What Facing History and Ourselves Meant to Me

Introduction:

             Facing History and Ourselves is a course in which you not only learn the history of the darkest events of human history, but you learn the social and political mindset of the surrounding world along with the longstanding effects of these events. I took this course initially because of my love for history, especially the history of World War II. It took a week for me to realize that this course was not centered upon the history, but how human nature has remained constant throughout history. The ideas that were prominent in the deep south during the civil rights movements amongst the whites and in the minds of the Nazis and “bystanding” humans are still prominent to this day in other forms such as bullying and hazing. This course does an excellent job of magnifying today’s bullying by viewing it on a larger scale such as the holocaust in order to connect human history to your own self and situations we face every day. I am a 17 year old junior from Westborough High School and my love for history had initially drawn me to this course when I saw that it went into depth about the infamous events that took place in Nazi-occupied Europe. My mind was introduced to the social ideas that preceded events such as the holocaust and the mindsets of all different perspectives throughout the world during this time. This introduction to social mindsets intertwined with historical events has made me a more active and aware participant in our society when it comes to stepping up in situations I could just sit back and watch unfold in front of my eyes.

What Facing History Meant to Me

                I benefitted from this course in many ways such as becoming more aware of my actions and honest about myself. I have become a more active member of today’s society when it comes to sticking up for people around me. I have never on that attack against someone but I am often classified as a bystander in situations. This course has taught me to veer away from that role in a conflict. I used to be a shy and passive person but now I stick up for what I believe in instead of going with the crowd. This idea of being more active and outward has positively affected each and every relationship and conflict I am put face to face with every day. I have always been a tolerant person but this course taught me the extreme intolerance that our world has been present with. This intolerance is still alive today and I have become more aware of that as well due to this course. Becoming more aware of intolerance in this world makes me a more motivated individual when it comes to showing people the right way to treat others. This course’s use of film portraying the events of the holocaust has helped bring the horrible actions of the Nazis to life in my mind.

                The film “The Grey Zone” impacted me on a very strong level. The final scene after the girl was shot as she ran away left me with my jaw dropped as the eerie and haunting voice of the girl described her post-mortal “experiences”. It was at that point that the extent of the horror hit me. The entirety of the film did not contain music which made me listen to the dialogue a lot more than other films. Fully understanding what was happening to a historically-accurate degree kept my eyes and ears fixed to the screen. The scene where the camera put the viewer in the perspective of a prisoner heading to the gas chamber to their unknowing death was very powerful as well. It put me in the shoes as I knew what was going to happen but everyone who was “around me” in the perspective was under the influence that they were simply being showered. This film allowed for me to reflect upon everything I already knew about the holocaust and multiply the effect it’s had on me by ten. The absolute disregard for humanity and sympathy for those who were imprisoned in hell has given me the biggest shock and hatred I have felt in my entire life.

The film “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” impacted me in a slightly different way. The involvement of small children crossed with adults shielding the horrors from the children brought out a different sense of hatred and disgust. It brought out a certain level of anxiousness when the boy had no idea what had been going on in the “farm” when the viewer knows exactly what was happening. This dramatic irony also showed me the lack of understanding amongst most of the German youth during this time period. Anytime a film we viewed involved women or children, it seemed to have the most profound impact upon many students in our class especially myself. It brings out the total innocence that is implied to be present within a small child or a woman. When the boy was clueless as to what was happening as he was being led to the gas chambers, this innocence and confusion makes this scene so emotional and it is what truly impacted me the most in this film.

                The talk we had about bullying in the present day containing relevance to intolerance and evil in human history also profoundly changed my way of thinking about things around me. The use of the term “faggot” has become such a regular word, which is why I have become numb to the use of it. But after viewing how the ideas of the Nazis spread to the point of becoming “regular” thoughts, I quickly revised my thinking. After that talk we had, it occurred to me that just because something has become assimilated into society, doesn’t make it the right thing to say or do. I have been the witness to the word being used in a casual sense and I have realized that its use in any context should be thrown out and never used. The connection between the common use of this word and the common use of the Nazis obscene actions in Germany is very clear to me after having this valuable discussion.

                

                         

What this course has taught me is that tolerance is not enough to be a contributing factor to the kindness in a humane society. You must have the courage to take action and express your tolerance to others whose tolerance may come off as questionable or even non-existent. Sitting back and shying away from conflict when you are the righteous individual is just as bad as being the one who is directly showing intolerance and ignorance down towards others. This course taught me through historically accurate proof that the idea of spreading tolerance in an assertive manner makes more of a difference than I had previously believed. The Nazis spread hatred through the minds of the race they deemed “superior” and people either bought into it or stayed in the shadows. Once action was taken to go against this power the Nazis had, it was too late for the millions of people who died before allied forces even stepped foot on Normandy in 1944. The world stood by and even accommodated the wants and needs of Hitler before the war. This idea of accommodation and appeasement is exactly what happens when bystander in our society allow conflict to go uninterrupted when ignorance and intolerance is what is fueling said conflict. I can now step up as a member of society to protect those who are seen as weak because of this class because the courage shown by figures in history has inspired me to do so.  

Works Cited: 
1. "Session 2 Connecting Facing History and Ourselves and Reporter". images.google.com. 21 May 2013.
2. "Star Childrens: Cinzas Da Guerra-The Grey Zone". images.google.com. 21 May 2013.
3. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" images.google.com. 21 May 2013.
4. "Watch 10 Insightful Films to Learn About Adolf Hitler". images.google.com. 21 May 2013.
5. "Are YOUa Bully? I'll Bet You Are Without Knowing". images.google.com. 21 May 2013