This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Period 5 - The Gestapo
You've been watching the BBC documentary, The Rise of the Nazis - A Warning from History. Please share your thoughts about the film thus far. Does anything stand out for you about the segment on the Gestapo that you saw today?
29 comments:
Kendall Paige
said...
When I was watching the film, I was surprised to learn that there were only 28 people in the Gestapo. 28 people controlling all of Germany is impossible but it some what worked. When I was watching the interview with the woman who wrote a letter saying how she knew information about her neighbor and she was going to turn her over to the Gestapo and later denying it was harsh. I thought it was wrong of her to do that nd then denying it over 50 years later is wrong. Hitler created a mess of Germany and how he brainwashed people into believing that Jews were the enemy and they were not human.
The most surprising footage of the film was when the man confronted the woman who wrote a letter to the Gestapo about her neighbor who she didn’t even know. When the man read the letter that she wrote she denied everything that was said but when asked if that was her signature she said yes. The film opened my eyes to the true image of the Gestapo, which weren't as strong as they seemed to be.
Watching the film, "The Rise of the Nazis- A Warning from History" the power of the Gestapo was called to my attention. I can't imagine the paranoia that the Jewish people in Germany must have felt, I mean they couldn't even live their lives because the fear of the Gestapo was constant. Not only were Jewish people being watched by the Gestapo, but also other Germans who didn't act accordingly to how a "true German" should act. Like Kendall and Courtney I was astonished by how the women reacted when she was confronted by the interviewer about the letter she had sent in to the Gestapo, in reguards to her neighbor. The women's reaction was one of complete denial, and I couldn't understand how someone could do such a terrible thing to another human being. This film has taught me that we should treat each other with respect, because we don't know how our actions towards someone can affect their lives.
The thing that stood out for me the most is how little the persecution of the Jews started. It started like the Jim crow laws did. However it further escalated to a much higher level. But the fact that they started the same way is very shocking to me. The fact that the Gestapo was allowed to surpass the rights of human's and brutally destroy humans and their property to send a message. Not because of anything that they did. But to stop something that wasn't even close to happening.
The Gestapo turned German citizensto watch for weird or unusual activity. They had eyes everywhere and if anything seemed unordinary you could be reported. The interview with the women was bizarre. She said it was her signature and her name but she claimed she didnt write those things. She either is embarrassed how Nazi propaganda turned her into a snitch or the Gestapo manipulated German citizens.
I, like Justin, was surprised at how slow the persecution of the Jews was. The fact that a simple letter began the murders of innocent children who had done nothing wrong is astounding. It is also disgusting that after a while, the staff chose which children would live and which would die. I was also confused at why the doctors felt they had to lie about how the children died because if it was law from Hitler, then what were they afraid of? As for the woman who had written the letter to the gestapo and now denied it. I thought that it was obvious that she was guilty of writing it. What I wrote on my paper was remorsful, scared, embarassed, but still guilty of writing letter. Also, even though she had denied writing the letter, when she said I didn't kill anyone or murder anybody, that is basically a confession. Overall, I am finding this film very interesting and I'm learning many new things that I didn't kow before.
I was very surprised to learn that German citizens would inform the Gestapo about suspicious neighboor activity. Learning that neighboors would essentially "rat" other neighbors out shows me how much individuals listened and respected Adolf Hitler. Another thing I learned was how any idea could have been brought to Hitler and been approved. That is how the persecution of disabled individuals came to fruition. Hitler would most likely approve of ideals linked to the Nazi party. Overall the film gave me a good sense of the spread of Nazi propaganda and ideals.
The part of the film that shocked me the most was how people would send their disabled children to unknowingly be murdered. It just came as a huge surprise to me that the Nazis could get away with it so early on, before the Holocaust. I think this was foreshadowing how strong the Nazis would become in the near future.
