This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Death Camps - Period 2
Please post a reflective comment about what you saw in class today. Make sure to comment on at least two other student's posts.
Mr. Gallagher
14 comments:
Anonymous
said...
watching this film i felt absolutely sick. i couldnt help that fact that i began to feel literally sick ot my stomach after seeing the images presented in the film. the jews and corpses looked unhuman, almost like cartoons or drawings they were so unreal. I cannot believe that any human being can get that thin. all they were was skin and bones, literally. there was nothing left of their past, their present, their future, their personality, their lives, only skin and bones.
You say that they have nothing left of their past. I was thiking this too as I viewed proof of the atrocities. They lost everything. They lost years of their lives even if they survived. They lost family. They lost any chance of happiness. They were put through such terrible treatment that no one could mentally survive this. This course is very important to us appreciating what we have.
I completely agree with Cat that the corpses began to appear unhuman. Perhaps that is how the SS was able to mentally deal with their mass killings. They simply thought after the killed a person, it was just one more object to add to the pile. What also freaked me out was how close the dead bodies and alive bodies looked. The people who survived must have been inches from death because they literally looked the same as the stacks of death bodies. General Eisenhower is a brilliant man for filming the camps. The only way to not repeat mistakes of history is to study them. I think the filmed evidence has allowed enough people to learn about what the Germans did and perhaps be what never lets it happen again.
I agree 100% with Rob that the only way to prevent future genocides is by documenting evidence of the past ones and studying them in an effort to create a peaceful future. The film was very powerful and evoked a great sadness in me. I came out of the class thinking about what it must have been like for the survivors to witness such a tragedy, with death just inches away from them, as Rob said. I agree with Zack that the survivors truly lost everything during the Holocaust. The detrimental effects of the genocide caused insanity in many survivors and their health remained poor from malnutrition. I don't know if I would have had enough strength as a US soldier to enter the Concentration Camps and deal with the remains and few survivors. I think I would've never been able to get past it, alike many survivors.
I agree with Cat, this film made me very sick to my stomach. I was in shock how many bodies there were, and how they were just piled up like trash. This film spoke for itself. I remember one scence in partically that stuck out to me, the scence when the man was too weak to get out bed to go and get food, and how you saw him crying and how he just had an ora of complete sadness. I felt like I wanted to do something, to tell him something. It still amazes me how the SS was able to kill all these people with no emotion, it became a job to them. I couldn't belive the tourture they put these people through, stretching their legs till their skin tore, wrapping them in chains and pulling the chains as tight as they could, burning them with cigarettes, starving them to death. In the film when I saw the people and how skinny they were, it was very disturbing, some could not even walk because of it. I also could not believe that the camps on the film were only a few of them, and that there was much more camps and much more dead people.
this film completely disturbed me. i was literally sick to my stomach seeing them torture these innocent people. i was never aware of the different methods they used to kill & torture the jews and that just reminds you of how sick & twisted people can be. I also agree with Lauren about being a US soldier going into the concentration camps and witnessing everything. I was barely able to handle watching the film, let alone having to be there and actually witness it & walk around corpses. The jews truly did lose everything they've ever had as Cat and Zack said. This film definately had an impact on me. I'm absolutely disgusted that i watched it, but i also appreciate watching it & learning new things i didn't know before.
I found the film to be incredibly sickening. Just as everyone mentioned, the bodies were so thin, they looked inhuman and inches from death. I can't imagine the suffering and starvation that the survivors were able to persevere through.
I feel incredibly sorry for them and I wonder if it is even possible to forgive the Germans who participated in such inhumane acts. The Holocaust was by far man's darkest hour and I hope that with our new found knowledge and study of the atrocity, we will be able to avoid such an event from ever reoccurring.
The footage we saw in class today was horrific. Words cannot describe the feelings I experienced as I was watching - disgust, nausea, fear, pity, anger, and so much more. I could pick out a million things that were meaningful to me - the bodies in piles, the skinniness of the starved, the smiles on the German civilians' faces as they went to see the camps, the smiles on the faces of the rescued, actually seeing and HEARING a man tell his own death camp story, and the man praying to God as he was lifted onto his stretcher to safety. This video shows the importance of making sure there is never another environment that mirrors the environment of the Holocaust. I also like to think of this video as a big, fat "I told you so" to everyone who said that the Holocaust never happened. I agree with the point that Rob made in that a reason the Nazis ewre able to handle the bodies is that they basically became accustomed to them (a concept that is morally wrong in itself.) I also wonder as Victor said if it was possible for the victims to forgive the SS, for example, when the Nazis were forced to help the inmates upon liberation... would the inmates even want the help of the people who did this to them?
