This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Longest Hatred
Recently you watched a film called The Longest Hatred and listened to a lecture by Rabbi Michael Swarttz. Please post a brief reflection on the film and the lecture and make a comment on at least one other student's post. Comments ended on November 4th.
Mr. Gallagher
52 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I liked both. I found themovie tended to have more topics but less in depth detail. The rabbi really went into depth on the topics but didn't have many of them, instead he set time aside for questions which was good because you can't ask a movie questions. Evan M.
I thought the movie gave us more of a feel of what really happened. It told us how people were killed, why they were killed, etc. The pictures in the movie, were very upsetting, especially the pictures of dead people and the millions of shoes that were just sitting there in a pile. The Rabbi did tell us how people were killed. but he couldn't really show us like the movie did. His lecture was very educational, and I learnt a lot of new information that I hadn't known before. I agree with Evan when he said "that the Rabbi had less topics but went into more detail than the movie, and that the movie had more topics with less detail.
I found both the movie and the lecture to be very informative. The movie was good because it showed some very powerful images that gave us an idea of how strong and widespread the hatred was towards the Jews. The lecture by the rabbi covered some topics that were not covered by the movie. For example, he spent a lot of time discussing how other religions impacted the hatred of the Jews.
I thought the movie was a real eye opener to how the Holocaust started and how this discrimination against the Jews had been going on for years prior. The pictures and videos in the movie really got the point across and made an impact. They helped to put the words to an image in your head that could depict what actually happened even though we didn't live through it. I agree with what Matt said.. the movie was very informative about the Holocaust and answered a lot of the central questions that most people have about it.
After watching the film "The Longest Hatred" and following up with a presentation with the same topic I was able to understand a lot more. Both the presentation and film tied in quite well with the Holocaust and anti-Semitism and how anti-Semitic events against the Jews in the past played a big role in forming the basis of the Holocaust. The movie gave a more imagery look on the Holocaust teaching the viewers and explaining how each photo was significance and the presentation was able to give a more professional point of view towards the events that led up to the Holocaust.
I completely agree with Matt because the images in the film were able to give more of a hands on point of view of what really went on. If you were to only hear about the Holocaust through words you would only be able to create images of the events through your imagination. But, with the film we were able to see every detail shown including a description of what was being presented to us.
What i liked about the movie is that it got more in depth about the history of the hatred twards the jews. I think many people think that they were just the target of hitlers holocaust,but they have been hated way before that even occured. I also agree with a previous comment pretaining to the rabbi,having him come in and answering our questions was great because its true,you cannot ask a movie questions.
Between the Longest Hatred film and the lecture by Rabbi Swarttz, I thought the film was more informative because it answered a lot of questions that everyone once had. Also, the film was able to show real life images of how the Jewish people suffered, which really opened our eyes and made us see how the Jewish people were actually treated. One main topic I learned from the Rabbi was the three main points in the Jewish religion; God, Isreal,and the Torah. Lastly, I agree with what Lizzy said about how the film was able to put an image in our heads that "could depict what actually happened". Because seeing the Holocaust would have a greater impact than hearing about it, in my opinion.
Between both pieces the lecture and the movie i gained a lot of knowledge on the holocaust. The movie was interesting and we were able to see pictures of some things that happened and stuff that they still do today while the rabbi went into depth on the things he knows and told us when talking about the holocaust there is no way to speak about it in a cheerful mood. I really enjoyed both of them and would like to thank Rabbi Michael Swarttz for coming to speak to our class.
I agree with even on how the movie didn't go into much depth but the things it talked about showed you pictures to allow you to get a better picture and view of them butrabbi swarttz went into a lot of detail on the topics of the holocaust he new the most about but that wasn't as many topics as the movie so i believe we learned a lot from both
I thought the movie was really interesting not necessarily because of it's depiction of the holocaust, because countless movies have been made about that, but instead of the manner in which it presented the Jewish people's unique, albeit unfortunate situation in the world since the time of the Romans. I never knew a lot of what the movie showed me, and it was really helpful to put everything into perspective and help me understand what had caused all that had happened.
I also, however, agree completely with what Marufa and Lizzy said, in that seeing the aftermath of the holocaust is much more impacting than just having it told to you.
The movie was very impacting and I'm glad to have watched it even though it was very devastating and disturbing. I found it easier to understand the situation through the pictures and seeing the real life documentary of the events that occurred. The speaker was very interesting as well. He brought up many facts that I had not known. I have watched plenty of movies on such things as the holocaust, racism, and segregation, so I have a pretty well understanding of the basics. Therefore I was interested to learn from an actual person not a movie.
I would have to agree with Joe when he says that the movie was interesting to watch because of the perspective to which it gave to the Jews, showing their uniqueness and the innocence. ~Jillisa S.
Both the Rabbi's lecture and the film, The Longest Hatred, provided me with greater insight into the Holocaust, WWII as a whole, and anti-Semitism.
The film clearly conveyed the impact of the genocide on the Jewish people and how due to their decision not to alter their religious traditions in order to be accepted by Christianity and other religions alike, they are therefore allowing themselves to be victimized by such groups as the KKK and the Skinheads. This saddens me because the Jewish people have gone through so much and are still facing anti-Semitism on a daily basis worldwide.
I found the Rabbi's lecture to be extremely informative, and I found his explanation of coexistence very fascinating. We are living in a world surrounded by many different ethnicities and varying religious backgrounds, and while some people face no threat of exclusion or prejudice, others face discrimination routinely. Coexistence is a reality of life, and I thought that the Rabbi's explanation of why anti-Semitism is so prevalent in the United States was well-said, in a nation where prejudice against Jews is common as we coexist in one region of the world.
I agree with Lizzy that the pictures and videos in the film allowed the audience to absorb how disturbing the genocide was and this imagery gave us the opportunity to visualize what occurred even though its many decades later.
I am really glad we got to watch the movie "The Longest Hatred" during class this year. The topic matter is by no means something easy to listen to but i felt it was important to get a background on the events leading up to the Holocaust. I never knew the history behind many of the things that were covered like the yellow stars to mark jews or the extent of people's anti-Semitic feelings. Although i think the movie was very educational, i feel like it is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what there is to learn about this part of history. There are many points of view that would be interesting to explore relating to the Holocaust. I hope that we are able to use the background knowledge from this point of view to expand upon later with other materials. It would be interesting to hear accounts of Nazis at the time of the Holocaust in order to see the way they rationalized the terrible crimes they committed.
