Do you feel Sofie and Bertie are bad people for going into hiding instead of actively fighting against fascism? Why or why not?
I dont think they were bad people. Its too easy to criticize those who dont fight but they were among the most vulnerable. I think their exposure might have led to more of their friends being caught.
No. I felt that they were coping in the best way they thought they could. An active protest would perhaps expose them to harm and would be risky
If they were “normal” people, maybe although it’s unfair to judge others for the choices they make. But fighting, at least for Bertie, would have probably been a death sentence so I understand their choice
What a horrible dilemma for these people. Bertie freely admits that they knew what the Nazis were doing and did nothing. But to have challenged them at all would have been a death sentence.
I have to admit that in the current political climate I’m concerned about how my actions now may come back to haunt me later. My husband might make a quip that could be perceived as anti (choose your side), and then promptly follows up with “I didn’t mean it, Alexa!” Friends post pictures on Facebook of themselves at rallies and I have to wonder if they’ll be used against them at some point. And it embarrasses me that I think that way - that I’m concerned about personal safety over what I perceived to be just - but it hasn’t been enough for me to actually do anything about it, at least not yet.
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I don’t feel Sofie and Bertie were bad people at all. They were doing what they needed to do to literally survive. It was the only choice they could have made to increase their chances of making it through such horrific times.
They are able to live and fight again another day. They have memories that need to be kept and in some way kept alive and advanced. Just by being alive they are fighting against discrimination and fascism. If they had stayed they would have been killed and their memories lost forever.Bertie’s reason for going into hiding was especially alltruistic because he was protecting Sofie and also finding a place for Gert to come to if he had been able to escape.
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It was sheer survival in times that they were a targeted group. It seemed to be the only option
I do not think Sofie and Bert are bad but instead they were very brave. Survival is the best revenge; it tells others that they still exist. Besides, they did help Karl. It was dangerous and they would have been safer to not help Karl. Instead, they showed love and compassion and included Karl in all their plans.
Sofia and Bert did not hurt anyone and they were in no position to fight against the Nazis. They will always carry the guilt of the way their actions harmed others.
No, They were not bad people. The Nazis weere bad people who forced others to hide in fearfor their lives. The time to fight facism was not easy, adn it was better for them to live another day to fight. I was sad for them at the end whne they found out they were not much safer here in America. What a realization after all that false hope!
I agree with you all. They were not bad people. They were just trying to survive.
I don’'t think they were bad people. Not everyone has the courage, risk tolerance, etc. to actively fight against things like fascism. Speaking truth to power can be a scary thing. They were hiding themselves which may have been the most risk they were willing to take.
Bertie and Sofie literally ran for their lives. Bertie had already narrowly escaped the siege at the Institute. Had he not escaped out the window, he most certainly would have been gravely injured, if not killed. Had they not escaped to Ulm when they did, they would have been forcibly transported to a camp or killed. They were fortunate to have a place available to hide and sympathetic people to risk their own lives by giving them shelter. They were not bad people at all. They were in an untenable situation. Attempting to stay in Berlin and fight was futile. They made the right decision.