Discussion topics

There are eight topics that will be discussed on the presentation night, led by two or three students who have prepared a discussion outline. Topics include the Armenian genocide, other groups targeted by the Nazis, Holocaust denial, and music produced during the Holocaust. The question of how the Holocaust is remembered across generations, the Nuremberg Trials, resistance against the Nazis, and the art of a survivor will be discussed as well, with supporting paintings and videos. There will be two rounds of discussions, and the audience is encouraged to listen to and participate in the topics that interest them the most.

Judgement and Justice

Last friday in class, Jack Weinstein, the local Facing History and Ourselves director, came to talk to us about what justice means to the victims of the Holocaust. He encouraged us to think deeply about who is responsible, how they should be judged, and how they should be punished. Some questions included: Should participants in "atrocities" during war be punished? Should they be tried before a court of law? Are individuals responsible if they have obeyed laws of a nation? Do some have more responsibility than others? Can an entire nation be guilty? After WWII, the allies had to ponder these questions in the Nuremberg Trials. The charges pressed included: conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. We thought discussed these questions among ourselves, then shared our ideas around the room. This visit by Mr. Weinstein has proved quite insightful.

Samuel Bak Paintings

I remember first seeing Samuel Bak's paintings in 8th grade. I had trouble understanding their meaning at first, but after a long discussion with the class I slowly formed a new understanding. Looking back on them after two years, I notice the old information but realize that I have learned so much from this unit. Night has really opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and can't wait to see what else I can learn.
After searching up some other art work of his, I found a site that lined up his paintings and I noticed that every single person had the same look and posture of defeat: head down, back bent forward, and head in hand. The backgrounds are nothing alike, but the same message seems to come up. I have little experience with art that I wouldn't be able to tell you what it means, but I hope to better understand it soon.

Comparisons

As I read the novel, I continued to be struck by the cruelty and devastation inflicted upon the innocent victims, who were targeted merely because of their race. It helps me to recognize how grateful I am that I live in a diverse place, where such individuality is appreciated. 


Also, I recently read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. That book focused on the life of an inmate in a soviet work camp. I was struck by both the similarity and the drastic differences found in these camps. In Night, Eliezer travels throughout a system of camps, all of which, despite their common ideas, differ greatly in the severity of punishments and amount of freedom. This is similar to the disparity between the camps run by the Soviet Union. Some of the Nazi's camps are "death camps", where the primary goal is to eliminate the Jewish race, while others are "work camps".  The Soviet's camps, on the other hand, were meant to punish political prisoners, but not necessarily to kill them. On top of the intense work involved, prisoners in the Russian camps also had to deal with the intense weather often present in Siberia. It was fascinating to me that there was so much similarity between the camps, yet also such disparity.


    

Today in the Lab

Today we are in the computer lab. We are all putting our finishing touches on our posters, blog posts, and researching. I feel like this event is coming together, but we are not completely ready. We just have to keep focused and work really hard until the event is over.

The Event is Approaching...

As our Night event grows closer, our discussion groups become busier and busier. We have groups leading discussions on Holocaust Denial, Music from Terezin, Targets of the Holocaust, and others. We also have some students making posters about Propaganda, Elie Wiesel(the author of Night), and a poster about the Facing History and Ourselves program.

I feel that the event is slowly coming together. If everyone puts in hard work and some good effort over the next few days, then the event will be a success. I think that the event will come out well, and I look forward to hearing some of the talks on Wednesday!

In the worlds of Elie Wiesel, "There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win."

Resistance

While rereading the first few chapters of Night, I noticed that the Germans were met with surprisingly little resistance in their occupation, then deportation of Weisel's community. Before the Germans even arrived, the people of the community felt that they would never arrive at their homes, that the Germans would be sated somehow by taking Budapest. A faceless member of Weisel's community says "The Germans won't get as far as this. They'll stay in Budapest. There are strategic and political reasons..." And three days later, the German military had arrived in the town of Sighet.

Still the community continued to delude themselves. Even after the Jewish were banned from cafes, train stations, and resturaunts, even after the yellow stars were issued, the Jews of Sighet continued to be optimistic. The attitude of Sighet is similar to that of the world community. While Hitler began rearming Germany and preparing for war, the rest of the world did nothing. When Germany invaded the Rhineland, it met with little or no military opposition. Why is it that the Germans were able to do so much with so little resistance? Perhaps the world was still reeling from the horrors of the first world war. Perhaps people really believed that Hitler would stop before he actually harmed them. What were the effects of religion? The town elders preached the virtue of "Never lose[ing] faith, even when the sword hangs over your head". Who or what is responsible for the lack of resistance?