I thought the Rabbi's speech was a wonderful follow up to the movie. It did give us an interesting perspective. The information he shared with us about the jewish culture was great to learn. Overall I think that I learned more from the movie because of the combination of narration and pictures.
Watching the film showed me events which occured during the Holocaust as well as today. The film opened my eyes to images that a lecture or note taking from a text book could not teach, it was very beneficial.I was unaware of all the nationlist acts that still occur to this day. However, by watching the film it was important for me to understand the hatred there still is today, which is sad. It was disturbing to see the real images, but it was important. In order to study history, you must be shown the ugly to learn the truth.
I agree with Jillisa, it is easier to understand the documentary after being shown real images of events which occured. As disturbing as they may be, it made it easier.
While the movie was able to keep my attention better than the Rabbi's speech, i found both to be rather interesting. The rabbi's use of visuals to get his point across was very creative and helped me to understand what he was explaining.
Also, in response to what Joe said. I feel that the movie didn't focus much on the Jewish people at all, but more how what was done to them.
I found the movie to be very interesting and informative. I like how it explained various points chronologically, and made connections between the past and the more recent history.
I am going to have to agree with Nick M about how the movie was able to hold my attention a little better. As good as the Rabbi was with his information, I couldn't help but confused between all the religions he was trying to connect.
I thought that the Rabbi's speech was uplifting because he described how the Jews liked to focus on the positives of their religion instead of dwelling on the past of their mistreatment by other religious groups. I felt that the film "The Longest Hatred" was very informative about the origin of anti-semitism and really gave the audience a sense of what teh Jews had to deal with back in those times.
I agree with Lizzy's comment that the video was very powerful because of the images that were shown.
Although I wasn't there to see the rabbi speak, I found the movie to be very informative and gave students a new perspective on anti-Semitism. I learned new information, mainly about the Catholic Church's intervention in the whole ordeal. The video gave more graphic images which were powerful because we were actually able to see the destruction and the hatred as opposed to listening to it.
I agree with Justin H. because the movie was able to give powerful images that showed the full affect of the hatred.
I feel that "The Longest Hatred" did a good job explaining the roots of the anti-Semitism of the Holocaust. I was surprised that this anti-Semitism had so many roots in Christianity, a religion which not only worships an all-loving God but also is a sister-religion of Judaism. I also was surprised when I saw in the film that the Nazis were able to use almost all of the Jewish stereotypes and past acts of anti-Semitism so easily.
I feel that the Rabbi's lecture went well with the film because the Rabbi also spent some time teaching about the ideas and beliefs of Judaism and how they related to anti-Semitism.
Overall, I feel that the film and lecture made a great combination in presenting a clearer understanding of the roots of the Holocaust.
I have to say the Rabbi's lecture made a much larger impression on me due to the fact that it was flesh and blood talking to me rather than a video of people I will probably never know. I thought the Rabbi did a good job at not presenting a biased opinion. As a Catholic, it is hard to know that the Church intentionally did nothing during the Holocaust when they were well aware of what was going on.
I agree with Lauren B on how it is interesting that the Jewish community did not alter their beliefs even in the face of danger. This allowed the anti-semitic groups to really attack them. I think if I was facing danger, I would claim to reject my beliefs if i were not going to be hurt. Hopefully no major group of people ever puts another group in a situation like that.
Matt V I thought the "The Longest Hatred" did a great job telling us what it was like before the Holocaust. It was good, because it didn't show us bits and pieces, it showed everything in great detail, which really made an impact on me. Since I am Jewish, this film greatly affected me, because this was happening to my people.
The Rabbi's speech was great to, because it gave us a hands on experience of what really happened. What maade the speech so good, was that you could ask all sorts of questions and he could give a you a great detailed answer. The Rabbi and the film had a lot of impact on me.
I agree with Andy H. about how the Rabbi's speech and the film presented a clear understanding of the roots of the Holocaust.
Fritz K : During the Rabbi's lecture, someone asked the question about students in Europe learning about the Holocaust. I befriended a German kid while on Della Cioppa's France trip a couple years ago. I asked him that same question, if they learned about the Holocaust to the same extent as we did. His description sounded pretty much like what we learn in Facing History. He also said they learned "both sides of the isssue" which either was some sort of a language barrier, or a slight insinuation that they had more sympathy for Nazism (which is somewhat understandable I suppose). I would have liked the Rabbi to comment more on modern day anti-Semitism. It would be more relevant to us and maybe more engaging. The film covered the Holocaust and WWII events, so the Rabbi might have been able to provide insight as to current issues. I like Marufa's comment about how the images are more effective than words.
I thought the movie highlighted the origens of anti-semitism and how the Nazis were successfully able to justftify their explusion of the Jews through reinforcement of past teachings by the Catholic Church. Since the Christians had deemed Jewish people as "crucifiers of Christ" it was easy for the Nazis to portray the Jews as demons and evil people. I think the rabbi did a good job describing the interconnection of the Islam, Juddaism, and Catholicism and how these religions have significantly grown in their relationships with one another since WWII.
I enjoyed the Rabbi's lecture as much as I enjoyed the highly informative video documentary. If I had to choose between the two, I'd have to say the documentary had more in-depth information about the holocaust, world war two, and genocide in general, as well as a plethora of images that were as interesting as they were shocking and apalling. The rabbi's lecture had a lot of great information about Jewish culture, but not as much information on the events that happened during this time then I had hoped. All in all I think both lessons were great, and very well planned.
I agree with what Katie M. said, although it's difficult to see disturbing images such as the massive numbers of emaciated, dead bodies from the exterminations at the concentration camps, it's important to see the truth no matter how "ugly" it may be. I think images have a powerful effect on people and being able to see what really happened brings the perspective into a clear view. - Molly H.
Hm, The longest hatred was a good movie on explaining to people who didn't know much abut the the Jewish hatred that was around for a long time now.. it not just did not just start at the Holocaust as many people may suggest, there have been hate crimes of all sorts towards Jews and Jewish decedents.
