CONNECTIONS TO HUMANITY:WE ARE NOT ISLANDS!

I looked into the distance.
I saw something move.

I went closer.
I saw an animal.
I went closer still.
I saw a man.
I went closer again.
And I saw that it was my brother.
Tibetan fable

The photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand has created an amazing project: 6 Billion Others. This project reflects many of the essential questions we have thought about in our year long humanities class. As you view the project make connections to the texts and units we have studied.

In interviewing people Bertrand has created a global portrait of mankind. Bertrand thought:'It all looks simple from the sky, but down below we are often confronted by borders, antagonism, separations, misunderstanding, ignorance between one and another. So it was important to let the men and women of our planet express themselves, collect their experiences and life philosophies, their visions of the world and to share with them. In this case, 5000 men and women describe their lives and hopes, their joys and woes, laughter and tears and relationships to God, the devil, love, life,death, and so on…

He and his team asked the same questions of The Malian fisherman, the Brazilian labourer, the Armenian mother, the Afghan fighter, the Germanpriest, the American farmer, the Russian merchant, the Japanese rebel, the Australian road sweeper, the Rwandan refugee'... which culminated in a major exhibition in Paris in January February 2008.

As we listen, we find ourselves so different and yet so similar, so far and so near from all the inhabitants of our planet.In the exhibition Bertrand encourages us to listen so as to better understand. We listen to 5,000 people representative of the 6 billion that share our planet testify, talk about feelings and think about life.

Bertrand and his team aimed to 'allow each one to share his/her personal experiences, hopes, dreams, fears, life philosophy with everyone;and to offer these accounts to as many people as possible'. Between 50-300 interviews were carried out per country with a variety of people and ethnicities.

The project took:
'4 years of filming were required to gather all these precious accounts.
6 reporters, passionate about the project, embarked on this formidable human adventure.
Each with his or her approach and sensitivities made a mark on the project.
20 hours of personal narratives to discover at the exhibition in the Grand Palais
40 questions, always the same, posed to each of the interviewees.
75 countries crossed: covering the entire planet was not possible unfortunately. But our journey
was guided by a spirit of fairness, which was not an easy thing to achieve. All the continents are
represented, town and country as well as the most emblematic areas of conflict.'

The exhibition makes us consider:
• How can we make our social, professional, platonic and romantic relationships more authentic?
• How can we encourage communication between generations, communities and cultures?
• How is reconstruction possible in the wake of suffering or conflicts?
• Are we in control of our destinies, and how can we influence our world?

• Below are the questions interviewers put to 5,ooo people.
• Read the questions then visit the site here: 6 milliards autres and listen to the responses.
• Spend time exploring the site. Think about how you would respond.
• We will then take some of these questions and you will answer the questions and upload to your blog.

01 | Start the interview by asking the person to introduce him or herself, giving name, age,
profession, family situation and nationality.
02 | What is your profession? Do you enjoy it ?
03 | What does family represent to you ?
04 | What do you want to hand down to your children ?
05 | What did you learn from your parents ?
06 | What do you find difficult to say to your children ? Your family ?
07 | What is your greatest joy ?
08 | What is your greatest fear ?
09 | What angers you the most ?
01 | What did you dream of as a child ?
11 | What is your greatest dream today ?
12 | What have you renounced ?
13 | Are you happy ?
How do you define happiness ?
14 | What would you like to change about your life ?
15 | How do you define love ?
Do you think you give and receive enough love ?
16 | What was the last thing that made you burst out laughing ?
17 | When was the last time you cried ? Why ?
18 | What has been the most difficult test you have had to face in your lifetime ?
What did you learn from it?
19 | Do you have enemies ? Why ?
20 | What angers you the most ? And why ?
6 billion Others | 17
21 | What would drive you to kill someone ?
For what would you be willing to lay down your life ?
22 | Do you find it easy to forgive yourself ?
What would you not be able to forgive ?
23 | Do you feel free ?
Out of all the days in your life, which could you not do without ?
24 | Do you like your country ?
Have you ever wanted to leave your country ? Why ?
25 | What does nature mean to you ?
26 | Have you seen nature change since your childhood ? And what would you do to save it ?
27 | Do you live better than your parents ? Why ?
28 | What does money represent to you ? Why ?
29 | How do you define progress and what are your expectations ?
30 | What is man's greatest enemy ?
31 | What is man's greatest friend ?
32 | Why do men wage war ? What can we do to reduce the number of wars ?
33 | Do you confess to a God every day of your life ?
34 | What do you think there may be after death ?
35 | Do you know a prayer ? Can you say it to me ?
36 | What for you is the meaning of life ?
37 | What would you like to say or what questions would you like to ask the people who will see you ?
38 | What is your favourite song ? Sing it…
39 | What do you think of this interview, this exchange ? What do you think is its aim ?
40 | Do you want to add anything else in conclusion ?

RESISTANCE :DBQ REVIEW

STAGES OF GENOCIDE: Review this by clicking here for the 8 stages

PYRAMID OF HATE: Click here to review: pyramid of hate

RESISTANCE
The word resist comes from the Latin root sistere to stop: re+sist. So the denotation is to struggle against someone or something,to try to prevent by action or argument. So resistance, the noun, 'is the refusal to accept or comply with something'(Oxford Dictionary).

CONTEXT
The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Mass killings began in June 1941 with the shooting of Jewish civilians during the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the end of 1941, the Germans began deporting Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. By May 1945, about two out of every three Jews in Europe had been murdered.

Prewar European Jewish population: 9.5 million.

