Monday, January 5, 2009
AUSCHWITZ: Inside the Nazi State - Period 2
"What greater purpose can history have than to try and lead people toward a possible understanding of how this crime could ever have happened? Without an understanding of how it happened, you can't begin to look around the world and think why it might happen again."
– Laurence Rees, Writer and Producer, AUSCHWITZ: Inside the Nazi State
Please post a reflective comment on the film that you saw today and feel free to comment on at least one other student's post.
Mr. Gallagher
14 comments:
i found it very interesting to watch this film because it showed us an inside look, although compact enough to understand in a reasonable amount of time, into the creation of Auschwitz. i never thought of the history of Auschwitz and other camps similar to it. I never even thought of where gassing began and the motives behind it and i nvever thought about its creation. I also liked how the film showed interviews with germans that took part in the process and actually killed jews. I liked hearing it from their perspective. it really brings to life the fact that they really thought they were doing the right thing to help humanity and the german people.
I really thought this film was very insightful. The film had a modern touch to it which made it a lot more interesting. We were able to see a lot of the planning and creation of the camps. Interviews were also shown with people that were part of the SS. This film was able to basically give a tour of the Auschwitz and the careful planning that went with the genocide of the Jews.
-Saqib Z.
Matt V.
The most important point made in the movie was that Hitler got all his people to think they were doing a good thing by helping the German people. They were really doing nothing to help them and his men still thought they were, this shows how much power he had and how he was in such control. I was surprised to hear that most people died in the first 20 months at Auschwitz. Many locals even rised up against the Jewish people which I found to be interesting.
The fact that Hitler was able to get all of his soldiers to believe that they were helping the German community has always amazed me. I agreee with Cat that seeing the German interviews really put things into perspective. It is one thing to read about or be lectured on an event. It is quite another thing to hear about an event from someone who did it.
I was also disturbed by the experiements that were run on children during this time. These experiments are some of the most brutal forms of torture i have ever heard of. I suppose the SS really thought they were trying to do good. I however do not get how they could ahve thought this.
Evan M.
I agree up unitl the 1980's you didn't really know a huge amount about what went on in Auschwitz. But with the fall of the soviet union we know much more of the horror of extermination camps like Auschwitz and others. The biggest thing we have isn't just information, it's pictures and videos, Mr. Gallerger it must be amazing seeing these things, however heatbreaker and anger at the S.S. and entire Hitler Nazi empire.
I agree with Cat that the movie on Auschwitz really demonstrated the perspective the German leaders had on the extermination of Jews. When interviewed about what the German soldier was thinking when he was shooting Jews, he simply answered that his hatred for Jews was so great that he felt they deserved to die. The man defended his actions by claiming that in his youth he was taught that Jews stole from his farm. When he was asked what those Jews had to do with the ones he was shooting, he answered that they had no relation whatsoever, but they were Jews.
I was very dissapointed with that man because he seemed to understand that what he did was wrong, yet he could not bring himself to do the right thing when it mattered.
As Rob said, it is certainly amazing that Hitler's army thought they were helping the German public. However, it does seem possible give the conditions; Hitler was able to take full power due to the condition of the state. He was then able to flood people with propaganda, and propaganda does work if its "well done".
The film however makes me stop and say, "Even if they thought the Jews were bad, how could they, as human beings, be so brutal. And I just dont know.
Zack L.
I always thought that they created Auschwitz soley to gas the Jewish people. It was interesting, and disturbing, to see how it took so much planning to create Auschwitz. The Nazi's had to think about what they were doing and how they were doing it. They invested time, money, technology, and energy into turning Auschwitz into the death camp that it was. I just don't understand how someone can put that much thought into killing just one other human, and I don't think I could ever see someone's reason for the "final solution" by killing innocent Jewish people. I was strongly moved when the German Officer was talking about how he had no feelings when he was shooting and killing the Jewish people, and all he thought about was his "aim". I know that the Germans had a deep rooted hatred towards the Jewish people, but I really just have no idea how exterminating an entire group of people is justified.
I agree with Saqib. I really liked the way the film was presented. It was a documentary mixed with a modern movie with interviews, too. It gave me more insight into the Nazi party and Auschwitz.
I thought that this video was extremely powerful because it showed so many different aspects of the holocaust. It showed a former SS officer and how Nazi propoganda had brainwashed him into believing killing Jews is alright. Also, it showed the atrocities that took place in the concentration camps. I didn't know that Aushwitz wasn't originally used for concentration camps but instead just for holding war prisoners. I agree with Cat that the video showed a lot of the German perspective on their planning for extermination and how they went about doing it.
Kyle D
I think that the most important point made in the movie was how brutal all of the German soldiers were to the Jewish people. I think it is terrible how they followed orders without even questioning if what they were doing was wrong.
I agree with Victor about how the SS officer knew what he was doing was wrong, yet continued to follow orders and not do what he thought was right.
The film today was very deep. Seeing the actual buildings, hearing what had happened in those places. The fact that so much brutality occurred between human beings in the world is outrageous and hard to believe. One living in America probably wouldn't want to believe that such things occurred, however they did, therefore there may be a constant thought of a re-occurrence of the events. Such an idea may be a reason why the American government tries hard to the live up to the slogan "home of the free..."
I agree with cat and her perspective on how the Germans and those in power viewed the Jews and the events occurring to them in the given age.
Jillisa S.
In the film, Auschwitz, I was very shocked that in one of the interviews an SSS worker was ordered to kill the prisoners that were humililated and naked, and the only thought going through his mind was to aim carefully and hit properly. I couldn't believe that person wasn't thinking about what he was doing and how he was killing innocent men, women, and children. I also couldn't belive that people would kill each one other in the camps because some one had taken their food. Also I find it very wrong how doctors could just pick and choose who they would kill that was disabled, with out factoring anything in, only a gance at their file which would determine their fate. The doctors never met with the men, children, and women that were sent to concentration camps and killed because of their file.
-Brittany Murphy
As everyone else has said, today's film was very resourcful. It was able to produce a variety of perspectives, from Holocaust survivors to an actual SS army member. I also thought it was intersting how Auschwitz wasn't even desigend for the purpose it eventually fulfilled. I thought one of the most important parts was when the woman was interviewing the former Nazi soldier and asked why he didn't feel anything when he shot innocent people. He responded, "Because my hatred towards the Jews was too great." That really just goes to show the power of the government, especially Hitler, over people, and how hate can seriously instill ignorance.
Hannah R.
The film provides an incredible insight into the brutality of the Nazi Party. The though, time and effort put into this project known as Aushwitz, is horrific. To think that people took the time to create a place soley for the purpose of exterminating the Jewish population puts a new perspective on what we think is brutal.
I agree with Zach as well, in saying that no one will ever know how the Nazi's, as human beings, went through with the atrocities they committed.
Dan F.
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