I agree with what Evan is saying on the fact that the movie wasn't detailed enough; at least not as much as the rabbi was.
During both the lecture and film the idea that was driven home to me was that the persecution of the Jews isn’t something that started with the Holocaust. Both the film and the Rabbi emphasized that anti-Semitism wasn’t started by the Nazi’s but has been going on for an extremely long time, hence the movies title "The Longest hatred". I for one never new that anti-Semitism stemmed back all the way to the creation of Christianity. I also didn’t know that the ideas drawn up to persecute the Jews were actually not created by the Nazi's even though they are the ones who carried them out. The Rabbi and the movie wove a story of persecuting, anti-Semitism, and violence that has plagued the Jewish people centuries. mike L.
The movie, the Longest Hatred, conveyed the many aspects of the Jewish life and the hardships that had to endure. The movie dipicted the incidents that began the holocaust, and what many people did as a result of it. Throughout the movie there were many images shown that sent clear messages to us about what was going on. Without these images, I am not sure that the true aspects of the holocaust would be able to be shown or felt by us as viewers of the movie. I think that the Rabbi's presentation was also of great importance. He was able to share personal experiences as a Rabbi and tell us from his perspective what the Holocaust meant to him. We were able to ask him questions which also aided in our understanding of those past events and times. He did a great job of going into detail and describing how all the religions are connected, and how the events of the past have effected and changed the present.
I agree with Andy when he said that the Rabbi's lecture went well with the film and complemented the many ideas being touched on throughout the documentary.
I agree with Kevin H. that The Longest Hatred was great for filling in a lot of the gaps in the picture of the Holocaust. The film did a great job showing the anti-Semitism of the Middle Ages, the anti-Semitism of the Holocaust, and the post-Holocaust anti-Semitism. I feel that the film really did a great job explaining the pre-Holocaust anti-Semisitm and post-Holocaust anti-Semitism that are not as well-known to many people as the Holocaust.
I also agree with lauren. The jewish people have suffered for sticking to their beliefs and the basis of their religion. I also think that religious coexistence is the most important way to fight prejudice and anti-Semitism. I'm involved in a group during the summer called the Abrahamic Program for Young Adults. The purpose of the program is to learn about the three Abrahamic religions (judaism, christianity, and Islam) and through a better understanding promote religious tolerance. We discuss the similarities and differences between our beliefs in order to learn coexistence. We discussed stereotypes, their history, and how to avoid prejudice based on these stereotypes. I think this movie and lecture both drove home the point that these ideas are dangerous and it is important to understand other cultures and religions.
I agree that the Longest Hatrid was a completely unique film in its depiction of the discrimination towards the Jewish people. Like others have staed, the film was indeed extremely powerful in describing the historical descrimination of the Jewish people during WWII. It struck me as particularly disturbing that the Catholic church never truely broke free of the prejudices against the Jewish people. Members of the church during the holocaust acted along side German leaders; they did nothing to formally condemn the terrible situation and acted as enablers to the holocaust.
I agree with Clarissa's notion that it is extremely important to understand other cultures and belief systems. Evidently, the ideals that societies hold true can be corrupted. Historically, this film highlighted the hatrid and unfair prosecution of the Jewish people that still exists today. It brings into question as to whether our ideal's today are contributing to this continuing hatrid, or are these feelings truely just lingering from the past -Jake J.
I missed the Rabbi's lecture but I found that the movie was very informative about the history of the Jewish religion and the hatred towards its people and why they are usualy the scapegoat when ever there is something wrong. The movie showed different parts of anti-semitism that I had never heard of and it explained why the Germans had the Holocaust.
Earlier, Victor brought up the notion that people can ignorantly accept so much negative propaganda, and take it as fact. I agree with this idea, and I find it very interesting. During the holocaust, the German people accepted this propaganda evidently because of the promise of a strong, united, and holy German empire. The discrination of the Jews, as highlighted by the film, was like a cleansing process for Germany. The interesting thing is that most Germans, as well as other people in the world, did not see the horrific effects of what they were doing. It was a process to make one people strong, essentially ignoring the others by way of destruction.
Moreover, the intensity of nationalism and group pride in a country evidently can become a devastating force. Most noteably, in America there was discrimination against African Americans. I feel like this discrimination is an inherent part of human nature. All people in the majority feel a sense of power, power which eventually becomes abused, and leads to terrible genocide like in the holocaust. A people can fight back, such as during the civil rights movement, but only in the face of democracy. During WWII the German empire was ruled by supreme powers, which dictated all the country's agenda. People were esentially brainwashed into thinking that it was okay to get rid of those that are different, and the fact that this could occur is both disturbing and fascinating
I think that both the movie and the Rabbi's lecture were very informative. The movie I thought went into much more detail about th actual beginings of the hatred towards the Jewish people. The Rabbi left a lot of time at the end of his lecture to answer questions, which I thought was helpful in clarifying some information from the video.
I agree with Victor and his comment about the feelings towards the Jewish people that were stated in the movie. I thought that it was horrible that people would even have any reason to believe that the Jewish people drank the blood of babies or that they were devil worshipers. I found this very disturbing.
I felt that the movie was a real eye opener to the brutal truth behind the birth of the hatrad against the Jews. I never realized that the Catholic church itself had a lot to do with the genocide of the Jews. The film really showed me what power can do and how far a person can abuse their power and the effects of those actions. Ive always thought of the pope and the bible and the torah as places where one can go to find reassurance about right and wrong, a plac to go for guidance, to give you strength and peace of mind. This film helped me to realize the abilities that power gives to its possessor and how negatively that power can be used. It really upset me.
I agree with Fran about the information provided in both the film and the lecture. I feel as though the lecture's placement after we watched the film really helped clarify the knowledge that we gained. I think that watching the film first gave us a base of knowledge and gave us the opportunity to form questions for the Rabbi. Then, with the time for questions at the end, the Rabbi's lecture had that much more meaning because we had a base of knowledge and we were able to ask anything that still confused us or that we were curious about.
