This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
PERIOD 2 - 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?
The first thing that caught my attention during this film was the way Hitler used his speeches to convince millions of people. I never really understood how someone could have such a powerful speech, but after watching and listening to clips from a few you can truly see the power and emotion he puts into his speeches. The thing that stood out for me today was the interview with the lady that had written a latter to the Gestapo saying things about a lady next door. I was shocked how she could not remember writing that letter, but it was her address and her signature. I kept asking myself, “How ignorant can you be?” if you still don’t realize what you did 50 years later. The only reason this worked is because of the people itself, the Gestapo itself was not very large. She and many others made it possible for the Holocaust to happen by saying “I didn’t kill anyone.” I felt like this was such an ignorant and stupid way of looking at it even, and I was disgusted by her ignorance still to this day.
What stood out the most for me was that the lady kept saying “I can’t remember” and “I didn’t kill anyone.” Firstly, I think that she doesn’t want to remember whether or not she wrote that letter incriminating her neighbor, because who wants to admit that they’re responsible for someone else’s death? I think that by saying she didn’t kill anyone she’s simply trying to deflect some of the blame. However, I think she’s wrong in doing this because even though she didn’t kill her neighbor the note that she wrote gave the Gestapo an excuse. I agree with Brian that the only reason the Gestapo worked is because people were so willing to throw accusations at their neighbors in hopes that they themselves would stay innocent.
I have found this film very informative and it has allowed me to see the Holocaust from a different view. Prior to watching this video I did not fully understand how quickly Hitler was able to gain so much power and support. The section we watched today in class was so hard for me to listen to. It talked about the Gestapo and how the group was actually fairly small and relied on the neighbors of Jews to spy on them and turn them in. The lady in the interview was utterly ignorant and she seemed oblivious to doing anything wrong. Brian, I completely agree with what you said about being disgusted by her ignorance. I fail to understand why someone would not admit to something they did, especially when there is proof right in front of their eyes. This specific circumstance gives an example of what many people went through during this time. It also heightens the fact that people remained as innocent bystanders instead of speaking out against the authority such as the gestapos.
I was surprised with how small the nazis first were. It took the stock market to crash for the nazis to gain popularity. Hitler was not looked at as a strong person until people heard his speeches. I thought it was crazy that Hitler could give the speeches he did to large crowds without even having some note cards. Because of Hitlers great public speaking ability he was able to gain the approval of a lot of people. I was a little surprised when I learned that the Gestapo relied on other people to get the information they needed. Even though that lady from the film denies righting that letter to the Gestapo she is a great example of what they needed. Because of people like her they were able to capture more innocent people that did not share the same beliefs.
After watching the segment about the gestapo today in class, I realized that people would do anything to save themselves even if it involved throwing someone else under the bus. Hitler used his speeches as a brainwashing technique to breed more nazis like himself and keep germany "pure." O think people were so willing to follow Hitler not necessarily because they believed what he was saying, but because he was a powerful figure and people were looking for a way out of poverty and suffering. To them, Hitler was was their savior and they began to devote themselves. I believed that was the reason why the woman didnt remember that she wrote a letter about her neighbor to the gostapo, because back then, following Adolf was the way of life If you wanted to survive, you had to follow Hitler.
The part of the film that stood out of the most for me was seeing Hitler speak. It was like an evil German version of Martin Luther King Jr. Amazing power and conviction in his speech. He was able to command people to follow his will either because the believed everything he was saying or because they were too afraid to not follow him. In the end, there was nothing most could do but get in line.
@ Kayla, I agree. She doesn't remember writing it because to her it was nothing special. Following Hitler was what everyone was doing and the mindset of the German people who were "acceptable" was that Jews are bad and Germans are better.
Like Brian, the woman who wrote the letter stood out to me. It was funny that she would confirm that her signature was on the letter but she would not admit writing it.
Brian also mentioned the power of Hitler's speech. You can tell how he truly believes in what he is saying, and I can understand why desperate people would follow him.
What amazed me the most about the gestapo was that the woman couldn't even admit that she wrote the letter fifty years later. It was obviously her who wrote the letter, and it was not like she was the only one writting letters at the time, but she still couldn't admit it was her. This just shows me the effect the Nazi's have today and people that joined the Nazi party in the 1930's are embarrassed now that that the Nazi's lost. What the lady did was stupid and she made a fool of herself. I would have respected her a lot more if she had just admitted she wrote the letters.
