Intro

      The course Facing History and Ourselves is a course in which students learn about morality and ethics by studying events in history, such as the Armenian genocide and the holocaust. Students will look at the issues present during the holocaust, such as prejudice, racism, discrimination, and violence. Students will question the reasoning and motivation behind the discrimination seen in the holocaust. Students will see how far people are willing to go to listen to authority; and show at what point you go against the majority. This course uses film, articles, and speakers to teach the students about the different events in the holocaust. The reason I took this couse is because I was very interested in the time period, and I liked how the course focused on one specific event in history. I was very curious to learn in more depth about the holocaust, because before this course I hadn't really spent a lot of time learning about it. It was also interesting because the course made you evaluate yourself as a person as well. Ireally learned a lot in this course and it made me question the ethics and morals of people during the holocaust. It was scary to think that the people committing these crimes were people just like us. The course really made me question the point where people are willing to stand up for what is right and be able to go against the authority.

Essay

            The course Facing History and Ourselves taught me a lot about events in the past relating to the holocaust, as well as teaching me more about myself as a person. This course made me think deeply about the lives of those affected by the holocaust. Watching the film, having class discussions, and reading the articles put everything into perspective for me and made everything more real. Prior to this class, I knew of the events and horrors that took place during the holocaust, but learning about them in this course really changed and deepened my feelings for the Jewish people. It was scary to think that the people doing the killing in the holocaust were normal, average people. It’s shocking to see that one man could have so much control and be able to manipulate so many minds into thinking that there had to be a dominant race. It’s amazing how Hitler was able to create such a following and even had Jewish people working as soldiers. The fact that the Nazi soldiers were average German people makes this crime even more disturbing. To see the Nazis and even Jewish soldiers committing these crimes against the Jewish people was heartbreaking and became emotional for me. I couldn’t even fathom how somebody could treat another human being like they were completely worthless. This course did a great job teaching about the holocaust and making you evaluate yourself as a person.

            In the film The Boy in Striped Pajamas, it shows the portrayal of a family of a Nazi general. The young daughter has become completely manipulated into believing Hitler’s mission for the dominant race. It is amazing how a young girl could become so convinced that the Jewish were truly bad people. It just shows how easily the Nazis and Hitler were able to convince their people that there had to be one dominant race. The mother in the movie found out what was occurring in the concentration camps and became very depressed. She did not think it was right that the Jews were treated so horribly. The young boy in the family, Bruno, became friends with a young Jewish boy at the concentration camp. Bruno didn’t understand what went on in the concentration camps and why his friend had to be in there. This movie does a good job showing that the Jewish people were just like everyone else and there was no reason for them to be treated horribly. I couldn’t believe how different the two young boys were treated, even though they were both typical, young boys. This movie really showed that friendship does not discriminate against race, because the two young boys became friends regardless of all the discrimination present during the holocaust. The Jewish people were really no different from everyone else, which makes it even sadder because they were murdered for no reason.

            In the beginning of the course, we read a story about a bear who was convinced by his peers that he was not a bear. The Bear that Wasn’t did a good job in showing how easily it is for other people to judge and make an impression on you. It showed the bear starting to believe he wasn’t a bear. This relates to the holocaust because the Jewish people were made to believe that they were inferior and worthless. The majority of the people tried convincing the bear that he was actually a man, including his boss and manager. Once a powerful authority figure displaces his opinion about something or someone, the more people will start to believe it and form the same opinion. This makes it so much harder for individuals to go against the majority because it is the easier and safer option to agree with the majority vote. No one wants to feel like an outsider and because of this they will choose to follow in everyone else’s footsteps because it is the easier option. No one wants to speak out against the crowd, rather people want to fit into the crowd.

            The film the Grey Zone also did a good job teaching me about how the Jewish people were treated in death camps. I thought this movie did a very good job portraying the events that took place in the concentration camps during the holocaust. I couldn't believe how horribly the Jewish people were treated. I think watching this movie made it so much more real for me how sick and disturbing the soldiers were to the Jews. I think it was very important that we watched this film, to better understand what exactly went on in the camps. There were several points in this movie where I had to look away because I couldn't even believe how horribly they were treated. I knew beforehand how horrible the camps were, but watching this movie made it so much more real. It was really heartbreaking seeing what some of the Jewish soldiers could do to the other Jewish people.

            Another film we watched in class was Uprising. This film featured a group of Jewish people living in the ghetto and they all came together to rebel against the Nazi soldiers. I learned a lot from this film about how the Jews tried to defend themselves against the Nazi soldiers. Before watching this film I had never known that some of the Jews had planned retaliation against the Nazis. In most other films and things that we have seen about the holocaust, the Jews are seen as defenseless against the Germans. I liked how this film showed how courageous the Jewish fighters were in taking down some of the Nazi soldiers.

            In this class we were fortunate enough to watch a film of one of our classmate’s grandfather who happened to survive the holocaust. We were able to hear his story and troubles through the holocaust. I thought this film was so great because it featured someone who was related to one of my peers at Westborough High School. I couldn't believe how much Mr. Jahoda and his family went through during the time of the Holocaust. I couldn't even imagine being forced to leave my family to be transported with hundreds of other children to another country. I also really liked how he talked about his passion for music, and found it surprising when Gabe told the class that once Mr. Jahoda arrived in England he didn't really continue his passion. Hearing him talk about his experiences makes me feel so lucky to be so safe living here in America. I also really liked how Mr. Jahoda revisited Austria, and always tried to remember it as the happy place he spent his early childhood years growing up in.

            This class did such a great job teaching me about everything that went on during the Holocaust, as well as making me evaluate myself as a person. It really made me question my morals and ethics and think about what it would be like to be living in the time period of the Holocaust.

Works Cited

"The Bear that Wasn't". Google Images. Images. May 20, 2011.
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". Google Images. Images. May 20, 2011.
"Holocaust Concentration Camps". Google Images. Images. May 20, 2011.
"Uprising Movie". Google Images. Images. May 20, 2011.
"Holocaust Trains Images". Google Images. Images. May 20, 2011.