This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
PERIOD 6: THE GESTAPO
You have been watching the BBC documentary, The Rise of the Nazis - A Warning from History. Please share your thoughts about the segment on the Gestapo that you saw today. What did you think of the interview with Resi Kraus?
29 comments:
Mads Fallentin
said...
I've learned and discovered a lot from these past few days of video, some of which so extreme it's hard for me to wrap my head around. First of all, I was not aware that Jews had been haunted down and prosecuted for such an immense period of time, or that the bible itself blames them for the killing of Jesus Christ. Neither was I aware that antisemitism is so alive and well in today's society, and some of the beliefs and folk tales people firmly stand by concerning Jewish people (ie the one about them drinking the blood of infants) seem absolutely ridiculous. Another thing I was unaware of was the fact that Martin Luther was quite antisemitic himself, I would havevthought someone like him, being prosecuted by the Catholic Church himself, would be more accepting towards the Jews. Lastly I learned that antisemitism, in the way the nazis practiced it, is almost purely racially based, having little to nothing to do with religion.
I think the most interesting part of the whole video was the information about the bible. I used to be roman catholic but unfortunately I have lost a lot of faith. When I was religious, I was not aware of the bible belittled Jewish people most likely because of my young age. I thought it was extremely interesting how they got the perspective from a priest and a historian about the execution of Jesus. The priest was so quick to pinpoint the Jews in his execution, however the historian's perspective involved the Roman government. As a side note: Before we watched this video, you told us we didn't have to believe anything we watched. I believe in many of the facts of the video, but I thought it was interesting how they made the priest sound a lot intelligent then the historian.
After watching the video The Rise of the Nazis, I learned much about how they came to power and what led to such prejudices. I was also surprised at how much of these prejudices are still present today. For example, one of the men interviewed who actually met Hitler and said he saw “the good side of him”. I was shocked that some people remain so ignorant to the horrific events that occurred and what caused them. Another thing that surprised me was how far back the hatred of the Jews went and that even the Bible itself shamed them for killing Jesus Christ. I myself am Christian and was not aware that many Christians still discriminate against Jews to this day.
After watching the video, it really opens your eyes about how unjustly and unfairly Jews have been treated throughout history. It also makes you realize the similarities between the practices of the Nazi's and The Romans, and the way they treated the Jewish people. I also didn't realize how many Catholics still have a strong hatred towards Jews in todays society. Having a deep hatred towards someone solely based on their race is something I believe is completely unreasonable and should never be advocated for. The main thing i got out of this video was how the belief in discriminating people based on their race has been performed all throughout history and there is no justified reason behind it.
After seeing the interview with Regis, I was disgusted at the way she handled it. Although it was very brave of her to be on television and talk about such an infamous event, I feel as though she should've taken much more responsibility for her actions. For example, she could clearly identify her own name and signature and knew where she used to live, but the fact that she "didn't recognize" how she had turned her neighbor in to the Nazis shocked me. Additionally, I was offended by the way she laughed the subject off. Even though she didn't directly kill anyone, Regis is still just as responsible for the death of her neighbor as the person who actually murdered her.
While watching this video, it really shows you how there is such a negative impact towards the Jewish religion, and how so many people despise Jews only because of their race. It is sad and disappointing to see that many people take their anger out on Jews, because they view something differently. So bad, that they go to concentration camps and get killed over just by who they are. The Germans in this video still despise them in a bad way, which is very sad that they do this, because they do not get over the fact that they are not of the same religion to one another. I think that this subject will never go away through history, and always be in the back of our minds of the pain and the agony that they went through by doing nothing wrong, and I think it is very sad that they had to go through that terrible ordeal.
I was very surprised by the interview with Resi Kraus that we saw today. I would have thought that most people in her position would openly admit to doing what they did because they did not think it was wrong, at least at the time. However, while watching the interview, it occurred to me that Resi is in denial of what she did because she does in fact know that it was wrong. She tries to tell herself and others that it was okay because she did not actually kill anyone, but I think that deep down she knows that this is not true. I think she knows that her actions are responsible for the death of that woman that was her neighbor, and for this reason she did not want to admit to doing it, to herself or to the rest of the world.
