A Brilliant Life by Rachelle Unreich

   

     How does a mother’s love make a difference against the forces of a totalitarian Nazi regime? How can her legacy help us move forward with hope and resilience as we face the pain of losing innocent lives due to the terrorist actions of a tyrant in power? How can we raise awareness on the need to preserve democracy? 

       How can we teach the new generations that democracy matters?

   When we learn the lessons from history, we are better prepared to face the challenges with the foresight needed. Perhaps voting will be understood as a duty to save lives…I will never understand why so many people have taken democracy for granted in the United States of America.

      Rachelle Unreich’s book is a good resource to believe in the power of our knowledge and determination, to stand together against the abuse of power of a regime that slanders, labels and persecutes decent human beings.

     Mira Unreich has a lot to teach us after surviving four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a Death March. She was eighty-eight years old when she was diagnosed with cancer in Melbourne, Australia, where she lived. Rachelle, her youngest daughter, was taking care of her mother when Mira was battling cancer. She asked her questions as a form of distraction, but then she realized that her mother’s experiences could be a source of hope for others. She was right. Her book came to me when I needed it. This is what happens with books. They are like satellite souls of the authors with the gentle power to build bridges of understanding, solace and community. They forge paths of hope and faith. 

   I want to share a quote from Rachelle’s book; it refers to the coincidences in her mother’s life. “It was how it was in Mira’s life: coincidences folding over and over each other, forming such an elaborate pattern that it was impossible to tell where they started, and if they were finished.”

      Mira passed away ten years ago. During the pandemic Rachelle decided to write down her story.

     How did Mira survive the atrocities she witnessed and the devastating experiences she went through during her teenage years?

     Mira was born to a loving family in a small town in Czechoslovakia. She had a talent for singing and learning different languages. She loved to tell stories. People were attracted to her warmth and positive attitude.  Love, music and joy filled her childhood; it was a pleasure to read about her culture. Things changed for them, however, when the dehumanizing and scapegoating of Jews under the Nazi regime took over Germany like an epidemic; Jewish children had to drop out of schools; Jewish families were treated as “suspicious”. The Nazis imposed legislation to strip away their civil and human rights, and to destroy their livelihoods, jobs, businesses.

  The nazi regime targeted and and killed millions of Jews, but it also persecuted and murdered LGBTQs, Poles, Roma, people with disabilities, communists and dissidents of the regime. 

     Mira had three brothers and one sister. Her sister and one of her brothers were taken to concentration camps and died. Her father was shot in front of the family the day the Gestapo officers forced themselves into Mira’s home, a few hours before Mira and her family were about to escape from their house.

   The details of her life as a prisoner in the concentration camps were hard to read. Through Rachelle's book,  I continued to learn more about the cruelty of the Nazis and the brutality of the Holocaust. The sadistic behaviors of the abusers are hard to comprehend, but one can perceive the same kind of cruelty in certain modern speeches in America.

  The dehumanization of people they considered different fueled the executions, the tortures, the starvation of millions of people exposed to the elements. Families were torn apart, and many of them were sent to work under inhumane conditions that led  to their deaths.

        Following the liberation of the Neustadt concentration camp on April 30, 1945, Mira knew she had to brace herself for the dangers that lurked around her. No place around her appeared to be safe. I was astonished to learn about the cases of rape of  former prisoners by soldiers who were supposed to be there to liberate them. Those days were full of uncertainty and confusion. Thankfully, Mira did well and managed to be safe, but other women were raped or even lost their lives in the hands of soldiers. I was impressed by the painstaking approach to her story, by how she was able to put all the information together.

    All in all, A Brilliant Life is not only a relevant historical testimony but also an examination of how the trauma of Mira’s experiences somehow touched aspects of her life and her relationships. Yet it did not prevent her from living life to its fullest potential.

   Mira would finally reunite with two of her brothers under the most incredible circumstances, and they would start a new life after the war. Read A Brilliant Life and find out more about it.

   As she shared her story, Mira tried to focus on the goodness of those who helped her along the way.  Despite the horrors, I was able to savor the mystical moments of “protection” that enabled her to survive in the concentration camps.

   During the worst days of her captivity, there were helpers who made a difference. I was speechless to learn about them. Those were moments of wonder and faith, like little miracles that saved her life. The kindness of those people made a world of difference, and the love of Mira's mother was always inside her, sustaining her hope… I needed this book this week. I also needed to share it.

    Mira survived but millions of people perished in the hands of the Nazis. I would like to believe that human beings learned something from history, but the election of November 2024 in America showed that this was not the case. It was not enough to stop seventy-seven million people from voting for a man who liked to read Mein Kampf and spewed Hitler-like speeches at rallies.  Referring to his opponents as “vermin” and accusing immigrants of  "poisoning the blood of Americans" are just some examples of this. Additionally, ninety million people in America looked the other way and chose not to vote, empowering a criminal. Think about it for a minute: a woman needs to be perfect to become president in America; a man can be anything...

     One aspect I want to highlight about reading this book is how the Nazis tried to hide their evil, depraved behaviors, how they found a way to convince others that what they did was right. We need to pay attention. As I write this, people are being kidnapped by masked men in America. People die in detention centers. Why is the access of Democratic members of Congress to ICE facilities restricted in Minneapolis? This is serious.

 

 

A message of solidarity

  I am deeply sad and outraged about the brutal murder of Alex Pretti. Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse. He worked hard saving veterans’ lives.

  Alex was giving aid to a woman when a bunch of border patrol agents attacked him viciously. Seven Border Patrol “agents” bludgeoned him to the ground and then they shot him ten times. It is not true that he had been brandishing a gun. He was a legal gun owner, but he was doing nothing illegal. Alex had only been filming the violent actions of those agents with his cell phone, but Nazis like to hide their evil actions so they murdered him. Seven cowards against a brave, courageous, kind man of integrity. Seven Gestapo agents against one hero. It is hard to watch. It is heartbreaking.

  This is what the trump regime is doing, so, please, America, wake up. Please vote out anybody who supports the trump regime.

   Let’s not forget Renee Nicole Good. Say her name.  Let’s not forget Keith Porter. I recently learned about him. What kind of government slaughters innocent citizens and falsely accuses them of being domestic terrorists? Think about that for a moment.

 

   My heart is with the people of Minnesota, where innocent citizens are being kidnapped from their homes by cowards wearing masks. These thugs force themselves into homes without court orders, just like the Gestapo did in Nazi Germany. The trump regime violates the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments of the US Constitution. Now they also want to violate the Second Amendment. They want to trash our democracy. They think they are above the law but nobody is above the law. They should be held accountable. Remember that the trump regime is using our tax dollars to cause terror, persecute and even kill innocent people.

   Desperate to hide the Epstein files and the Trump effects on the economy the trump regime does whatever it can to cause outrage, sow division and spread hatred. That is all the trump regime has to offer. There is nothing else but constant lies, corruption, cruelty, violence and hatred.  There are threats to invade other countries and there is propaganda to praise the regime. This is what the Nazi regime did. 

   If you have not done so yet, read my blog post on Alexei Navalny’s book. Putin’s tactics are set in motion in America through the trump regime. Also, read Alexei Navalny’s book if you have not done so yet. You will not be disappointed.

  Thank you for visiting this site. Stay strong. Stay informed. Remember that every voice matters. Every act of kindness and solidarity can help make a difference.

   Democracy depends on us.

 

Relevant links:

https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-us-citizen-detained-hmong-d009590a491c0c8243ef21ef24db7182

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11bK4bjsiGg

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minnesota-protester-alex-pretti-15ade7de6e19cb0291734e85dac763dc

 

 https://www.theglobalist.com/trumps-disgraceful-and-destructive-use-of-presidential-pardons/

 

https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-shooting-congress-visit-ice-5eb6749b18d59ed8c47b5eeab9784432

 

 

https://apnews.com/article/israel-holocaust-remembrance-day-auschwitz-survivors-f6ed4882964e9455cc014f243b307fec

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRXAy5SLMyg

Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar

  

  It was emotionally difficult to read this book. Mario Escobar turned the true-life story of Helene Hannemann into a personal diary he imagined she could have written had she had the means to do so.

   When we read what millions of families endured during the Holocaust as a result of Hitler’s abuse of power and rage, the small moments of one’s life acquire a new dimension of greatness.

  Mario Escobar imagined that Helene’s Hannemann last words on her diary were the following:

  “Blessed daily life, may nothing break you, nothing wound you, nothing deny your beauty and the sweet strokes you paint in our souls.” Soon she would walk toward her death while singing a lullaby to her children. 

  Despite the lessons of history, humanity is still assailed by the monsters of hatred. Humanity still faces the abuse of power of dictators who have no respect for life while claiming otherwise.

 Helene Hannemann

  You may wonder who Helene Hannemann was. She was a German woman who married a man considered to belong to a different race. Unlike her family, Helene was considered a “purebreed” by the Nazis, so for a while her family was spared. Her husband, Johann, was Romani, but the Germans used the word Gypsy or tzigane to refer to him. His entire family had been deported to Poland, and they had never heard from them again.

  Johann was a violin virtuoso. He had played for years in the Berlin Philharmonic, but since 1936, the restrictions against everyone who did not fit into the Nazi Party’s social laws had grown much harsher.

  Helene was a nurse. She was heading to work one day, when the German Police showed up to take her children and her husband away from her. Helene Hannemann refused to separate from them, so she was taken too.  

 Their destination would be Auschwitz. Fiercely protective of her five children and of those around them, Helene had to endure the deprivations and violence of a place whose conditions had been created by the evils of hatred.

  Scapegoating and hatred fueled deportations, family separations, forced labor, and torture. Hitler convinced the Germans that he would get rid of people who were like “vermin.” Hitler said they were poisoning German blood.

  Helene’s husband was forced to separate from Helene and their children. They had to join different concentration camps. 

 The Nazis liked to tear families apart.

 Jewish people, Gypsies, gays, and dissidents were imprisoned. 

 The Nazis considered that people with disabilities were a burden to society, so they murdered them systematically.

  The Nazis claimed to be fighting against communism. Hitler and his Nazi followers used “patriotic” emotions to justify their evil behaviors and persecuted those who disagreed with them. Hate crimes were common under Hitler’s authoritarian regime. His dictatorship was fueled by the hatred and distrust he promoted through his speeches and lies.

  Under Hitler’s influence German people followed a pattern of bullying against those who were different. The hostility toward Jews and other groups of people led to the formation of concentration camps where people were starved and abused. The groups of people mentioned above were imprisoned and/or enslaved to serve Hitler’s regime. Hitler referred to them as “vermin.”

  The SS officers tried to create a sense of false reassurance among the Gypsy people at times by making them believe that Hitler’s goal was to fight against communism, and that Gypsies would be treated differently.

 

 The nursery school at the Gypsy camp

  Due to her German ethnicity, Helene was given some privileges. At Mengele’s request, she committed herself to organizing a nursery school at one of the Gypsy camps. This special task enabled her to deal with the suffering and empowered her to give others hope despite the shortage of food, water and the lack of sanitation. The people were tormented by diseases and had to endure the extremes of temperature. They knew the Nazis would not hesitate to murder them if they became sick. They lived under the threat of being taken away to be murdered.

 Helene managed to create a space of comfort and love for the children amid the devastating conditions of the camp. This nursery school was open from May 1943 through August 1944. At least 22,000 thousand Gypsies were slaughtered by the Nazis. Six million Jews perished during the Holocaust.

  The cruelty of the Nazis never extinguished the light of Helene’s bravery and love. Till the last moment of her life, Helene was able to sustain the forces of hope and love for her family and the prisoners with whom she had to interact.

  Helene even said she would refuse to hate her enemies because by succumbing to hate, she would resemble them; she did not want to turn into a monster. Therefore, she chose to hold onto her dignity instead. This choice requires inner strength and resilience, but it also takes courage. 

  I dare say this choice relies on a kind of intelligence that bullies lack.

  Her courage made Josef Mengele uncomfortable. It made him doubt himself.

   The only Holocaust survivor from this book was Elisabeth Guttenberger, a Jewish woman who may have provided details for the story.

 

Nazis and the treatment of women

  Nazis wanted women to be obedient and follow commands without questioning anything. They wanted German women to marry and have many children, so the Nazis banned abortion and contraception in German women. It goes without saying that banning abortion had nothing to do with honoring life. It has been associated with a desire to control and manipulate women’s lives. This is a clear feature of their ideology. Mark Robinson, a MAGA Republican who labeled himself as a “black Nazi” admitted that he had paid for his girlfriend to have an abortion in the past. Yet he fiercely supported banning abortion without any exceptions. Similarly, Donald Trump has complimented Hitler’s regime by saying that “Hitler did a lot of good things.” In fact, his ex-wife Ivana reported in 1990 that Donald Trump kept a book of Hitler’s collected speeches in his bedside cabinet.Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that Donald Trump and Vance spread so many false rumors to vilify immigrants and stoke hate. This is what Adolf Hitler did. Trump simply follows his playbook. 

