Middle ages understanding

"To maintain control, you must have power."

In my opinion, I think is that yes, to remain in control, you must have to be in power of something that the ones you are trying to control care about, either in power of something to do with politics, or even brute strength and fear, all are in the arsenal of a dictator or ruler's weaponry. For example, Hitler would never have gained so much control over such a large population of europe if it wasn't for his already-existing public power as a WWI war veteran (as people generally respected those veterans), and his uncanny natural charisma, which gained him more support from people, and from support, he gained power of the people. With this, he became the chancellor of Germany, and later on, the Dictator, complete ruler. After politically stable and powerful, had access to the large military power that Germany possessed, Hitler would then be able to pose a threat to people who opposed his ideas.  

Events of 1066

The death of King Edward "The Confessor" created a large dispute between three powerful men, each with their own story and claim to the throne. Of the three, I think that Harold Godwinson had the rightful place to the throne. For one, Harold Godwinson was a Powerful man, being the leader of the army, and also being the Earl of Wessex. In addition to that, Harold was already part of the royal family, as King Edward had Married Harold Godwinson's sister. Also, King Edward, before his unfortunate death, had chosen Harold Godwinson as his successor. Unlike Duke William's claim that King Edward has promised him the throne (somewhat twelve prior to the events of 1066), the promise King Edward made to Harold was recent, and there is no mistake that the throne was promised to Harold Godwinson.

Values and Choices

Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?


One example of bullying I had witnessed this year, was when a friend of mine went and knocked another one of my friends to the floor ( more like, shoved him, it didn't hurt too much), and then grabbed his legs, and dragged him around. Why he did this, still remains a mystery to me.I'm pretty ashamed about how I responded, I just kind of stood there and laughed at him, but I did eventually go and help him out. I wish I had immediately went and helped him out, instead of laughing first. I guess I didn't react the way I should have first was because I thought it was a joke, but when I decided that enough was enough, I did stand up.

Respond to the questions below
1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

One example of exclusion is like when Peeta wanted to be excluded from the team training with Katniss. Or like the Jewish community being ostracized at the Auschwitz Nazi Death Camp.


The In-Group


1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.

"Often, being accepted by others is far more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, though that satisfaction does not last. Too often, our actions are determined by the moment" was the final quote which deeply moved me, as I thought this was a good, short description to what normally happens in a bullying situation, like how people normally becomes a bystander, or even a perpetrator.

To think about:
How is ostracism different from other forms of bullying? When does ostracizing or excluding someone from a group become part of bullying?

1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?

Eve's incident here is familiar in a way that it was similar to the holocaust, and how people who didn't actually support Hitler ended up actually supporting him, because everybody else was doing it, an they didn't want to seem like an outcast.

2.What surprised you?


It surprised me that Eve laughed when she read the diary of another girl, as she was also a victim of bullying, and would know how it felt like, and would not easily forget it.

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer.


Yes, Eva was, in a way, bullied by other people, and I don't think that laughing at the girl's diary FULLY counts as bullying. Bullying is defined by any action that made other people feel bad- mentally or psychically. The whispering behind Eve's back made her feel bad, therefore rendering it as bullying, however, her laughing at the other girl's diary was a sort of human nature which Eve didn't mean to let loose.

Psychologists Michael Thompson and Lawrence Cohen point to the powerful influence of peer groups in guiding our behavior: ‘We all know that groups can go terribly astray in terms of their moral reasoning. Everyone not in the group can be considered an outsider, a legitimate target…It affects every group because we are all prone to that feeling of us versus them and the idea that if you’re not with us you’re against us. Speaking out against a risky, immoral or illegal decision is hard to do because that makes you an outsider yourself’.

4.How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident?


Say Eve was to stand up for the girl being mocked, she might also be mocked. Maybe for being "too sensitive" or something. And I guess the response still troubled her because she knew that she was wrong, and is ashamed that she was once hypocritical to her anti bullying cause.

5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean?


She means that it's in the human nature to get what they want immediately, and we don't really think about things in the lon run, and that we tend to do things foolishly and without thinking it through.