When I saw the way that Resi Kraus reacted to the questions from the interviewer and the letter that she had written I though that she was trying to blame the Nazis for her own letter. She was denying anything to do with the letter even though she had confirmed that her address was correct along with her signature. She wouldn't own up and take responsibility for what she had done and denied that her letter had anything to do with sending that woman to a death camp. Not only did she not own up to what she had done, she was laughing it off as if it were no big deal at all. Deep down I could tell that she felt bad and uncomfortable with what she had done but I don't approve of the way she handled it, instead of coming clean and admitting that she had done something wrong she denied it and treated it like it was no big deal at all.
"The Rise of the Nazis" film has taught me a lot about the Nazi party that I did not know before, including the Gestapo. The segment on the Gestapo really surprised me. I was shocked that people would turn in their own family and friends for just about anything, and it could end up getting them killed. The Gestapo did not even need true evidence to arrest some one and send them to a concentration camp. Anyone could turn anyone in for any reason. I was shocked when Resi Kraus was laughing about the situation and would not admit what she had done (even though the paper had her signature and address on it). It seemed as though she did not think she had done anything wrong, she even said "I did not murder anyone" even though her accusation towards her neighbor directly caused her death. I though that the way she acted during the interview was very strange, she seemed uncomfortable and was laughing/smiling during it. It really disgusted me that Resi Kraus could not even admit to what she had done to an innocent neighbor.
After watching the movie, I was surprised that Resi Kraus denied killing/ murdering anyone or even being a part of the discrimination of Jews. When she was shown the letter, she denied being a part of the killing and said that she didn't remember why the letter has her name. She said that she didn't kill anyone, but when she told on these Jewish people, they were sent to concentration camps where many of them died. I expected her to say that she believed what she did was right at the time. She had no morals to tell her that it was wrong to tell on the innocent Jewish people because she was empowered at the time. However, now she says that she doesn't remember because she no longer has the same empowerment that she did back then. She was brainwashed at the time by the Nazi party ideals, but it does not justify why she shows no remorse and denies the fact that she was in some way involved with the murder of innocent Jews. I was also appalled at the fact that someone wrote to Hitler saying he wanted permission to kill his mentally disabled child which Hitler agreed to. This also led to many deaths of mentally disabled children in concentration camps. Their deaths were chosen by doctors and were passed off as diseases such as the measles. Although I had learned before that America didn’t allow Jews to come to the country, I felt ashamed to be American once I saw what was going on in Germany at the time and the fact that America still didn't let the Jews enter the country for safety. In the video, the narrator had said that the Gestapo couldn't have been operated as efficiently as it did without the help of the German citizens. I was surprised that because the Germans felt empowered, many of them indirectly were involved in the murders of innocent Jews.
I found it very interesting to see some of the people responsible for what went down during that time period, and to get their take on what happened. Surprisingly, a lot of them seem to not be particularly faced by their past, some of them even proudly standing by it. I think this goes to show that with enough propaganda it is possible to warp even the most intelligent people. These are individuals that have grown up in a time where they have heard nothing but bad things about Jews. Literally from the moment they were born they have been taught to hate Jews, and unfortunately this hatred recides with a lot of them till this day. One thing that particularly disgusted me in the film was the bit about nazis killing disabled children.
While watching the video about the Gestapo, i was surprised to learn how few members they actually had. It was scary how cooperative average citizens were. The fact that children were okay with reporting their parents for being anti- German is unbelievable. I'm glad the Gestapo wasn't able to burn all of their documents, so we could have more information about how the Holocaust was able to occur. I was mad after I saw the interview. I can't believe someone would tell such a blatant lie, or that she would be able to convince herself she never said that. You don't forget condemning your neighbor to death. However cowardly her responses were though, it was still impressive that she even agreed to do the interview. It was interesting to see the contrast of people proudly claiming responsibility for their actions, while Regis fully denied talking to the Gestapo.
The Gestapo segment of the documentary was probably the most interesting to me. What shocked me most was how a simple letter about killing one disabled child became a practice in hospitals and then grew into the mass murder of innocent disabled people. Things escalated so quickly and everyone was against each other for no reason. Resi Kraus was especially disturbing for denying her responsibility in the death of the awkward girl. Resi is representative of the many who ratted out people and had them sent to concentration camps for trivial reasons. They did not personally benefit from reporting to the Gestapo but did so because that’s what was supported by the Nazis. Things were no longer religious issues but just ones of power and superiority.
Over the past few days watching this film I have learned many disturbing things. I learned that the Gestapo would raid people's houses no matter what their background.. if they questioned whether they were Jewish or not they would do whatever they could to make their lives hell. If the person associated themselves or did any sort of "suspicious" activity they were sent to the death camps automatically if accused by anyone. While watching the interview with Resi, I saw how even to this day people that were involved still try to shrug it off and some people even kept their beliefs and still resent the Jews. This is absolutely disgusting to me and is extremely repulsive.
While watching the section of the documentary having to do with the Gestapo many thing surprised me. When Regis was interviewed I learned a lot about what the times were like in Germany under the Gestapo and Nazi rule. The Germans felt so superior that they considered it their civil duty to rat out anyone who was different in order to preserve their pure race. She claimed she could not remember writing the letter to the Gestapo even though her address and signature were correct. Obviously she was either in denial and ashamed o she was to embarrassed to admit it. She later says "I didn't kill anyone" when in reality she instigated a woman's exile to a concentration camp and ultimately her death all because the woman was different from herself. I was also extremely disturbing to hear that children with disabilities were also being exterminated, in a sense, from German society. They were so conceited and brain washed that doctors were given the power to choose which babies and children were allowed to live and who should die. It was an entirely different aspect of the Nazi's rise to power that I had never learned nor thought about until today.
What impacted me the most during this film was when Resi Kraus denied it being her fault of the death of the girl. I feel like that is something that should never happen and all people should just be honest all the time because denial is a worse feeling than telling the truth. Just the fact that she was laughing about it made it even worse and I have a very poor view towards her. What really hit me hard was when I saw that we were denying the Jews a passageway out of their own misery. All they wanted was to get out of there before it was too late and we simply said no and told them to turn back so some of them could be killed. I also thought it was terrible when I found out the little boy was killed just because he had disabilities. Finding out that the baby's were killed is one of the worst things that I have ever heard.
Resi Kraus's reaction to being accused of turning Jewish neighbors into the Gestapo truly made my stomach churn. It was quite clear to the video's audience that Ms. Kraus indeed wrote a letter to the Gestapo herself, signed and dated, describing the actions of her "odd" neighbors and her belief that they should be arrested. However, when she was asked about it in the film, she denied ever having written the letter, though she admitted the present name, signature, and address on the letter were her own. I just cannot comprehend how this woman can lie so blatantly about her actions during World War II. Her nervous laughter clearly denoted the fact that she was guilty, all facts pointed to her, yet she would not own up to anything. It's incredible to me, and also very upsetting. Her comment about not having killed or murdered anyone during the Nazi reign is completely incorrect. By standing there and watching the killing take place, or, in her case, aiding the group that was murdering the Jews, therefore makes her a murderer indirectly. She didn't necessarily kill someone with her own hands, but she may as well have.
After watching the film on the Gestapo it showed the viewer what kind of fear the Jews that lived in Germany went through. It wasn't only the Jews that were in constant fear but anyone who opposed Hitler and what he stood for. It is terrible how people couldn't trust their own neighbors, or even their own children because of what the teacher were teaching their students. Hitler and the gestapo kept everyone in constant fear of getting themselves turned in that they felt as if they needed to rat out their neighbor. What the people of Germany had to go through so much fear during WWII because they didn't want to be sent to a death camp because they wanted to voice their opinion.
I thought that the way the Gestapo worked was shocking but at the same time it made sense to me that those who weren't Jewish felt that it was their duty to follow their leader and help him on his goal to create a superior race. Many Germans began to spy on their neighbors who they believed did not belong in the superior race, they believed it was their duty to help the Gestapo by letting them know what was going on with their neighbors. Hitler was making Germany a powerful country and was picking them up from the ground so it was clear that he was doing something right and they wanted to help him continue to make Germany as powerful as possible. Since they weren't threatened they exposed those who weren't "human." Through Resi Kraus' interview we can see that it was clear that many of those who exposed their neighbors didn't see anything wrong in it and felt that it was normal for them to help their leader. I was shocked that she denied it when it was clear that she exposed her neighbor. Like many other Nazis who took part in the Gestapo just like Resi they must feel like they didn't do anything wrong therefore they don't feel bad for what they did.
