THE AUTHOR
Charles S. Weinblatt
Characterization of the Human Spirit
Repugnance, despair and darkness exist within human nature. We learn nothing if we do not examine this part of our psyche. Jacob's Courage is a novel exploring the complex relationships between humans during the Holocaust. BY CHARLES S. WEINBLATT
As the author of a Holocaust novel ("Jacob's Courage"), I
appreciate books that offer a frank, emotional examination of
morality. Repugnance, despair and darkness exist within human
nature. We therefore learn nothing about ourselves if we do not
examine this part of our psyche.
The Holocaust also can offer a love story, filled with passion and
romance.
During the twelve years of the Shoah, Jewish prisoners of Nazi
Germany met, fell in love, became parents, watched their loved ones
disappear and fought a desperate battle to remain alive.
They were victims of incomprehensible brutality. Only a few of them
survived.
“Jacob’s Courage” explores the complex relationships between humans
during the Holocaust. It is a terrifying, unrelenting nightmare and
an ecstatic, breathless tale of faith, courage and passion.
There are six million stories about the Holocaust. All of them are
unique.
All of them provide texture, complexity and perspective. We are
complex beings. There is a great deal more to us than the ubiquitous
battleground of good versus evil. We are not one or the other, but a
combination of both. We are beautiful and ugly, soothing and
terrifying, brutal and caring; we love and we despise.
Deep within the fear and panic of the Holocaust decisions were based
upon ethical and emotional veracity. Unlike animals, humans are
governed by principles, moral beliefs and sincerity.
We are not clouded by delusions of morality, but governed by them.
In "Jacob's Courage," my characters explore the human response to
terror and immorality, as well as the alluring beauty of passionate
young love, along with the driving power of religious devotion.
Our lives are complex - even within the garish midst of the
Holocaust. Powerful passion and tender love existed during times of
horror and despair. So did a deep commitment to the Jewish
relationship between faith and God. These powerful motivators churn
within the consciousness of Holocaust victims, creating powerful new
behaviors.
Yet, the world is seldom seen in black and white, or shades of gray
- even during the Holocaust. In the midst of anguish, beauty exists.
Within beauty, despair dwells. Life is experienced as layer upon
layer of sensory input, interpreted by our moral compass and defined
though our ensuing behavior.
Book cover of Jacob's Courage
In prior genocides against Jews, there was often an alternative to
death – conversion. If Jews would just cease to believe in one God,
or if Jews would just renounce their beliefs and accept Christ as
the messiah, they could live. Yet, each time that this has occurred
in history, the vast majority of Jews refused to capitulate. Those
Jews preferred to be burned at the stake, tortured or beheaded,
rather than renounce their dedication to the one true God. With Nazi
Germany, there was no such choice. Instead of souls to be reclaimed,
the German government declared that Jews were similar to rodents,
who “infest the true Aryan culture and deserve to be exterminated.”
Nazi Germany did not allow for the possibility that Jews possessed a
soul (certainly not one that deserved to be eternal). Sadly, the
gentile population of Europe largely did not object to the
systematic extermination of their Jewish neighbors. They watched
with mildly disinterested eyes as Jews were forced out of their
homes and into ghettos. After that, no one seemed to care.
Holocaust survivors lost everything, but perhaps gained something as
well. Certainly an honest examination of the Holocaust must reveal
torturous brutality and death. Virtually all of the Jewish victims
of the Holocaust were guilty of no crime (except to be a Jew). By
the end of the war, almost every Holocaust survivor had lost all of
their loved ones. Such despair must be worse than psychological
death. However, life is not always so simple. And the experience of
Jews during the Shoah was not that of cattle going to market. These
were not rodents or cows, but families from every location,
occupation and lifestyle. They possessed memories, loves,
relationships and the heritage of an ancient religion.
Deep within the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, European Jews
practiced their religion, observed holidays and commandments, taught
their children Hebrew and imparted Jewish values. The entrapped Jews
of the Holocaust maintained the facade of their 3,500-year culture,
for the sake of their children. Here, in the fetid, crowded walls of
concentration camp structures, one can feel hope for the survival of
the human spirit, among the ashes of annihilation.
In this age of realism, readers demand multifaceted, often chaotic
individuals who possess characteristics both good and bad. They are
right. Because that’s the way life is.
If novelists wish to emulate reality, then our characters should
become complex humans, with flaws, faults, imperfections and
limitations. Some of our villains should possess mercy and empathy,
as well. And, no emotion influences us more than guilt.
