Blog 1

Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn starts with a thrilling opening. The main character Karl, who lives in Vienna, is alone in the apartment he lived in with his mother. This scene takes place minutes after witnessing three large men invade their home and take his mother away with force. The last thing the men said was that they would be back for him. So now Karl must flee before they return. He chooses to go to an old friend's house. Emil is a Jewish boy who was a classmate of Karl's and a close friend at one time. Due to the changes happening in Vienna, teachers were forced to teach the Aryan children that Jews were dirty commoners and not equals. Emil was bullied and taunted by other classmates and eventually forced him out of school for his own protection. Emil's mother asked and insisted that Karl not be seen with Emil for fear of both the boys’ safety. Karl now hopes that the friendship he had with Emil will be enough to persuade Emil and his family to shelter him and take care of him during this hard time. The setting of the story takes place in Vienna Austria within the 1940s, a time when Jewish men, women, and children were being separated from the rest of the city because of their religion. The problem so far is that Jewish people are being treated unfairly and that penalties can and are being given to Jewish people and non-Jews that help them.