Watching the film with the emphasis on the Gestapo, I was impacted by the way how society turned their backs on Jewish people, turning them into the police and ultimately leading to their death. I believe that the most interesting part was the interview with Resi Kraus. It was interesting to see a person who followed societal norms and went against the Jews—and how she is handling the consequences of her actions to this day. The way that Kraus took away the blame, by denying that she ever remembers writing the report, though agreeing that it was her own signature was astounding to me. She displayed empathy though acted as she was trying to remove the blame from herself, saying “I didn’t kill her.” For me, this made me dislike Kraus: it was her fault that her neighbor died in a concentration camp, though after these many years she still blamed others for her death. It is interesting for me how the people were given power to turn their friends, neighbors, and relatives into the police; and how this power ultimately turned into betrayal.
After watching this section of the video on the Gestapo, I learned several things. The interview with the former Gestapo informer was what really made me think about the past more than I ever have before. When Resi Kraus was asked to explain the document she signed reporting her neighbor to the Gestapo (who was later killed in a death camp) she assured the person interviewing her that it was her signature, but she wdoukld not take responsibility for the actual document. This surprised me greatly and disgusted at the same time. She said she could not explain what was said on the document and that it had nothing to do with her. This made me think: why did she deny sending this document? was it out of pride? Regret and humiliiation? Then she laughed like the subject itself was a joke. This may be a mechanism of hiding her discomfort speaking of the subject, but it is still shocking to me. How many former Nazi party members were actually proud of what they did? I'm sure their are those that believe the world would be a better place to live without the Jewish people, but to allow the systematic murder of thousandds of people and to be proud of it is not something I could live with if I had been part of it.
After watching the documentary about the Gestapo, I leanred many things about them that I had not known before. I learned that they were a very disorganized and they did not have many officers. This really suprised me because I alwasys thought that the Gestapo was very organized and had an army of officers. It also suprised me about the brutality of the officers. It seems that thay would just go around and beat random Jewish people if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Something that suprised me also was how the citizens would rat each other out if they suspected that their neighbor was Jewish or weird.
If I had to describe Resi Kraus in one word I would describe her as cowardly. You could argue that it was brave of her to go onto television and be interviewed, but to me that does not overshadow the fact that she was not owning up to her actions. She was in total denial that she wrote the letter, and on top of that, the way in which she denied was absolutely ridiculous and nonsensical. I would have a lot more respect for her as a person if she was able to address her mistakes and not lie, but I think it would be foolish to describe her as a brave person. However, most people in a position like hers did not even publicly discuss the things they did to the Jewish people, so she is a lot more brave than the other people that did things like she did. In the interview I can tell that she does feel somewhat regretful for what she did, but in order to receive respect and forgiveness from others, she needs to own up to her actions.
After watching the film "The Rise of the Nazis - a warning from history" I gained a better understanding of what the Nazi's goals were from before the Second World War. Something I didn't know that I learned was that some of the Nazis of the Nazi Party took Jewish books and threw them in a big fire at a nighttime event. This taught me that the some of the Nazis had a very deep hatred for Jewish people and their religious beliefs. This event shows their long term goal to be to make the Jewish people feel unhappy and worthless. After they made Jewish people feel that way, they gained lots of support from anti-Semitic citizens of Germany, and they helped push the Nazi Party into power along with their leader "Adolf Hitler." I watched the interview with Resi and I felt that it was wrong that she didn't feel emotionally hurt by what she did to the woman who was sent to a death camp. Resi was at fault for having ratted her out to begin with and hardly took seriously what she did as shown blatantly in the interview by her laughter at the questioning of what she was responsible for doing.
After the watching the segment on Gestapo I was shocked at how much no one cared to do anything to try snd stop them. The actions are the Gestapo towards the citizens was somehow inhumane. Most of the people who were taked to camps or killed were innocent butyhthey didn't care at all. The interview with Resi Kraus was the most shocking part that left me speechless. Resi denied remembering what she wrote in the letter but she cleared remembered that it was her signature and address on the letter she denied having anything to do with the death of the girl which was just shocking.