I thought that it was sad and disturbing that an innocent person could be sent to a concentration camp because she was friends with a jew and becasue she seemed to be acting suspiciously. Nobody could prove that she had done anything wrong, yet she was still killed. I agree with Mike that it is understandable that so many people could be conned into following Hitler after listening to his speeches.
I really think that its crazy how when people are in such distress they will do things they never would have before. In the film it says how the nazi's only had a little bit over 2 percent of the vote and then a few years later they had complete control. The economy was so bad that people saught help, and it seemed they would do anything to get it. However the woman who could not just admit that the letter was written by her really upset me. I can understand why some people followed Hitler but I think that if they did then they should be able to just suck it up and explain it.
This film showed me the growth of Hitler's power and how he achieved it. I often wondered how someone so twisted was able to persuade millions and this video shed a little light on that. Like many people, the conversation with the woman about the letter she wrote concerning her neighbor was shocking to me. The way she was talking about the conversation with her friend about how they couldn't understand why it was all being brought up again years later. The question should have been how could it not be brought up years later?! This was a horrific event in history that just can't be forgotten. The way she constantly denied writing that letter was terrible.
Brian, I asked myself the same question regarding her obvious ignorance.
I agree with Brian that Hitler's speeches were very impressive. Before I took this class, I always wondered how people could ever follow such a terrible person. However, now I realize how powerful and influential Hitler's speeches really were. He uses so much emotion in his words that he captivates his audience and can convince them anything. I thought that seeing the actual clips was really cool. I didn't even know they had video of his speeches. It was really interesting to see.
I always have had question in my mind how Hitler convinced so many people using just his voice. And I heard a lots of comments about his speeches but I did not see any of his speeches and now I kind of pursuaded by his speeches more and more as I listened to him. As I see in this film, I really beileve in power of words that magically changed world with almost thousandsd and thousands of germans.
What really caught my attention in this film was the denial people were in of doing any harm by just bystanding Hitler's acts of destruction. I was also very intrigued by the way Hitler's speeches were delivered, and the immense reaction he received. I was also shocked by the German woman who refused to admit writing the letter and causing any harm to the jewish people. To me I feel as if that portrays a national embarrasment towards the subject
17 comments:
The first thing that caught my attention during this film was the way Hitler used his speeches to convince millions of people. I never really understood how someone could have such a powerful speech, but after watching and listening to clips from a few you can truly see the power and emotion he puts into his speeches. The thing that stood out for me today was the interview with the lady that had written a latter to the Gestapo saying things about a lady next door. I was shocked how she could not remember writing that letter, but it was her address and her signature. I kept asking myself, “How ignorant can you be?” if you still don’t realize what you did 50 years later. The only reason this worked is because of the people itself, the Gestapo itself was not very large. She and many others made it possible for the Holocaust to happen by saying “I didn’t kill anyone.” I felt like this was such an ignorant and stupid way of looking at it even, and I was disgusted by her ignorance still to this day.
What stood out the most for me was that the lady kept saying “I can’t remember” and “I didn’t kill anyone.” Firstly, I think that she doesn’t want to remember whether or not she wrote that letter incriminating her neighbor, because who wants to admit that they’re responsible for someone else’s death? I think that by saying she didn’t kill anyone she’s simply trying to deflect some of the blame. However, I think she’s wrong in doing this because even though she didn’t kill her neighbor the note that she wrote gave the Gestapo an excuse. I agree with Brian that the only reason the Gestapo worked is because people were so willing to throw accusations at their neighbors in hopes that they themselves would stay innocent.
I have found this film very informative and it has allowed me to see the Holocaust from a different view. Prior to watching this video I did not fully understand how quickly Hitler was able to gain so much power and support. The section we watched today in class was so hard for me to listen to. It talked about the Gestapo and how the group was actually fairly small and relied on the neighbors of Jews to spy on them and turn them in. The lady in the interview was utterly ignorant and she seemed oblivious to doing anything wrong. Brian, I completely agree with what you said about being disgusted by her ignorance. I fail to understand why someone would not admit to something they did, especially when there is proof right in front of their eyes. This specific circumstance gives an example of what many people went through during this time. It also heightens the fact that people remained as innocent bystanders instead of speaking out against the authority such as the gestapos.
