Today you read the "Belonging" in class. Please answer the following questions:
How important is it to you to "look right?" To "act right?" To "fit in?" How do you feel when you don't belong? How does it affect your self-esteem? When in a child's development is he or she most vulnerable to issues related to "in" and "out" group behavior? Are adolescents more or less vulnerable than young children? Would you have joined the Hitler Youth if you lived in Germany at the time? Explain your answer.
24 comments:
I would have most certaintly joined the Hitler Youth Club at that time. Even though I would have obviously regretted it later on in life, if all my friends have done I would have joined too. The Hitler Youth Club gave every child the advantage of an education and the feeling of belonging. To do good for the country that you love and were raised in would have felt great as a child during that time. I really feel like there is no other option that to join that Club.
I have to agree with Shady. Joining the Hitler Youth Club would have seemed like a great idead at the time. It is probably something I wouldn't have even considered not doing. It would have seemed silly not to join. I agree that there would have been no other option at the time and it was a source for education.
I believe I would not have been part of the Hitler Youth, at least initially. I've always been almost incapable of feeling like part of a group, and I don't think I'd be to enthusiastic about any kind of club no matter how excited others were about it. I have trouble conceptualizing how I "fit in" an consequently put little thought into it. However when the state itself starts to exert pressure on me to join, I'd probably cave in to spare my self discomfort. I think that another factor would be how my parents felt about Hitler Youth. If they told me to join I doubt I'd put up a fight.
I feel like there is such a tug-of-war between a desire to be unique, yet still fit in society. The acceptance of peers is so impactful on people that they almost act with regards to society's acceptance rather than their own individuality.
I agree with Shady, who said he would most likely have joined the Hitler Youth Club. It was such a big part of life in Germany at the time, that the pressure to join would be, like Zach M said, something one must do to spare the discomfort of being an outsider in Germany.
I think that it would have been very hard not to join the Hitler Youth at this period in time. It's being pushed in your face in every aspect of life from to school to back at home. We read the story of the young man who's father made him stay home because he was sick, and almost got in huge trouble for it. So if those were the consequences for missing one meeting, I wouldn't want to on the receiving end of punishment if you didn't join. It could easily mean ending up in a labor camp or even a death camp. I would most likely have joined not because I wanted to, but to keep my family in tact and attempt to live the most normal life I could without drawing attention to myself.
I don't think it is easy to define to "look right". I make my appearance theey way I do because that is what I like. That doesn't mean to say if another person dresses completely different or has a different hair style I think they look wrong or that I have a problem with it. It just isn't for me. The same thing goes for "acting right". I have my own ideals and beliefs on how to act and other people have different ideals. I act in accordance to my ideals, but that doesn't mean to say the way another person acts is wrong in my eyes. For me "to fit in" is relative. I want to fit in with my friends. They are the people I want to be around so naturally I want to be a part of them. When I'm in a situation where I feel I don't belong I can tend to feel a little awkward. When your around people you don't generally fit in with they act differently then you expect and visa versa. So at first it takes some getting used to. This can certainly make me feel somewhat shy and more reluctant to open up. I believe in adolesence, which which was about middle school a child feels most vulnerable to fitting or not. Adolescents are much more vulnerable than young children. I believe I would have joined the Hitler Youth. Based of the first description by Alfons Heck, it would have seemed like an experience which you wouldn't want to miss. It sounded fun and seemed as though it gave children a huge sense of belonging and purpose, which I believe I would have wanted as a child.
I definately agree with Shady. The sense of doing something for your country as a child would have been a great feeling, and it definately would have given a sense of purpose to children.
I was absent for this film
I would like to believe I wouldn't join the Hitler Youth at the time however if I did live in that time period i feel as though I would have joined. There would be so many influences trying to persuade me such as fear, government and my peers. The main thing that would have influenced me to ultimately join would have been fear. Just like the Dopazo kids, I would be too afraid of the consequences of not joining.
I agree with many people on this issue. Although we want to believe that we wouldn't of joined Hitler Youth, it was such a big part of like in Germany at the time that it would be hard to avoid it.
To me, looking and fitting "right" is of little to no significance. I dress and act comfortably. Of course, when I feel that I don't belong it is disappointing. It feels that you are missing out on something and you feel unwanted. Whenever I feel that I don't belong, I try not to let it affect my self-esteem. So far there hasn't been a situation where my lack of belonging has affected my self-esteem. I think that a humans are more vulnerable feeling the sense of belonging occurs during the beginning teenage years. At this time, there are changes going on and kids seek others that can be in the same boat. I think that adolescents are even more vulnerable than young children. Children think with their heart and only do things they want to do regardless of what others do. I think that if I were a German citizen during this time I would have likely joined the Hitler Youth. I am a social person so I would have jumped at an opportunity to play sports and other activities with all of my friends.
To me, looking and fitting right is not really important to me. I dress and act in a way the suits me and no one else. I would have joined Hitler’s Youth Club at the time based on how promising it looked to the Germans. At the time everyone was joining the Hitler Youth Club based on all of the things Hitler promised. I would probably join the group because of the mass quantity of other kids that would join and I would not want to feel left out from the group. Its is sad to say that i would join the Hitler Group back then but based on what I know today and I would regret my choices later in the future.
I probably would have joined the Hitler Youth. At the time there weren't many options other than to join. I think not joining would put your life in danger. Hitler also didn't seem like the evil person he was later found out to be. He did help Germany recover from the depression, and at the time many people were willing to go along with anything he said just because he gave them food and work again.
