You have been watching the film,
The Swing Kids. From 1933 to 1939,
Nazi Germany declared war on indvidual freedom and demanded total obedience and
conformity from all young Germans. What did you feel was the main message of the
film and what did you learn that you did not know before watching the film?
43 comments:
After watching the "Swing Kids" for a couple days in class, I think the overall message that I got from the film is just how powerful government can be, especially if there's a sole person who was unquestioned power. With this power, the person and/or government can decide to change the course of thinking in a country. The Nazis were able to do this in a way by promoting hatred of the Jews and other minorities. This film also shows how friendships and other relationships can be lost when people start changing sides during conflict, and to what extent the end result may go. (such as suicide for one of the kids, who was hated and made fun of)
The one thing that I learned was just how extensive Hitler's Youth was. Beforehand, I knew this organization existed, I just didn't know so many German kids were in it, or required to serve time in it.
I think that the film clearly showed the power that the Nazis had over individuals. The message in this is that the Nazi party was able to change the way people thought and acted, which allowed them to gain even more power. Thomas was clearly against the Nazis at the beginning of the film and only joined the HJ in order to be with his friend, Peter. It was Thomas who had the most drastic change in personality in the end, which demonstrated that the Nazi party was able to significantly alter the mindset of those who were originally against them.
I learned that the Nazis had even more power than I originally thought. I knew that they “attacked individual liberties” but I never really knew what that meant. The film showed me how they were able to get such a large number of kids to support them and how they physically attacked those that went against them in order to get that support.
Like Doug, I also did not realize just how extensive Hitler’s Youth was. I also did not realize that many kids who probably would not have joined ended up going because they were pressured into it or were afraid of the repercussions.
I think the main message of this film is to stand up for your beleifs and never be a bystander. Peter was brave and never changed his point of view throughout the movie and was determined to get Thomas to see his side of things. Eventually, through perservation he was able to get Thomas to understand that the Nazi Party manipulated him and hundreds of thousands of others.
I never knew that there was a group of anti nazi kids, so it was defidently a learning experience watching this film and made me more aware of the Germans who were against the Nazi Party.
I understand what Sarah Masters is saying, it was absolutely crazy how well the Nazi's were able to form people into their thinking so easily. We should always question other peoples motives and never let someone have power over our ideas or thoughts.
The film showed how powerful the government can be. It was crazy watching Thomas turn against his own best friend throughout the course of the movie. It goes to show how the Nazi's turned everyone against each other without any pity or remorse. I agree with what Doug said. The government was the most powerful thing throughout Germany throughout WWII.
After watching Swing Kids i think the main message of
the film was how powerful people and the government can be. It was very interesting seeing how quickly one
person can change their beliefs, and forget about everything else. The Nazi's were very powerful and also showed how friends and relationships can change very fast. The Nazi's easily turned people against eachothee, and they would just follow and not think of what they were doing. After a while Thomas just turned on Peter, but Peter
never stoped what he believed and kept fighting.
I agree with Sarah that Thomas and Peter were both against the Nazis yet Thomas was easily changed.He also was only doing it to not be separated from Peter, but Thomas joining changed everything for them.
I'll admit, when we first started watching The Swing Kids, I was a bit skeptical on whether it would do a good job showing how the Nazi party affected the youth. However, this movie made it clear with its message showing how powerful government can be. Government can break strong relationships between people, like it almost did for Peter and Thomas. What I learned that I didn't know before was obedient some of the youth were to the Nazi party.
I agree with Alyssa Los on how another main message would be to not be a bystander and stand up for what you believe in, even if your standing alone.
Besides showing that the Nazis were so powerful, I thought the main message of the film was don’t stop doing something that you love to do even if someone tells you you can’t. I thought it had this message because once Thomas stopped going to the clubs and swinging, he was not the same, he was not having fun because the Nazis took it away from him. Just don’t stop doing things because someone says it wrong, when you know you are doing no harm.
I, like Doug, never knew that the Hitler Youth was so powerful. It’s scary to think that a group can completely change the mindset of people to stop doing what they love and hurting their friends just because they have different views.
