Regarding 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? What did you think of the interview with Resi Kraus?
30 comments:
I thought that this film was very interesting. I did not know much about the Gestapo before watching this film. I found it amazing that they wouldnt have succeeded, due to the lack of officers if it weren't for the cooperation of the citizens of Germany. I always thought that the citizens were afraid of the Nazi's, until i saw this and realized they actually wanted them in power, and liked them. The impression i got from Resi's interview was that she is a liar. She does remember that report she filed on her neighbor. I believe that she doesn't want to incriminate herself. She is the reason this woman is not with us today, if it weren't for Resi, this girl would be alive. In my eyes she is a murderer
I think the film is very eye opening about Hitler’s rise to power. I learned a lot about the tactics the Nazis used to gain support of Germans and turn them against the Jews. I found it interesting that there weren’t that many Gestapos in Germany. I thought there would be a lot more officers to enforce the rules imposed by Hitler. I thought it was crazy that people would “rat out” their neighbors on things that aren’t even crimes. For example when Kraus wrote a letter complaining about her neighbor because the neighbor didn’t quite fit in like everyone else is just absurd! I also was shocked by the fact when Resi Kraus was interviewed that she claimed no memory of saying such things about her neighbor. Her gossip and complains helped the Gestapo decide to take her neighbor to a concentration camp. Kraus actions as a citizen put another citizen into a concentration camp where they were abused and probably killed but claim no memory of ever doing so! I don’t understand why she wouldn’t just own up to her actions as opposed to deny it. I am completely baffled by Kraus’ lack of reasoning for doing what she did when she was later confronted with the document itself.
I found this film to be very interesting. I didn't really know much about the Gestapo before this and how integrated they were in the community. I also had no clue how willing and eager ordinary people had been to help them committ their horrible crimes. The scene with Resi Krauss was exteremly eye opening. Even 50 years after the fact this woman was still vehemently denying the fact that she wrote the letter and that she was the one who ultimately lead to the death of her neighbor. This just goes to show how atrocious the actions committed had been.
I agree with Matt, I feel as though Resi Krauss was lying. I do not understand how she could agree that the address on the letter as well as her signature were both authentic but that she didnt write the letter or remember it whatsoever. I feel as though she did write those letters that ultimately led to the woman's incarceration and eventual death and it is something that she is still not willing to admit to today.
Through watching this film in class, I learned much about the gestapo and how under the Nazi regime, most Germans weren't hesitant, but in fact, were much closer to eager when alerting Nazi authorities to the presence of Jews, Jewish sympathizers, or any other kind of questionable individual who didn't fit the profile of a proper German.
I thought that Resi Kraus came off as somewhat frantic and definitely in fear of admitting to her actions on camera. When answering the interviewer, she simply reiterated (in reference to the document she'd allegedly filed with the gestapo), "That's my address, that's my signature, but I don't know where that came from." She was, in a last ditch effort to save face, blatantly denying her actions in their entirety, regardless of how much evidence stood before her. From her behavior, I can say with a degree of certainty that she was the main cause of the death of the "suspicious" young woman who lived next door.
I thought the film was very complete in its depiction of how Hitler came to power and how Germany was affected by his policies. The segment on the Gestapo, made me feel kind of shocked and angry on how the woman was arrested and killed just because she didn't "fit in" with society. Resi Kraus was clearly lying when she said she didn't know anything about the document that was submitted by her to the Gestapo. She id denying the fact that she helped kill an innocent woman. She isn't trying to convince the viewers, as much as she is trying to convince herself that she is not a murderer.
I found the film very interesting. It is shocking how easily people began to agree with Hitler's views, and how their hatred towards Jews grew so rapidly. A part of the film that really stuck out to me was a scene where tons of young girls about my age were crying, screaming, and sticking out their arms, all in response to seeing Hitler. It showed how he really had influence over so many different types of people.
Before watching this film I didn't know much about the Gestapo and their presence in Germany. I think it's sad that people were running each other out for no real reason. After watching the interview with Resi Kraus, it really bothered me that she could sit on the bench and lie about writing the letter. The letter was horrible, and because of the letter someone's life was ruined. The neighbor Kraus wrote about was simply different, but clearly Kraus could not tolerate differences. I think if she had the ability to write such a letter, and knows what happened because of it, she should have the courage to admit she wrote it.