As disturbing as this film was, i feel that it was something important to see in order to truly understand what happened. I agree with Rob that Eisenhower was smart to have the camps, survivors, and the dead filmed. He realized that it was necessary to have these horrors documented so that their generation knew what had been happening and so that those of us in future generations would understand.
As Cat and everyone said, the condition of the survivors was very disturbing. I didn't realize how far that kind of torture and starvation could go and still be able to survive. One thing i couldn't stop thinking about during the film was how there definitely are some things worse than death. That degree of torture is terrible. I agree with Zack that these poor survivors still lost everything else in their lives. This film is something i will never forget
As i sat watching the video unfold i was almost in disbelief that the people I was seeing where actually human. The Nazi’s had starved, beaten, killed millions of people. It almost seemed too surreal to actually have happened. I also found myself picturing what a person shown on film looked like before the holocaust. It was extremely angering to see all the people who had died or were near death.
I have to agree with Cat i was also sickened by what i saw on the films and every time there was something extremely gruesome i would shatter as if i had witnessed it live.
I also agree with rob that it was extremely important to the Nazi atrocities so that people can understand what the Nazi's actually did. It also important that people understand the extent of the Nazi atrocities because we most go to a even further extent to prevent Genocide.
I found this to be a very interesting film with all the different concentrattion camps. I did not know how many were out there and what all of them were about, but this film gave me an overview of a lot of different things I never knew. I learned a lot from this film that I never thought I would learn.
You bring up the point that these people went through unimaginable suffering. Trying to think of how my life would be if I had to endure this, I know that I would always be so incredibly terrified and sad at the terrible conditions I was living in. It would be unreal.
Throughout this whole course out of all the films/documentaries we've seen about the Holocaust it is easy for me to say this one had the biggest impact. It showed the aftermath of the inhumane events that took place and proof to later generations that the Holocaust was this brutal. Today, movies that depict past events such as wars and atrocities fully rely on special effects to show the brutalities that were presented in the past. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes because I have never seen something so real in my life to the point that I thought that it had to be special effects. But, from further viewing it was obvious to say that it wasn’t and that everything shown was a hands on experience and truth of the events that took place during the Holocaust.
The American soldiers who fought for this cause are heroic. I dont think you can find one young man in America that wouldnt willingly join the army for this cause and fight with great motivation. On the contrary, currently the American army is surrounded by the controversy of fighting unnecessary wars, which is absolutley awful. For example, I am not going to join the army because I'm affraid that I will die for a silly cause. This shows the mistakes of the Bush admin.
14 comments:
watching this film i felt absolutely sick. i couldnt help that fact that i began to feel literally sick ot my stomach after seeing the images presented in the film. the jews and corpses looked unhuman, almost like cartoons or drawings they were so unreal. I cannot believe that any human being can get that thin. all they were was skin and bones, literally. there was nothing left of their past, their present, their future, their personality, their lives, only skin and bones.
Cat,
You say that they have nothing left of their past. I was thiking this too as I viewed proof of the atrocities. They lost everything. They lost years of their lives even if they survived. They lost family. They lost any chance of happiness. They were put through such terrible treatment that no one could mentally survive this. This course is very important to us appreciating what we have.
Zack L.
I completely agree with Cat that the corpses began to appear unhuman. Perhaps that is how the SS was able to mentally deal with their mass killings. They simply thought after the killed a person, it was just one more object to add to the pile. What also freaked me out was how close the dead bodies and alive bodies looked. The people who survived must have been inches from death because they literally looked the same as the stacks of death bodies. General Eisenhower is a brilliant man for filming the camps. The only way to not repeat mistakes of history is to study them. I think the filmed evidence has allowed enough people to learn about what the Germans did and perhaps be what never lets it happen again.
I agree 100% with Rob that the only way to prevent future genocides is by documenting evidence of the past ones and studying them in an effort to create a peaceful future. The film was very powerful and evoked a great sadness in me. I came out of the class thinking about what it must have been like for the survivors to witness such a tragedy, with death just inches away from them, as Rob said. I agree with Zack that the survivors truly lost everything during the Holocaust. The detrimental effects of the genocide caused insanity in many survivors and their health remained poor from malnutrition. I don't know if I would have had enough strength as a US soldier to enter the Concentration Camps and deal with the remains and few survivors. I think I would've never been able to get past it, alike many survivors.
I agree with Cat, this film made me very sick to my stomach. I was in shock how many bodies there were, and how they were just piled up like trash. This film spoke for itself. I remember one scence in partically that stuck out to me, the scence when the man was too weak to get out bed to go and get food, and how you saw him crying and how he just had an ora of complete sadness. I felt like I wanted to do something, to tell him something. It still amazes me how the SS was able to kill all these people with no emotion, it became a job to them. I couldn't belive the tourture they put these people through, stretching their legs till their skin tore, wrapping them in chains and pulling the chains as tight as they could, burning them with cigarettes, starving them to death. In the film when I saw the people and how skinny they were, it was very disturbing, some could not even walk because of it. I also could not believe that the camps on the film were only a few of them, and that there was much more camps and much more dead people.