I got alot out of watching the flim from all the pictures and footage that was show. It gave you more of an understanding as to what it was really like and made it all seem more real. The image that really struck me was the pile of shoes, as Matt said. Fr some reason that picture got me thinking of all the people who had once stood in those shoes and had been mass murdered. The Lecuture was important because it gave the chance to ask questions and hear the information from another point of view. As Matt said earlyer, "he couldn't really show us like the movie did." I think the two done together, lecture and movie, work well because you get the feeling of what happened and then get to talk to someone and ask questions about the topic with a new understanding of the material. -Taylor E.
I agree with what a lot of the students are saying, and both were moving experiences. It is shocking to me to hear about the hatred towards the Jewish people and how it could go on for so long. To me, the film was informational, but pretty standard. It was all things that i had read before in text books and had watched in documentaries. Rabbi Michael Swarttz, however, was a different kind of experience. I liked hearing all the information first hand, and not through a film. I found it much easier to understand, and more informative. He made it make sense. In the eigth grade my school in Texas had a Holocaust survivor gues speaker and I found Rabbi Swarttz to be just as informational as him and I am really glad we got the opportunity to have him come talk with us.
I found the movie to be far more informative than the rabbi. The movie was very interesting and went into great detail about antisemitism. It was good to see the holocaust and Nazism in a historical context. When the rabbi came in to talk i was less than impressed. He basically said everything that the movie was saying except in less detail. What people are saying about it being good to have someone there to answer questions is ridiculous. If i remember correctly the rabbi had to look through whatever notes he had to answer most of the questions and there were even a couple he did not know. It would have been far better for us to go online and look up the answers to our own questions. Also, i feel that instead of bringing in a rabbi to speak about the holocaust was not the best choice. It would have been just as easy to bring in a scholar who dedicated his secondary education to the holocaust, not the Jewish religion like the rabbi had. The only thing i gained from the rabbi is a slightly better understanding of the beliefs of Judaism. In regards to what fritz said about his German friend "learning both sides of the issue" i believe that it wasn't in any way an insinuation of sympathy for Nazism. There are two sides of the story and it is important for us to learn about both sides in order to gain a better understanding of the issue. I am in no way saying that what the Nazis did was right because it wasn't. I find it appalling that they did what they did, i just think that it is important to understand why they did it. By bringing in a rabbi to talk about the holocaust we learned nothing about why Nazis did what they did and how they justify their actions. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, that is in no way my intent. -Joey Croft
I really enjoyed the film The Longest Hatred and the lecture by Robbi Swarttz. I feel that the movie went into a lot of detail about why the Jews were chose and it gives people a different view on this issue. I really liked having the Rabbi come in becuase like many people have said in previous comments it was nice to be able to ask questions in person and get direct answers.
I would have to agree with Matt G. with his comments about the movie because I feel that pictures and film can move a person more than just words. It shows that there was proof and that it really did happen and no one can deny that.
i agree with Tiana, the movie showed the hatred that led to the holocaust.the movie was a huge eye opener for me it showed visual evidence of the hatred towards the jews. i really enjoyed having the rabbi come in because it was more of a primary source and we could ask him questions.
Watching the film "The Longest Hatred" as well as listening to Rabbi Michael Swarttz lecture shed light on aspects of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism that were previously unknown to me. I felt that the films videos, pictures,and collection of interviews were informative and shared facts such as the origins of the Nazi "marking" of the Jewish people in WWII and the prevalence of anti-Semitic people today. The Rabbi's personal takes on our questions from the film also provided a new set of information for me. He spoke about specific events and responded with personal stories to various issues that were brought up. I believe that the lecture in conjunction with the film was very educational and elevated my overall understanding of the Holocaust and Jewish hatred.
One of my fellow classmates, Amanda G., had an interesting take on the Rabbi's lecture. She said, "He was able to share personal experiences as a Rabbi and tell us from his perspective what the Holocaust meant to him." I strongly agree with Amanda's point because I believe that the first person account that the Rabbi provided was an invaluable source.
I agree with Cat I never new that Church played such a great role in the persecution of the Jews. I also agree that people think of leader of the church as flawless, virtuous, and kind people. But the reality is that they allowed and sometimes helped the persecution of the Jews to occur. Mike L.
"The Longest Hatred" explained a lot of things about how anti-Semitism began. This was extremely disturbing to me because I learned that thousands of innocent people died for no good cause. Now that this extermination is in the past, we as a society must remember what happend to prevent it from occuring again. We cannot allow for ourselves to become bystanders.
Clarissa, I am very interested in your thoughts about religeous tollerance. I think it is truely the key to a safe and loving society. However, in the situation that Jews found themselves--one of extreme persecution--I wonder what they could have done to protect themselves. Should they run, should they fight, should they give in? I think that in their case they did none of the above and found themselves being completely taken advantage of in a religeously intollerant Europe.
Well, I'll be the first to say that it was hard for me to concentrate on the film so I can't say much about it. But from what I did see, I was very disturbed. The pictures of the piles of dead Jews was both upsetting and shocking. You never think much about these types of situations until you see it on a big screen. As for the Rabbi, I liked his presentation, especially because he mentioned a few things that the film didn't. I do agree with what a couple of other students said about how he had fewer but more detailed topics than the film.
I really enjoyed both the movie and the Rabbi. The movie as we all know, was extremely disturbing in that it went into great details about the harsh punishments and consequences put forth on the Jews. I learned a lot from both the film and the speaker. The rabbi was able to touch upon some subjects more in depth then the movie. He went more into details about the religious aspects of the holocaust which was very nice to hear. All in all, i think both were a great compliment to the unit on the holocaust -Alex S.
I agree with Austin E. I also believe that the rabbi was helpful in that he was able to answer our questions and not only that but he was able to relate and tell his own personal stories which is also helpful in trying to understand a situation
i like really much the movie in this movie you can see how a teacher is trying really hard to change the students life because as you can see they are having a hard time trying to safe their lifes that the don't care about school in many school that is what happen but i like that people like her want to make the change as you Mr. Gallagher i know you are trying really hard to encorauge us to be a good persons in life.
52 comments:
I liked both. I found themovie tended to have more topics but less in depth detail. The rabbi really went into depth on the topics but didn't have many of them, instead he set time aside for questions which was good because you can't ask a movie questions.
Evan M.