After watching the segment on the Gestapo in class today I was utterly shocked and disgusted about what the Gestapo caused people to do. I can't believe that they would convince people to report things about their neighbors that may or may not be true, and convict people of crimes with no real evidence against them. This truly was appalling to me. The other part that disgusted me was when Resi denied sending her neighbor off to the camp. If you can do something so heartless and cruel then you should have the guts to own up to that. I don't understand how that woman or any of the Gestapo police as well as the other hateful citizens can sleep at night knowing that they are harming innocent people everyday they report to their Gestapo, or Hitler's chiefs.
I also share the same feelings as Meghan about the woman's interview. It's bad enough that she did this to her innocent neighbor in the first place. But now however many years later she denies doing it. That is the sign of a complete coward she need to own up to the fact that she helped the Nazis kill an innocent woman who was someone's daughter, friend or maybe even a sister. She needs to realize that she did not just hurt the woman's life but also all of her loved ones.
After watching this film about the Gestapo today, I started to remember when I first heard about the Holocaust. My Rabbi sat my Hebrew School class down and told us these horrifying stories. Only, it wasn't just a story. It had actually happened. I was in third grade. My Rabbi went on to tell us that there are still people out there who denied that the Holocaust happened. When Resi Kraus denied remembering the letter, I thought of that. I think that she remembers it perfectly. She, in my opinion, is responsible for a death. If I had written that letter, I would remember it. In fact, it would haunt me for the rest of my life. The fact that she brushed it aside made me really angry. I think she knows she did it.
I agree with Matt, Resi is a liar. I think that she does not want to incriminate herself as well. But she deserves to be penalized in some way, because she really is a murderer in my opinion.
one thing that really stood out to me in this film is the fact that many of the former nazi's who were interviewed still hold the same beliefs that they did back then. this itself makes me fearful that there are still people with that mindset of what the nazi's were based on regarding hating the jews,and many other groups who were not "like" the germans, i wonder if anything like the hollacost could happen again. the interview with Resi Kraus i found very interesting, i liked how she said that the document contained her name and signature and it was in fact about her neighbor but she denied writing it by using the excuss that she couldnt remember as if to blame it on her age almost. however right after she denied wrting the document because she supposdly couldnt remember she commented to the interviewer somthing like "well i already told you about my childhood, dont you remember"
This film has helped me be more aware of the Gestapo. I could see with my own eyes that Hitler was rising to power and people had no idea how much he was actually taking over. I have the feeling that Resi is a liar because she said she didnt know anything about the document. She seemed nervous when she was on camera making her seem more of a liar.
I agree with justin that Resi Kraus is frantic when it comes to being on camera. Acting that way will only make it more obvious that she is a liar. I also agree that she was the main cause of the death of the woman next door.
i was most surprised with the interview from Resi. i think that she was in denial. i don't want to sound rude, but she was avoiding the question at hand. i believe she really wrote the letter, and in turn ended being part of the neighboors demise. i don't believe that she has those same feelings today, or is agreeing with the nazism toady, but she is so regretfull that she doesn't want to admit what she did x amount of years earlier. it was a mistake, although costly one she regrets today and doesn't want to have to think about, which is sad. i was surprised also with the Gestapo. i never realized how outnumbered they were, and how they just utilized fear to hurt the German people. without the fear, none of what they done could have been accomplished.
i agree with matt, she is afraid at how people will view her if she admits what she did. i think she lied about the letter because of that. also not so much that she will get into trouble to day, but the guilt she would have to deal with along with the lashback from others watching the interview.
I found it indeed fascinating on how Hitler came to power in the fashoin he did portrayed in this video. I was shocked by the amount of people who genuenly supported the Nazi party and how even its ideas on killing Jews were appealing to the people. The segment about the Gestapo was especially eyeopening as it truly portrayed the zeal of the German people in tipping off those who didn't fit to the Gestapo. The interview with Resi Kraus was astonishing to me as to how she could so blatantly deny to writing the letter which led to someones death. It seems to me like she has no guilt of her past actions.
I agree with Preetham in the idea that she herself did not want to view herself as a murderer. To me this is selfish as she shows no regard or guilt to the woman she cause to be killed.
This movie was very interesting and did a good job of showing how Hitler was like. It showed what he did to the Jews and how the Germans reacted. The Gestapo was very active in enforcing the policies of Hitler. The woman in the interview was obviously lying. She made me really mad because she wasn't telling the truth about what she did to the other woman that was arrested and killed.
The movie was intruiging. Living and being raised the way I am, i have been exposed to the horrors of what took place during this time form a young age so I am not surprised by what I saw. What i enjoyed was the more in-depth look I got into the machine that became one of the most feared enemies to the free world as we know it.
I agree with Andrew on the idea that the woman denying her actions was atrocious. She committed a bad act. An EXTREMELY bad act. And now she can't even own up to her decision. That is cowardly and it infuriates me.