Schindler’s List

What makes a person a hero? their actions? their intentions? Personally, I think that a persons actions, AND intentions make a person a hero. If a person does something heroic, but for their own selfish needs, I wouldn't think that's heroic. If a person thinks all day about being heroic, but just sits there and does nothing, I wouldn't define that as very heroic, either. Schinder here, in my opinion, is torn between being a hero, and being a little selfish. He acted for the good of the people, but at the same time, receiving some workers for himself. So it was kind of a win-win situation, therefore, masking his true intentions.

VICTORY

I chose this poem by Sonia Weitz, Because it was a rather touching tale, with a turn of events from melancholy, to a feeling of triumph. The poem basically tells a tale of her and her father sharing a moment before they were taken away from each other, then being reunited, thus explaining the title "Victory", as they were victorious in the figurative "battle" against the nazis to stay together.What I enjoyed most, of the poem, was probably the title, which I think was short, yet it explains a lot. Maybe Sonia could have called it something like "The last meeting" or " The lat moments", but Sonia decided to think a little more positively. In the poem, she states that her father was " Once big and strong" which we thought meant that they were being rather malnourished in the concentration camps, and that she even accepted that she was "condemned to die" (in the death camps). I felt rather touched that her father (knowing they were to be executed) wanted to spend as much time as possible with his daughter. "There are no tools to measure love and only fools would fail to scale your victory." was, I guess, a way for her to say " don't give up", and to express how a bond between a father and his child is strong, and is not easy to break. After reading this poem, I felt first of all, touched, due to the love Sonia's Father shows to her, and secondly, I felt rather more sensitive towards the holocaust, knowing what kind of pain it brought to people. A connection I can make to this poem, was on a much smaller scale than this. I was about four or five, and my father had brought me to an electrical appliances store. Not wanting to walk anymore, I asked my dad if I could find a place to sit down. He agreed, but told me that he was going to go and look around in a nearby store. With my short term five year old memory, I forgot where he went and decided to go find him. When I couldn't find him, I got nervous. Long story short, My dad found me sitting on the floor, bawling my eyes out, with stammered "Dad"s escaping my mouth every few seconds.

Germany 1918-1933

The rise of Hitler and his nazis was mainly caused by two things; Hitler's act of understanding the pain which the people which he was trying to appeal to, and Hitler's ability to take advantage of situations to help his own cause. With his own charismatic personality, and the economical crisis with the Treaty of Versailles, it was not difficult for Hitler to make a few promises saying he would make life better for everybody, and have the crowd immediately agree to what he was saying, and vote for the Nazi party. Secondly, Hitler used every opportunity he got to either gain himself more votes, or make it harder for other political parties (like the social democratic party and communist party) to gain votes. An example of this is the Reichstag Fire, which Hitler blamed on the communists, which, in turn gave him an opportunity to antagonize communists and gain popularity for himself.

The Nuremberg Laws

The Nuremberg Laws. In 1935 a series of laws were introduced which further restricted the civil rights and personal freedoms of Jews. Upon reading the information provided on the link, answer these questions:

1. Who could now be defined as a "Jew"?
Jews were defined by anybody who had three or more ancestors with a Jewish background, religion, way of living, etc.

2. What was meant by "Aryanizing" Jewish Businesses?
Aryanizing ment that any Jewish person doing business; managers and employees alike, were replaced by "non-Jews" by the Nazis.

3. How were Jews who were professionals (lawyers, doctors etc.) restricted?
Professionals with a Jewish background were not allowed to practice their professions with non-jews. For example, Jewish doctors were prohibited from treating non-jews, and lawyers were unable to practice law.

4. What did Jewish identity cards need to include now?
Jewish identity cards had a large, red "J" stamped on them, and each person were given stereotypical Jewish middle names. These were all done to help police identify and find Jews easily.

5. What was the "Law for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of The German People"? (sum up in your own words)
The discussed law is one to prevent a mother passing a disease on to a child, and therefore harming the German population. Engaged couples are required to have a medical check-up from health authorities. The couple who received a fitness certificate (which marks the couple as untainted, and healthy) would be allowed to marry. Any couple who failed to get a fitness certificate, however, would not be allowed to marry.