I am so lucky to have an amazing job at the best high school in the world with the most wonderful students (MOST of the time). Here I will share my musings, reflect on literature, and showcase cool assignments.
We were honored to have Sonja DuBois, Holocaust survivor, hidden child, spend the day with us on Thursday, April 3. Her story was compelling and moving and we so enjoyed getting to know her. She is pictured here with her husband, Ron.
Survivor of Sobibor
Pictured here are some of my students with Mr. Phillip Bialowitz, one of the ten living survivors of the Nazi extermination camp Sobibor. His son, Joe Bialowitz, is in the picture as well. It was an honor to hear Mr. Bialowitz speak.
"Europa, Europa" won a Golden Globe Award from LA Film Critics. However, the German film committee decided not to nominate it for an Academy Award. The response in Germany to this film was, for the most part, negative. Some called the main character "opportunistic and cynical," while others questioned his morality. What is your reaction to the denial for this film to be eligible for an Academy Award by its own county's film critics?
Well there are many things that would cause the German critics to have a negative response to the movie. The main reason I believe is that they are embarassed and ashamed for what happened. It is hard to admit that you've done something wrong. I mean who likes to admit they're wrong... no one really. It is also their history. It is not so much are history. It would be a lot easier to judge and be a critic of what happened in another country than to your own. Especially about issues like the Holocaust. Think about our history salem witch trials, slaughtering of Americans (native).. (why should they have a hypen in their name when they were the original americans) and slavery. Why didn't people stop these things either
I think, like Brian said, it's not easy to have such a light cast on a dark spot of your country's past. It's a lot easier for us to point fingers and say "look what those guys did" than it is for them to look at it and (as nominating a film like this one would automatically be doing) essentially apologize for those actions.
I agree completely with Brian and Bethany. The Holocaust is a part of history which the the whole world, especially the Germans, ought to be ashamed of. Not all Germans participated in the Holocaust directly, but they allowed this tradgedy to take place on their stage during their watch. Therefore, it is very natural for the people of Germany to still hold feelings of shame after all these years, whereas we as Americans can take a step back, look at the events of the Holocaust from a spectator perspective and realize that though this may be, if not the darkest, one of the darkest hours in human history, its history must be told so that it will not be repeated.
I agree with all Brian, Bethany, and Robby. I think that when you look back at it some might have been like "why did we do that," while others might just say "so what we did it," but don't want to have it recognized for more to see. I think the pro-nazi's that still existed would have looked at it and maybe even denied some of the stuff that happened.
4 comments:
Well there are many things that would cause the German critics to have a negative response to the movie. The main reason I believe is that they are embarassed and ashamed for what happened. It is hard to admit that you've done something wrong. I mean who likes to admit they're wrong... no one really. It is also their history. It is not so much are history. It would be a lot easier to judge and be a critic of what happened in another country than to your own. Especially about issues like the Holocaust. Think about our history salem witch trials, slaughtering of Americans (native).. (why should they have a hypen in their name when they were the original americans) and slavery. Why didn't people stop these things either
I think, like Brian said, it's not easy to have such a light cast on a dark spot of your country's past. It's a lot easier for us to point fingers and say "look what those guys did" than it is for them to look at it and (as nominating a film like this one would automatically be doing) essentially apologize for those actions.
I agree completely with Brian and Bethany. The Holocaust is a part of history which the the whole world, especially the Germans, ought to be ashamed of. Not all Germans participated in the Holocaust directly, but they allowed this tradgedy to take place on their stage during their watch. Therefore, it is very natural for the people of Germany to still hold feelings of shame after all these years, whereas we as Americans can take a step back, look at the events of the Holocaust from a spectator perspective and realize that though this may be, if not the darkest, one of the darkest hours in human history, its history must be told so that it will not be repeated.
I agree with all Brian, Bethany, and Robby. I think that when you look back at it some might have been like "why did we do that," while others might just say "so what we did it," but don't want to have it recognized for more to see. I think the pro-nazi's that still existed would have looked at it and maybe even denied some of the stuff that happened.
Post a Comment