I thought the movie gave us more of a feel of what really happened. It told us how people were killed, why they were killed, etc. The pictures in the movie, were very upsetting, especially the pictures of dead people and the millions of shoes that were just sitting there in a pile. The Rabbi did tell us how people were killed. but he couldn't really show us like the movie did. His lecture was very educational, and I learnt a lot of new information that I hadn't known before.
I agree with Evan when he said "that the Rabbi had less topics but went into more detail than the movie, and that the movie had more topics with less detail.
- Matt G.
I found both the movie and the lecture to be very informative. The movie was good because it showed some very powerful images that gave us an idea of how strong and widespread the hatred was towards the Jews. The lecture by the rabbi covered some topics that were not covered by the movie. For example, he spent a lot of time discussing how other religions impacted the hatred of the Jews.
I thought the movie was a real eye opener to how the Holocaust started and how this discrimination against the Jews had been going on for years prior. The pictures and videos in the movie really got the point across and made an impact. They helped to put the words to an image in your head that could depict what actually happened even though we didn't live through it.
I agree with what Matt said.. the movie was very informative about the Holocaust and answered a lot of the central questions that most people have about it.
- Lizzy F.
After watching the film "The Longest Hatred" and following up with a presentation with the same topic I was able to understand a lot more. Both the presentation and film tied in quite well with the Holocaust and anti-Semitism and how anti-Semitic events against the Jews in the past played a big role in forming the basis of the Holocaust. The movie gave a more imagery look on the Holocaust teaching the viewers and explaining how each photo was significance and the presentation was able to give a more professional point of view towards the events that led up to the Holocaust.
I completely agree with Matt because the images in the film were able to give more of a hands on point of view of what really went on. If you were to only hear about the Holocaust through words you would only be able to create images of the events through your imagination. But, with the film we were able to see every detail shown including a description of what was being presented to us.
What i liked about the movie is that it got more in depth about the history of the hatred twards the jews. I think many people think that they were just the target of hitlers holocaust,but they have been hated way before that even occured. I also agree with a previous comment pretaining to the rabbi,having him come in and answering our questions was great because its true,you cannot ask a movie questions.
~Tiana L.
Between the Longest Hatred film and the lecture by Rabbi Swarttz, I thought the film was more informative because it answered a lot of questions that everyone once had. Also, the film was able to show real life images of how the Jewish people suffered, which really opened our eyes and made us see how the Jewish people were actually treated.
One main topic I learned from the Rabbi was the three main points in the Jewish religion; God, Isreal,and the Torah.
Lastly, I agree with what Lizzy said about how the film was able to put an image in our heads that "could depict what actually happened". Because seeing the Holocaust would have a greater impact than hearing about it, in my opinion.
-Marufa W.
Between both pieces the lecture and the movie i gained a lot of knowledge on the holocaust. The movie was interesting and we were able to see pictures of some things that happened and stuff that they still do today while the rabbi went into depth on the things he knows and told us when talking about the holocaust there is no way to speak about it in a cheerful mood. I really enjoyed both of them and would like to thank Rabbi Michael Swarttz for coming to speak to our class.
I agree with even on how the movie didn't go into much depth but the things it talked about showed you pictures to allow you to get a better picture and view of them butrabbi swarttz went into a lot of detail on the topics of the holocaust he new the most about but that wasn't as many topics as the movie so i believe we learned a lot from both
-Matt D
I thought the movie was really interesting not necessarily because of it's depiction of the holocaust, because countless movies have been made about that, but instead of the manner in which it presented the Jewish people's unique, albeit unfortunate situation in the world since the time of the Romans. I never knew a lot of what the movie showed me, and it was really helpful to put everything into perspective and help me understand what had caused all that had happened.
I also, however, agree completely with what Marufa and Lizzy said, in that seeing the aftermath of the holocaust is much more impacting than just having it told to you.
-Joe S.
The movie was very impacting and I'm glad to have watched it even though it was very devastating and disturbing. I found it easier to understand the situation through the pictures and seeing the real life documentary of the events that occurred. The speaker was very interesting as well. He brought up many facts that I had not known. I have watched plenty of movies on such things as the holocaust, racism, and segregation, so I have a pretty well understanding of the basics. Therefore I was interested to learn from an actual person not a movie.
I would have to agree with Joe when he says that the movie was interesting to watch because of the perspective to which it gave to the Jews, showing their uniqueness and the innocence.
~Jillisa S.
Both the Rabbi's lecture and the film, The Longest Hatred, provided me with greater insight into the Holocaust, WWII as a whole, and anti-Semitism.
The film clearly conveyed the impact of the genocide on the Jewish people and how due to their decision not to alter their religious traditions in order to be accepted by Christianity and other religions alike, they are therefore allowing themselves to be victimized by such groups as the KKK and the Skinheads. This saddens me because the Jewish people have gone through so much and are still facing anti-Semitism on a daily basis worldwide.
I found the Rabbi's lecture to be extremely informative, and I found his explanation of coexistence very fascinating. We are living in a world surrounded by many different ethnicities and varying religious backgrounds, and while some people face no threat of exclusion or prejudice, others face discrimination routinely. Coexistence is a reality of life, and I thought that the Rabbi's explanation of why anti-Semitism is so prevalent in the United States was well-said, in a nation where prejudice against Jews is common as we coexist in one region of the world.
I agree with Lizzy that the pictures and videos in the film allowed the audience to absorb how disturbing the genocide was and this imagery gave us the opportunity to visualize what occurred even though its many decades later.
I am really glad we got to watch the movie "The Longest Hatred" during class this year. The topic matter is by no means something easy to listen to but i felt it was important to get a background on the events leading up to the Holocaust. I never knew the history behind many of the things that were covered like the yellow stars to mark jews or the extent of people's anti-Semitic feelings. Although i think the movie was very educational, i feel like it is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what there is to learn about this part of history. There are many points of view that would be interesting to explore relating to the Holocaust. I hope that we are able to use the background knowledge from this point of view to expand upon later with other materials. It would be interesting to hear accounts of Nazis at the time of the Holocaust in order to see the way they rationalized the terrible crimes they committed.
