History and Memory- Fiftieth Gate

Explore how the fiftieth gate and one other related text of your own choosing represent history and memory in unique and evocative ways. The interplay of history and memory combine to provide greater insight into events. Through the manipulation of textual forms and features, Mark Baker’s hybrid text “The Fiftieth Gate” expands and humanizes one’s understanding of the Holocaust in unique and evocative ways. A unique feature of the text is clever fusion between personal accounts and documented history using mediums such as, interviews, official documents, poetry and song. This enhances the stories of the author’s parents, Yossl and Genia, whilst evocatively capturing the atrocities of the Holocaust. The relationship between history and memory is further explored in Kevin Rudd’s “Sorry apology to Stolen Generations”. Baker’s “The Fiftieth Gate” suggests that memory humanises historical events, juxtaposed by the emotionless discourse of history in unique and evocative ways. Baker provides insight into the historical events associated with the Holocaust,emphasising number of deaths that occurred during the genocide. In Gate 26, Baker explores the deaths Genia’s parents witnessed in the lines, “Among 1380 people, one family survived by chance. They were Leo Krochmal and his wife Rosa who witnessed the shooting,” The impersonal tone and simple language in the lines underscores the straightforward and detached nature of history. In contrast, the recount of Genia hiding from Germans in Gate 6 is markedly more confrontative, “we could hear the footsteps, the shots, the screams”. The alliteration of “shots” and “screams” accentuates Genia’s fear and trepidation. The sensory imagery positions the reader as Genia, struggling to survive, humanizing the atrocities of the Holocaust. The inclusion of song, particularly a confessional prayer forcibly recited by Jews highlights members of the Nazi regime as an oppressive force, evidenced in the lines, “For centuries we’ve cheated the...