I was surprised with how small the nazis first were. It took the stock market to crash for the nazis to gain popularity. Hitler was not looked at as a strong person until people heard his speeches. I thought it was crazy that Hitler could give the speeches he did to large crowds without even having some note cards. Because of Hitlers great public speaking ability he was able to gain the approval of a lot of people. I was a little surprised when I learned that the Gestapo relied on other people to get the information they needed. Even though that lady from the film denies righting that letter to the Gestapo she is a great example of what they needed. Because of people like her they were able to capture more innocent people that did not share the same beliefs.
After watching the segment about the gestapo today in class, I realized that people would do anything to save themselves even if it involved throwing someone else under the bus. Hitler used his speeches as a brainwashing technique to breed more nazis like himself and keep germany "pure." O think people were so willing to follow Hitler not necessarily because they believed what he was saying, but because he was a powerful figure and people were looking for a way out of poverty and suffering. To them, Hitler was was their savior and they began to devote themselves. I believed that was the reason why the woman didnt remember that she wrote a letter about her neighbor to the gostapo, because back then, following Adolf was the way of life If you wanted to survive, you had to follow Hitler.
The part of the film that stood out of the most for me was seeing Hitler speak. It was like an evil German version of Martin Luther King Jr. Amazing power and conviction in his speech. He was able to command people to follow his will either because the believed everything he was saying or because they were too afraid to not follow him. In the end, there was nothing most could do but get in line.
@ Kayla, I agree. She doesn't remember writing it because to her it was nothing special. Following Hitler was what everyone was doing and the mindset of the German people who were "acceptable" was that Jews are bad and Germans are better.
Like Brian, the woman who wrote the letter stood out to me. It was funny that she would confirm that her signature was on the letter but she would not admit writing it.
Brian also mentioned the power of Hitler's speech. You can tell how he truly believes in what he is saying, and I can understand why desperate people would follow him.
I was absent from class Tuesday the 6th.
I was absent on April 6th.
What amazed me the most about the gestapo was that the woman couldn't even admit that she wrote the letter fifty years later. It was obviously her who wrote the letter, and it was not like she was the only one writting letters at the time, but she still couldn't admit it was her. This just shows me the effect the Nazi's have today and people that joined the Nazi party in the 1930's are embarrassed now that that the Nazi's lost. What the lady did was stupid and she made a fool of herself. I would have respected her a lot more if she had just admitted she wrote the letters.
I thought that it was sad and disturbing that an innocent person could be sent to a concentration camp because she was friends with a jew and becasue she seemed to be acting suspiciously. Nobody could prove that she had done anything wrong, yet she was still killed. I agree with Mike that it is understandable that so many people could be conned into following Hitler after listening to his speeches.
I really think that its crazy how when people are in such distress they will do things they never would have before. In the film it says how the nazi's only had a little bit over 2 percent of the vote and then a few years later they had complete control. The economy was so bad that people saught help, and it seemed they would do anything to get it. However the woman who could not just admit that the letter was written by her really upset me. I can understand why some people followed Hitler but I think that if they did then they should be able to just suck it up and explain it.
This film showed me the growth of Hitler's power and how he achieved it. I often wondered how someone so twisted was able to persuade millions and this video shed a little light on that. Like many people, the conversation with the woman about the letter she wrote concerning her neighbor was shocking to me. The way she was talking about the conversation with her friend about how they couldn't understand why it was all being brought up again years later. The question should have been how could it not be brought up years later?! This was a horrific event in history that just can't be forgotten. The way she constantly denied writing that letter was terrible.
Brian, I asked myself the same question regarding her obvious ignorance.
I was in a guidance meeting during that class period.
I agree with Brian that Hitler's speeches were very impressive. Before I took this class, I always wondered how people could ever follow such a terrible person. However, now I realize how powerful and influential Hitler's speeches really were. He uses so much emotion in his words that he captivates his audience and can convince them anything. I thought that seeing the actual clips was really cool. I didn't even know they had video of his speeches. It was really interesting to see.
I always have had question in my mind how Hitler convinced so many people using just his voice. And I heard a lots of comments about his speeches but I did not see any of his speeches and now I kind of pursuaded by his speeches more and more as I listened to him. As I see in this film, I really beileve in power of words that magically changed world with almost thousandsd and thousands of germans.
What really caught my attention in this film was the denial people were in of doing any harm by just bystanding Hitler's acts of destruction. I was also very intrigued by the way Hitler's speeches were delivered, and the immense reaction he received. I was also shocked by the German woman who refused to admit writing the letter and causing any harm to the jewish people. To me I feel as if that portrays a national embarrasment towards the subject
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