Introduction

My name is Jesse Blackwell and I am currently a Senior at Westborough High School. Here at WHS I am taking the course Facing History and Ourselves which is taught by Mr. Gallagher. Both this course and Mr. Gallagher are both very unique. This course is about many different things, however it only has an impact on those who listen with an un bias ear. This class teaches about the Holocaust. Not only does it describe what horrible events took place but also works to show how it took place. Hitler alone could not have killed the millions upon millions that he did all by himself. But Hitler and countless bystanders did. This class points out in history how the selfishness and the fear of "getting involved" allowed such a horrible thing to take place. Mr. Gallagher teaches his students to not just be another bystander in history but when you feel something is wrong you take action. But do not stop there, follow up with that action and do not stop until you have made a difference. Although this course includes such information about life, I did not know this when I signed up. My reasons for signing up were quite simple actually. I had Mr. Gallagher before as a teacher and respect him and find his classes interesting, I enjoy watching movies and I wanted to learn more about the Holocaust. I wanted to become more informed about the Holocaust because some of my family members lost their lives in this horrible event so I wished to know what they endured.

 

 

Make a Difference Essay

This course is not like any other course I have ever taken before. The limitations of the effects of this course are virtually endless. Facing History and Ourselves not only allows the students to learn about things that have happened years and years ago but also about our own personalities and the people we are now and going to be in years to come. It gives each student a surplus of information regarding genocides including the Holocaust, ranging from but not limited to: Germany's bad economic situation, Hitler's rise to power, making the Jewish population the countries scapegoat and the systematic mass murder of millions of innocent people. Not only has this class benefitted me by educating me on this horrible event, the Holocaust, but has also showed me how something like this was able to happen. Armed with this new found knowledge of how Hitler was able to manipulate people and how many people simply stood by and watched has made me another advocate for freedom and has further influenced the idea of always standing up for what I believe in. I will never forget nor let anyone else forget the horrors of what happened all over the world during the time of Hitler's reign. If I ever hear any one speak about the Holocaust not happening, in the words of Mr. Gallagher, after I hit them over the head for saying that, I am now educated enough to teach them about the Holocaust after they regain consciousness. But knowing the facts about something occurring does you no good if you do not know how it occurred and how to prevent it. This class has benefitted me by teaching me exactly that, the process of creating a genocide. I learned that Hitler or any other single person can not and could not have caused such an unbelievably horrible event to have happened. But Hitler accompanied by millions of people acting as bystanders can create such things as awful as a genocide. I have learned that being a bystander does no one any good, including yourself and that I must act upon all opportunities to speak up when I feel as though something is going on that I do not agree with. But quick action with out thought is nearly just as helpful as not acting at all. Mr. Gallagher has further reinforced the idea that you must go into any and all situations with the most open of a mind as you can. Do not make any judgements toward anything, situations or people a like, before hearing the facts. After hearing the facts you may then form an opinion on a matter. This concept reminds me of one of the movies Mr. Gallagher showed us in class. It was about a young black boy who came from a poor family who was being charged with murder. At first all but one of the men voted him guilty of murder without even taking a second look at the evidence. They were able to do this because they had already made up their decision about him even before his defendant opened their mouth. They judged him and had so much of their own bias, and so much of it that they were willing to charge this young boy with the crime. After a very long period of time more and more of the men began to listen to the man who said the boy was innocent. Eventually all of the men came to the conclusion that the boy was in fact innocent of the crime he was being charged for. This lesson was very meaningful to me. I admire the one man who had the confidence to stand alone versus all of the others to defend a boy who was very different than he. He used the facts to make his decision, not his emotions or bias and this I view as a very honorable way to live. Another facet of the course that meant a lot to me was the movie about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Mordechai Anielewicz. Earlier in the year I randomly selected Mordechai as a topic of a research paper I had to do since I took this course for Honors credit. At first I wished to write about some one like Elvis Presly or the Buddha but after Mr. Gallagher talked some sense into me I began my search for a new topic again. Next I Google searched "holocaust heros" and Mordechai was one of the names that popped up. I began researching him and started to get very interested in what I found. I found that he was the commander of the Jewish Resistance fighting force and lead the only armed rebellion against Nazi Germany in the Ghettos. I learned how he took power within the Jewish resistance forces and began to organize and strategize defensive attacks when the Nazis came to load the Jews on trains and bring them to work and concentration camps. The information I found within books and online sources interested me, the movie about his fight intrigued me. I learned how the word "hero" when referring to him is really an understatement. He is one of the bravest men I have ever learned about. He rallied people together and fought to the death for a cause he whole heartedly believed in against unimaginable odds. Learning about such courage did not only mean a lot to me because of his inspiration that his story depicts but also gives me even more pride within myself. His effort to defend himself and his community just makes me that much more proud of my background. Since half of my family is Jewish it is reassuring to know that not everyone stood by and just let horrible things happen to them. Some people had the courage to stand up and fight and defend themselves during such a scary time in history for the Jewish peoples. Another very meaningful facet of this course for me was the viewing of the movie, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I felt this film was so meaningful because it has had a lasting impact on me. I found the plot to be a rather depressing one especially including the ending scene where the eight year old boy is killed in the gas chambers. But for me this is not the most depressing part of the movie. The saddest aspect of the movie is watching the eight year old boy trying to piece everything that is happening together. At this age the boy wishes to be an explorer and is very curious and just tries to understand the world around him and make sense of it all. Up until he is exposed to the concentration camp he is able to generate a descent understanding of the world around him. But then when he is finally exposed to this concentration camp and what his father is really doing he is confused and scared and disoriented by it. I just think it is so sad that an eight year old boy has the common sense and enough of a moral compass to decide what is going on is wrong and that the people there need help, when millions of fully grown adults fail to see this. This eight year old is able to see clearly through to the evil behind the Nazi's work while so many adults are blinded to this truth by the fog of the Nazi ideals and propaganda. Overall, this course has benefitted me as both a student and a person. I now am confident in saying that I am rather well educated with regards to the Holocaust and with regards to being a better person. I will not just be another bystander in this world, we have enough of them all already!

Pictures

Works Cited

Works Cited

Adolf Hitler. Google Images. Image. 12 January 2012.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Google Images. Image. 12  January  2012.

Gavel. Google Images. Image. 12 January 2012.

Jewish Star. Google Images. Image. 12 January 2012.

Mordechai Anielewicz. Google Images. Image. 12 January 2012.