Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Introduction
This course is focused on the holocaust, and the struggles that the Jews had to face. The semester long class changes everybody as a whole. Personally, I can say that my outlook on life has altered; I have gained so much information that I never had before. The extremes of bias, racism, and prejudice were examined in a historical context. I felt my moral and ethical choices become changed, and I had a much greater awareness of the diversity of the world and how much was really out there. I would never have imagined half the struggles have ever occurred that I learned about. This made me actually draw the conclusion of how betraying humans can be, especially with the little remorse they feel toward their personal actions. I also learned how easily one person will follow somebody else’s lead, regardless of what the circumstances they are being forced to take. This was shown throughout the duration of the holocaust, which was completely covered during this course by the use of films, documentaries, and photographs. The sequence of the course was extremely organized, and built up to the most impacting films which left everlasting memories. From racism within the Jim Crow Laws, to the WWI experience, everything notable in world history was covered. In the end, the aftermath of all of these events left a huge impression of everybody in the classroom, which is the clearest observation concluded about this class.
What Facing History Meant to Me
Throughout the duration of this course, a lot of personal encounters were met, and I learned a lot about myself as well as harsh conditions that have been met throughout the years. I have realized the serious matters that have arisen globally and why they have been caused. As a student, the knowledge I gained by taking this course will stick with me forever, and as a person my morals have been completely shifted. This was shown more specifically in documentaries and films such as Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Grey Zone, and the last one, which contained real footage of the extermination camps.
I never thought one class could take such a toll on my personal beliefs, and feelings towards others. The most influential film was Boy in Striped Pajamas. This movie was extremely hard for me to watch, and it left an everlasting impression in my mind. The hard part about this movie was the plot itself, and the buildup to what was going to happen. The innocence that the little boys represented stood for all of the young ones that were dying every day, and how they were left in the dark about what was happening to them. This made me realize how cruel of an action the entirety of the holocaust was. Neither of the boys were really too educated on the evil nature of the German Nazi’s, and the immoral acts that they were committing against helpless civilians. What was so vital to the plot about this was that Bruno, although his dad was a strict commander, had no negative propaganda about his outlook on others. He deemed everybody as equal; regardless of the hardships that others were facing throughout this time. Throughout his short time inside the electric fence of the camp, he was constantly asking questions regarding what was going on around him, and why everybody was proceeding to do as they were told. When approaching the gas chamber, Bruno was convinced it was just a shower that he was entering, and nothing else. This sincerely showed how hurtful the Nazi’s actions were on those who were innocent. They had no idea what they were going through, and still held firm belief that everybody was on equal levels, regardless of the circumstances. These kids, both German and Jewish, were exposed to a completely new world of danger and fear, which should not have been brought upon them at such a young age. For me, learning about this information at sixteen was hard enough. I could not imagine the difficulty of what some German boys had to overcome learning about the situation, some as early as they were born, and living with that weight on their shoulders for the rest of their life.
Although Boy in the Striped Pajamas had harsh impact on my views towards the holocaust, The Grey Zone gave me helpful insight on what the conditions inside these concentration camps were really like. This documentary covered everything from the working of the gas chambers, to how the Jews were treated while they were on their way to these camps in the trains. This film also gave me a great idea of how the Nazis gained the power they did, and the path they took to rise to the high levels of superiority they believed that they had. If I had not watched The Grey Zone, a lot of the other films I saw wouldn’t have made such a hard impact on my personal feelings. Because I knew a lot more of the information on what was occurring behind the scenes of the camps, I would just picture the extremes of how poorly the Jew’s were being treated, for no apparent reason at all. This documentary showed me how devious the Nazis were, with all of their little tactics to make it look like this mass extermination was acceptable.
One of the most influential films I have ever seen is the last one that we viewed. This documentary consisted of completely real, raw footage of the extermination camps. This was the exact conditions of how the U.S. Army found them when the Nazis were defeated. The images could not have gotten any more real. The level that they were on was extremely disturbing, and I feel like after learning about all that has happened I absorbed all of that information better than I would have at the beginning of the course. It helped my hatred towards the Nazis grow, and build up even worse than it was previously. The inhumane actions that I saw here just made me feel absolutely sick knowing that people will give into these horrible actions, and follow the footsteps of others. This left an everlasting negative image in my mind, as I became more and more aware of the power that some people thought they held, which was not true by any means. After completing this film, lots of questions came to my mind. I wondered whether the Nazis felt remorse and regret towards their actions, where they clearly had deserved to face some sort of huge punishment. This left me with the harsh knowledge of how horrible some types of people can be, which makes anybody in this world seem like a threat.
