Mila 18

            Mila 18, by Leon Uris, is set in Poland During World War II.
             war, the Jewish race contributed to a significant part of the European economies .
             and cultures. However, at this time, the world was hit by a terrible depression .
             which left many people of Europe with nothing. Unfortunately, to find an easy .
             answer to their problems at this time, the Nazis Party in Germany blamed the .
             hardships of Europe on the Jews. As a result, the Jews were put in .
             concentration camps, with horrible conditions, where they were segregated from .
             the other races. Mila 18 is about these Jews who faught for their lives. There .
             were strong Jews who could withstand the atrocities commited against them. .
             There were also weaker Jews who could not stand the horrible conditions around .
             them and gave in to the Nazis Party. There were also evil Germans who .
             wrongfully persecuted the Jews. Mila 18 shows that in dire situations and .
             surroundings, one will change and show his or her true nature because of .
             ultimately one thing: faith. .
             Dr. Paul Bronski was one of the best professors at the university in .
             Warsaw before the war, and he was loved by all his students (Uris 78). He was .
             one of the leaders of the universities, and he was looked up to by everyone else. .
             However, during the war, he becomes a part of the Jewish Civil Authority (Uris .
             136), and does the dirty work for the Germans against his own people, the Jews, .
             in order to stay alive. He has so much faith in the fact that if he does what he is .
             told to do by the Germans, then he and his famliy would be saved. This causes .
             him to help the Germans even when it means death for his own people; .
             consequently, his children and wife become "embaressed" (Uris 339) by him. .
             When he was not surrounded by horrible conditions in the Warsaw Ghetto, he .
             was one of the most respected person in Warsaw. However, when he is.
             surrounded by "half-starved, disease-weakened" (3) people in the ghetto, he .