 Research has shown that immigrants in America are less likely to commit crimes. Extensive research shows that immigration does NOT lead to more crime. Yet Trump and Vance keep repeating a false narrative to ignite hate toward immigrants.

   Hitler  knew that if he repeated a lie several times, people would eventually start to believe it. Trump and Vance follow Hitler’s strategy. Strangely enough, some of his fans are eager to believe and swallow anything that comes out of Trump’s mouth. (Some of those followers were even happy to swallow disinfectant during the pandemic to treat COVID because it was Trump’s suggestion). Again, I am not joking. This happened during Trump’s presidency and you can verify the information here.

  Like Hitler, Trump has referred to his opponents as “communists” and “vermin.” Like Hitler, he insists that migrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."

 The truth is that Hitler was nothing but a very insecure man; he was just a coward. Do I need to say more?

  When the government forces itself into the private realm of women’s healthcare, it follows the Nazi ideology, which viewed women as walking incubators and objects to be used for sexual pleasure. There is no genuine concern for their health and safety. Trump’s presidency had devastating consequences for women because it led to the overturning of Roe v Wade. In states with abortion restrictions maternal mortality is higher. This is a fact.

 Amber Thurman and Candi Miller are examples of women who died as a consequence of overturning Roe v Wade, a change facilitated by Trump through his choice of judges for the Supreme Court. Trump took credit for overturning Roe v Wade, and said he was proud of it… how can anybody support a convicted felon who is proud of letting the government meddle with women’s healthcare? It is incomprehensible to me. The next step will be to scapegoat healthcare professionals because Trump’s strategy is to scapegoat and ignore facts. He lies continuously. How can anybody even believe that he supports freedom and ethical values?

 Let’s hope that history serves an important purpose: to learn from the past and avoid making the same mistakes.

 

Conclusion

 Auschwitz Lullaby shows what the worst of humanity can do. It can be used as a warning. It is a wake-up call to choose human dignity instead of hate. Helene’s life is an example of that. 

 I liked The Librarian of Auschwitz even more than this one, but I think both books can help us to understand the dangers of empowering a bully. Reading these books is an immersive experience. It is effective in exposing the horrors of the Holocaust.

  It is going to be a year since the horrifying terrorist attack by Hamas took place. The fact that some people have justified this brutality shocks me, but it also helps me to understand that there are people out there who are okay with Nazi strategies and tactics. There are also those who choose to deny the Holocaust of October 7. They deny the rapes and the atrocities committed by Hamas, but their denial does not wipe out the truth. The suffering it has caused will not be forgotten. The repercussions of that massacre continue to haunt the world, triggering more wars and violence.

 Those of us who believe in democracy and human rights will continue to speak up against atrocities and vote for candidates who oppose bullies.

  Let’s not forget the hostages and the struggles of the families honoring their loves ones while trying to seek justice. I cannot even start to imagine the desperation of being in such a situation. I am sharing a recent speech by Noa Tishby here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmUSIeL7ZUo&rco=1

 

 

Supplementary links:

 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/data-shows-migrants-taking-black-jobs-hispanic-jobs-114741798

https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/controlling-everyday-life/women/

 

https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/categories-of-prisoners/sinti-and-roma-in-auschwitz/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/10659129221111081

https://cambridgeblog.org/2023/03/hitler-did-a-lot-of-good-things-trump-and-the-us-rehabilitation-of-nazism/

https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/mythical-tie-between-immigration-and-crime

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/donald-trump-gives-supporters-the-green-light-to-blame-jews-if-he-loses-in-november

https://forward.com/fast-forward/615880/donald-trump-hitler-nazi-references/

https://sph.tulane.edu/study-finds-higher-maternal-mortality-rates-states-more-abortion-restrictions

https://www.mediamatters.org/abc/new-analysis-shows-no-migrant-surge-or-border-crisis-heres-how-often-broadcast-news-has-said

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/17/politics/kfile-mark-robinson-abortion-ban-no-exceptions/index.html

https://antisemitism.adl.org/

https://rsf.org/en/free-narges-coalition-calls-urgent-release-narges-mohammadi-ahead-iran-s-address-united-nations

 Mario Escobar has a licentiate’s degree in history and an advanced studies diploma in modern history. He has written numerous books about the Inquisition, the Catholic Church, the age of the Protestant Reformation, and religious sects.

