Christopher Sanchez INTL 3111 Mr.

Robert Arnold 23 January 2012 Microtheme 1 Tadeusz Borowskis Silence gave off a vivid picture of how inhumane German concentration camps were during World War II. The beginning of the short narrative was unclear to me at first to where it was going. It seemed to have formed an ironic twist towards the end, leaving me confused and bewildered to what had just happened; this lead me to re-reading it all over again multiple times. As I did so, I started to gain a better understanding to what I think Tadeusz was trying to get across. When I mentioned the narrative of having an ironic twist, it was because of how the author starts with a couple of prisoners taking justice in their own hand by eliminating a German officer of the camp. Following after the intense imagery of the concentration camp life, came the American officer who was the bearer of good news. He announced to each block that justice will be served, and claiming that all the criminals of the S.S. as well as among the prisoners will be punished. He also requests to the prisoners for them to try to be patient and to not commit lawless deeds, which may only lead them to trouble, and for them to please pass the sons of bitches over to the camp guards. When he asked for their response, a prolonged shout was made from the crowd. This must have meant that the crowd gave an unsure response to the officers words. It also gave me a hunch that maybe most of the crimes that were committed within the camps between the prisoners were similar to the crime that was committed at the very beginning of the narrative. Possibly in the prisoners eyes they though that, whats done is done; meaning

that taking matters in their own hands by killing a German officer wasnt a crime, but an act of vengeance for everyone who had to experience the hell theyve gone through in those camps. That maybe to them, the crimes that were committed were not crimes, but a superior way of serving justice compared to what the American officers had in mind.