Elli
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'Elli's 'coming of age' is a turning point that takes her into a world from which she can never return.' Discuss
The suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust can only be imagined as we read Bitton-Jackson's autobiography, Elli. The happy and generally peaceful life Elli experiences as she turns 13 changes almost overnight into a series of ever-worsening horrors as the Jews are driven from their homes and transported to concentration camps. Loss of possessions and separation from family members is eclipsed by the inhumane treatment experienced in Dachau and Auschwitz. Such horrors can result only in loss of innocence for the young girl and it means that when, with her family, she returns to her home she belongs nowhere in Europe and can only ever be a Jew.
Before the Elli was confronted with the tragedy of the Holocaust, she lived in a town called Somorja where she was greatly protected from all the horrors of Nazism. She was happy and peaceful with her biggest concerns being boys and her studies. This relaxed and shielded lifestyle soon changed when Nazism entered her small town on the Danube and started controlling the lives of all Jews including Elli.
The dehumanisation of the Jews was subtle with most of the non-Jews not even realising what was happening. At first the Jews were singled out by having to wear a yellow star and not communicate with others...