Europa Europa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Europa Europa - Essay Example Book Summary A young Jewish lad, Solomon Perel lives with his family in a remote part of Poland. A few years after his circumcision, he is forced to move with his family to Lodz, Poland after an attack takes the life of his sister. Solomon has two brothers; Isaak and David. Later, we learn of the tension that exists in these places when Germans attack Poland which leads to instability in the area. In the ensuing fracas, Solomon’s parents send him and his brother away so that they will be safe in a different location. We see how Soviet soldiers rescue Solomon and later sending him to an orphanage in Grondo. This way, Solomon and Isaac are separated. Solomon is then recruited into the Soviet Communist Union of Youth (Perel, 2008). Relations between German and Poland continue to deteriorate. For the second time, Germans attack Poland, this time attacking the orphanage. Orphans here flee which separates Solomon from his peers at the time. Germans rescue the young lad. Solomon is v ery fluent in German that he is able to convince the German soldiers that he is of German descent and not Polish. He comes up with a new identity by claiming that he is Josef Peters. A gay German soldier, Robert later discovers that Solomon is indeed a Jew since he was circumcised and not German as earlier claimed. Robert does not reveal this, hence, vows to keep it a secret. Robert becomes the young Solomon’s protector, but, this changes during a combat between Germans and Soviets. During this combat, Robert together with other German soldiers is killed, and this leaves Solomon all by himself. Solomon decides to surrender himself to the Soviets. As he strides across the battlefield, Germans grab this opportunity and they ambush the Soviets forcing them to surrender. Even though Solomon did not intend this, he is now regarded as a hero and this culminates in him being sent to a Hitler Youth school (Rigg, 2008). Various events transpire along the way to the school, the most no table being a sexual encounter between Solomon and a woman he was travelling with. Upon arrival at the school, Solomon is regarded a hero and a true and patriotic German. Solomon gets assigned to a room with a new found friend, Gerd. Solomon falls in love with a German girl, Leni, but, they do not interact sexually since he fears that his identity will be revealed. At school, students are expected to be examined by a doctor once a year. Solomon realizes that this is going to reveal his identity since the doctor’s examination entailed being naked. He, therefore, evades the procedure by faking a toothache. Later, we see Solomon slapping Leni after she insults Jews in a small argument. The two do not see each other for long. Solomon goes to visit Lemi’s mother after some months. He learns from her that Lemi was heavy with child, and that it is Gerd who had impregnated her. Solomon is really heartbroken, and this forces him to confess to Lemi’s mother that he is Jew ish. She sympathizes with him and promises to keep this a secret. At his school, police summon him to present his racial purity papers. Solomon tries to explain that he had left them at Grondo, but they hear none of it. They demand that he brings his Racial Purity Certificate. Solomon feels doomed since without these papers, his identity will easily be revealed. As he leaves the building, Gerd is killed through a nearby bombing. As the movie reaches its homestretch, Hitler Youth soldiers are