I thought the Rabbi's speech was a wonderful follow up to the movie. It did give us an interesting perspective. The information he shared with us about the jewish culture was great to learn. Overall I think that I learned more from the movie because of the combination of narration and pictures.
--Clarissa S
Watching the film showed me events which occured during the Holocaust as well as today. The film opened my eyes to images that a lecture or note taking from a text book could not teach, it was very beneficial.I was unaware of all the nationlist acts that still occur to this day. However, by watching the film it was important for me to understand the hatred there still is today, which is sad. It was disturbing to see the real images, but it was important. In order to study history, you must be shown the ugly to learn the truth.
I agree with Jillisa, it is easier to understand the documentary after being shown real images of events which occured. As disturbing as they may be, it made it easier.
While the movie was able to keep my attention better than the Rabbi's speech, i found both to be rather interesting. The rabbi's use of visuals to get his point across was very creative and helped me to understand what he was explaining.
Also, in response to what Joe said. I feel that the movie didn't focus much on the Jewish people at all, but more how what was done to them.
- Nick M
I found the movie to be very interesting and informative. I like how it explained various points chronologically, and made connections between the past and the more recent history.
I am going to have to agree with Nick M about how the movie was able to hold my attention a little better. As good as the Rabbi was with his information, I couldn't help but confused between all the religions he was trying to connect.
Sevag D.
I thought that the Rabbi's speech was uplifting because he described how the Jews liked to focus on the positives of their religion instead of dwelling on the past of their mistreatment by other religious groups. I felt that the film "The Longest Hatred" was very informative about the origin of anti-semitism and really gave the audience a sense of what teh Jews had to deal with back in those times.
I agree with Lizzy's comment that the video was very powerful because of the images that were shown.
-Kyle D
Although I wasn't there to see the rabbi speak, I found the movie to be very informative and gave students a new perspective on anti-Semitism. I learned new information, mainly about the Catholic Church's intervention in the whole ordeal. The video gave more graphic images which were powerful because we were actually able to see the destruction and the hatred as opposed to listening to it.
I agree with Justin H. because the movie was able to give powerful images that showed the full affect of the hatred.
-Dan F.
I feel that "The Longest Hatred" did a good job explaining the roots of the anti-Semitism of the Holocaust. I was surprised that this anti-Semitism had so many roots in Christianity, a religion which not only worships an all-loving God but also is a sister-religion of Judaism. I also was surprised when I saw in the film that the Nazis were able to use almost all of the Jewish stereotypes and past acts of anti-Semitism so easily.
I feel that the Rabbi's lecture went well with the film because the Rabbi also spent some time teaching about the ideas and beliefs of Judaism and how they related to anti-Semitism.
Overall, I feel that the film and lecture made a great combination in presenting a clearer understanding of the roots of the Holocaust.
Andy H.
I have to say the Rabbi's lecture made a much larger impression on me due to the fact that it was flesh and blood talking to me rather than a video of people I will probably never know. I thought the Rabbi did a good job at not presenting a biased opinion. As a Catholic, it is hard to know that the Church intentionally did nothing during the Holocaust when they were well aware of what was going on.
I agree with Lauren B on how it is interesting that the Jewish community did not alter their beliefs even in the face of danger. This allowed the anti-semitic groups to really attack them. I think if I was facing danger, I would claim to reject my beliefs if i were not going to be hurt. Hopefully no major group of people ever puts another group in a situation like that.
Matt V
I thought the "The Longest Hatred" did a great job telling us what it was like before the Holocaust. It was good, because it didn't show us bits and pieces, it showed everything in great detail, which really made an impact on me. Since I am Jewish, this film greatly affected me, because this was happening to my people.
The Rabbi's speech was great to, because it gave us a hands on experience of what really happened. What maade the speech so good, was that you could ask all sorts of questions and he could give a you a great detailed answer. The Rabbi and the film had a lot of impact on me.
I agree with Andy H. about how the Rabbi's speech and the film presented a clear understanding of the roots of the Holocaust.
Fritz K :
During the Rabbi's lecture, someone asked the question about students in Europe learning about the Holocaust. I befriended a German kid while on Della Cioppa's France trip a couple years ago. I asked him that same question, if they learned about the Holocaust to the same extent as we did. His description sounded pretty much like what we learn in Facing History. He also said they learned "both sides of the isssue" which either was some sort of a language barrier, or a slight insinuation that they had more sympathy for Nazism (which is somewhat understandable I suppose).
I would have liked the Rabbi to comment more on modern day anti-Semitism. It would be more relevant to us and maybe more engaging. The film covered the Holocaust and WWII events, so the Rabbi might have been able to provide insight as to current issues. I like Marufa's comment about how the images are more effective than words.
-Fritz "the spectre" K.
I thought the movie highlighted the origens of anti-semitism and how the Nazis were successfully able to justftify their explusion of the Jews through reinforcement of past teachings by the Catholic Church. Since the Christians had deemed Jewish people as "crucifiers of Christ" it was easy for the Nazis to portray the Jews as demons and evil people. I think the rabbi did a good job describing the interconnection of the Islam, Juddaism, and Catholicism and how these religions have significantly grown in their relationships with one another since WWII.
- Molly H.
I enjoyed the Rabbi's lecture as much as I enjoyed the highly informative video documentary. If I had to choose between the two, I'd have to say the documentary had more in-depth information about the holocaust, world war two, and genocide in general, as well as a plethora of images that were as interesting as they were shocking and apalling. The rabbi's lecture had a lot of great information about Jewish culture, but not as much information on the events that happened during this time then I had hoped. All in all I think both lessons were great, and very well planned.
-Blake
I agree with what Katie M. said, although it's difficult to see disturbing images such as the massive numbers of emaciated, dead bodies from the exterminations at the concentration camps, it's important to see the truth no matter how "ugly" it may be. I think images have a powerful effect on people and being able to see what really happened brings the perspective into a clear view.
- Molly H.
Hm, The longest hatred was a good movie on explaining to people who didn't know much abut the the Jewish hatred that was around for a long time now.. it not just did not just start at the Holocaust as many people may suggest, there have been hate crimes of all sorts towards Jews and Jewish decedents.
I agree with what Evan is saying on the fact that the movie wasn't detailed enough; at least not as much as the rabbi was.
-Kevin H.
