In this section, the bombing continues and Jan returns from the battle. Eventually Poland surrenders to Germany and the Nazis take over. The Poles believe that it is a better decision to surrender, they will so find out otherwise. Governor-General Frank issued a new law called, "Decree for the Combating of Violent Acts." This means acting or observing were equally punished. "Human nature being what it is, most people didn't wish to get involved, so few people were denounced, and fewer still denounced for not denouncing others . . .somewhere between doing and not doing, everyone's conscience finds its own level; most Poles didn't risk their lives for fugitives but didn't denounce them either." Similar to the play All My Sons this book categorizes people into whistle blowers and people who let it go. Many Polish people have the choice of ratting out on their friends, or risking their own lives by letting it slide. This is very similar to All My Sons because in that play, many characters have this decision too. The Nazis came in to Poland and changed all of their ways of life. They changed everything, Antonina walks through the city and says to Jan, "I can't breath, I feel like I'm drowning in a gray sea, like they're flooding the whole city, washing away our past and people, dashing everything from the face of the earth." Antonina feels as though the Nazis are destroying everything in sight. To the Poles, the Nazis just started a war in their territory and then invaded and basically ruined their lives. Took everything away, loved ones, houses, the city and much more.
Although it says most people just didn't risk their lives for fugitives, and I think this is true. The few people that did risk their lives for fugitives we hear about. These stories always amaze me. I think it takes a very brave person to hold fugitives, someone that cares for others more than the safety of themselves. I also believe that many of the Poles didn't get credit for holding fugitives because they either lost their own lives, or weren't discovered. It takes a true hero to do this. People were rewarded if they turned in people they knew so this gave a big incentive to turn them in. The happy medium in these two consequences is neither turning in your friends or holding them. It amazes me how violent the Nazis were, all for nothing. The Polish people never did anything to deserve all of this death and devastation the Nazis imposed on them . Many people were probably very scared for their lives during this time period.
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Whenever i hear about this it makes me angry. I hate that this had to happen period. But, i think it's great there were people who were willing to risk their life's for their friends as opposed to those who sadly turned in those they knew for a simple reward of money which won't last them for ever. Those who kept their friends or people they knew in their houses to save their lives are people who should be looked upon as "Ethical Crusaders", they are definitely putting society before themselves making it so they are acknowledged as people who had strong ethics.
I agree with Chelese it is amazing to think of what people will and won't do for others in times chaos. You can really learn a lot about the people around you from situations such as this when people had to put their lives in the hands of others hoping they wouldn't be betrayed for a reward. The people who were willing to turn other in for this reward are "traitors" in my opinion versus those who took great risks to protect innocent people.
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