I agree with Alyssa that the main message of the film seemed to be to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what others think and no matter what harm may come your way based on your stance. Peter fought back, knowing what the Nazis did was wrong, and did not want to just act like part of the HJ. Like his father, he chose to stand up against the Nazis, knowing what could happen to him, and in doing so became viewed as a sort of hero. Although the Nazis were all-powerful, it did not mean that there was no way to fight back.
Before this film, I did not know the extent that the Nazis controlled the hitler youth. These young kids, like Thomas, were betraying their families simply to be obedient. The Nazis were able to make people put the party before their own lives at home, turning friends and family against one another. I also did not know that listening to swing music and wearing hair long was a way to rebel against the Nazis in a more passive way. I was under the impression that most German youths supported the party and did not know how many kids were actually doing what they could to fight the party.
The film demonstrated the message of standing up for you beliefs and how easily it to conform to society. Peter never gave up his beliefs on how corrupted the Nazi Party was and his own belief in the Swing Kids movement. Thomas gave us the perspective of truly how powerful Hitler and the Nazi party was by him so easily being brainwashed into believing the Nazi beliefs. When seen before he had such anger towards it being a Swing kid with Peter.
A long with Sarah and Doug, I too, did not know how powerful Hitler’s Youth was. Without the help from Germany’s youth, Hitler would have struggled to be as powerful as he was because of how easily influenced the youth were.
I felt like the main message of the film was what influences our choices in obedience, conformity, and decisions. Many of the teens in the movie came from different backgrounds and some became Nazis. It was interesting to follow their different stories to understan why they became what they did. Some of them did conform and others stood strong in what they believed. The movie shows what it took for the one boy to stick to what he wanted to be, a swing kid. While his friend was fine with conforming an why that was.
Prior to watching this movie I had never heard of the term "Swing Kids". I didn't think that there could be a groupof people who would rebel against the government and why they chose to. I thought it was really interesting and inspiring to see that with all the disastorous events during that time there were people who thought it was wrong.
I think the main message on a non Hitler related note was stay to true to yourself and stand up for what you believe in. This film also showed just how powerful Hitler and Hitler’s schools were at changing the minds and beliefs of thousands of young individuals. It is one thing to hear about how Hitler changed hundreds of thousands of people’s belief systems and made everyone question each other. Though, I think watching it, and watching Thomas turn on his parents and then watching him turn on Arvid too was extremely powerful and truly put into perspective just how powerful and effective Hitler was at changing people’s beliefs. I would like to think that if I was put in their position I would be able to stay true to my beliefs but after watching this I’m not so sure I would be able to.
Along with Doug, I didn’t truly grasp just how powerful Hitler’s youth was but after watching this film it truly puts it into perspective. Though these schools, Hitler’s youth was able to help Hitler continue his reign over Germany which probably would not have been possible without the youth.
I feel that the main message of “Swing Kids” is that the government can control gain control over many people easily. Even though they wanted to defy the government by being swing kids by being in the HJ it changed them. Thomas was very strong against the Nazi party but in the end he was part of the Nazis. It shows how easily the government can control the young people of a nation.
I felt that the main message of the film was to illustrate how powerful the German government was at the time. The Nazis had total power and control of all individuals and the continued enforcement strengthened their power even further. With this government in power, it was able to persuade numerous people to turn to Hitler’s side including Thomas who was originally against Hitler and Hitler’s Youth.. One thing I did not know before watching the movie was how violent and brutal the tactics were used by the Nazis. They always turned to violence and brutality. I agree with Sarah as well because the fierceness of the youth demonstrates how powerful they actually were.
I agree with McKayla that it was crazy how someone could turn against their best friend because the government basically would brainwash these kids. The Nazis just had so much control over almost everyone in the country.
