Writing Prompts - Eric Rosenfeld

Prompt 1

Please watch the video of Eric Rosenfeld as he discusses several central ideas. Determine one central idea from the video and write an essay that both summarizes and analyzes how that central idea is developed over the course of the video, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details. Cite strong and thorough evidence from the video to support your analysis.

Prompt 2

In Eric’s 1991 interview, he describes what it was like for him on Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938:

“…we were walking from the station in Darmstadt near the school and we met other children who were coming back and told them they had been beaten. The synagogue was…we could see the fire, the synagogue was in flames and they told us not to take the train because it might be dangerous to go back by train so I took the street car. And of course, I was very upset. And we went to another small town and saw one of the Jewish businesses they’re burning, and I came home and I was crying. And I had gotten home in about half an hour then a truckload of men arrived from a different town and they started to…came in with hammers and axes, destroyed our store. My father was sick at the time, he died a couple of months later. And he came out, he said, ‘I fought for the Germans, I fought in the First World War and that’s the thanks I get.’  They just told him to go back to bed and just made a mess of everything and I just hid in the corner and cried.”

Write an essay that compares Eric’s experience during Kristallnacht with other survivor experiences on this date. Be sure to cite strong and thorough evidence from both sources to support your argument.