The Mysterious Mayor..

From the story we read today in Humanities (The Mysterious Major)...

When Schmahling said that he destroyed something in himself when he crushed that boy in his classroom, he must have regretted it really badly. When he didn't let the boy speak, he felt a really strong connection with what the Nazis were doing at that time with the Jews, since they didn't have the right to speak up for themselves, and I guess this is why he stopped his rude behavior and changed completely. He didn't want to be seen as a mean and grumpy person. This is why he spent the rest of his life helping people (Jews) because he knew what they were doing to them was nowhere near fair.

Victory.. By Sonia Weitz

From all the poems we saw today, I had to choose "Victory" as it appealed so much to me. I think that Sonia and her father had a really close connection, and even though they were already dealing with problems (being in a concentration camp) her dad showed his appreciation towards her. I think she chose the title to demonstrate the only thing Nazis couldn't take away from them, which was LOVE. I liked the way Sonia wrote the poem in a way to explain the feelings she had while they danced together, specially when she talks about how everything around them stopped for that moment. The only perfect moment for them. Although this poem doesn't have any connection with my life, I believe that if I had gone through what Sonia went through, it obviously would have been a terrible experience for me, as I am really connected with my family and I wouldn't have taken the pain of being away for them. That is why I chose this poem, because it explains how strong she was even in the worst circumstance, and how love can take you anywhere.

Germany 1918-1933

Adolf Hitler was a very powerful mand, He made a LOT of changes in Germany. But, you start to wonder how exactly he got so powerful and victorious in such a short period of time.. There are so many things he took advantage of, some many events that helped him rise to power. The Treaty of Versailles. In 1919, after the Great War ended, a treaty between Germany, the UK, France and others, was made in order to end all conflicts from the war and to make peace. Unfortunately, as the treaty stated, Germany was blamed for most of the damage caused, and was forced to pay for repairs. They had no other choice but to sign the treaty. Of course the German people were not happy with this, and they were constantly waiting for someone to help. That's when Hitler saw this as his great opportunity to convince people of his power. He made people believe he would bring Germany's pride back, and become strong again. People believed. They just wanted a brighter future ahead of them. Another event that helped Hitler's rise to power, was the Reichstag Fire (1933). Even when Hitler was already deeply powerful, he still wanted more. This event was used to convince Germans that the Nazis were the only party that would actually help raise Germany back to happiness, by blaming the fire on the Communists. All of his followers believed on this acclamation. That's when all the others were taken away from Hitler's Game, leaving him in TOTAL power over Germany.

Restrictive Laws In Nazi Germany!

“The Nuremberg laws.”

Who could now be defined as a Jew? Someone would be classified as a jew if they had at least 3 jewish grandparents. Even if that person wasn't practicing judaism anymore, or if they had changed religion. They would also be pointed as Jews.

What was meant by “Aryanizing” Jewish word businesses? Aryanizing the Jewish business meant that the Jewish people would not be able to work or sell anything. The non-jewish germans would take over it and eventually change the prices.

How were Jews who were professionals (lawyers, doctors, etc.) restricted? Any jew who practiced as a doctor was not allowed to treat non-jewish people. And lawyers were not able to practice or work.

How were Jewish identity cards needed to include? The identity cards were meant for every german. But these were different with the jews. They would mark all the cards with a big red "J" to make policemen recognize easily who was a jew and who wasn't. As an addition to that, Jewish had to change their names. If they were males they had to have "Israel". If female, it was "Sara".

What was the “Law for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of the German People”? (Sum it in your own words).. The L.P.H.H.G.P. was meant to help the german race healthy and powerful. If two people (man and woman) wanted to have children, they would have to be authorized by the public health department to see if they had the material, in other words, if they were healthy enough to have a baby. The reason of this, was to have the healthiest offsprings to keep all germans the same (healthy and powerful).

Hitler Takes Control: Targeting the Communists and other Political Parties.

1) What are civil rights? Civil rights are rights the government puts on us so that we can live a civil life in the nation without any discrimination or corruption.

2) What are some that we have? Some civil rights that are found in many countries all over the world, are freedom of speech, freedom to vote, privacy and freedom.

3) Why might some of Hitler's measures in abolishing personal freedoms and Civil Rights be seen by some as a positive, or necessary move? Hitler made people believe the building was set on fire because of the communists, so all the blame had to go on them. The payback for the communists was to get rid of all their rights, which meant no privacy and no freedom of speech. Thus hitler then decided to send them all to the first concentration camp in Dachau.

Treaty Of Versailles (Fair or Unfair)

When I looked at the Treaty of Versailles, I was able to see it in different ways. Not only was it an unfair treaty for Germany but also the 'big step' towards World War II. My reasons for this are many, and here are some. First of all, the treaty stated that Germany was the only responsible for the Great War, which it wasn't. For that matter, they were to get a small quantity of arms and other warfare equipment, along with a limited amount of soldiers. This made Germany weaker than all the surrounding countries. This wasn't a fair thing to do as it made Germany vulnerable from anyone more powerful than her. Secondly, this country had to pay for all the damage caused during The Great War. This is a big mistake as Germany clearly didn't make all the destruction by itself. Other countries contributed to the destruction of land and buildings, but Germany was the only one blamed. Germany suffered many years by these conditions, but they of course didn't agree and waited for the perfect moment to get revenge. That is why 20 years after the treaty was signed, Adolf Hitler decided to take a stand and get revenge. The World War II began. As you can see now, the treaty meant to be the beginning of "peace" turned out to be the cause of the next world war and caused even more deaths that the first one.

How do we know what is moral?

First of all, being moral is being concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and goodness or badness of human character. For me, being moral a huge thing I have to achieve. My religion, Catholicism, tells me to follow the right path and reach morality, which leads you to heaven, where God waits for us. If you, instead choose to go the opposite way, to immorality, then you will never be happy, and you will go to hell. To recognize someone as a moral person, they have to follow certain rules. They have to be nice to others, and they can't hurt them. You also have to stay happy and be honest at all times. This is what being moral means to me.