Thoughts about this course

Over this semester I have learned how to be compassionate toward other people. I have also learned that in many of the cases that we saw this semester, human suffering is only a temporary moment in the lives of many and that the hardships that someone goes through does not define their entire life. Another lesson that I am taking away from this course is to honor other people’s faiths even if they are founded on beliefs that I do not participate in.

The readings I enjoyed the most of this semester were “Maus” and “First They Killed My Father.” I saw a lot of myself in the character Art when I was reading Maus. I have often had a difficult time bonding with my parents and I understood the same frustrations that Art was going through. It can be tough to deal with people when they have inherited characteristics that they cannot avoid. For instance, Vladek was always trying to conserve what little food or resources he had and this reflected into his later years as a freed man living in modern society. He cannot help the way he is since that was what he needed to do to survive. In some ways, I feel the same emotions about my own family. I think their relationship was flawed due to their lack of understanding of each other’s circumstances and I believe that the same feelings can be applied to the way the younger generation acts towards their elders. These days, we have the technological resources to complete many simple tasks that would have been difficult in the past. In the generations to come, I think that there will be a wide technological gap between those who know how to operate computers and those who do not.

“First They Killed My Father” was an interesting read to begin this semester because it was told through the perspective of a child. It is difficult to process how an adult would react in these situations to much less a child. I appreciated this book as an introduction of what we would be talking about this semester because it gave me an idea on the sort of topics we would be covering and spread awareness on a genocide that I had not heard about.

"A Problem from Hell" Chapter 7 and 10 Notes

Chapter 7

In 1984, Department spokesperson John Hughes proclaimed that Ronald Reagan would promote the genocide convention.

Reagan paid a visit to West Germany's Bitburg Cemetery in 1985 and was criticized by many of his followers. Reagan was hoping that the visit would better the ties between Germany and the U.S.

Doctrine of reciprocity

Reagan made it possible to ratify the genocide convention but when they had the first opportunity to use it they had to side with the Saddam Hussein genocide due to domestic and political concerns.

Chapter 10

In Rwanda, when the president was killed in a jet crash the country went into a panic on who would rule and if the government was still in place. A curfew was set and many people were encouraged to stay in their homes. 

The genocide in Rwanda only lasted 100 days.

In this case, the Hutus were against the Tutsis. 

People from Death-squads went to the homes of those living in Rwanda and murdered the Tutsis and any Hutus who were not in support of the war.

One-seventh of the population was murdered as a result of the genocide.

The genocide was a result of racial tension. It was the most concentrated genocide in all of history.

"Ordinary Men" Discussion Questions

Who were the members of the Police Battalion 101?

     They were middle aged family men of working and lower-middle-class background from Hamburg. Most were raw recruits with no experience in German territory. They were simply thrown into a situation where they were forced to harm others.

Were they enthusiastic Nazis?

       Most were not enthusiastic about killing others. They believed that it was a inhumane way to treat others. 

      The men involved did not have a clear idea of what they were doing. Alcohol was provided to help them relax in these situations and to get them more accustomed to killing.

      Although, the battalion did not accept the anti-Semintic views of the German army they did accept the view of Jews as the enemy.

     These individuals were manipulated into killing others by the German army and were fed propaganda that would turn them against the Jews. Most were anti-Nazi in culture.

What was their initial assignment?

    Their first assignment occurred in 1941 in Russia and was dubbed Operation Barborossa. the assignment required the men to execute Jews and Russian civilians.  In 1942, they were asked was to round up and shoot Jews from a Polish village called Jozefow.

Were they given a choice to participate?

     The members of the battalion were given the option to participate without consequence. Although, many decided to stay in fear of leaving their comrades behind. Most of the policemen who were later interrogated denied that they were given an option to participate. Although in the beginning of the book, its stated that Trapp did indeed give the men a choice to participate or not.

What does Browning conclude was key to turning "ordinary men" into killers?

      Browning states that a number of factors contribute to turning ordinary men into killers. These factors include wartime brutalization, racism, segmentation and routinization of the task, special selection of the perpetrators, careerism, obedience to orders, deference to authority, ideological indoctrination, and conformity.

Is ideology or circumstances more important to conditioning killers?

     Ideology is important because it is the driving force that influences people to carry out acts of violence. Although, circumstances can also play a contributing role in driving others because it motivates people to act against their trials. I believe that both factors are powerful reasons to act and that one cannot be done without the other.
   In this case, circumstances were the driving force in motivating the men but both can equally contribute depending on the situation.

   
Can anyone get acclimatized to killing?

     People can become desensitized to killing by a certain degree but the trauma of killing other person will always be suppressed in a person's mind. Some people might be haunted by their choices later on in life. 

     Those who are experiencing hardship might be more likely to kill others because they need someone to blame and take out their frustrations on.

"Dry Tears" Discussion Questions

Why did the Homars take in the Tecs?