The interview with the woman was the most interesting part out of the whole movie. It was shocking to see the women deny that she wrote the letter even though she recognized her signature on the letter. The woman got really defensive when the reporter asked her if that was the letter she wrote. Also, I was extremely shocked to hear that parents and doctors were killing mentally disabled babies. I could not believe that a father of a mentally disabled child asked Hitler for permission to kill his own son.
I agree with Garrett, the power of the Gestapo was alarming. To think that so few people could control so many is very scary. I also agree that it was interesting and upsetting to see the interview with the woman who had literally helped cause the death of her neighbor. She didnt even seem to really know the neighbor and she had no recolection of writting the letter. It seems so terrible that she could have condemed this woman without even thinking about it too much. It was also alarming that even if she had felt that way at the time, her feelings wernt any differnt so many years later. Over all I found the movie interesting and I learned a lot about what culture must have been like in Germany during WWII.
The interview with the woman who wrote the letter, Resi, was very puzzling. I found it interesting that while she admitted to the signature and even gave permission for this film clip to be aired, she claimed she could not remember writing it and she didn't know where it had come from. While the Festapo was much smaller than I origionally believed, they were powerful because the people gave them power. If German citizens hadn't been so frightened, they might not of made up gossip about their neighbors and lives could have been saved. A lot of the Nazis power was created through fear and propaganda. It is sad that not many people resisted it. When neighbor is pitted against neighbor, people will do almost anything to protect themselves, as it evident with the lady who wrote the letter. I also found the account about the disabled children immensely saddening. I, like Andrew, am confused as to why the docters felt it necessary to lie about the kids' deaths. No one deserves to die of a condition they can't control and were born with.
I was very shocked by many things I saw in this film. One of the most shocking parts to me was that people would send their babies to be killed upon request if they were mentally disabled. In the notes they would lie and say the children died of an inconspicious disease. I was also disturbed watching the interview with Ms. Kraus. I think it is very shameful and embararssing that she won't just admit she wrote the letter. Although, I guess it's not suprising that the woman is denying writing the letter considering most of Germany denies the holacaust even happened.
I was very shocked by many things I saw in this film. One of the most shocking parts to me was that people would send their babies to be killed upon request if they were mentally disabled. In the notes they would lie and say the children died of an inconspicious disease. I was also disturbed watching the interview with Ms. Kraus. I think it is very shameful and embararssing that she won't just admit she wrote the letter. Although, I guess it's not suprising that the woman is denying writing the letter considering most of Germany denies the holacaust even happened.
This was another interesting film. I thought it was very strange for the woman to deny the letter but admitted that the signature belonged to her. Its quite amazing that Hitler could get all the Germans to believe him and the Nazis that that the Jews were the enemy so easily. I'm surprised that not all the Jews fleed from Germany, I wonder why that is? What also came as a surprise is that Hitler agreed to have a mentaly disabled child killed which lead to others being killed. Were the Germans so blind they couldn't see that Hitler had an agenda?
What stood out to me the most was how people would turn in their own children to get killed. This is absolutely terrible and I can not imagine that people did this. I agree with Garrett when he says, "I can't imagine the paranoia that the Jewish people in Germany must have felt, I mean they couldn't even live their lives because the fear of the Gestapo was constant." A lot of people were turning in Jewish people due to "suspicious activities." I can not imagine how people can do this and it is absolutely terrible.
I was very surprised by the film. I found the interview with the woman was very interesting. It was weird how she agreed that it was her signature and home address but denied ever saying those things about the woman. I found it odd that she was smiling about it. She reminded me of a child when they realized that they have been caught doing something wrong. I agree with Dan when he said " Its quite amazing that Hitler could get all the Germans to believe him and the Nazis that that the Jews were the enemy so easily."
The major thing that shocked me was that families had to turn in their mentally challenged children in to get murdered. It amazed me that the Nazis could get away with this at this time. The other thing that surprised me was German citizens would inform the Gestapo about suspicious neighbor activity. That shows you that people really didn’t have much privacy, and if you did something that your neighbor didn’t like they would contact the Gestapo. This showed you how powerful Hitler was. This film gave you a good idea what the propaganda was like during this time.
