Growing up in a world that exposes children and adults alike to numerous superheroes, no one is immune to understanding the need for secret identities. Superman in his red, flowing cape with striking blue eyes, goes by an alias of journalist Clark Kent. Wonder Woman dons a golden lasso and an American flag inspired costume to fight crime, but is known as Diana Prince, career woman, to secretly fit into the normal world. These clandestine identities provide protection for themselves and loved ones from prying nemeses eyes. However, the need to hide oneself from danger presented by an enemy is not left solely to the imaginary world of comic books. The Jewish population during World War II knew that their heritage could jeopardize their lives.…show more content… Once a Jewish child had obtained a false identity, they were placed far away from their loved ones. The parents were only given the most minimal of details on where the child would be going to ensure their safety (Bogner). This was most certainly a heart breaking choice to make for the safety of one’s own child. One parent describes the heartache she experienced after handing her child over for protection: "You have an appointment with a stranger on the corner of a certain street. She takes your child and disappears with her in the bus. That's how I gave her away... how I survived this, I don't know."…show more content… Children were sometimes placed with “adopting” families that would open their home in an effort to support the opposition (Tec). Along with having a brand new identity, these children had to learn new languages, customs, and religions as a way to blend into the environment. Some even had to go as far as pretending to be the opposite gender due to the identification practices used by Nazi soldiers (Tec). Because Jewish law stated that male babies were to be circumcised after birth, they were left with identifiable scars on their genitalia. Nazi law enforcement would often make suspected Jewish males strip to the nude to validate their identity (Tec). So, naturally, a family who suddenly gained an extra male child in their home would be subject to search. However, it was much easier to conceal the male child as a female to prevent such an invasion of privacy. More extreme measures would be taken at times if the male could not pass as female. Surgical interventions were used to mask the scar caused by circumcision ("Hidden Children: Hardships."). It was not easy for either gender to assimilate though. Breaking character would be a death sentence for not only the Jewish child, but the family involved with harboring them ("Hidden Children:
