Yellow Star

Antisemitic genocide is explored through the tragic deaths of the Perlmutters’ friends, family members, and neighbors during the Nazi invasion of Poland. Indiscriminate murder of Jewish people and other ghetto residents is a commonplace occurrence, as is illustrated by the constant neighborhood gossip about who has been beaten or killed: “Every day the neighbors buzz about who is gone, who is sick, who died, who has been murdered. […] They beat people and shoot them right in front of everyone, and no one can say anything, because the Nazis are the law” (54). This anecdote illustrates the powerlessness of ghetto residents to protest violence and murder; Nazi soldiers view their lives as worthless and therefore think little of these callous acts.

Mass genocide is also referred to in the deportation of Jews to extermination camps. Children are forcibly deported before their parents and families, causing tragic forced separations and, often, the murder of parents who resist: “Small children. Big children. Crying children. If parents try to stop the soldiers, Bang! Bang! The soldiers shoot them dead” (74). Syvia’s description highlights the terror and violence of these nighttime visits, as well as the devastation of children being taken from their families.