 If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to read my reviews on the following books:

Women Heroes of World War II

 The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

Life Went on Anyway by Oleg Sentsov

Israel by Noa Tishby

 

Women Heroes of World War II by Kathryn J. Atwood

 

 It is a pleasure to read how these brave, intelligent women fought and fooled the Nazis. Their endeavors were not easy. Some of them perished in the process, but many of them survived and shared their stories, setting alight a wellspring of inspiration and education for those who dare to learn the facts of history.  

   The experiences of these women are a testament to the resilience of the human spirit amid harrowing circumstances. Their guile and courage saved many lives. 

This edifying read also delves into the root causes of World War II. The introduction offers an insightful and thorough analysis of the ways Adolf Hitler became popular.

    Kathryn Atwood’s book is a unique read because the meticulous research on the experiences of these remarkable women follows an in-depth explanation of the political and social context of their countries of origin during World War II. Women Heroes of World War II is a valuable resource for schools and universities. It is also a reminder that countries that treat women as second-class citizens are in reality afraid of their power and intelligence. (Cowardice has many faces and treating women like property is one of those faces).

 The forces that empowered a dictator like Hitler should not be ignored. The economic constraints of the 1930s are often cited to explain the origin of the horrifying Nazi regime, but there are social issues that are conveniently overlooked. Atwood’s book integrates every aspect of this period with sensibility and knowledge.

 Hatred was the engine that drove the irrational behaviors of this regime.

 “Schools became places of indoctrination, where history classes taught that Hitler was descended from great German heroes, math classes discussed how much money the state lost while supporting mentally challenged individuals, and biology classes taught the superiority of the Aryan race and the inferiority of the Jewish race.”

 Many people were blinded to the cruelty of the Nazis. Certain countries chose to ignore it, claiming that their own interests had to take precedence over the abuses of the Nazi regime. Hitler established a system that incited hatred and violence toward those who were different.

 “He instituted the Hitler-Jugend (Hitler Youth), a state- run program for all children ages 10-18. The Hitler Youth program was geared to make Germany’s children proud, military Nazis. They engaged in warlike games, killed small animals (to become insensitive to suffering and death), sang songs about German streets running with Jewish blood, and were encouraged toward fanatical, personal devotion to Hitler, a devotion that was to take precedence over their relationships with their parents. (Children were encouraged to turn in their own parents to the Gestapo if they heard them say anything against the Fuhrer).”

 I am rereading some of the parts that explore the situation of various countries during World War II: Germany, Poland, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain and the United States of America.

 The invasion of Poland was of special interest to me.

“World War II officially began on September 1, 1939, when German tanks and planes stormed into Poland with a new type of warfare called blitzkrieg, or ‘lightning war,’ in which an enemy was quickly overwhelmed by the simultaneous use of aircraft, tanks, and armed soldiers.”

  Poland military leaders were not prepared because their allies—France and Great Britain—had urged them to refrain from preparing for a defensive war to avoid aggravating Germany. The allies promised they would help them if German forces invaded them, but they did not keep their promise. Poland waited in vain for assistance. Poland eventually had to surrender to the German forces. To make matters worse, the eastern side of Poland was also invaded by the Soviet Union under Stalin’s power, so Poland ended up being divided by Germany and the Soviet Union. Millions of Poles were slaughtered or deported by the German Nazis. Thousands were also killed by Stalin’s soldiers.

 The Nazis separated Polish children from their families by force and ran tests on them to evaluate how Aryan they were. Based on their conclusions, they decided what to do with them.

  “As badly as these non-Jewish Poles were treated, Poland’s Jews were treated even worse. They were squeezed into tiny ghettos where living conditions were horrible and where many died quickly from disease, exposure, and starvation. But the worst was yet to come. Toward the end of 1941, the Nazi occupiers began to build camps that could kill large numbers of Jews very quickly. Jews from Poland, and, later, Jews from all over occupied Europe, were shoved onto cattle cars destined for these camps, where they were starved and worked to death, or immediately killed.”

 

 Who were the people who went against this extermination and helped to save lives during World War II? Atwood’s book highlights the stories of women who had the courage to defy the Nazis by fooling them and going against their “norms”. These women saved many lives amid the chaos. How did they do it? Kathryn Atwood explores their experiences and shares astounding details. I hope their names and stories will not be forgotten. I hope they will offer a beacon of hope wherever there is despair. May their strength persist in the desire of those who have the confidence to stand up against the oppression of fascist dictators, theocracies and other totalitarian regimes that force-feed their citizens with  factoids in order to destroy the essence of democracies across the world.