29 comments:
I've learned and discovered a lot from these past few days of video, some of which so extreme it's hard for me to wrap my head around. First of all, I was not aware that Jews had been haunted down and prosecuted for such an immense period of time, or that the bible itself blames them for the killing of Jesus Christ. Neither was I aware that antisemitism is so alive and well in today's society, and some of the beliefs and folk tales people firmly stand by concerning Jewish people (ie the one about them drinking the blood of infants) seem absolutely ridiculous. Another thing I was unaware of was the fact that Martin Luther was quite antisemitic himself, I would havevthought someone like him, being prosecuted by the Catholic Church himself, would be more accepting towards the Jews. Lastly I learned that antisemitism, in the way the nazis practiced it, is almost purely racially based, having little to nothing to do with religion.
I think the most interesting part of the whole video was the information about the bible. I used to be roman catholic but unfortunately I have lost a lot of faith. When I was religious, I was not aware of the bible belittled Jewish people most likely because of my young age. I thought it was extremely interesting how they got the perspective from a priest and a historian about the execution of Jesus. The priest was so quick to pinpoint the Jews in his execution, however the historian's perspective involved the Roman government.
As a side note: Before we watched this video, you told us we didn't have to believe anything we watched. I believe in many of the facts of the video, but I thought it was interesting how they made the priest sound a lot intelligent then the historian.
After watching the video The Rise of the Nazis, I learned much about how they came to power and what led to such prejudices. I was also surprised at how much of these prejudices are still present today. For example, one of the men interviewed who actually met Hitler and said he saw “the good side of him”. I was shocked that some people remain so ignorant to the horrific events that occurred and what caused them. Another thing that surprised me was how far back the hatred of the Jews went and that even the Bible itself shamed them for killing Jesus Christ. I myself am Christian and was not aware that many Christians still discriminate against Jews to this day.
After watching the video, it really opens your eyes about how unjustly and unfairly Jews have been treated throughout history. It also makes you realize the similarities between the practices of the Nazi's and The Romans, and the way they treated the Jewish people. I also didn't realize how many Catholics still have a strong hatred towards Jews in todays society. Having a deep hatred towards someone solely based on their race is something I believe is completely unreasonable and should never be advocated for. The main thing i got out of this video was how the belief in discriminating people based on their race has been performed all throughout history and there is no justified reason behind it.
After seeing the interview with Regis, I was disgusted at the way she handled it. Although it was very brave of her to be on television and talk about such an infamous event, I feel as though she should've taken much more responsibility for her actions. For example, she could clearly identify her own name and signature and knew where she used to live, but the fact that she "didn't recognize" how she had turned her neighbor in to the Nazis shocked me. Additionally, I was offended by the way she laughed the subject off. Even though she didn't directly kill anyone, Regis is still just as responsible for the death of her neighbor as the person who actually murdered her.
While watching this video, it really shows you how there is such a negative impact towards the Jewish religion, and how so many people despise Jews only because of their race. It is sad and disappointing to see that many people take their anger out on Jews, because they view something differently. So bad, that they go to concentration camps and get killed over just by who they are. The Germans in this video still despise them in a bad way, which is very sad that they do this, because they do not get over the fact that they are not of the same religion to one another. I think that this subject will never go away through history, and always be in the back of our minds of the pain and the agony that they went through by doing nothing wrong, and I think it is very sad that they had to go through that terrible ordeal.
I was very surprised by the interview with Resi Kraus that we saw today. I would have thought that most people in her position would openly admit to doing what they did because they did not think it was wrong, at least at the time. However, while watching the interview, it occurred to me that Resi is in denial of what she did because she does in fact know that it was wrong. She tries to tell herself and others that it was okay because she did not actually kill anyone, but I think that deep down she knows that this is not true. I think she knows that her actions are responsible for the death of that woman that was her neighbor, and for this reason she did not want to admit to doing it, to herself or to the rest of the world.