The documentary struck me as exactly what it was entitled. It was truly a warning from history. The segment on the Gestapo was actually frightening for two reasons. I could not believe that even when the gestapo became extremely violent, no one dared to go against them even though the entirety of the force was so small. That leads to the second reason which is that the Gestapo was only not successful in their own right. That is to say that they themselves did not overpower the nation and bring it into chaos. The people of Germany did! By constantly trying to please their beloved furer they failed to see the ludicrousness of actually feeding the Gestapo information on people based on outrageous claims of suspicious behavior. The interview of Resi Kraus was mind boggling. I watched her in absolute disbelief as she sat there in apparent denial that she ever gave into the Nazi system. She was not willing to say that yes, she had written the document or even yes, but that's not what she believes now. Not once do I recall her saying that she was against the idea of the extermination of people simply because they are different. In fact she went as far as to say "I mean I didn't kill anybody, didn't murder anyone." as if to justify her own actions even when she herself denied ever writing the document; and then to say that she is upset people are raking all this up after 50 years? If people didn't rake up all this then how the hell are we supposed to prevent it from happening again? The German people had no idea that Hitler would go as far as to implement a "final solution". If people don't remember how the Nazis were able to implement such a system, nobody will be able to recognize when history begins to repeat itself and I guarantee you that it will happen again. That is why we must rake it all up and why we must never forget.
I think the segment on the Gestapos showed the power of creating illusions in society. People thought that Gestapos were on every corner, when in reality there weren't enough to enforce their practices without normal citizens help. That was really troubling to me. The Nazi's propaganda is obviously some of the most effective in history, and what goes along with that is the illusion of Gestapos being present in German culture. 80-90% of the tips the Gestapos worked off of were from everyday people. That's really sad. To think that people were responsible for the deaths of fellow citizens, almost daily, is tragic.
When we heard Reis Kraus talk today I was in awe. It showed that this lady has no mind and no backbone. She couldn't think for herself and allowed herself to be swayed by society. She didn't really have any evidence against her neighbor, she did it out of hatred and pure ignorance. The fact that she didn't adamantly deny the letter being written by herself, or own up it is simply disgusting. You should stick to your guns and either admit your wrongs or say you still think you're right. But one way or the other, give a concrete answer. The woman who she reported was killed as a result of her actions, and she at least owes her an explanation. I think its disgusting and a person should have more compassion. She was heartless and cold.
I think it's really forgiving and admirable of Ryan to think that Kraus regrets her actions and is remorseful. I personally could never be that lenient on someone. I don't think she regrets it enough if she can't admit it. Although she puts herself at risk, there comes a time when you need to stand up admit your faults. It's just the ethical thing to do.
I thought the Gestapo was an affiliation of the nazis which it is. However they are more like guardsmen or police officers at street corners. But Resi I think was somewhat surprised at the questions the interviewer asked like if it was her signature or not. But at the same time she acted like a total ass because she wouldn't admit that she did something morally wrong today, as opposed to something that deemed passive back then. What's the big deal? You didn't commit a murder, you're just connected with it. So why would you escape the question? BECAUSE SHE CAN.
I think that the documentary really expands the pure hatred of the Jews that the Nazis had. this standed out to me the most because of the rational behind the thought that Jews were lesser people than Germans and that they must go. However, i am somewhat troubled at the Resi Kraus interview because she played it off as if it was some joke but someone died because of the very thing she swore she didnt write. it made me want to punch her in the face for saying such a thing because she helped commit a murder and doesnt face the consequence that she deserves. the section on the Gestapo was very intresting to me how one group was able to control the police force of the whole territory.
I agree with greg that people didnt actually realize how fast and how fast the Nazi's took over Germany, until it was too late
After watching this learned more about the nazis like they would kill children that were born mentally challeneged or if they were mentally challenged already they would just kill him from there. Also I had no idea how much Hitler meant to the people, like there was one clip where all these girls were going crazy for him and from there there were some girls even crying but not of sadness though but just happy of seeing him.
I learned that hitler was never never voted chancellor of Germany and I think it was disturbing how many people actually did vote for him even after he announced that he was in fact a dictator. I also learned that children were murdered just because they were mentally disabled. I believe that Resi was lying when she said she didn't know about the letter. She clearly wrote it and was too embarrassed to admit it. I think she might have realized that what she had did was wrong so she refused to say she wrote it. That letter was one of the reasons her poor neighbor went to a concentration camp and was killed.
I was not here for this class. I was out for surgery
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