I believe that if I was to be placed in the situation that most children found themselves in during Hitler's regime, it would ignorant of me to not think I would have joined. During the movement the feeling of pride for your country and do something bigger than yourself would have definitely attracted me to the Youth Group. Most people and especially kids were unaware of was Hitler had in store for them and I know I would have been just as naive as the next child. I agree with Shady on how I would have been ashamed to be part look back on it, but for the time being the sense of belonging would have overwhelmed me.
I think during this period of time it would be very hard not to join the Hitler Youth mainly becasue almost everyone had been pressed into it. ANother thing is that if you didn't join you were most likeley putting yourself at risk to stand out to the Nautsies. I also think that fitting in is not really important to me, however to someone who lived during the Haulocost might be more affected by this.
Well if i were living during that time period i would definitely not be in the Hitler Youth because I am Jewish. For me i would have been put in a ghetto along with the others, but if i was not jewish, and had a choice to join the youth group, i most certainly would have. For most of those kids its a life changing choice. If you choose to join then you are bound to them, but if you dont joined, you are exiled or even put in camps as well.
I agree with Shady in that you really would not have any other option, or at least any other good options, other than joining the Hitler Youth.
i agree with shady. i think that at the time i would most definitely have joined the hitler youth group. it was the thing that everyone was doing, and it was frowned upon at the time if u didnt join. not only were there consequences if you didnt join, but being a teenager in nazi germany meant that you wanted to be apart of the hitler youth.
I agree with Shady and Tucker that during this time it would be very hard not to join the Hitler Youth. They were The in club at the time and if all of my friends were doing it I would probably end up being involved with the Hitler Youth to.
I think that adolescents are more vulnerable to the idea of needing to conform to society, and the ages most affected are 4th to 10th graders. By the time kids get to their junior and senior years they have grown to accept who they are and embrace it, and stop trying to fit in. I think that fitting in raises your self esteem and not fitting in lowers your self esteem until you realize that it doesn't really matter either way. If I had lived in Germany as a German child in the 1930s, I would've absolutely joined the hitler youth. I am not someone who likes to face consequences and be punished, so I would've joined to avoid any bad situations.
I agree with Shady. There was really no other option than to join.
I usually don't really care what others think of me - except perhaps for a few close friends and family. If I look alright to myself in the mirror, that's all that matters and I care about. I don't need anyone to tell me what to wear. I follow rules, but I just don't do it for the sake of following rules. In other words, I do what's expected of me, but I don't follow rules blindly... because history shows us people misuse their power and use it to control people. I do what's right. I'm individual [just like everyone else, haha], so I know sometimes I may not exactly fit in. That's okay with me. I love being different and have no desire to fit in and be exactly the person someone wants me to be. Of course, there are times when I like being with a group of friends [who may or may not share my interests], but we're not copies of each other. I think the more unique and different I am, the better I feel about myself. I've tried to fit in and be the person everyone expected me to be before... and all that really does is make you feel like a clone, a copy, a fake, and I hated that. Plus, if you're unique, you're irreplaceable. A child is most vulnerable around middle school / high school [the early teenage years] because that's the years they figure themselves out.
Would I have joined the Hitler Youth if I lived in Germany at the time? That really depends on the age I was when they came to power. If I was young and stupid [and still below the age when I could join], the teachers and laws could easily be used to brainwash me, change my way of thinking. At that point, I would probably also care what everyone else was doing, and I would feel the need to fit in. If I was older, I think I'd have enough sense not to join. Based on everything I said above, I'd say I NOW have pretty strong opinions about being an individual / blindly following rules. The older I was when Hitler came to power, the more I'd know and have the sense to stay away.
I like what Sam Nichols said about having different kinds of ideals and beliefs. Just because I think a certain way, doesn't mean someone else will have to agree with me, and I accept that!
I feel like looking right is somewhat important but acting right is much more important because it shows others who you really are. I feel that while most people don't try to fit in they subconciously want to and this influences many of their decisions. When someone doesn't belong it makes them feel left out and it lowers their self esteem. I think adolescences are more vulnerable to in and out groups just because of the nature of kids of that age and their unwillingness to accept people that are different. I think i would have joined the youth group because I would not want to face the consequences of not joining.
I agree with mere as she said she struggles with a tug-of-war between a desire to be unique, yet still fit in society. My morals tell me to be different, but this is very difficult when what others are doing is so appealing. The youth group allowed teens to be a part of something that they where told was "great". I am a very social person and I would feel left out and lonely if I wasn’t apart of a group that everyone else was. So for those reasons although I would strongly regret my decision later in life, I do believe I would have joined the Hitler youth group.
I would like to believe I would not join the Hitler Youth but given the time I think it would be hard not to be either forced by other of forced by fear to join. I agree with what Gabe said about there not being very many other options. I think the biggest reason people joined the Hitler Youth was so that they didn’t stand out and potentially put yourself in harm’s way even more so then not joining.
I would have joinde the Hitler youth club, everyone was doing it, and if i didnt join, my parents or myself would have most likely been harmed. I can see why there were so many kids in it, and as kids, they all want to fit in, so of course they would all follow suite. Of course, if my parents told me not to join, i would have listened to them, because to me as a kid, they're word was more important then anyone elses.
I agree with pat and think that it would have been very, very hard not to join the hitler youth if everyone was doing it.
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