During both the lecture and film the idea that was driven home to me was that the persecution of the Jews isn’t something that started with the Holocaust. Both the film and the Rabbi emphasized that anti-Semitism wasn’t started by the Nazi’s but has been going on for an extremely long time, hence the movies title "The Longest hatred". I for one never new that anti-Semitism stemmed back all the way to the creation of Christianity. I also didn’t know that the ideas drawn up to persecute the Jews were actually not created by the Nazi's even though they are the ones who carried them out. The Rabbi and the movie wove a story of persecuting, anti-Semitism, and violence that has plagued the Jewish people centuries.
mike L.
The movie, the Longest Hatred, conveyed the many aspects of the Jewish life and the hardships that had to endure. The movie dipicted the incidents that began the holocaust, and what many people did as a result of it. Throughout the movie there were many images shown that sent clear messages to us about what was going on. Without these images, I am not sure that the true aspects of the holocaust would be able to be shown or felt by us as viewers of the movie. I think that the Rabbi's presentation was also of great importance. He was able to share personal experiences as a Rabbi and tell us from his perspective what the Holocaust meant to him. We were able to ask him questions which also aided in our understanding of those past events and times. He did a great job of going into detail and describing how all the religions are connected, and how the events of the past have effected and changed the present.
I agree with Andy when he said that the Rabbi's lecture went well with the film and complemented the many ideas being touched on throughout the documentary.
Amanda G.
I agree with Kevin H. that The Longest Hatred was great for filling in a lot of the gaps in the picture of the Holocaust. The film did a great job showing the anti-Semitism of the Middle Ages, the anti-Semitism of the Holocaust, and the post-Holocaust anti-Semitism. I feel that the film really did a great job explaining the pre-Holocaust anti-Semisitm and post-Holocaust anti-Semitism that are not as well-known to many people as the Holocaust.
Andy H.
I also agree with lauren. The jewish people have suffered for sticking to their beliefs and the basis of their religion. I also think that religious coexistence is the most important way to fight prejudice and anti-Semitism. I'm involved in a group during the summer called the Abrahamic Program for Young Adults. The purpose of the program is to learn about the three Abrahamic religions (judaism, christianity, and Islam) and through a better understanding promote religious tolerance. We discuss the similarities and differences between our beliefs in order to learn coexistence. We discussed stereotypes, their history, and how to avoid prejudice based on these stereotypes. I think this movie and lecture both drove home the point that these ideas are dangerous and it is important to understand other cultures and religions.
-- Clarissa S.
I agree that the Longest Hatrid was a completely unique film in its depiction of the discrimination towards the Jewish people. Like others have staed, the film was indeed extremely powerful in describing the historical descrimination of the Jewish people during WWII. It struck me as particularly disturbing that the Catholic church never truely broke free of the prejudices against the Jewish people. Members of the church during the holocaust acted along side German leaders; they did nothing to formally condemn the terrible situation and acted as enablers to the holocaust.
I agree with Clarissa's notion that it is extremely important to understand other cultures and belief systems. Evidently, the ideals that societies hold true can be corrupted. Historically, this film highlighted the hatrid and unfair prosecution of the Jewish people that still exists today. It brings into question as to whether our ideal's today are contributing to this continuing hatrid, or are these feelings truely just lingering from the past
-Jake J.
I missed the Rabbi's lecture but I found that the movie was very informative about the history of the Jewish religion and the hatred towards its people and why they are usualy the scapegoat when ever there is something wrong. The movie showed different parts of anti-semitism that I had never heard of and it explained why the Germans had the Holocaust.
J.J.
I disagree with Joe because the whole movie was about Jewish people and the different people and countries that dislike or hate them
J.J.
Earlier, Victor brought up the notion that people can ignorantly accept so much negative propaganda, and take it as fact. I agree with this idea, and I find it very interesting. During the holocaust, the German people accepted this propaganda evidently because of the promise of a strong, united, and holy German empire. The discrination of the Jews, as highlighted by the film, was like a cleansing process for Germany. The interesting thing is that most Germans, as well as other people in the world, did not see the horrific effects of what they were doing. It was a process to make one people strong, essentially ignoring the others by way of destruction.
Moreover, the intensity of nationalism and group pride in a country evidently can become a devastating force. Most noteably, in America there was discrimination against African Americans. I feel like this discrimination is an inherent part of human nature. All people in the majority feel a sense of power, power which eventually becomes abused, and leads to terrible genocide like in the holocaust. A people can fight back, such as during the civil rights movement, but only in the face of democracy. During WWII the German empire was ruled by supreme powers, which dictated all the country's agenda. People were esentially brainwashed into thinking that it was okay to get rid of those that are different, and the fact that this could occur is both disturbing and fascinating
I think that both the movie and the Rabbi's lecture were very informative. The movie I thought went into much more detail about th actual beginings of the hatred towards the Jewish people. The Rabbi left a lot of time at the end of his lecture to answer questions, which I thought was helpful in clarifying some information from the video.
I agree with Victor and his comment about the feelings towards the Jewish people that were stated in the movie. I thought that it was horrible that people would even have any reason to believe that the Jewish people drank the blood of babies or that they were devil worshipers. I found this very disturbing.
I felt that the movie was a real eye opener to the brutal truth behind the birth of the hatrad against the Jews. I never realized that the Catholic church itself had a lot to do with the genocide of the Jews. The film really showed me what power can do and how far a person can abuse their power and the effects of those actions. Ive always thought of the pope and the bible and the torah as places where one can go to find reassurance about right and wrong, a plac to go for guidance, to give you strength and peace of mind. This film helped me to realize the abilities that power gives to its possessor and how negatively that power can be used. It really upset me.
I agree with Fran about the information provided in both the film and the lecture. I feel as though the lecture's placement after we watched the film really helped clarify the knowledge that we gained. I think that watching the film first gave us a base of knowledge and gave us the opportunity to form questions for the Rabbi. Then, with the time for questions at the end, the Rabbi's lecture had that much more meaning because we had a base of knowledge and we were able to ask anything that still confused us or that we were curious about.