The Homars allowed the Tec family to stay with them to earn an extra source of income. The family's presence guaranteed an outside solution to any financial hardships that non-Jewish families were going through. The agreement was that they would provide shelter for the Jews and in turn they would support their financial problems. The term was called keeping "cats.'

Are the Homars mere bystanders?  Are they benefactors of the Tec family?  Or are they perpetrators in their own way?

The Homars appear to be bystanders on the exterior but their actions towards the Tec family are more like perpetrators. They are crude to the family and don’t refrain from using anti-Semintic remarks while the family is present. The Homars are in some way, benefactors to the family by letting them use their home to build their bread baking business in the black market.

How do we reconcile their vocal anti-Semitism with their decision to shelter the Tecs?

The relationship between these two families shows how desperate the Homars were to make extra money. This family hates the type of people that they're helping. 

According to Tec, the Homars believed that her family did not conform to their views of what Jewish people were. Since she did not have strong Jewish features she was treated better than other members of the family. The Homars were able to justify their decision to house them by saying that the Tec family did not fit the stereotype that they had of Jews. In their minds, they acted like regular people.

By looking the other way on their anti-Semintism, they family can be considered saviors to the Tec family. Without their help, the Tecs would have probably been taken to a concentration camp or may have suffered some other type of fate. 

Why did the Homars eventually ask the Tec family to leave?

The Homars said that they did not want their neighbors to know that they had helped a Jewish family survive. When the Homars first tried to kick them out in 1944, they said that they were afraid of being uncovered by Germans during random house searches. SInce the war was thought to be almost over, the family did not think that the risk of housing the family was worth the extra income anymore. However, the father was able to convince Kiutka that it would be unwise to let them go and that the Germans would still try to get information out of them if they knew that they housed Germans. He promised that his family would never reveal the Homars. 

Jan and Genia welcome the Tecs back.  Are they simple bystanders?  Dothey have a level of complicity with the crimes against the Jews?

Jan and Genia appear to be more than welcomed to invite the Tecs to stay with them. In many ways they are simple bystanders. They understand what they have gone through and are willing to help. They assist the family in their transitional stage back to normal life. 

Jan and Genia like many during this time, were in some ways, at fault for what happened to Jews during this time. Although, in the beginning they tried their best to protect them before the Germans took over. Their relationship with the family goes back to when the father worked for the chemical plant. At one point, they wanted to adopt Krysia but her parents feared that the adoption would be uncovered by the Germans.

"Ordinary Men" Reflection

"Ordinary Men" recounts the stories of various situations where police
officers, townspeople and regular civilians were forced to commit acts
of murder on Jews. Browning gives the readers the historical text of
the vignettes that he talks about.

The book serves as an text that explores the motives of perpetrators
and the emotional toll that regular people are forced to deal with as
a result of mass murdering Jews.

I personally found the book to be a bit dull due to its lack of
narrative and its lengthy historical timelines that make the book
appear more like a history text instead of a memoir or nonfiction
text.

Testimonial handout

The handout recounted an event in a ghetto in Byelorussia where a group of police officers were convinced to carry out a mass killing of Jewish people.

The ideology against Jews was very strong in this case because the purpose of the act was motivated by Antisemitism.

It took two days to convince the officers to shoot the Jews and even when they did so they were heavily intoxicated.

This episode consisted of people who might be considered persecutors since they carried out the act of murder.

Bergen Chapters 5-8

Chapter 5

Lodz- famous ghetto from the 1940s. It was very overcrowded. Jews from all over Europe were sent to Lodz. Gypsies were sent there as well. 

Judenrat- word for "Jewish council." German-run council, where Germans picked the officials in charge. 

After a Jewish resistance was discovered, many members who were linked to the underground Jewish newspaper were sent to Auschwitz.

Nazis considered Poles to be subhuman or "Untermenschen."

Polish people resented the Jews. Associated them with wealth.

T-4 program aimed at experimenting on adults with mental illnesses and the disabled.

Many Germans were outraged about the killings about the disabled while some were afraid to voice their opinions.

Chapter 6

French declared war on Germany in September 1939, known as the "phony war."

Armtistice Agreement signed with France in 1940.

Operation Sea-Lion- code name for the invasion of Britain. 

1940- Three-Power Pact with Germany, Japan, and Italy.

Chapter 7

Nazi "New Order" plans to head East.

Hitler rejected Christianity, saw it as a weak branch of Judaism.

"Defeatism" was punishable by death, wanted everyone to support the German army.

Jewish women who married Germans were sometimes persecuted. The offspring were often spared.

"Harvest Festival"- mass shootings in Lublin.

In December 1941, first killing center was made, Chelmno.

Chapter 8

Russian army was winning against the Germans.

June 6, 1944- D-day

In 1944, Germans began to evacuate many camps. 

Hitler committed suicide with his new wife Eva Braun along with close friends and their six children.