My after school students are watching a movie on the holocaust. And then one just asked me....

[Bucky]

Dialog with three 16 year olds.

Maria: "Mister, what did the Jewish people do to the Germans that they wanted to kill them off like that?"

"Uh, um... Well, it's complicated..." (I say that too much in my classes) "It's, uh, like they were scapegoated."

"So it's just prejudice, like we did to the black people?"

"Well, it's a little different, but yes, there's a lot of that kind of hatred in the world."

Carlos: "So we really can't say anything about them being hypocrites, cause we were like hypocrites too, right?"

"Well, you have to study whatever bad things people do in the past... The nazis killed like 9 million people altogether"

"Oh, sure, I mean, we didn't do anything that bad, but still."

"Right, slavery's bad and all..."

"But it's not the same as killin' 'em all. It's so whack."

Lorena (whining) "Ohhh, it's so sad, misterrrr..."

"I'm sorry, Lorena. I guess all the comedies about the Holocaust were already rented out. "

"Uy. I liked the stuff about the New Deal better."

I swear to God, next time I agree to show them a movie on a Friday, we're watching Transformers II.

The movie, by the way, is The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

[HopeHoops]

1. The answer is simple - "Just watch FOX News - same thing"

[kentauros]

2. Show them Grave of the Fireflies next time.

They'll be crying so much they'll be rendered unable to ask any questions :P

[Duer 157099]

3. If you want to show them an actually uplifting film about that time period

Show them "I Am David"

edited to correct the title!

[jonnyblitz]

4. "Fateless" is an outstanding hungarian movie about a jewish

boy and his concentration camp experience. it is based on a book and it is outstanding and really depicts the utter awfulness like no other, IMO. this movie bothered me for some time after seeing it. :(

here is the trailer for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aifZLtzLdU

"the boy in the striped pajamas" is a good movie as well. the theater i was in for that movie remained dead silent at the very end and even after the final credits started rolling. people were just stunned at that jaw dropping ending.

[KT2000]

5. One reason I liked

Saving Private Ryan is because it shows that people make choices. Most holocaust movies miss the point of the many people who made the choice to go along.

But the response from your students is pretty pathetic. By the time I got to high school I had learned so much about the holocaust (starting at age 5) I had to say - no more. The fact that your students are so unaware proves the point of "we must never forget."

[phasma ex machina]

6. Paraphrasing Braveheart - An attack on G-d's chosen people is an attack on G-d. nt

[Drunken Irishman]

7. Do you work at a really bad version of Boston Public?

:P

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. Umm, I don't see the problem.

First student asked an immature and naive question. But was still a good question.

Others compared and contrasted the holocaust with other great human rights crimes, and in a thoughtful way.

The conversation ended with a somewhat witty rejoinder.

Sounds like your choice in movies stimulated some good thought. Exactly what cinema in the classroom is supposed to do.

[greenbriar]

9. Europa Europa is also a good one

the Nuremberg Trials is also a movie to watch about the Holocaust

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[vadawg]

11. rofl WTF must be an interesting backstory here...

[soleiri]

12. i was about to get the popcorn out

But I'm too sleepy.

I bet it'll be deleted by morning.

[greenbriar]

13. what kind of crap is this?

?

[RedCappedBandit]

14. wat

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. What is this I don't even.

[UndertheOcean]

16. I think you overuse the word "like"

[txwhitedove]

17. Bucky, as a parent I would thank you for opening the dialog about

the Holocaust. Boy in the Striped Pajamas has a powerful message about how hate is taught. My own children threw a fit when I firmly introduced an old movie to watch, To Kill a Mockingbird. “Do we have toooooo? It’s in black and white???” Now 20-years later it is a fond memory and they thank me.

;)