I got alot out of watching the flim from all the pictures and footage that was show. It gave you more of an understanding as to what it was really like and made it all seem more real. The image that really struck me was the pile of shoes, as Matt said. Fr some reason that picture got me thinking of all the people who had once stood in those shoes and had been mass murdered. The Lecuture was important because it gave the chance to ask questions and hear the information from another point of view. As Matt said earlyer, "he couldn't really show us like the movie did." I think the two done together, lecture and movie, work well because you get the feeling of what happened and then get to talk to someone and ask questions about the topic with a new understanding of the material.
-Taylor E.
I agree with what a lot of the students are saying, and both were moving experiences. It is shocking to me to hear about the hatred towards the Jewish people and how it could go on for so long. To me, the film was informational, but pretty standard. It was all things that i had read before in text books and had watched in documentaries. Rabbi Michael Swarttz, however, was a different kind of experience. I liked hearing all the information first hand, and not through a film. I found it much easier to understand, and more informative. He made it make sense. In the eigth grade my school in Texas had a Holocaust survivor gues speaker and I found Rabbi Swarttz to be just as informational as him and I am really glad we got the opportunity to have him come talk with us.
Colleen H.
I found the movie to be far more informative than the rabbi. The movie was very interesting and went into great detail about antisemitism. It was good to see the holocaust and Nazism in a historical context. When the rabbi came in to talk i was less than impressed. He basically said everything that the movie was saying except in less detail. What people are saying about it being good to have someone there to answer questions is ridiculous. If i remember correctly the rabbi had to look through whatever notes he had to answer most of the questions and there were even a couple he did not know. It would have been far better for us to go online and look up the answers to our own questions. Also, i feel that instead of bringing in a rabbi to speak about the holocaust was not the best choice. It would have been just as easy to bring in a scholar who dedicated his secondary education to the holocaust, not the Jewish religion like the rabbi had. The only thing i gained from the rabbi is a slightly better understanding of the beliefs of Judaism. In regards to what fritz said about his German friend "learning both sides of the issue" i believe that it wasn't in any way an insinuation of sympathy for Nazism. There are two sides of the story and it is important for us to learn about both sides in order to gain a better understanding of the issue. I am in no way saying that what the Nazis did was right because it wasn't. I find it appalling that they did what they did, i just think that it is important to understand why they did it. By bringing in a rabbi to talk about the holocaust we learned nothing about why Nazis did what they did and how they justify their actions. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, that is in no way my intent.
-Joey Croft
I really enjoyed the film The Longest Hatred and the lecture by Robbi Swarttz. I feel that the movie went into a lot of detail about why the Jews were chose and it gives people a different view on this issue. I really liked having the Rabbi come in becuase like many people have said in previous comments it was nice to be able to ask questions in person and get direct answers.
I would have to agree with Matt G. with his comments about the movie because I feel that pictures and film can move a person more than just words. It shows that there was proof and that it really did happen and no one can deny that.
- Kyla M.
i agree with Tiana, the movie showed the hatred that led to the holocaust.the movie was a huge eye opener for me it showed visual evidence of the hatred towards the jews. i really enjoyed having the rabbi come in because it was more of a primary source and we could ask him questions.
- melissa brady
Watching the film "The Longest Hatred" as well as listening to Rabbi Michael Swarttz lecture shed light on aspects of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism that were previously unknown to me. I felt that the films videos, pictures,and collection of interviews were informative and shared facts such as the origins of the Nazi "marking" of the Jewish people in WWII and the prevalence of anti-Semitic people today. The Rabbi's personal takes on our questions from the film also provided a new set of information for me. He spoke about specific events and responded with personal stories to various issues that were brought up. I believe that the lecture in conjunction with the film was very educational and elevated my overall understanding of the Holocaust and Jewish hatred.
One of my fellow classmates, Amanda G., had an interesting take on the Rabbi's lecture. She said, "He was able to share personal experiences as a Rabbi and tell us from his perspective what the Holocaust meant to him." I strongly agree with Amanda's point because I believe that the first person account that the Rabbi provided was an invaluable source.
The one above is by me. Austin Evans. Sorry Mr. Gallagher.
-One above is AUSTIN EVANS
I agree with Cat I never new that Church played such a great role in the persecution of the Jews. I also agree that people think of leader of the church as flawless, virtuous, and kind people. But the reality is that they allowed and sometimes helped the persecution of the Jews to occur.
Mike L.
"The Longest Hatred" explained a lot of things about how anti-Semitism began. This was extremely disturbing to me because I learned that thousands of innocent people died for no good cause. Now that this extermination is in the past, we as a society must remember what happend to prevent it from occuring again. We cannot allow for ourselves to become bystanders.
Zack L.
Clarissa, I am very interested in your thoughts about religeous tollerance. I think it is truely the key to a safe and loving society. However, in the situation that Jews found themselves--one of extreme persecution--I wonder what they could have done to protect themselves. Should they run, should they fight, should they give in? I think that in their case they did none of the above and found themselves being completely taken advantage of in a religeously intollerant Europe.
Zack L.
Well, I'll be the first to say that it was hard for me to concentrate on the film so I can't say much about it. But from what I did see, I was very disturbed. The pictures of the piles of dead Jews was both upsetting and shocking. You never think much about these types of situations until you see it on a big screen. As for the Rabbi, I liked his presentation, especially because he mentioned a few things that the film didn't. I do agree with what a couple of other students said about how he had fewer but more detailed topics than the film.
-Ilsi D.
I really enjoyed both the movie and the Rabbi. The movie as we all know, was extremely disturbing in that it went into great details about the harsh punishments and consequences put forth on the Jews. I learned a lot from both the film and the speaker. The rabbi was able to touch upon some subjects more in depth then the movie. He went more into details about the religious aspects of the holocaust which was very nice to hear. All in all, i think both were a great compliment to the unit on the holocaust
-Alex S.
I agree with Austin E. I also believe that the rabbi was helpful in that he was able to answer our questions and not only that but he was able to relate and tell his own personal stories which is also helpful in trying to understand a situation
i like really much the movie in this movie you can see how a teacher is trying really hard to change the students life because as you can see they are having a hard time trying to safe their lifes that the don't care about school in many school that is what happen but i like that people like her want to make the change as you Mr. Gallagher i know you are trying really hard to encorauge us to be a good persons in life.
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