This course proved quite beneficial, in that I was able to really learn a lot about not only some terrible events that have occurred in the past, but also a few things about myself. As a student, this course was very beneficial because it helped to answer a lot of questions that I had about, most specifically, World War II. I have studied World War II in the past on multiple occasions, but never did I get to watch this many films. The films really gave me a whole new perception. Before, I was always learning about WWII through a text book, which doesn’t really allow you to visualize. The films though, allow the reader to be taken back to the time period and to really get a feel for what was going on and how everyone felt emotionally. I was really able to grasp the reasons to why all the Jews did not just run away, and how the Nazis were able to murder millions of people without word spreading like wildfire.
One of my favorite films of this course was the Warsaw Uprising. This movie was about the Nazis taking over Warsaw and deporting and killing all the Jews in the ghetto. Before watching this movie, I had no prior knowledge of any uprisings, and it had always been a big question as to why the Jews did not attempt to resist the deportations. The main reason that I learned as to why the Jews did not resist is that the Nazis were very good at breaking the Jews down to the point where they would do anything for food and water, and also the Nazis were good at hiding what they were actually doing, so as they deported thousands of Jews to their deaths, the Jews had no idea what was going on. In this movie, the Warsaw resistance ended in failure, they actually were able to do more damage that I thought would be possible. Armed with only a few weapons and supplies, against a massive army, the Jews were able to hold off the Nazis on multiple occasions. This movie also did a great job at portraying the day to day life that Jews had to endure while the Nazis occupied Warsaw. I had no idea that there was so much chaos going on and that the Nazis would just beat and or kill anyone that they pleased to. I was blown away with the poor conditions that the Jews were forced to live in, and I often found myself wondering how they could possibly live like that, knowing that any day you could be killed or deported for absolutely nothing.
Another film that I learned a lot from was the children’s march, which was a film about the civil rights movement. Prior to watching this film, I had been taught about the civil rights movement, but I had never seen a film like this. This film was about the march that thousands of children participated in, where they marched illegally and went to jail, trying to make a statement about segregation. I was amazed to watch dogs and firefighters attack the kids, while this was being aired over television. This incident really helped for me to grasp the tension between the whites and blacks during the civil rights movement. Prior to watching this, I was unaware of the cruelty and illegal actions that the mayor condemned okay.
The film that I benefited the most from I would say would be the film with the live footage from the camps. This film really opened up my eyes and allowed me to witness all the horrors that took place. Watching this film was almost sickening, seeing hundreds of dead bodies and watching the various torture methods that were employed at each camp. I also found it very interesting, but also very fitting and necessary, to make the Germans in surrounding towns come to the camps to view the monstrosities that occurred. The fact that all these people sat back and did nothing when they were aware that just down the street there was a death camp where people were being executed is just beyond me. I also found it very interesting that the Germans were forced to dig up the mass graves and then try to identify and rebury them.
To anyone that is considering taking this course, I would highly recommend it, as it is a very powerful course that really leaves an impact on yourself. In this course, although I learned a great deal about segregation and also WWII, you also learn a great deal about yourself. All the films that you watch really make you think about what you would do in that particular situation and it is very interesting to watch what other people did. I was able to learn a lot about why people did what they did, like murder innocent Jews, by learning about each perspective. This class puts you in the shows of not only the victim, but also the criminal, as we learned a great deal about not only The Jews, but also about the Nazis. What I was able to walk away with from this course is that if you do not have a set moral code in your head, which says you should and should not do this and that, it is very easy to get swayed by the masses. That is what happened in Germany with Hitler, he was able to blame a group of people for something that seemed somewhat convincing, and people went along with it. This class also helped to reinforce an ideal that I have always believed in, and that is standing up for what you think is right. The reason why Hitler was able to take over Germany, was because he spread fear throughout Germany, that if you did not listen to his rules, you would be punished severely, and so, out of fear, people obediently obeyed him.
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