— What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?
–This story can be described as a kind of “initiation story” for the narrator. How is he changed or transformed by the events of the narrative?
–A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
–“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
–Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
I expected this to be a tough read. It was harder than I thought. The stratified suffering was painful to digest – uncovering the many layers of man’s inhumanity to man. The question of goodness is a complex one, and this exchange is, I think, the heart of this short story.
In this moment, our narrator is questioning his hostility towards the people who he knows have been, and will be, horrifyingly aggrieved. His war buddy Henri says it’s natural to direct one’s anger towards those who are weaker. But, in the end, it’s clear that one’s anger is rightly directed towards those who are callously causing the suffering.
So what about the question of goodness?
On the one hand, if it’s right to ask how the Nazi soldiers can carry out such horrifying orders, can’t the same be asked of the Canadians? If one has a true conviction about the sanctity of life and the dignity of humanity, wouldn’t it be more noble to suffer injury or death than to participate in such a hideous act? If a Nazi doesn’t get a moral pass for claiming “I was just following orders”, why should a Canadian be absolved?
One the other hand, the Canadians are fighting for their own survival. They are powerless victims – imprisoned and insecure in the basic necessities of life. And while they might initially be reviled by their work like our narrator; they might be transformed, and hardened, as Henri appears to be, through repeated exposure to such an unimaginably cruel scene.
Ultimately, I don’t think there’s a tidy answer to whether or not the Canadians are bad people. I do, however, think there’s a distinction to be made between the powerful Nazis animated by an evil ideology, and the powerless Canadians animated by the desire to survive their circumstance.
“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
The narrator asks “are we good people?” because after partaking in the gruesome act of emptying out the incoming transports, he questions his ethics because he is not longer able to grasp right from wrong. After encountering the dead bodies of children and women and seeing how inhumane the entire situation is, he questions his ethics in being a participant of the pitiless act of making sure the Jews give up their belonging as well as witnessing the cruel treatment by the S.S. men. The narrators says, “…simply furious with these people- furious because I must be here with them. I feel no pity. I am not sorry they’re going to the gas chamber” (702). To some extent, the narrator probably feels relieved that he is on the other side and not on the incoming transport and that’s why he questions his ethics. He relies on the incoming transports so that him and the members of his camp have enough food to not starve to death.
–A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
The tall grey-haired woman seemed to show sympathy for the narrator when she refers to him as “my poor boy”. Although she sees him doing something bad, she rather take the blame by taking the babies herself knowing she would die. She plays the role of a mother, because any mother would do anything to help her children. “My poor boy” is what a mother, or someone very loving would say to a boy when he is going through hardship or is a victim of something. This grey-haired woman saw the narrator as her own son who was a victim, just like she was.
A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
This is an expression of sympathy that the old woman has towards the narrator. The fact that she uses the word boy to refer to him shows that he is also seen as a victim in the eyes of the woman. Not only does she understand that he is a victim to the Nazi’s looking over them but that he too would eventually end up in the gas chambers. He is a victim to what he is being asked to participate in. As an old women with much experience she sees into his soul and understands the cruel environment that has lead him to think and act the way he has. It is inevitable for anyone to try to at least think about anyone else other than themselves for the sake of survival which resonates between all the prisoners.
Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
The title for “This Way to The Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen is a perfect example on the deceit the Holocaust victims faced. Not knowing what is to come, Jews, and others were told to pack their belongings and were relocated to concentration camps. Little did they know that their destinies faced a barbaric death. Borowski writes how they had packed their lives, all their riches, expecting to start a new journey elsewhere, but soon encountered themselves being stripped from all their belongings. The narrator states that “It is the camp law: people going to their death must be deceived to the very end.” When Henri crosses paths with old friends and asked what will happen, he lies and says, “that first they will have a bath, and later we’ll meet at the camp.” Furthermore, we can see the sadistic irony in the S.S. man’s words when unloading the people from the train, “Meine Herrschaften, this way, ladies and gentlemen, try not to throw your things around, please. Show some good will.’, he says courteously, his restless hands paying with the slender whip.” (P. 701) I believe that in deceiving the victims, the people would cooperate in giving up their belongings, food, clothes and riches, and in that way, the S.S. men can limit the possibility of a riot and chaos evolving if one were to find out the initial purpose of the relocation to the concentration camps. A strong line from the story was when the narrator says “They think that now they will face a new life in camp, and they prepare themselves emotionally for the hard struggle ahead.”
A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
I think what the tall, grey-haired woman meant when she said that to the narrator is that she can’t imagine how he would live after this. In a way, dying in the gas chamber is better than assisting the process of killing Jews. Even after knowing that if she takes the baby from his hands, she will be sent to the gas chambers, she does it. At least she is able to live with herself since she is doing the right thing. Also, I think in a way, the woman sees this young kid that is forced to do something unethical. Young kids are easily brainwashed and he might have been forced to do something he doesn’t want to, which in this case is assisting the deaths of hundreds of people. The woman sees that he’s this young kid with more years ahead of him, but he has to live knowing that he assisted in hundreds of deaths.
A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
The tall, grey-haired woman feels bad for our narrator and what he is ordered to do. She feels bad that he has to help clear out the trucks that transported people to concentration camps. He had to deal with dead bodies of people who did not make the trip. Although the narrator is not doing something good because he is part of the workers who help kill the Jews, the grey-haired woman understands that this wasn’t a choice for him. He didn’t get to choose to help or not because he is a prisoner and had to follow his orders. When she says “my poor boy,” I think she feels bad that the narrator cannot live a happy normal life that he deserves but is forced to be in such a harsh and depressing environment where everyday he faces dead people and crying children. I think she also decides to take the dead babies from the narrator’s hands because again she feels bad that the narrator has to do this and wants him to feel less bad.
–Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
This title seems strange because the story takes place during the holocaust which was a horrible event that happened in history and is usually only remembered with bad memories. The author makes the story seem very pleasant and sophisticated by saying ‘this way to the gas, ladies and gentlemen’. This seems as if he is happy to escort the Jewsh into the gas chambers when in reality this act of genocide was terrorizing and painful for most people to hear about regardless of nationality.
–A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
The tall ,grey-haired woman by saying “My poor boy” to our narrator to manifest her sympathy for our narrator because any mother will not want their child in that place and in this kind of situation. Also She knew that as a kid he has been for to do that.
Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
When you hear “Ladies and Gentlemen”, it seems that you are in a theater and there will be a show on. Or you are in a party and everyone has a good time. It is entertaining. But, it seems strange to have “Ladies and Gentlemen” on the title of a story happening in a Nazi concentration camp. Inside a concentration camp, people are killed and tortured by the Nazi. “This way to the gas, ladies and gentlemen”, it seems that people are welcome to the concentration camp. It is satiric that Nazi does not realize how evil and guilty to kill the innocent people, but thinks it is amusing.
–Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
The title of the story, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman” is strange because it sounds pleasant and inviting. It reminds me of something a tour guide would say while leading you to something unexpected. In the story, the prisoners were not told where they were being lead to. The tone of the title is an example of the unethical and heartless acts that so easily came from the Nazi soldiers/ S.S. men/ Canadians while innocent people were being lead to their deaths.
What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?
One thing I learned that I was unaware of about life in Nazi concentration camps was that they had prisoners, Kommandos, who unloaded new prisoners, helped divide them up, and had to clean up the trains that the new prisoners came out of. They were later freed but they still had to live their lives with all the negative memories they had while at camp.