Month: March 2010

Children in the Nazi Ghettos

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Although the concept of the family did not disappear during the Holocaust, the traditional family structure was modified to meet new circumstances. Isolated from their jobs and their role as provider for their families, fathers no longer had the same authority. Since many family members worked in the ghettos, including children aged ten and older, the father’s status within the family changed. In addition to the inability to adequately provide for their families, fathers also could not protect their children from Nazi cruelty. Israel Gutman states that “during the Nazi occupation and the existence of the ghetto…the trust and logic of the adult world was undermined. Fears, frustration, and helplessness affected adults more profoundly than it did the adolescents and placed the head of the family in a humiliating position. Fathers could not protect their children.” Deprived of their traditional roles, fathers were ineffective and had no influence over their children who began to disobey and question their authority. These children also had no role model to replace their real fathers. No paternal feeling existed among the Nazis for the Jews in the ghettos. Since the Nazis believed the Jews were evil, children either had a male role model through their father or they had none at all.

 

The role of Jewish children changed as a consequence of the decline in patriarchal authority. Their fathers were no longer providers, so children smuggled food to their families. They accomplished their mission by slipping through and over the gates to beg on Polish streets, and many saved the food they received to present to their families rather than eat it immediately. Mark Mandel from Warsaw, Poland is one example of a child smuggler. There was a streetcar that ran for two blocks in the Warsaw ghetto which Mandel, age 11, and his sister used to smuggle goods from the Christian side. The entire society was turned upside down as children began to replace their parents as the support of the family. Children had the advantage of size and the ability to play on the sympathies of those on the outside, but their task was dangerous. Diarist Abraham Lewin told of the Warsaw ghetto’s tiny smugglers: “Once again we can observe the scores of Jewish children from the age of ten to 12 or 13 stealing over the Aryan side to buy a few potatoes there…There are also vicious guards who hit the children with murderous blows…More than one child has fallen victim to their bloodlust.” Prior to the conditions of the ghetto these children only worried about school and chores, but in the ghetto they were forced to take on adult responsibilities and even risk their lives for the sake of getting food to their families.

 

Following the breakdown of the traditional family, teenagers in the ghettos established youth groups. Many members either had no blood relations left alive or had missing relatives, but the groups they formed soon became surrogate families. Youth groups performed the basic functions needed for survival. Members of youth groups shared whatever they had in money or food so that everyone had enough to survive. The groups provided aid to members, but those involved formed familial bonds with their fellow members. Youth movement leader Yitzhak Zuckerman explains: “There was common responsibility, not concern for ourselves…the possibility that one of us would abandon the other and get along somehow—something that sometimes even happened within families—did not exist within our circles.”

 

How Ancient Egyptians Viewed Their Goddesses

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Egyptian goddesses portrayed women’s passive role in the community. Each goddess, regardless of her popularity or the power she sometimes exerted, reinforced the Egyptian female ideal who bore children and obeyed her husband. One goddess who fit the description of the ideal woman was Isis. The myth of Isis says that when the god Seth betrayed her husband Osiris and tore him to pieces, Isis and sister Nephthys gathered his remains and made Osiris whole again. Isis conceived a son named Horus with the resurrected Osiris. As a mother and a wife, Isis was particularly important to women. Isis was frequently invoked to protect children because she used her magical powers to hide her newborn son Horus in the marsh away from the jealous Seth. Isis and Horus were also frequently called upon to ensure a safe delivery for a woman in labor. Prayers and spells such as “For speeding up the child-birth of Isis” could be recited during a difficult delivery. Clearly Isis must have possessed great magical powers to resurrect her husband and protect her child, yet she still conformed to the ancient Egyptian feminine ideal. 

 

Although occasionally less benevolent than Isis, the goddess Hathor also acted the part of the model Egyptian woman. Hathor was the goddess of love and music who was often depicted as a cow because of her role as a nurturer and provider. The importance of Hathor was emphasized by her identification with royalty. The pharaoh could be identified with many gods, but he was often referred to as the son of the sun-god Re. As his wife, the queen wore the sun disc and horns of Hathor, who was the daughter of Re. Though the queen was the woman most directly associated with Hathor, ordinary people could call on Hathor for protection. One mother invoked Hathor to be present at a birth: “Rejoicing, rejoicing in heaven, in heaven! Birth giving is accelerated! Come to me, Hathor, in my fine pavilion, in this happy hour.” Hathor’s powers, like those of Isis, were used to protect women. Although these powers were vast, they never directly impacted the male worlds of politics and war. 

   

The ancient Egyptians viewed many of their goddesses as potentially good as well as potentially evil. Hathor could be either benevolent or destructive. The popularity of the nurturing version of Hathor reflected society’s idealized woman, but the Egyptians realized that even the nurturing mother could become violent. Goddesses were not always cast in traditionally feminine roles.  Hathor’s destructive counterpart was Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess of war and sickness. When the god Re wished to destroy mankind he sent Sekhmet to carry out his wish. He later changed his mind but Sekhmet refused to stop, relishing the destruction she was causing. Re checked Sekhmet by getting her drunk and mankind was saved. Significantly, a male god stops Sekhmet’s plans, suggesting that regardless of her powers, no woman can override the wishes of a man.   