When I saw the way that Resi Kraus reacted to the questions from the interviewer and the letter that she had written I though that she was trying to blame the Nazis for her own letter. She was denying anything to do with the letter even though she had confirmed that her address was correct along with her signature. She wouldn't own up and take responsibility for what she had done and denied that her letter had anything to do with sending that woman to a death camp. Not only did she not own up to what she had done, she was laughing it off as if it were no big deal at all. Deep down I could tell that she felt bad and uncomfortable with what she had done but I don't approve of the way she handled it, instead of coming clean and admitting that she had done something wrong she denied it and treated it like it was no big deal at all.
"The Rise of the Nazis" film has taught me a lot about the Nazi party that I did not know before, including the Gestapo. The segment on the Gestapo really surprised me. I was shocked that people would turn in their own family and friends for just about anything, and it could end up getting them killed. The Gestapo did not even need true evidence to arrest some one and send them to a concentration camp. Anyone could turn anyone in for any reason. I was shocked when Resi Kraus was laughing about the situation and would not admit what she had done (even though the paper had her signature and address on it). It seemed as though she did not think she had done anything wrong, she even said "I did not murder anyone" even though her accusation towards her neighbor directly caused her death. I though that the way she acted during the interview was very strange, she seemed uncomfortable and was laughing/smiling during it. It really disgusted me that Resi Kraus could not even admit to what she had done to an innocent neighbor.
After watching the movie, I was surprised that Resi Kraus denied killing/ murdering anyone or even being a part of the discrimination of Jews. When she was shown the letter, she denied being a part of the killing and said that she didn't remember why the letter has her name. She said that she didn't kill anyone, but when she told on these Jewish people, they were sent to concentration camps where many of them died. I expected her to say that she believed what she did was right at the time. She had no morals to tell her that it was wrong to tell on the innocent Jewish people because she was empowered at the time. However, now she says that she doesn't remember because she no longer has the same empowerment that she did back then. She was brainwashed at the time by the Nazi party ideals, but it does not justify why she shows no remorse and denies the fact that she was in some way involved with the murder of innocent Jews. I was also appalled at the fact that someone wrote to Hitler saying he wanted permission to kill his mentally disabled child which Hitler agreed to. This also led to many deaths of mentally disabled children in concentration camps. Their deaths were chosen by doctors and were passed off as diseases such as the measles. Although I had learned before that America didn’t allow Jews to come to the country, I felt ashamed to be American once I saw what was going on in Germany at the time and the fact that America still didn't let the Jews enter the country for safety. In the video, the narrator had said that the Gestapo couldn't have been operated as efficiently as it did without the help of the German citizens. I was surprised that because the Germans felt empowered, many of them indirectly were involved in the murders of innocent Jews.
I found it very interesting to see some of the people responsible for what went down during that time period, and to get their take on what happened. Surprisingly, a lot of them seem to not be particularly faced by their past, some of them even proudly standing by it. I think this goes to show that with enough propaganda it is possible to warp even the most intelligent people. These are individuals that have grown up in a time where they have heard nothing but bad things about Jews. Literally from the moment they were born they have been taught to hate Jews, and unfortunately this hatred recides with a lot of them till this day. One thing that particularly disgusted me in the film was the bit about nazis killing disabled children.
While watching the video about the Gestapo, i was surprised to learn how few members they actually had. It was scary how cooperative average citizens were. The fact that children were okay with reporting their parents for being anti- German is unbelievable. I'm glad the Gestapo wasn't able to burn all of their documents, so we could have more information about how the Holocaust was able to occur. I was mad after I saw the interview. I can't believe someone would tell such a blatant lie, or that she would be able to convince herself she never said that. You don't forget condemning your neighbor to death. However cowardly her responses were though, it was still impressive that she even agreed to do the interview. It was interesting to see the contrast of people proudly claiming responsibility for their actions, while Regis fully denied talking to the Gestapo.
The Gestapo segment of the documentary was probably the most interesting to me. What shocked me most was how a simple letter about killing one disabled child became a practice in hospitals and then grew into the mass murder of innocent disabled people. Things escalated so quickly and everyone was against each other for no reason. Resi Kraus was especially disturbing for denying her responsibility in the death of the awkward girl. Resi is representative of the many who ratted out people and had them sent to concentration camps for trivial reasons. They did not personally benefit from reporting to the Gestapo but did so because that’s what was supported by the Nazis. Things were no longer religious issues but just ones of power and superiority.