In “Jacob’s Courage,” my characters were constantly aggravated by
guilt. We are forever tortured by our past and guilt is the primary
motivator in decisions about our future. We can ignore it or learn
from it, but we can never escape from it.
Holocaust victims were faced with the most perfidious forces;
deceit, brutality, cruelty, sickness, starvation and the death of
loved-ones were the daily companions of concentration camp
prisoners. The victims felt guilt for surviving while their loved
ones had been murdered. Each of them must have wondered why they
deserved to live when those that they worshipped were murdered.
Worse yet were the prisoners who assisted the Nazi guards. These
"kapos" must have born unwavering guilt.
The "Sonderkommando," prisoners forced to undress, beat, torture,
and kill innocent prisoners must have had the greatest amount of
guilt. They were also forced to carry bodies to the furnace.
Sometimes, a Jew was forced to feed the dead bodies of his immediate
family into the fires of the crematoria. Can you imagine being
forced to murder and then destroy the bodies of your loved ones?
In "Jacob's Courage," the title character was forced to play in the
Auschwitz orchestra as the trains daily disgorged new prisoners,
primarily consisting of Jewish families. The ubiquitous innocent
queue, waiting their turn to die, constantly occupied his thoughts
and dreams. The worst part was watching the Jewish children romp and
play, just a few feet away from the gas chamber and their premature
death. Many such survivors carried lifelong guilt for surviving,
while subconsciously, many must surely have wished for that death
with their loved ones.
Novels about this time are by causality dark and precarious. Yet, in
the midst of this despair, there was life, love, passion, religious
fervor and the excitement known only to children. Even in such
hopeless desolation, there was faith, infatuation, romance,
excitement and longing for all of the things that humans crave.
These characters must embellish the wide range of human attributes
and feelings. Such was the complex state of living in a Nazi death
camp.
"Jacob's Courage" describes the Holocaust through the eyes of a
normal Jewish family. If we speak only of heroic individuals
battling against dark forces, then we dismiss the certainty of our
nature. Humans are far more complex than such generic descriptions
imply. Not all Jews imprisoned and tortured by Nazi Germany were
good. Some became "kapos," more ruthless than the SS.
Not all Germans were bad. Some Germans were riddled with guilt; and
later expressed tender compassion for the imprisoned Jews. Yet,
below the surface of brutality, we find the human instinct for life,
liberty, love and compassion. We also find the mind of those filled
with ruthless barbarity and hostile aggression. This book explores
the boundaries of this human expression.
Most of the Jews in Nazi concentration camps comprehended that they
would not survive. Yet, within the camps, the Jews constructed
synagogues, schools, and orchestras. They had civic leaders, medical
clinics, commerce and religious celebrations. Hidden from the SS,
Holocaust Jews observed all of the covenants and rituals of their
religion, including holidays, marriage ceremonies, burials and
circumcisions.
Along the terrifying, dark path to the gas chambers of Nazi-occupied
Europe, Jews lived, loved, learned and died. Even in their darkest
moments, the Jews of Nazi concentration camps fabricated a "normal"
life.
Despite their impending mortality, they recreated a normal world on
the inside to protect children from the raging genocide on the
outside. Such was the nature and power of their love. They
recognized that Judaism couldn’t survive without Jewish children.
Unlike concentration camps, the isolation of prisoners in death
camps made such religious interaction difficult, if not impossible.
The Holocaust cannot be described without inflicting horror upon the
reader. Such books are not for the faint of heart. The human spirit
strives for autonomy and freedom. Yet, to search for an
understanding of human nature, one must descend into the depths of
depravity and terror. We cannot understand humankind without
comprehending its wicked flaws.
Deep within the darkest recesses of brutal genocide, the reader will
discover a faint flicker of light representing love, passion,
desire, hope and reverence. Here is the essence of "Jacob's Courage"
- an examination of morality, love and righteousness, in the midst
of the dark whirlwind of malevolence.
About the Author
Charles S. Weinblatt was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1952. He is a
retired University of Toledo administrator. Weinblatt is the author
of "Jacob's Courage" and "Job Seeking Skills for Students."
His biography appears in the Marquis Who's Who in America and Who's
Who in American Education. Weinblatt was a frequent Toledo
television news guest, providing business, economic and
labor-management insight.
He received the 2004 United Auto Worker’s Douglas Frasier Swift
Award and he was awarded a certificate of achievement by Chrysler
Corporation.
Weinblatt writes novels, short stories and published articles.
He lives in Ohio with his wife Fran, who is a special education
teacher. They have two adult children, Brian and Lauren, who created
the cover art for "Jacob's Courage."
Please visit:
http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com/