-Brittany Murphy
this film completely disturbed me. i was literally sick to my stomach seeing them torture these innocent people. i was never aware of the different methods they used to kill & torture the jews and that just reminds you of how sick & twisted people can be. I also agree with Lauren about being a US soldier going into the concentration camps and witnessing everything. I was barely able to handle watching the film, let alone having to be there and actually witness it & walk around corpses. The jews truly did lose everything they've ever had as Cat and Zack said. This film definately had an impact on me. I'm absolutely disgusted that i watched it, but i also appreciate watching it & learning new things i didn't know before.
Brittany C.
I found the film to be incredibly sickening. Just as everyone mentioned, the bodies were so thin, they looked inhuman and inches from death. I can't imagine the suffering and starvation that the survivors were able to persevere through.
I feel incredibly sorry for them and I wonder if it is even possible to forgive the Germans who participated in such inhumane acts. The Holocaust was by far man's darkest hour and I hope that with our new found knowledge and study of the atrocity, we will be able to avoid such an event from ever reoccurring.
The footage we saw in class today was horrific. Words cannot describe the feelings I experienced as I was watching - disgust, nausea, fear, pity, anger, and so much more. I could pick out a million things that were meaningful to me - the bodies in piles, the skinniness of the starved, the smiles on the German civilians' faces as they went to see the camps, the smiles on the faces of the rescued, actually seeing and HEARING a man tell his own death camp story, and the man praying to God as he was lifted onto his stretcher to safety. This video shows the importance of making sure there is never another environment that mirrors the environment of the Holocaust. I also like to think of this video as a big, fat "I told you so" to everyone who said that the Holocaust never happened.
I agree with the point that Rob made in that a reason the Nazis ewre able to handle the bodies is that they basically became accustomed to them (a concept that is morally wrong in itself.) I also wonder as Victor said if it was possible for the victims to forgive the SS, for example, when the Nazis were forced to help the inmates upon liberation... would the inmates even want the help of the people who did this to them?
Hannah R.
As disturbing as this film was, i feel that it was something important to see in order to truly understand what happened. I agree with Rob that Eisenhower was smart to have the camps, survivors, and the dead filmed. He realized that it was necessary to have these horrors documented so that their generation knew what had been happening and so that those of us in future generations would understand.
As Cat and everyone said, the condition of the survivors was very disturbing. I didn't realize how far that kind of torture and starvation could go and still be able to survive. One thing i couldn't stop thinking about during the film was how there definitely are some things worse than death. That degree of torture is terrible. I agree with Zack that these poor survivors still lost everything else in their lives. This film is something i will never forget
--Clarissa S
As i sat watching the video unfold i was almost in disbelief that the people I was seeing where actually human. The Nazi’s had starved, beaten, killed millions of people. It almost seemed too surreal to actually have happened. I also found myself picturing what a person shown on film looked like before the holocaust. It was extremely angering to see all the people who had died or were near death.
I have to agree with Cat i was also sickened by what i saw on the films and every time there was something extremely gruesome i would shatter as if i had witnessed it live.
I also agree with rob that it was extremely important to the Nazi atrocities so that people can understand what the Nazi's actually did. It also important that people understand the extent of the Nazi atrocities because we most go to a even further extent to prevent Genocide.
mike L.
Matt V.
I found this to be a very interesting film with all the different concentrattion camps. I did not know how many were out there and what all of them were about, but this film gave me an overview of a lot of different things I never knew. I learned a lot from this film that I never thought I would learn.
Victor,
You bring up the point that these people went through unimaginable suffering. Trying to think of how my life would be if I had to endure this, I know that I would always be so incredibly terrified and sad at the terrible conditions I was living in. It would be unreal.
Zack L.
Throughout this whole course out of all the films/documentaries we've seen about the Holocaust it is easy for me to say this one had the biggest impact. It showed the aftermath of the inhumane events that took place and proof to later generations that the Holocaust was this brutal. Today, movies that depict past events such as wars and atrocities fully rely on special effects to show the brutalities that were presented in the past. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes because I have never seen something so real in my life to the point that I thought that it had to be special effects. But, from further viewing it was obvious to say that it wasn’t and that everything shown was a hands on experience and truth of the events that took place during the Holocaust.
The American soldiers who fought for this cause are heroic. I dont think you can find one young man in America that wouldnt willingly join the army for this cause and fight with great motivation.
On the contrary, currently the American army is surrounded by the controversy of fighting unnecessary wars, which is absolutley awful. For example, I am not going to join the army because I'm affraid that I will die for a silly cause. This shows the mistakes of the Bush admin.
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