I found the interview with the woman who wrote the letter particularly interesting, the fact that she claimed to not have wrote it, but yet agreed that it was her signature was puzzling to say the least. This makes me think thy the Gestapo were master manipulatiors, or something deeper is at hand. I wish she could have shed more light on the subject.
The thing that most stood out to me was that they could kill mentally challenged whenever they wanted. Letters were sent to Hitler asking if they could kill their own kids and he would allow this. The society was allowing very radical and crazy things to occur. Neighbors were writing letters to tell on Jews and then when they confronted that woman she didnt even remember anything and denied it.
This film really caught my attention. I had no idea how small the Gestapo was but how powerfull they were. This just shows how much more degrading the whole situation was. It also caught me off guard during the interview, when she claims it was her signature and her name but she did not done the writing. I find that very hard to believe that she didnt write those things.
This film really caught my attention. I had no idea how small the Gestapo was but how powerfull they were. This just shows how much more degrading the whole situation was. It also caught me off guard during the interview, when she claims it was her signature and her name but she did not done the writing. I find that very hard to believe that she didnt write those things.
The thing that Stood out moSt to me wuz the executions of mentally disabled children and newborns. Its crazy parents would send their own children to a facility knowing fully well what would happeN to them.
I really like the film about the Gestapo mostly because I felt like the information in it was very new to me. I didn't know anything about the Gestapo and was even more surprised to find out how small it was. But it just further proves the mass manipulation that controlled Germany during this time. Especially when people were asked to basically snitch each other out to German Officers. The woman who supposedly wrote one of the letters really surprised and confused me in her interview. She agrees that the information about herself (address, signature) is all correct but then claims that she has no idea where the letter came from or who could have written it. If she is lying then why would she even agree to do the interview to begin with? ..It just makes her look stupid. But if she isn't lying then that could lead us into an even deeper and more intricate issue. What also really shocked me was to what extent Hitler went to to force doctors to "kill off" any mentally disabled infants and then later on slowly killing anybody who could be labeled as mentally ill. But not only that but also how many times the doctors would just write that the patient died of "general weakness" or "measles" when they are actually overdosing the person with morphine. It's just sad and sickening, and what makes it worse is the fact that it didn't just happen overnight but it was carefully planned and followed through with. -Jena Ward
Like Nate, I was unaware that the Gestapo was such a small amount of people but the damage they caused was massive. I could not believe that the woman in the interview denied she had written a letter about a "suspicious" neighbor to the Gestapo when confronted by it. She said it was her name and signature but the writing was not. It amazed me to see how easy going it was for her to deny it and even laugh during the interview. Lastly, I was shocked when young children were sent to what was thought to be hospitals because they were mentally disabled when really it was for them to be persecuted by doctors who thought they weren't worth living. A doctor is suppose to be someone you trust but the acts they committed were absolutely disgusting.
The most surprising and shocking part of this film was when the man interviewed the woman. He showed her the letter she supposedly wrote when she was younger and she didn't recall writing it ever. This was so shocking because it showed that the Gestapo made it seem like she wrote it which just isn't okay at all. Hitler really made a mess in Germany, and innocent people do not deserve to pay for it.
The movie The Gestapo really suprised me; I can't believe how rough the Jewish and the Germans lives were like. The thing that shocked me the most was when the man asked the lady who wrote a letter to The Gestapo and she denied everything that she wrote. The weird thing was she admitted that she signed the letter but, she would not say that she wrote the letter. This movie was overall very suprising to me.
