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dark chapter

English translation: the dark period in their lives and the lives of the Jewish community

08:40 Sep 11, 2006
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: dark chapter
Hamburg had the biggest Jewish community in Germany: we made up five per cent of the population. Even during the "dark chapter" my grandparents were hidden by friends in Hamburg.
Buttercup
Selected answer:the dark period in their lives and the lives of the Jewish community
Explanation:
I would say that the writer is referring to a period of terrible events in the lives of her grandparents and the entire community to which they belonged - for example, a period of persecution of the Jews, such as the second world war.

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Note added at 5 mins (2006-09-11 08:46:43 GMT)
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World War - sorry about the typo

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Note added at 6 mins (2006-09-11 08:47:44 GMT)
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And I should of course have written 'her/his' when referring to the writer.
Selected response from:

Caryl Swift
Poland
Local time: 04:33
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +12the dark period in their lives and the lives of the Jewish community
Caryl Swift
3 +7The Holocaust
Anna Maria Augustine (X)
4(of a period of time or situation) characterized by tragedy, unhappiness, or unpleasantness
sergey (X)
4the dark days of World War II
Pnina


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +7
The Holocaust


Explanation:
*

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Note added at 6 mins (2006-09-11 08:47:07 GMT)
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The Shoah

Anna Maria Augustine (X)
France
Local time: 04:33
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  VdeMoor (X): oui oui :)
1 min
agree  ErichEko ⟹⭐: Seems the text specifically refers to this.
16 mins
agree  BrigitteHilgner: This is how I understand this, too.
25 mins
agree  Suzan Hamer: Yes, definitely; the Holocaust more specifically than WWII, the entire event.
1 hr
agree  Ioanna Karamanou
3 hrs
agree  humbird: If the time is during the Hitler's reign, this is very correct.
5 hrs
neutral  Refugio: I think the term Holocaust is used when referring to the whole historical picture, but not necessarily when referring to what individuals went through during that time.
7 hrs
agree  Isabelle Bouchet
9 days
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +12
the dark period in their lives and the lives of the Jewish community


Explanation:
I would say that the writer is referring to a period of terrible events in the lives of her grandparents and the entire community to which they belonged - for example, a period of persecution of the Jews, such as the second world war.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 mins (2006-09-11 08:46:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

World War - sorry about the typo

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2006-09-11 08:47:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And I should of course have written 'her/his' when referring to the writer.

Caryl Swift
Poland
Local time: 04:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 76
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nesrin
8 mins
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  David Knowles: I think this more general statement is right. It's the attitude of society as a whole at the time, not the specific horrors of the holocaust that is being referred to.
20 mins
  -> What I had in mind was the persecution in its entirety. Thank you, David! :-)
agree  Alison Jenner
36 mins
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  Dave Calderhead: and with David - there were other event leading up to the Holocaust, such as the 'Kristalnacht'
54 mins
  -> That's what I was thinking. Thank you, Dave! :-)
agree  Suzan Hamer: But to nit-pick, the writer indicates during the dark period people were hiding (from what? the Holocust), and what is the specific definitition of "the Holocaust," when did it officially start? To me Kristalnacht was part of, or at least the beginning
1 hr
  -> Well, yes. It was a long, slow process. What's more, the question itself doesn't even tell us in which century the events spoken of in the text took place. Thank you, Susan! :-)
agree  Jack Doughty
2 hrs
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
3 hrs
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  humbird
5 hrs
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  NancyLynn
5 hrs
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  R. Alex Jenkins: The persecution of the Jews started many years before the start of WWII, so this would be a good option.
6 hrs
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  Refugio
7 hrs
  -> Thank you! :-)
agree  Sophia Finos (X)
11 hrs
  -> Thank you! :-)
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
(of a period of time or situation) characterized by tragedy, unhappiness, or unpleasantness


Explanation:
&

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Note added at 10 mins (2006-09-11 08:51:15 GMT)
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e.g.
the dark days of the war.



sergey (X)
Local time: 03:33
PRO pts in category: 12
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the dark days of World War II


Explanation:
Those days were a dismal/gloomy period.

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Note added at 32 mins (2006-09-11 09:13:01 GMT)
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I have used the search engine Google and have found out that the term "the dark days of World War II is written in 15,800 English websites. Here are 2 examples of its usage:
1. "Turkey's role in rescuing Jews during the dark days of World War II."
www.turkiye.net/sota/turkjew.htm
2. "In the dark days of World War II Arthur Haulot was deported from Belgium to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany."
www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=49&s...

Pnina
Israel
Local time: 05:33
Native speaker of: Native in HebrewHebrew
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