I was absent today.
I was absent for this assignment.
Over the past few days watching this film I have learned many disturbing things. I learned that the Gestapo would raid people's houses no matter what their background.. if they questioned whether they were Jewish or not they would do whatever they could to make their lives hell. If the person associated themselves or did any sort of "suspicious" activity they were sent to the death camps automatically if accused by anyone. While watching the interview with Resi, I saw how even to this day people that were involved still try to shrug it off and some people even kept their beliefs and still resent the Jews. This is absolutely disgusting to me and is extremely repulsive.
While watching the section of the documentary having to do with the Gestapo many thing surprised me. When Regis was interviewed I learned a lot about what the times were like in Germany under the Gestapo and Nazi rule. The Germans felt so superior that they considered it their civil duty to rat out anyone who was different in order to preserve their pure race. She claimed she could not remember writing the letter to the Gestapo even though her address and signature were correct. Obviously she was either in denial and ashamed o she was to embarrassed to admit it. She later says "I didn't kill anyone" when in reality she instigated a woman's exile to a concentration camp and ultimately her death all because the woman was different from herself. I was also extremely disturbing to hear that children with disabilities were also being exterminated, in a sense, from German society. They were so conceited and brain washed that doctors were given the power to choose which babies and children were allowed to live and who should die. It was an entirely different aspect of the Nazi's rise to power that I had never learned nor thought about until today.
What impacted me the most during this film was when Resi Kraus denied it being her fault of the death of the girl. I feel like that is something that should never happen and all people should just be honest all the time because denial is a worse feeling than telling the truth. Just the fact that she was laughing about it made it even worse and I have a very poor view towards her. What really hit me hard was when I saw that we were denying the Jews a passageway out of their own misery. All they wanted was to get out of there before it was too late and we simply said no and told them to turn back so some of them could be killed. I also thought it was terrible when I found out the little boy was killed just because he had disabilities. Finding out that the baby's were killed is one of the worst things that I have ever heard.
Resi Kraus's reaction to being accused of turning Jewish neighbors into the Gestapo truly made my stomach churn. It was quite clear to the video's audience that Ms. Kraus indeed wrote a letter to the Gestapo herself, signed and dated, describing the actions of her "odd" neighbors and her belief that they should be arrested. However, when she was asked about it in the film, she denied ever having written the letter, though she admitted the present name, signature, and address on the letter were her own. I just cannot comprehend how this woman can lie so blatantly about her actions during World War II. Her nervous laughter clearly denoted the fact that she was guilty, all facts pointed to her, yet she would not own up to anything. It's incredible to me, and also very upsetting. Her comment about not having killed or murdered anyone during the Nazi reign is completely incorrect. By standing there and watching the killing take place, or, in her case, aiding the group that was murdering the Jews, therefore makes her a murderer indirectly. She didn't necessarily kill someone with her own hands, but she may as well have.
After watching the film on the Gestapo it showed the viewer what kind of fear the Jews that lived in Germany went through. It wasn't only the Jews that were in constant fear but anyone who opposed Hitler and what he stood for. It is terrible how people couldn't trust their own neighbors, or even their own children because of what the teacher were teaching their students. Hitler and the gestapo kept everyone in constant fear of getting themselves turned in that they felt as if they needed to rat out their neighbor. What the people of Germany had to go through so much fear during WWII because they didn't want to be sent to a death camp because they wanted to voice their opinion.
I thought that the way the Gestapo worked was shocking but at the same time it made sense to me that those who weren't Jewish felt that it was their duty to follow their leader and help him on his goal to create a superior race. Many Germans began to spy on their neighbors who they believed did not belong in the superior race, they believed it was their duty to help the Gestapo by letting them know what was going on with their neighbors. Hitler was making Germany a powerful country and was picking them up from the ground so it was clear that he was doing something right and they wanted to help him continue to make Germany as powerful as possible. Since they weren't threatened they exposed those who weren't "human." Through Resi Kraus' interview we can see that it was clear that many of those who exposed their neighbors didn't see anything wrong in it and felt that it was normal for them to help their leader. I was shocked that she denied it when it was clear that she exposed her neighbor. Like many other Nazis who took part in the Gestapo just like Resi they must feel like they didn't do anything wrong therefore they don't feel bad for what they did.
Watching the film with the emphasis on the Gestapo, I was impacted by the way how society turned their backs on Jewish people, turning them into the police and ultimately leading to their death. I believe that the most interesting part was the interview with Resi Kraus. It was interesting to see a person who followed societal norms and went against the Jews—and how she is handling the consequences of her actions to this day. The way that Kraus took away the blame, by denying that she ever remembers writing the report, though agreeing that it was her own signature was astounding to me. She displayed empathy though acted as she was trying to remove the blame from herself, saying “I didn’t kill her.” For me, this made me dislike Kraus: it was her fault that her neighbor died in a concentration camp, though after these many years she still blamed others for her death. It is interesting for me how the people were given power to turn their friends, neighbors, and relatives into the police; and how this power ultimately turned into betrayal.
After watching this section of the video on the Gestapo, I learned several things. The interview with the former Gestapo informer was what really made me think about the past more than I ever have before. When Resi Kraus was asked to explain the document she signed reporting her neighbor to the Gestapo (who was later killed in a death camp) she assured the person interviewing her that it was her signature, but she wdoukld not take responsibility for the actual document. This surprised me greatly and disgusted at the same time. She said she could not explain what was said on the document and that it had nothing to do with her. This made me think: why did she deny sending this document? was it out of pride? Regret and humiliiation? Then she laughed like the subject itself was a joke. This may be a mechanism of hiding her discomfort speaking of the subject, but it is still shocking to me. How many former Nazi party members were actually proud of what they did? I'm sure their are those that believe the world would be a better place to live without the Jewish people, but to allow the systematic murder of thousandds of people and to be proud of it is not something I could live with if I had been part of it.
After watching the documentary about the Gestapo, I leanred many things about them that I had not known before. I learned that they were a very disorganized and they did not have many officers. This really suprised me because I alwasys thought that the Gestapo was very organized and had an army of officers. It also suprised me about the brutality of the officers. It seems that thay would just go around and beat random Jewish people if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Something that suprised me also was how the citizens would rat each other out if they suspected that their neighbor was Jewish or weird.
If I had to describe Resi Kraus in one word I would describe her as cowardly. You could argue that it was brave of her to go onto television and be interviewed, but to me that does not overshadow the fact that she was not owning up to her actions. She was in total denial that she wrote the letter, and on top of that, the way in which she denied was absolutely ridiculous and nonsensical. I would have a lot more respect for her as a person if she was able to address her mistakes and not lie, but I think it would be foolish to describe her as a brave person. However, most people in a position like hers did not even publicly discuss the things they did to the Jewish people, so she is a lot more brave than the other people that did things like she did. In the interview I can tell that she does feel somewhat regretful for what she did, but in order to receive respect and forgiveness from others, she needs to own up to her actions.
After watching the film "The Rise of the Nazis - a warning from history" I gained a better understanding of what the Nazi's goals were from before the Second World War. Something I didn't know that I learned was that some of the Nazis of the Nazi Party took Jewish books and threw them in a big fire at a nighttime event. This taught me that the some of the Nazis had a very deep hatred for Jewish people and their religious beliefs. This event shows their long term goal to be to make the Jewish people feel unhappy and worthless. After they made Jewish people feel that way, they gained lots of support from anti-Semitic citizens of Germany, and they helped push the Nazi Party into power along with their leader "Adolf Hitler." I watched the interview with Resi and I felt that it was wrong that she didn't feel emotionally hurt by what she did to the woman who was sent to a death camp. Resi was at fault for having ratted her out to begin with and hardly took seriously what she did as shown blatantly in the interview by her laughter at the questioning of what she was responsible for doing.
I was absent.
After the watching the segment on Gestapo I was shocked at how much no one cared to do anything to try snd stop them. The actions are the Gestapo towards the citizens was somehow inhumane. Most of the people who were taked to camps or killed were innocent butyhthey didn't care at all. The interview with Resi Kraus was the most shocking part that left me speechless. Resi denied remembering what she wrote in the letter but she cleared remembered that it was her signature and address on the letter she denied having anything to do with the death of the girl which was just shocking.
Absent
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