It was surprising to learn that the Gestapo were so few in number. While it is surprising it does seem to make quite a deal of sense in retrospective. The nazi party could not have done what they did unless they had large su[port from the german citizens. It makes the nazi regime much more terrifying when its face is unknown, un-uniformed. When your very neighbor could sell you out to the nazis
it sad that parents would send there children to that hospital n tell them they be back wen they no that there kids going to die and that your OwN parents would send you there
29 comments:
When I was watching the film, I was surprised to learn that there were only 28 people in the Gestapo. 28 people controlling all of Germany is impossible but it some what worked. When I was watching the interview with the woman who wrote a letter saying how she knew information about her neighbor and she was going to turn her over to the Gestapo and later denying it was harsh. I thought it was wrong of her to do that nd then denying it over 50 years later is wrong. Hitler created a mess of Germany and how he brainwashed people into believing that Jews were the enemy and they were not human.
The most surprising footage of the film was when the man confronted the woman who wrote a letter to the Gestapo about her neighbor who she didn’t even know. When the man read the letter that she wrote she denied everything that was said but when asked if that was her signature she said yes. The film opened my eyes to the true image of the Gestapo, which weren't as strong as they seemed to be.
Watching the film, "The Rise of the Nazis- A Warning from History" the power of the Gestapo was called to my attention. I can't imagine the paranoia that the Jewish people in Germany must have felt, I mean they couldn't even live their lives because the fear of the Gestapo was constant. Not only were Jewish people being watched by the Gestapo, but also other Germans who didn't act accordingly to how a "true German" should act. Like Kendall and Courtney I was astonished by how the women reacted when she was confronted by the interviewer about the letter she had sent in to the Gestapo, in reguards to her neighbor. The women's reaction was one of complete denial, and I couldn't understand how someone could do such a terrible thing to another human being. This film has taught me that we should treat each other with respect, because we don't know how our actions towards someone can affect their lives.
The thing that stood out for me the most is how little the persecution of the Jews started. It started like the Jim crow laws did. However it further escalated to a much higher level. But the fact that they started the same way is very shocking to me. The fact that the Gestapo was allowed to surpass the rights of human's and brutally destroy humans and their property to send a message. Not because of anything that they did. But to stop something that wasn't even close to happening.
The Gestapo turned German citizensto watch for weird or unusual activity. They had eyes everywhere and if anything seemed unordinary you could be reported. The interview with the women was bizarre. She said it was her signature and her name but she claimed she didnt write those things. She either is embarrassed how Nazi propaganda turned her into a snitch or the Gestapo manipulated German citizens.
I, like Justin, was surprised at how slow the persecution of the Jews was. The fact that a simple letter began the murders of innocent children who had done nothing wrong is astounding. It is also disgusting that after a while, the staff chose which children would live and which would die. I was also confused at why the doctors felt they had to lie about how the children died because if it was law from Hitler, then what were they afraid of? As for the woman who had written the letter to the gestapo and now denied it. I thought that it was obvious that she was guilty of writing it. What I wrote on my paper was remorsful, scared, embarassed, but still guilty of writing letter. Also, even though she had denied writing the letter, when she said I didn't kill anyone or murder anybody, that is basically a confession. Overall, I am finding this film very interesting and I'm learning many new things that I didn't kow before.
I was very surprised to learn that German citizens would inform the Gestapo about suspicious neighboor activity. Learning that neighboors would essentially "rat" other neighbors out shows me how much individuals listened and respected Adolf Hitler. Another thing I learned was how any idea could have been brought to Hitler and been approved. That is how the persecution of disabled individuals came to fruition. Hitler would most likely approve of ideals linked to the Nazi party. Overall the film gave me a good sense of the spread of Nazi propaganda and ideals.
The part of the film that shocked me the most was how people would send their disabled children to unknowingly be murdered. It just came as a huge surprise to me that the Nazis could get away with it so early on, before the Holocaust. I think this was foreshadowing how strong the Nazis would become in the near future.
The interview with the woman was the most interesting part out of the whole movie. It was shocking to see the women deny that she wrote the letter even though she recognized her signature on the letter. The woman got really defensive when the reporter asked her if that was the letter she wrote. Also, I was extremely shocked to hear that parents and doctors were killing mentally disabled babies. I could not believe that a father of a mentally disabled child asked Hitler for permission to kill his own son.