Though I missed a large majority of the film, it was evident that a large amount of individuals were influenced immensely by the Nazi party. By means of physical and mental abuse, the Nazi’s obtained further power and captured people’s support. Their power spread like wild fire because as everyone around you begins to join the bandwagon, it is much safer to follow pursuit. From what I did see, the tension between Peter and Thomas showed that Thomas had once been against the Nazis with Peter but by the end was serving the party honorably. I learned from the film that despite the fact that people were against the Nazis, they were able to brainwash them and get them to join them in their cause. I also got to learn the extent that the Nazis went in order to gain followers, such as cruel violence.
I agree with McKayla that the government caused lost relationships due to differing beliefs. The two boys were once on the same playing field but because the Nazis influenced Thomas, he rebelled against Peter. It is incredibly terrifying that the government was able to affect friendships on such a small scale and broke up the unity of the people for their own benefit.
After watching the film, the swing kids i think that the most important message was how much power the Nazi's had over everyone else. They were able to make the people think about things and act upon things. in the beginning of the film peter was completely against the Nazi's but at the end of the film he was the one whose outlook and mindset was changed because of them.
one thing i learned after watching this film is how brutal and inhumane the Nazi's were towards everybody
i agree with doug that Hitler's Youth was so much larger than it was thought to be, and that its crazy that kids were required to serve time in it
After watching the film, The Swing Kids, i feel that the most important message was how powerful the government was in Germany at the time. People who lived in GErmany actually listened to the government and let the government completely control them. People did not want to believe that what was happening would be bad but the main character, Peter, knew it was wrong and stood up for what he believed in. He was going to fight his whole way through it and not give up in his beliefes.
I also agree with Jake as to how powerful and ruling the government was on the people of Germany at the time. When they gained more people in Hitler Youth, they became more and more powerful.
Swing Kids was a great example of what went on in Nazi germany at the time. Hitler wanted to get everybody involved and working, but it came with a cost. If you weren't loyal to Hitler or the Nazi party they would take you away. People didn't realize that being a Nazi was cruel and they would go against certain nationalities.
I agree with Amy, once people jumped on the Nazi bandwagon, they were in a safe place. They didn't care about other individuals being harshly affected by the Nazi's, they only cared about themselves.
The film, "Swing Kids", clearly demonstrated the influence the Nazis had over individuals. Each character was influenced by the Nazis in different ways. Thomas was brainwashed into believing in the Nazis. Peter didn't particularly agree with Nazi views but didn't challenge them. Arvid disagreed with Nazi views and challenged them. The characteristics of the three boys represented the reactions of the German people. The Nazis had so much influence and power that they were able to change people's views and actions.
From this film, I learned how wide-spread the support was from Hitler's youth. The youth seemed especially influenced by the ways of Hitler and the Nazi party. I didn't realize before how many kids were involved and how passionate these kids really were.
It was clear that the movie "Swing Kids" was trying to portray how a person who was originally against the Nazi ideology or indifferent to the Nazi ideology could become indoctrinated into the ranks of the Hitler Youth. The overall message originates from this portrayal in the sense that the only way to combat fear mongering is to stand up for what is right and to not just be a bystander. This is shown in the film when Peter hears that his dad was killed for standing up for his beliefs and subsequently gets himself sent away to a work camp for the same reason.
The most surprising part of the film was how members of the Hitler Youth were so willing to throw away friends and family even going as far as to report their own mother or father to the Gestapo.
I agree with Jake that the continued enforcement from the Nazis strengthened their control and power over the people. With all this power the Nazis could easily influence people, especially Hitler's youth.
In response to Amy's post...
I agree that at that time in Nazi Germany it was very hazardous for one's health to voice any grievances against the Nazi Party or Hitler.
After watching this movie in class, I decided that the overall important message was to show how easily manipulated some people can be. Yes I do agree with what a lot of people are saying that the German government was very powerful in that time, but in the end it is up to an individual to decide how they will act in a situation. After watching the film I learned that there were actual "swing kids" and I learned that they were sort of a bunch of rebellious kids who did not agree with what was going on at the time.
