Selena Stewart

UWRT 1102
Professor Wertz-Orbaugh
4-14-15
Research Review Assignment
It took a long time for me to figure out what event or subject I wanted to do for my
inquiry topic. But in the end I chose the Death Marches for my inquiry topic, and I felt like I
made a good decision in doing so. The Death Marches took place towards the end of the World
War II after six long year of battle. The Soviets and Allied forces were soon going to invade
Germany and the Nazi did not want any trace of what inhumane things they committed to be
found. The Nazi destroyed building and documentation. They then decided to move the prisoners
to different locations where they would ultimately meet their deaths. Prisoners that were too
weak and frail were left to die. In the summer of 1941 the first extension death march took place.
But the major death marches took place between 1944 and 1945. I have chosen two sources that I
feel relate to and give me more background information for my inquiry topic. My sources are
Geographies of the Holocaust by Anne Kelly Knowles, Tim Cole, and Alberto Giordano and,
Remembering the Auschwitz Death Marches by Thomas Buergenthal.
The first source is titled Geographies of the Holocaust by Anne Kelly Knowles, Tim
Cole, and Alberto Giordano. This source is intriguing to me because it explains where the
Holocaust happened other than just Germany. There are three quotations/ paraphrases that I feel
really reflect what the source is about. The first question is What we emphasize, however, are
the ways that the Holocaust space and places change over time [Giordano, Cole, Knowles. pg
5]. This is important because they are not just giving factual information about what happened

where. They analyze what happened where and why that occurred in that particular space. The
second quotation is Maps can be as tools to acquire new levels of insight into how the
Holocaust was put into place[Giordano, Cole, Knowles. pg 9 ]. I like this because they are using
tools, as said in the quotation, to do further research on the Holocaust, and how that can bring
why something occurred at a certain place. Cole and Giordano explain that scale provides an
overarching framework for all studies of the geographies of the Holocaust[Giordano,Cole,
Knowles, pg. 2]. With the use of scale they are able to analyze or examine the ghettoization
process of life in the ghettos for Jews, or the expansion of concentration camps.
One of the main reason why I chose this source is because it was different than just an
informative read. I honestly do not believe there is anything that needs to be added in the
dialogue of this particular source. This source is significant and relates to my inquiry topic,
Death Marches, because the Death Marches took place throughout Germany, and this source is
about the events of the Holocaust that occurred throughout Germany.
My second source that I found helpful for further research and for me to learn more about
the Death Marches that occurred in Auschwitz, is Remembering the Auschwitz Death Marches
by Thomas Buergenthal. Buergenthal writes about remembering what happened to him as he
was a prisoner and experienced the cruel events of the Holocaust including the Death Marches.
He explains that it was hard for him to comprehend whether the horror that [he] experienced..
was really [him], some other character out of a book, or a dream[Buergenthal, pg. 874]. This
really troubles me everytime I read or hear a survivor's story about what happened to them in the
Holocaust because it is still hard to believe it actually occurred. Buergenthal describes the hard to
visualize experience of the Death Marches. The cold Polish winter, the terrible cold
[Buergenthal, 874]. The dead being thrown overboard a train while still in motion. Children

eating snow to pretend like it is ice cream, and adults even still bread out of the hands of
children.Shooting of those who could not walk anymore [Buergenthal, 874]. With this being my
inquiry topic all the descriptions given help me understand a little from a survivor's experience
other than factual information of what it felt like, even though I will never completely
understand. Another quotation from Buergenthal really struck something inside of me.
Buergenthal goes to say that human beings no matter what nationality, race, or religion are not
subjected to what was done to [them][Buergenthal, pg. 875]. Buergenthal statement of being
subjected to in this text means that someone else should not have to go through something, or
in this case the horror that the Jews went through. Future generations have to understand that
what happened in the Holocaust actually happened. Even though it is history and it is in the past,
it still occurred. This source is beneficial for me because it gives me an insight of survivors
perspective of what the Death Marches were like.
These sources have valuable information and help me to better understand my inquiry
topic the Death Marches. There are mainly two things that I am going away with. First, I
understand that the Holocaust and the Death Marches took place all throughout Germany.
Second, I like how Buergenthal explained his experience and how he is trying to speak with his
audience of not being subjected to anything. Overall, I think choosing the topic Death Marches
was a good choice.
Work Cited
Anne Kelly Knowles. and Tim Cole. and Alberto Giordano. Geographies of the Holocaust.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2014. Project MUSE. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
<https://muse.jhu.edu/>.

Buergenthal, Thomas. "Remembering the Auschwitz Death March." Human Rights Quarterly 18.4
(1996): 874-76. JSTOR. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.