I agree with Garrett, the power of the Gestapo was alarming. To think that so few people could control so many is very scary. I also agree that it was interesting and upsetting to see the interview with the woman who had literally helped cause the death of her neighbor. She didnt even seem to really know the neighbor and she had no recolection of writting the letter. It seems so terrible that she could have condemed this woman without even thinking about it too much. It was also alarming that even if she had felt that way at the time, her feelings wernt any differnt so many years later. Over all I found the movie interesting and I learned a lot about what culture must have been like in Germany during WWII.
The interview with the woman who wrote the letter, Resi, was very puzzling. I found it interesting that while she admitted to the signature and even gave permission for this film clip to be aired, she claimed she could not remember writing it and she didn't know where it had come from. While the Festapo was much smaller than I origionally believed, they were powerful because the people gave them power. If German citizens hadn't been so frightened, they might not of made up gossip about their neighbors and lives could have been saved. A lot of the Nazis power was created through fear and propaganda. It is sad that not many people resisted it. When neighbor is pitted against neighbor, people will do almost anything to protect themselves, as it evident with the lady who wrote the letter. I also found the account about the disabled children immensely saddening. I, like Andrew, am confused as to why the docters felt it necessary to lie about the kids' deaths. No one deserves to die of a condition they can't control and were born with.
I was very shocked by many things I saw in this film. One of the most shocking parts to me was
that people would send their babies to be killed upon request if they were mentally disabled. In the notes they would lie and say the children died of an inconspicious disease. I was also disturbed watching the interview with Ms. Kraus. I think it is very shameful and embararssing that she won't just admit she wrote the letter. Although, I guess it's not suprising that the woman is denying writing the letter considering most of Germany denies the holacaust even happened.
I was very shocked by many things I saw in this film. One of the most shocking parts to me was
that people would send their babies to be killed upon request if they were mentally disabled. In the notes they would lie and say the children died of an inconspicious disease. I was also disturbed watching the interview with Ms. Kraus. I think it is very shameful and embararssing that she won't just admit she wrote the letter. Although, I guess it's not suprising that the woman is denying writing the letter considering most of Germany denies the holacaust even happened.
This was another interesting film. I thought it was very strange for the woman to deny the letter but admitted that the signature belonged to her. Its quite amazing that Hitler could get all the Germans to believe him and the Nazis that that the Jews were the enemy so easily. I'm surprised that not all the Jews fleed from Germany, I wonder why that is? What also came as a surprise is that Hitler agreed to have a mentaly disabled child killed which lead to others being killed. Were the Germans so blind they couldn't see that Hitler had an agenda?
What stood out to me the most was how people would turn in their own children to get killed. This is absolutely terrible and I can not imagine that people did this. I agree with Garrett when he says, "I can't imagine the paranoia that the Jewish people in Germany must have felt, I mean they couldn't even live their lives because the fear of the Gestapo was constant." A lot of people were turning in Jewish people due to "suspicious activities." I can not imagine how people can do this and it is absolutely terrible.
I was very surprised by the film. I found the interview with the woman was very interesting. It was weird how she agreed that it was her signature and home address but denied ever saying those things about the woman. I found it odd that she was smiling about it. She reminded me of a child when they realized that they have been caught doing something wrong. I agree with Dan when he said " Its quite amazing that Hitler could get all the Germans to believe him and the Nazis that that the Jews were the enemy so easily."
The major thing that shocked me was that families had to turn in their mentally challenged children in to get murdered. It amazed me that the Nazis could get away with this at this time. The other thing that surprised me was German citizens would inform the Gestapo about suspicious neighbor activity. That shows you that people really didn’t have much privacy, and if you did something that your neighbor didn’t like they would contact the Gestapo. This showed you how powerful Hitler was. This film gave you a good idea what the propaganda was like during this time.
