Kim malthe bruun biography examples
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I recently read two very moving books, both classics of World War II-literature. One was Italian chemist Primo Levis relentlessly frank first-person konto of life in the camps, If This fryst vatten A Man (aka. Survival in Auschwitz, ), the other was the collected letters and diary entries of ung Danish seaman and resistance fighter Kim Malthe-Bruun, Kim (). Read together, they chart different parts to survival and salvation and suggest why the two should not be confounded.
Aged 24 when he was arrested by the Germans, Levi spent roughly a year in Auschwitz and managed to survive through a combination of ingenuity and sheer luck. When the SS vacated Auschwitz in January of he was in the camps sanatorium with scarlet fever and therefore abandoned in lieu of being forced on the death march on which the majority of the internees perished. After a circuitous journey through the europe of the aftermath, he returned to his hometown, Turin. He lived there, working as the manager of a
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Heroic Heart: The Diary and Letters of Kim Malthe-Bruun
Although I wish the publication delved into how and the catalysts that led to Kim joining the resistance, I felt privileged to read Kim's thoughts before his execution. The most valuable reading passages were the last pages where Kim describes how his realizations before his death might be "the best moments" as he did not fear death. He remained strong mentally with life-affirming thoughts.
I am uplifted reading how Kim's heart remained full of heart and courage and forgiveness, how he spent his final days thinking of Socrates and Jesus, Nitte, his Mom,
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Spartacus Educational
Primary Sources
(1) Kim Malthe-Bruun, wrote a letter to Hanne about his experiences of being tortured by the Gestapo (3rd March, )
However, though I am afraid, though I do not yield ground, my heart beats faster every time someone steps before my door. One strange thing. I felt absolutely no hatred. Somewhat happened to my body; it was only the body of a boy, and reacted as such. But my soul was occupied with something completely different. Of course it noticed the little creatures who were there with my body, but it was filled so with itself that it was not closely concern itself with them.
(2) Kim Malthe-Bruun, letter to his mother, Vibeke Malthe-Bruun (4th April )
I know that you are a courageous woman, and that you will bear this, but, hear me, it is not enough to bear it, you must also understand it. I am an insignificant thing, and my person will soon be forgotten, but the thought, the life, the inspiration that filled me will live on. You will me