The Eichmann Trial in Retrospect and The Pianist Media Assignment

Prejudice is among the top reasons for man's injustice towards one another. An example of this type of hatred was during the Holocaust. As written by Abba Eban in the essay titled The Eichmann Trial in Retrospect, "He who cannot remember the past is doomed to repeat it". In saying so, memory is essential in today's society. Knowing historical events which took place many generations ago is an asset for any individual, enabling one to distinguish between what's right and wrong. "Man is the only animal able to transmit experience. Memory is the father conscience. The issue is whether we should wipe from the tablets of memory the most vivid evidence of the consequences flowing from chauvinism, racial discrimination, and inhumanity" from Abba Eban.

Distinguishing how the world would be without the aspect of memory still needs to be taken into account. If an individual is not reminded that what he or she is doing is right or wrong, would it not become natural to one's mind that what they are doing is right from the get-go? How would have the world turned out if it was in complete chaos and yet no one, according to their memory, knew what they did was harmful. Such scenarios need to be taken into consideration.

In retrospect to "The Pianist", the film takes a similar toll with correspondence to Eban's ideas. The director of the film had one simple objective. And that objective was to grab hold of the audience and tell them that what the Nazi soldiers did to the Jewish nation was so incredibly wrong. And as a whole we should recognize the occurrence of the Holocaust in Germany and take the events into great consideration. Such occurrences were well documented in the film. Specific sequences in the movie were executed well. Using various techniques including both close ups, various camera angles and lighting to blend evenly with the scene, the director was able to generate a real sense of what's happening. An honourable mention goes to Wladyslaw Szpilman for his performance on the piano, which wasn't there at all. Director Roman Polanski perfected this particular scene with the usage of Szpilman's finger movement co-ordinated with the piano music played. Camera angles came into play as well. His fingers were depicted as if there was a piano actually underneath.

Not only was the film beautifully created, but the impact on the movie viewer was truly spectacular. Scenes from the film were at times brutal but what was more riveting was the fact that the film was based on a true story. Innocent lives were taken for no particular reason at all. German Nazis were so dehumanized that they had no conscience; they simply had no compassion toward the Jewish people. Examples from the film included Nazi soldiers persisting in forcing the exhausted Jews to take part in shameful acts, for the entertainment of the Nazis (i.e making Jewish people dance with strangers, even if they did not know one another, threatening to kill them if they did not obey). Not only was that unbearable to watch. Jewish citizens even turned against one another, just so they survive the tragedy. That proved how powerful the Nazi war machine truly was.

What we have left to contemplate on is how Jewish lives were mistreated. "Man is the only animal that has ever shown a tendency to destroy its own species". Yet, we still did not understand the fact that what was done to the Jewish people was wrong. The United States, among other nations, still has not quite got it. Even after the unfortunate incident with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. If we don't continue to remind our children about the past, how will they be able to distinguish between what is good and bad? "The question must be answered in the name of the future not of the past". The past is nothing but memory, nothing can be done to change it. What is left to be done is mend these matters and give the people of this world what they ever so deserve, peace.