind which would kill me because I'm with them 24/7 and they mean the world to me. I would also leave my dog behind and my precious phone.
ReplyDeleteIf I was allowed to take only 20lbs of my things I would probably take my warmest clothes, my winter boots, food, and pictures of my family and friends. The hardest thing would be to leave my family and friends without knowing if I would ever be able to see them again.
ReplyDeleteIf I only got to bring 20lbs of stuff with me I would bring a backpack to put pictures of my family like my mom, dad, and cousin. I would also bring my Nikes, and some warm cloths. I would try to bring a small knife that I could easily hide in my clothing. Lastly I would probably bring a pillow and my cross necklace to give me faith. Nothing else is really that important to me. One think they couldn’t take away would be my memories, and those would be the most important of all.
ReplyDeleteIf i could only bring 20 lbs. I would pack all my stuff in a backpack and I would take some of my warmest clothes, some food, a water bottle, pictures of family and friends, and my faith necklace that my grandma gave me when i had my first communion.
ReplyDeleteif i could bring 20 pounds of stuff i would bring the stuff i would need to survive. i would bring food,water,clothes,my phone, and some games, and bring some pictures of my family.
ReplyDeleteIf I could only bring twenty pounds then I would for sure bring something to carry my twenty pounds of stuff. Then I would also bring a couple pairs of clothes so i could change between clothes because of the weather I think I would also bring something that could occupy my like some sort of game or somthing so I don't get extrmely bored. I would probably bring my phone because it doesnt weigh alot and it has a lot of games and can keep me busy for a whikle.
ReplyDeleteIf I could only bring 20 pounds of things I would bring a bag, to first of all hold my stuff. Then I would problably bring extra clothes and some shoes. Maybe my iPad to occupy me and to distract me. Also I would like to bring a blanket with me so I could feel more comforted. And my phone so I can text and etc.. Plus it barely wieghs anything, so it wouldn't make a difference.
ReplyDeleteIf i could only bring 20 pounds of stuff, i would bring a bag, a water bottle and food, and i would hide them in a blanket then bring my cell phone and my head phones. (I wouldn't bring pictures because i would have them in my phone) Although it would be really hard to just leave everything behind including my Family and my friends...
ReplyDelete