Lines 1-12 : how is the first sentence of the excerpt ironic ? what is the author really trying to say ?

Irony is a literary technique that consists of saying the opposite of what you really mean for humorous effect or as a way to emphasize it.

In this case, the sentence is ironic because of the nature of the gift and of the giver. The SS was responsible for the prisoners suffering and were capable of unimaginable cruelty. Therefore, they would not be likely to give them any gift. Secondly, the gift was a restriction that made them uneasy, which is far from "beautiful."

The intention of the author is to use irony to imply the opposite meaning, most likely as a way to emphasize how "horrible" the gift was, because of its opposition to "beautiful."

- "about the claims : -

making a claim is just a fancy way of saying that you're stating your main point.' claims are not just opinions. a claim tells what you think is true about a topic based on your knowledge .

about the country claims : -

a counterclaim is just the opposite of a claim. counterclaims are also provable and supportable by reasons and evidence. not just, 'because i said so.' when you're planning an argument, you need to know what the counterclaim might be so that you can make sure that you disprove it with your reasons and evidence your research." - (catherineroberts)

we don't know what poem you are referring to

explanation: