't
Kimberly
Rogers
Mr. McCaslin
History
7
1
May 2015
The
Story
of
an
ltalian
Man in
a Gennan Goncentration
Camp
For
my
third
historical book
report,
I
read an autobiography entitled
lJnforgoften.
Written by
Franz
Thaler,
tJnforgotten
is
the
true
story of
Thale/s
experiences
during
the
Holocaust.
Although an ltalian
citizen, Thaler
was
brought
to
a
concentration
camp
when
he refused to
join the German
military. Even
though
he
is
tortured
and
treated
inhumanely, he
doesn't
beg
the
reader
for
pity; he expresses
his
feelings
and tells
the
straight story. Thaler also
specifically
describes his
pain
and
hunger
vividly.
I
chose
to
read
this
book
because
Mr.
McCaslin
recommended
it
to
our
class and
because
it
sounded unusual and interesting.
years
after his liberation,
Thaler
runs into
the
man
who
had caused his
imprisonment, but
he does not react
with
anger, even
though
he feels
very
scared-
He says: "l
was
overwhelmed by the fear
which
I
had
always
had
in
the past
of
men
like
this" (Thaler
161). He shows
great
maturi§
and
greets
him like
an
old
acquaintance, which
is
a
much better treatment than
the
man
deserves'
He
says:
*[He] offered
to
shake my hand
by
way
of
greeting,
to
which
I
responded'
(Thaler
161).Thaler isn't remembering
this man
bitterly,
with
a cold and
shrunken
heart. He
also
writes: "something
like
fighting
spirit rose up
within
me:
now
I
would
defend
myself'
(Thaler
161).
So
he
won't get
sent to
such
a
tenible
§pe
of
place again,
Thaler
is
standing
up tor himself against those
who hurt
him.
Thaler
wants
to let
others
know that
what
happened was
wrong,
and that the
wounds
of
the war
were
stilltoo
fresh to discuss quite yet.
Thaler
also
writes
in much
detail
about his physical pain and injuries.
He
says:
"l scratched
myself day and night.
My
whole
body
was
covered
with
sores"
flhaler
B8).
This
must have been
a
difficult
experience
to
write
about because
it
was
one of the
worst
moments of his
life.
lt forced him to
think
of
a
time
of extreme
physical
pain
ard
hw
that
effected
him
mentally.
He
writes: "l
felt
so
miserable
that
day
I
thorght
my
lfü
was
ovef
(Thaler 97). Thaler
writes
about this
§pe
of
dqres$rg
thorghß
many times throughout
the book.
lt
helps to draw the
reader
into
x1e
story
and
elperience
how
the
author felt.
Also,
the
way
Thaler gives us
a