  May we all stand up for democracy with the voice of truth, and may the inspiration of these women live on in our aspirations and goals.

 Names of all the women included in the book: Sophie Scholl; Irene Gut; Irena Sendler, Stefania Podgorska; Marie-Madeleine Fourcade; Andree Virot; Josephine Baker; Magda Trocme; Diet Eman; Hannie Schaft; Johtje Vos; Corrie ten Boom; Andree de Jongh; Hortense Daman; Fernande Keufgens; Monica Wichfeld; Ebba Lund; Noor Inayat Khan; Nancy Wake; Pearl Witherington; Virginia Hall; Muriel Phillips; Marlene Dietrich; Maria Gulovich; Martha Gellhorn.

 

 

"1984" by George Orwell

"Of course the people do not want war... But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them that they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism. " German Field Marshall

 A reader of this blog took the time to e-mail me the post I deleted by accident. Thank you , Claire. I appreciate your time and cooperation.

 Today I’m publishing my post on “1984” again, with a few “upgrades”.

  If there is something about the plot and/or characters that offends somebody, please bear with it. George Orwell is now dead so you can’t bully the author. Excuse my sense of humor here. I know, I know. Women are not expected to have this kind of sense of humor (unless they use it to pester a woman who opposes the bully in power).

 Thankfully, I’m married to a man who loves my sense of humor.

 Do people get annoyed by the use of pen-names? Hopefully not because George Orwell is a pen-name. Ladies and gentlemen: live and let live.

Here’s my essay on “1984” by George Orwell.

 ‘1984’ is a dystopian novel about a country called Oceania. (The name Oceania probably alludes to the isolationist nature of its people).  Oceania  is constantly at war, but its citizens do not know why it is at war. They do support it, though, because anybody who is not a supporter is considered a traitor.

  Hatred and rage fuel the support of this endless war. 

 Anyone who dares to oppose the dictator’s ideas or think differently is vilified and will disappear. Those who work for the party are instructed to manipulate the truth as needed.  In fact, nobody is expected to  care about the truth because their lives would be at stake if they did. Freedom is considered to be blind obedience to the leader. 
 Physical movements and facial expressions are closely monitored by screens in people’s homes, political prisoners are treated worse than criminals and love does not exist; hatred and fear condition everybody’s behavior. Blind obedience to Big Brother is what matters.

 Torture and starvation await anybody who dares to challenge the system in any way.  Another strategy of the ruling Party is to destroy words. “We’re cutting the language down to the bone. Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?” “There will be no thought as we understand it now. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”

  Winston is a thirty-nine year-old man who works for the Ministry of Truth. He helps to change the historical facts but, in reality, he is a free thinking person who would like to sabotage Big Brother’s dictatorship. He falls in love with a woman, and they both challenge the system by loving each other and having secret encounters that they must plan in advance.

 When Winston becomes a political prisoner a member of the inner Party confesses to him, “Our civilization is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy - everything. Already we have destroyed the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. ..”

   “There will be no loyalty, except loyalty toward the party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science”.

“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power”. “We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power”.

 The truth is distorted to meet the leader’s interests; conformity becomes the rule.

 The society in which the authoritarian regime thrives is designed carefully to disregard critical thinking and to believe blindly in their leader. His authority is not to be questioned, and those who dare do it are punished and labeled as enemies. George Orwell portrays the dynamics of this society with striking details.

 The features that make Big Brother powerful are the following:

-Fanaticism

-Scapegoating

-Exacerbated nationalism

-Mindless slogans and repeated lies

-The destruction of language

-Use of songs and ceremonies to venerate the leader

  The past becomes mutable for the government can manipulate history by rewriting the historical facts and changing the data to keep the dictator in power.  This is done because the omnipotence of the dictator can only be preserved through lies and irrationality. 

  In Oceania the proletarians - also called “the proles”- are the majority of the population. The Party claimed to have liberated “the proles”, but, in reality, the dictator does not care about them.

“So long as they continued to work and breed, their other activities were without importance.”

“All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer working hours or shorter rations”.

   Contradictions are at the heart of the regime. In ‘1984’ the Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. 

    The question that lingers in my mind is whether these totalitarian leaders succeed because of the ignorance and/ or apathy of the masses or the conformism of the intellectuals. I think it is a combination of both. As Albert Einstein said, “Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”