Holocaust AoW 2/24/17

What I Learned about the Holocaust

On the week of 2/20-24/17, Mrs.Larson's Accelerated Class was given the task of exploring the internet for an article pertaining to the Holocaust, analyzing its contents, and presenting our article and observations to our fellow classmates in the form of a Gallery Walk. Not only was I overwhelmed with joy to share the courage of former prisoners with my peers, but also to gather a larger knowledge of the Holocaust as a construct from them and their research. In this blog, I will be sharing these very findings and what I have been able to derive from them.

One of the very first articles I had learned from was "Twins Meet after 66 Years". This article details the story of two siblings whom were separated by Nazi Officers 66 years ago reuniting through social media. I found this article particularly inspiring due to it's message of never giving up. Despite the immense amount of time the twins spent without each other, they still remained determined to meet each other, which I find rather admirable. The article also promotes persevering during hard times, as the two twins managed to surive the dreadful Holocaust conditions they were forced into.

The last article I found rather intruiging was "The History of Holocaust Remembrance Day". This article details the hesitation to dedicate a day to Holocaust Vitcims from the government, but many activists were persistent, and demanded that the day exist. The world began to listen and Holocaust Rememberance Day became official. What I learned from this article was, much like our previous article, that you must remain determined through hard times, as the remembrance activists did not let negativity deter them from requesting the holiday's existence. The article also promotes remembrance to the reader, as the holiday is meant to honor those whom are no longer with us.

Berlin Wall Reflections

Berlin Wall Activity Reflections

Recently, myself, as well as other classmates, were able to participate in an activity that helped us dig deeper into the strictness and unsympathetic ways of law during the Nazi Regime. In this activity, each student had been given around 3-5 pieces of paper with a decree issued by the Nazis against the Jews printed on them. We later placed these decrees all around the room and analyzed each one and their impact to the fullest.

While this may have been a rather short activity, I still managed to extract immense amounts of information and emotions that the decrees incited from it. In this blog, I will be discussing the inquiries that one may have pertaining to my experience with the activity and how they have impacted me. I will be using the thoughts that ran through my head, as well as facts about these decrees and policies to answer.

What did you learn?

What I had learned during and after the activity was how detailed and abundant these decrees were. Beforehand, I believed that the policies were somewhat broad and regulated, as the Jewish population did very little harm to the Nazis, and taking too much affirmative action would be simply immoral, but after discovering all of the decrees and their excess amounts of detail, my notions were simply incorrect.

Why do you think this monument was built?

I believe the monument was built to demonstrate how these decrees exemplify the true hatred and immorality that the Nazis perpetuated throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s. I feel that this is correct due to the emotion the decrees incite in people who witness them. These decrees were very obviously terrible and a disgrace to victims during the Nazi Regime, and others who have not lived during this time period could even feel the emotions that they provoke. Due to this, it encourages sympathy towards the a Holocaust, which could potentially be why the monument was created.

What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years?

What I had noticed about the quantity of laws issued in certain years was how gradually light the loads became as years passed. With the exception of certain years, most people could observe how aaround the time the 1940s arrived, decrees against Jews were becoming much more scarce. This could potentially be attributed to the involvement that other counties took during these time periods, which affected the actions of the Nazis a great deal.

Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?

If I were placed in a scenario in which these policies still had power, then I would find myself having the most trouble with sacrificing certain foods for your life, such as meats and dairy products. I believe this would be hard due to my current reliance on such products. These items consume a  majority of my diet, and simply handing over my dependence on them would be rather difficult.