Billy Pilgrim's experience with the German's in prison reminded me of a project I once did over Maximilian Kolbe. Kolbe was sent to a concentration camp after he had been hiding Jews in his monastery in Poland. He was then sent to an extermination camp. Billy's experience of being in the boxcar for days without food reminded me of Kolbe's punishment. He volunteered to take the place of another person to be tortured through starvation. He and ten other men were placed in a cell and held without food for days. Billy also never fought back against the Nazi's. He never protested in any way for his freedom. Maximilian Kolbe never did either. His impact was through keeping the hopes of the imprisoned Jews up. His enthusiasm kept the hopes for freedom alive all throughout the camp. Billy Pilgrim and Maximilian Kolbe are connected because they made impacts without physically revolting against authority.
Interesting comparison, I didn't think of that, but it does make sense. They have quite a bit in common; except Kolbe couldn't time travel.
ReplyDeleteI did a project on Maximilian Kolbe as well and I thought of him through the majority of the book! (Of course, only the WWII related parts)They are both POWs and against the Nazi party without actually raising too much of a ruckus.
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