Nefertiti: Powerful Queen of Egypt

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When Akhenaten, (also known as Amenhotep IV) came to the throne in 1353 B.C., he and Nefertiti possessed power and wealth which equaled that of Akhenaten’s parents. Like his father, Akhenaten gave his wife more authority than most Egyptian queens.

 

By virtue of her physical appearance, Nefertiti gained her husband’s admiration and, through him, greater influence. Nefertiti’s literate contemporaries failed to comment on her appearance, but the meaning of her name as well as Akhenaten’s obvious devotion to her confirm that she possessed unparalleled beauty. Her beauty was acknowledged during her lifetime through her name, which means “A Beautiful Woman has Come.” The emphasis which Akhenaten placed on her beauty gave Nefertiti a unique role in public life which she later used to gain religious and political power. 

 

Akhenaten eliminated the Egyptian the other Egyptian gods and goddesses and commanded that the people worship only the sun god Aten. Since the female goddesses were no longer worshiped, the country had no female idol for its women to emulate or goddess to ensure the country’s prosperity. Nefertiti’s beauty, however, provided a solution. In the absence of female goddesses, the queen’s role took on a special significance. The king and queen formed a semi-divine triad with Aten like that of the creator god, his son, and his wife Tefnut. Tradition dictated that the pharaoh would be semi-divine, but Nefertiti’s beauty and Akhenaten’s devotion to her ensured her goddess-like status as well. In fact, Pharaoh Akhenaten and his consort were so god-like that they determined how the Aten was to be worshiped. A study of the ancient illustrations of Nefertiti and Akhenaten reveals that only they could worship the Aten directly and their subjects worshiped their god through the royal couple. Prayers from commoners and even officials to the Aten were addressed to the king and queen. For example, a burial petition of temple official named Panehesy requested the following from Nefertiti: “‘May she grant the entrance of favor and the exit of love, and a happy recollection in the presence of the king, and that thy name be welcome in the mouth of the companions.’” Nefertiti’s beauty led to Akhenaten’s devotion to her, and that devotion gave her power in the Aten religion.

 

Nefertiti attained other privileges in the state religion. Traditionally, women could serve as priestesses to female goddesses, but only male pharaohs could make offerings to the gods. Nefertiti, however, performed the religious duties from which other queens were barred. The Aten’s temple in Amarna holds traditional scenes of the king offering to the god, yet in one building the queen raises her hands in offering with only her eldest daughter in attendance. The act of offering to the Aten was an honor, but Egyptologists believe that Nefertiti may have presided over religious ceremonies as well. Each day at Amarna three ceremonies were held for the Aten at sunrise, noon, and at sunset. Nefertiti likely performed the sunset ceremony, reciting the Hymn to the Aten which her husband composed. The religious power granted to Nefertiti came as a result of her goddess-like status.

 

As her reign continued, Nefertiti used her beauty to achieve political power as well as religious power. Several ancient stelae depict Nefertiti performing a typically kingly act—slaying Egypt’s enemies. In one scene, Nefertiti wears only a long skirt and a blue crown while a female enemy kneels beneath her raised right arm. Nefertiti dons a king’s attire of skirt and a version of the king’s blue war crown. The artisans’ portrayals of Nefertiti in these smiting scenes suggest that she acquired great political influence. Nefertiti’s power undoubtedly came from her close relationship with her husband. These works must have received his approval. In his devotion to her beauty and his need for a female goddess, Akhenaten enhanced her political power.   

 

Growing Up Mayan

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Mayan children grew up with parents who wanted their early childhood years to be carefree. Children lived with their extended families in nalil, which were clusters of huts. In this environment, they were surrounded by adults and cousins of various ages.

In the average Mayan family, older family members soon became teachers to the children in the nalil. Most importantly, children were taught respect for their elders. Girls and boys learned the skills they needed to be successful in their culture. A boy’s father and other male family members showed him how to fish and hunt. If a hut needed to be built or a canoe repaired, the boy participated and learned another valuable skill. Sons of craftsmen learned their trade from their father.

Like many other ancient cultures, Mayan girls learned skills that differed greatly from boys. Girls were taught how to cook, weave, and perform other household tasks. Girls did learn some tasks outside the home, however. For example, they were expected to learn how to barter at the local market.

Both girls and boys were taught the Mayan religious traditions. Priests instructed children about the various gods. After a basic introduction to their religious traditions, priests also taught children how to perform ceremonial dances.

Children of nobles received more intellectual instruction. They studied astronomy and learned to read the hieroglyphs. Sports were considered important for boys to master. Regardless of their social status, boys and girls were taught separately from one another until they knew their duties well enough to marry.