Watching the difficulties that society has had to face throughout history shows me a lot about humanity. Some people are seemingly mean and are built off of hatred and thrive from mean actions. This is shown by the holocaust, and the actions of the Nazis. The Jews were hopeless as they had no hope in defending themselves throughout this long struggle. I know that everybody is equal, and nobody belongs to be treated any lower than one other person. Looking around Westborough High, everybody has a completely different background and shouldn’t be judged for anything because nobody knows what they have gone through. Facing history is a course that completely changed my personal beliefs, and knowing that everybody is here for a reason proves to me that we should all be treated as one.
I never thought one class could take such a toll on my personal beliefs, and feelings towards others. The most influential film was Boy in Striped Pajamas. This movie was extremely hard for me to watch, and it left an everlasting impression in my mind. The hard part about this movie was the plot itself, and the buildup to what was going to happen. The innocence that the little boys represented stood for all of the young ones that were dying every day, and how they were left in the dark about what was happening to them. This made me realize how cruel of an action the entirety of the holocaust was. Neither of the boys were really too educated on the evil nature of the German Nazi’s, and the immoral acts that they were committing against helpless civilians. What was so vital to the plot about this was that Bruno, although his dad was a strict commander, had no negative propaganda about his outlook on others. He deemed everybody as equal; regardless of the hardships that others were facing throughout this time. Throughout his short time inside the electric fence of the camp, he was constantly asking questions regarding what was going on around him, and why everybody was proceeding to do as they were told. When approaching the gas chamber, Bruno was convinced it was just a shower that he was entering, and nothing else. This sincerely showed how hurtful the Nazi’s actions were on those who were innocent. They had no idea what they were going through, and still held firm belief that everybody was on equal levels, regardless of the circumstances. These kids, both German and Jewish, were exposed to a completely new world of danger and fear, which should not have been brought upon them at such a young age. For me, learning about this information at sixteen was hard enough. I could not imagine the difficulty of what some German boys had to overcome learning about the situation, some as early as they were born, and living with that weight on their shoulders for the rest of their life.
Although Boy in the Striped Pajamas had harsh impact on my views towards the holocaust, The Grey Zone gave me helpful insight on what the conditions inside these concentration camps were really like. This documentary covered everything from the working of the gas chambers, to how the Jews were treated while they were on their way to these camps in the trains. This film also gave me a great idea of how the Nazis gained the power they did, and the path they took to rise to the high levels of superiority they believed that they had. If I had not watched The Grey Zone, a lot of the other films I saw wouldn’t have made such a hard impact on my personal feelings. Because I knew a lot more of the information on what was occurring behind the scenes of the camps, I would just picture the extremes of how poorly the Jew’s were being treated, for no apparent reason at all. This documentary showed me how devious the Nazis were, with all of their little tactics to make it look like this mass extermination was acceptable.
One of the most influential films I have ever seen is the last one that we viewed. This documentary consisted of completely real, raw footage of the extermination camps. This was the exact conditions of how the U.S. Army found them when the Nazis were defeated. The images could not have gotten any more real. The level that they were on was extremely disturbing, and I feel like after learning about all that has happened I absorbed all of that information better than I would have at the beginning of the course. It helped my hatred towards the Nazis grow, and build up even worse than it was previously. The inhumane actions that I saw here just made me feel absolutely sick knowing that people will give into these horrible actions, and follow the footsteps of others. This left an everlasting negative image in my mind, as I became more and more aware of the power that some people thought they held, which was not true by any means. After completing this film, lots of questions came to my mind. I wondered whether the Nazis felt remorse and regret towards their actions, where they clearly had deserved to face some sort of huge punishment. This left me with the harsh knowledge of how horrible some types of people can be, which makes anybody in this world seem like a threat.
Watching the difficulties that society has had to face throughout history shows me a lot about humanity. Some people are seemingly mean and are built off of hatred and thrive from mean actions. This is shown by the holocaust, and the actions of the Nazis. The Jews were hopeless as they had no hope in defending themselves throughout this long struggle. I know that everybody is equal, and nobody belongs to be treated any lower than one other person. Looking around Westborough High, everybody has a completely different background and shouldn’t be judged for anything because nobody knows what they have gone through. Facing history is a course that completely changed my personal beliefs, and knowing that everybody is here for a reason proves to me that we should all be treated as one.
In what ways did the course benefit you as a student and as a person?
Works Cited
Hungarian Brothers. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 2012.
Jewish Holocaust. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 2012.
Hitler. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 2012.
Nazi Symbol. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 23, 2012.
Boy in Striped Pajamas. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 2012.
Jewish Holocaust. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 2012.
Hitler. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 2012.
Nazi Symbol. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 23, 2012.
Boy in Striped Pajamas. Google Images. Online Image. 23 May 2012.
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