Watching this, I was dumbfounded that the Nazis were able to brainwash Thomas so easily. His rationale was that it was easier to just go along with it, but the line blurred after a while between pretending to believe it and actually beliving it. Most of the HJ was probably made up of kids who swore that they would never believe its principals, but eventually were worn down. I guess the message of this movie is that regardless of initial beliefs, when you let people tell you how to live or what to believe, if you don't stand up for yourself, you'll eventually believe what they're are saying. The movie demonstrates the importance of taking a stand for what you believe. At first, I was baffled by the idea that Peter would give up everything just to have that final dance at the swing club. If he was going to try and make a difference, wouldn't there be a more effective way of doing it? But then I realized that Peter wasn't capable of defeating the Nazis or freeing the Germans from their control. His final act of defiance wasn't an attempt at stopping them, it was his way of maintaining his identity. He was under the control of the Nazis whether in a work camp or in the HJ, so he might as well stay true to himself.
I agree with Ben in that I was surprised that these young kids would give up their parents. Even if I believed in the Nazi ideology, I would think that spying on my parents would be crossing a line. Hitler was turning these kids against everyone they knew and everything they thought they believed in order to brainwash them. It was pretty effective, I guess.
In terms of the power of the Nazis, I agree with Jamie in terms of just how powerful the Nazi leadership was. It was pretty startling to see just how they could control the youth and others in Germany in such an easy manner.
I think that the message of the film was that people are so susceptible to conformity. The boys in the film had such individual and original ideas and were completely against Hitler and the ideas that he endorsed. It was so scary to see them slowly convert to Hitler's way of thinking and they began to endorse it too. The Thomas began to believe that Jews were the reason for Germany's failures and it was amazing to me how strongly he believed it. He turned his back to his friends because he wanted to become a part of something bigger than himself. The Nazis gave Thomas so many nice things and an identity, which he enjoyed and took advantage of.
I learned how much propaganda was used during Nazi times, especially in the HJ. They brainwashed those kids into believing false ideas.
I agree with Sarah that the Nazis had the ability to change people, including their thoughts, ideas, opinions, and even actions. They were used as pawns to carry out Hitler and the other Nazi's terrible plans.
I feel the main message of the film was of standing up for what you believe in, regardless of the pressure of the society around you. Before watching this film, I had had no idea that their were a group of "swing kids" in Germany rebelling, in a small but effective way against Nazi control.
I agree with Ben, in that I found it shocking, how willingly some of the kids turned against one another in order to conform.
Watching the swing kids really opened my mind to what a group of people can do to a person’s identity. Just like the story we read about the bear this film showed the how people can change because of what others want. At the beginning of the film both of the characters loved swing music until one day they thought it would be a good idea to steal a ladies radio. This ended bad however because it got both of them in the HJ. This was the turning point of the movie the brainwashing started to set in on one of the characters. As the film went on his views towards what the Nazis thought was right changed. It ended up that he betrayed his own friend at the end because of what the Nazis wanted.
Watching the swing kids really opened my mind to what a group of people can do to a person’s identity. Just like the story we read about the bear this film showed the how people can change because of what others want. At the beginning of the film both of the characters loved swing music until one day they thought it would be a good idea to steal a ladies radio. This ended bad however because it got both of them in the HJ. This was the turning point of the movie the brainwashing started to set in on one of the characters. As the film went on his views towards what the Nazis thought was right changed. It ended up that he betrayed his own friend at the end because of what the Nazis wanted.
I agree with ben it was very shocking how easily one frined would turn on another because of what another group of people thought was right
I thought the main message of this film was that people were willing to kill others and do what's wrong if it meant that they would be safe. There was almost no will to change, or to help others. I learned that people were willing to do whatever it took to keep themselves safe, even if they had to kill someone else.
I agree with David in that one of the characters was manipulated by the Nazis to such an extent that he betrayed his own friends.
The main message of this film was to show us, a small portion of American youth, and small portion of Germany’s youth between 1933 and 1939. It was a group of friends just like any other group of friends at our very own high school that loved music, just like any teenager today. It showed how easily the youth was corrupted whether they liked it or not; it also showed the consequences of trying to stand against it. The film also conveyed how vital it was to not say anything that would appear suspicious and the brutality of the punishment. I learned that certain artists and types of music were banned during the Holocaust and I didn’t know this before.
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