I found the interview with the woman who wrote the letter particularly interesting, the fact that she claimed to not have wrote it, but yet agreed that it was her signature was puzzling to say the least. This makes me think thy the Gestapo were master manipulatiors, or something deeper is at hand. I wish she could have shed more light on the subject.
The thing that most stood out to me was that they could kill mentally challenged whenever they wanted. Letters were sent to Hitler asking if they could kill their own kids and he would allow this. The society was allowing very radical and crazy things to occur. Neighbors were writing letters to tell on Jews and then when they confronted that woman she didnt even remember anything and denied it.
This film really caught my attention. I had no idea how small the Gestapo was but how powerfull they were. This just shows how much more degrading the whole situation was. It also caught me off guard during the interview, when she claims it was her signature and her name but she did not done the writing. I find that very hard to believe that she didnt write those things.
This film really caught my attention. I had no idea how small the Gestapo was but how powerfull they were. This just shows how much more degrading the whole situation was. It also caught me off guard during the interview, when she claims it was her signature and her name but she did not done the writing. I find that very hard to believe that she didnt write those things.
The thing that Stood out moSt to me wuz the executions of mentally disabled children and newborns. Its crazy parents would send their own children to a facility knowing fully well what would happeN to them.
I really like the film about the Gestapo mostly because I felt like the information in it was very new to me. I didn't know anything about the Gestapo and was even more surprised to find out how small it was. But it just further proves the mass manipulation that controlled Germany during this time. Especially when people were asked to basically snitch each other out to German Officers. The woman who supposedly wrote one of the letters really surprised and confused me in her interview. She agrees that the information about herself (address, signature) is all correct but then claims that she has no idea where the letter came from or who could have written it. If she is lying then why would she even agree to do the interview to begin with? ..It just makes her look stupid. But if she isn't lying then that could lead us into an even deeper and more intricate issue. What also really shocked me was to what extent Hitler went to to force doctors to "kill off" any mentally disabled infants and then later on slowly killing anybody who could be labeled as mentally ill. But not only that but also how many times the doctors would just write that the patient died of "general weakness" or "measles" when they are actually overdosing the person with morphine. It's just sad and sickening, and what makes it worse is the fact that it didn't just happen overnight but it was carefully planned and followed through with.
-Jena Ward
Like Nate, I was unaware that the Gestapo was such a small amount of people but the damage they caused was massive. I could not believe that the woman in the interview denied she had written a letter about a "suspicious" neighbor to the Gestapo when confronted by it. She said it was her name and signature but the writing was not. It amazed me to see how easy going it was for her to deny it and even laugh during the interview. Lastly, I was shocked when young children were sent to what was thought to be hospitals because they were mentally disabled when really it was for them to be persecuted by doctors who thought they weren't worth living. A doctor is suppose to be someone you trust but the acts they committed were absolutely disgusting.
The most surprising and shocking part of this film was when the man interviewed the woman. He showed her the letter she supposedly wrote when she was younger and she didn't recall writing it ever. This was so shocking because it showed that the Gestapo made it seem like she wrote it which just isn't okay at all. Hitler really made a mess in Germany, and innocent people do not deserve to pay for it.
The movie The Gestapo really suprised me; I can't believe how rough the Jewish and the Germans lives were like. The thing that shocked me the most was when the man asked the lady who wrote a letter to The Gestapo and she denied everything that she wrote. The weird thing was she admitted that she signed the letter but, she would not say that she wrote the letter. This movie was overall very suprising to me.
It was surprising to learn that the Gestapo were so few in number. While it is surprising it does seem to make quite a deal of sense in retrospective. The nazi party could not have done what they did unless they had large su[port from the german citizens. It makes the nazi regime much more terrifying when its face is unknown, un-uniformed. When your very neighbor could sell you out to the nazis
it sad that parents would send there children to that hospital n tell them they be back wen they no that there kids going to die and that your OwN parents would send you there
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