Before World War II, more than half of the world's Jewish population lived in Europe. Most Jews lived in eastern Europe, primarily in the Soviet Union and Poland. The Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1933. The Germans moved to extend their power in central Europe, annexing Austria and destroying Czechoslovakia. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, beginning World War II. Over the next two years, German forces conquered most of Europe. The Germans established ghettos in occupied eastern territories, isolating and persecuting the Jewish population. Nazi anti-Jewish policy expanded with the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Mobile killing units murdered Jews, Roma (also called Gypsies), Soviet political commissars, and others. The Germans and their collaborators deported Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. At the largest killing center, Auschwitz-Birkenau, transports arrived almost daily from across Europe. By war's end, almost six million Jews and millions of others had perished in the Holocaust.

Postwar Jewish Population, ca. 1950: 3.5 million

— United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Look carefully at the maps below to draw conclusions about changes in the Jewish population.





What is propoganda?

Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior.
Propaganda simplifies complicated issues or ideology for popular consumption, is always biased, and is geared to achieving a particular end. Propaganda generally employs symbols, whether in written, musical, or visual forms, and plays upon and channels complex human emotions towards a desired goal. It is often employed by governmental and private organizations to promote their causes and institutions and denigrate their opponents. Propaganda functions as just one weapon in the arsenal of mass persuasion.(The Holocaust Museum: Propaganda)


Examine the following propaganda posters of Hitler and Jews.
Think about the impression created and the ways this impression is built in the minds of the viewer.

Examine the 1928 painting the Agitator by George Grosz

Read and interpret: Pastor Niemoller's poem: click here:

PART B: OBSTACLES TO RESISTANCE

Consider what Father says to Bruno in Boyne's The Boy in Striped Pyjamas: 'Accept the situation in which you find yourself and everything will be so much easier' (53)

Using the sources write a paragraph that examines why people remained silent, 'accepted the situation in which (they) found themselves'.

IN THE PRESENCE OF GOOD

"But there is a difference between passive goodness and active goodness, which is, in my opinion, the giving of one's time and energy in the alleviation of pain and suffering. It entails going out, finding and helping those in suffering and danger, and not merely in leading an exemplary life, in a purely passive way of doing no wrong." Nicholas Winton

Go here to read about the heroic actions of the humble Nicholas Winton and here

Watch here: BBC Programme 'That's Life"




Discussion:
In his study of rescuers, Ervin Staub states, "Goodness, like evil, often begins in small steps. Heroes evolve; they aren't born. Very often the rescuers make only a small commitment at the start-to hide someone for a day or two. But once they had taken that step, they begin to see themselves differently, as someone who helps. What starts as mere willingness becomes intense involvement."
What does Staub's insight suggest about rescuers?
Write a working definition of a hero?
Why do you think Winton is reluctant to have himself called a hero? What point is he trying to make?
Why do you think that in times of crisis, some people stand by, or actively help the perpetrators, while others get involved and try to make a positive difference? ( From Facing History, Facing Ourselves)

JAPANESE HOLOCAUST RESCUER

Watch the video clip below to discover the heroism of Sugihara.

RESCUERS:'Save One Life, Save the World"

'Save one life, save the world' is a line from the Talmud, the Jewish book of law. This applies to many of the upstanders who rescued Jews just before and during World War 2. Some of you may be inspired to research the rescuers mentioned in the trailer below. Again consider what traits do they posses that make them heroic?

Image shows Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat responsible for the rescue of thousands of Hungarian Jews. His fate remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of World war 2.He was 32 when he disappeared after being arrested in 1945 by Soviet occuying troops. Read more about him here at United States Holocaust Museum

RESCUERS: PORTRAITS OF COURAGE

Hero status is often achieved by making personal sacrifices, showing extreme selflessness, and great courage. Allison and Goethals (2011, 49) state, 'These individuals typically don't set out with the intention of being heroes. In fact the situations they find themselves in are usually unpleasant, requiring a difficult choice that has painful consequences. The choice however, is the correct one from a moral perspective'. In a survey of 75 college students Allison and Goethals noted eight heroic traits,'The Great Eight':

1.Smart: intelligent, smart, wise
2.Strong: strong, leader,dominating,courageous,gallant
3.Selfless:moral,honest,selfless,humble,altruistic
4.Caring:compassionate,empathetic,caring, kind
5.Charismatic: eloquent,charismatic,dedicated,passionate
6.Resilient: determined,persevering, resilient,accomplished,
7.Reliable:loyal,true,reliable
8.Inspiring: admirable,inspirational

Below are some of the rescuers people who helped Jews during the war. Would you consider these people heroic? Read about these individuals and think about the traits that these people display-all of the above?

Oskar Schindler:
Read about Oskar Schindler here:
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/schindler/
http://www.oskarschindler.com/thesitemap.htm
http://www.oskarschindler.dk/legacy/content1.html



Go to Flickers of Light at Yad Vashem to read about these people.
Dr. Adelaide Hautval
Jerzy Bielecki
Ludwig Worl
Dr. Ella Lingens
Jerzy Pozimiski

Go to this link at Yad Vashem to read about Muslims who helped to rescue Jews.

Read here for information about the people of Le Chambon

Read about Varian Fry the American journalist

The Americans Marthe and Waitstill

PROPAGANDA and ACTS OF HATRED

As a review to our readings about Kristallnacht- watch the following clips. Take notes so that you know when this occurred who was targeted by whom and why. Note the damage and explain how this became part of the racist state that Hitler was creating in Germany.What choices were people forced to make? What was the impact and effect of Kristallnacht for Jews and for the non-Jewish German population?



Part 5: Again note the choices families were forced to make.



What messages had been given to the public to allow events such as Kristalnacht to occur without huge objections? Watch the following clips to understand the role of propaganda.

Propaganda, according to the dictionary (Oxford) is 'chiefly derogatory information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view : he was charged with distributing enemy propaganda.'









Watch the following clips that show accounts of Kristalnacht: