Communism v Capitalism

We know a bit about all the things communism has done to the world and what capitalism has done to the world so here I propose first off which is better for the people, then for the country, and then for the world.

Can the crimes Japanese committed be justified?

Maybe some of you don't know how Chinese hate Japanese. Japan has committed unforgivable crimes in China back to late 1930s. The Nanjing Massacre is known to everyone. After eighty years, Japan still held hatred towards China. Just recently, Japan tried to annex Diaoyu Island, which was close to Japan and Taiwan. Diaoyu Island has a important military position: the seas around the island have rich oil resource underneath. But the Western powers have influenced Japan in many ways since the war. Can the crimes Japan committed be justified? Do you have sympathy towards Japan?

We all know that all of the axis powers were tried for war crimes at the end of WWII but none of the allies. The allies have also committed many war crimes. The US did some terrible things in Japan. This isn't including the nukes dropped on Nagasaki or Hiroshima. I am referring to all the instances of slaughter of Japanese people who surrendered. Usually US soldiers would kill them whether they surrendered or not which is a major war crime as well as the mutilation of corpses from the aftermath of the battles between the US and Japan(Battle of Guadalcanal). It was reported that 60% of the dead Japanese soldiers were missing skulls. This is a war crime as denoted in The 1907 Hague Convention and the Geneva Conventions. Do you think that the war crimes the allies committed were justifiable in any way? Also do you think that it is fair for war crime trials to be held under the London Charter(the thing that only persecuted axis powers)? Why do you think we tend to ignore these things?

"Ground Zero 1945: A Schoolboy's Story"

What was your reaction to Ground Zero 1945: A Schoolboy's Story?  And, based on what we've read so far, do you think it was okay for the U.S to bomb Japan?


For me, personally, I read the BBC handout "Nuclear Power: The End of the war Against Japan" and was persuaded that using nuclear weapons was a good decision and that the loss of 140,00 people was not as bad compared to the estimated number of casualties for both sides had the U.S. invaded.  But then, I read the story.  The images and the simple storyline brought me close to tears.  The illustrations depict the immediate destruction brought on by the bombs and the pain and terror inflicted on so many innocent people.     

Morality In Warfare?

Here is a link to a great documentary with Robert McNamara. McNamara was the Secretary of Defense under Truman and in this interview he is answering some tough questions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gekdt0QwFQw

So, do you think there should be morality in warfare? Is there room for morality in war? Would you do something that you knew would be a 'war crime' just to ensure victory?

Hitler Really Isn't All That Bad

Ok Hitler was really bad, but the title did catch your attention.

After what Ms.Stuart shared with us about Eugenics being very prominent in the late 19th/20th centuries, it kind of seems as though Hitler wasn't doing anything that hadn't already been done; instead he was doing what most other powerful countries were doing: "sterilizing inferiors" to make their country better. This raised a question that I though would be interesting to here your view on: Is Hitler really the evil being he's made out to be?   Say you were a martian and you were studying the period of time on earth AS A WHOLE would you feel as though at the time such views/actions were ok?  Yes he committed mass genocide, created concentration camps, and all that bad stuff ; however, these were all things that had been done before. He just took it to the extreme. In spite of all that negativity, he saved Germany from completely falling under, gave people hope, and was all for racial unity... Of course I don't think the bad out weighs the good, I'm just trying to get everyone to look at the situation from another viewpoint.  

What did you guys think of the ending of Maus? Do you think that Artie progressed throughout the comic? How do you think the story changed the relationship between Artie and his father?

Relationship between Vladek and Artie

Now that we have come pretty close to finishing Maus, do you think that Artie and his father have a good "father to son" relationship? Why/Why not?

Eugenics Movements and Genocides (...the Nazis weren't alone)

Ideally, I would've liked to talk about this in class, but since we are a bit behind schedule as is, I thought I'd post it here.

I think sometimes when we study the Holocaust in isolation, we get the impression that this was all the result of one man's evil, or perhaps the evil of a select and isolated group.  But here's the thing:  the Nazis were hardly the only ones coming up with some really disturbing ideas about "racial fitness."  From the late nineteenth centuries (post-Darwin) up to the Holocaust, these ideas were widely accepted.

Throughout the 1920s, the U.S. was actually the "world leader" in Eugenics (the "science" of good breeding/biological fitness).  Forced sterilization was practiced in many U.S. states and approved of by the U.S. Supreme Court.  You can read about it here.  In fact, in North Carolina, this continued into the late 1960s; they targeted lower-class African Americans.  You can read about that here.

Concentration camps weren't invented by the Germans either; they were used first by the British during the Boer War in South Africa.  (Though these weren't death camps, many people died of starvation and disease inside them). --thanks to Gabbi for reminding me of this one.

Nor was the Holocaust the first mass genocide.  The Armenian genocide, which happened during WWI, was a systematic effort by the Ottoman Turks to eradicate the Armenian people.  1 million Armenians lost their lives, and the Turkish government still denies the whole thing ever happened.  (Google it.)

So the Holocaust is exceptional in its scale, but not necessarily in other ways.  Given this, why do you think we focus so much on the Holocaust?  Do you think removing the Holocaust from this late nineteenth and early twentieth century context (wherein the ideas that motivated it are not that unusual) is a bad idea? 

Porcupines?

Following up on the idea of the outer frame story, I found it very interesting that the first thing that popped into Artie's head when asked how the Israeli Jews would be portrayed was porcupines.  It sort of makes sense in that the Israelis are very protective of their nation as porcupines use their spines to defend their territory; however, there are many other options for what the Israelis could be drawn as.  What do you think the Israelis could be depicted as, and why would you think that?

HOW TO DISCUSS: Should we incorporate the Ball?

So today I have been thinking about the use of the ball at our Maus discussions. We, both sections, have officially decided to ditch the ball at the beginning of the year; however, it has made its triumphant return (coincidentally near the start of Major League Baseball) and has received mixed feelings from my classmates and I on its return.

Personally, I think the ball creates more issues with people solely trying to get their points out and receiving a good grade for the discussion by getting out their points from earlier while waiting just to get the ball. Basically: less disscussing and more focus on just yourself.

However, being high school, some people are scared to speak at an open-fire live debate between screaming factions such as myself (I get too heated at times) and other bold peers. So the ball can also create comfortable speaking environments as well as all ideas being layed out.

IF YOU CAN'T READ: The discussing ball... Should we use it? YES or NO? And WHY?

My Father Bleeds History

Based on what we have read in Maus so far (book I), do you think Vladek is generally happy that Art is writing about him? What evidence formed your opinion? If you think he does not particularly like the fact Art is writing about him, what does that say about their relationship?

Maus

Why do you think Spiegelman chose to make the jewish people mice in the book? Do you think that there were specific reasons or connections between the people and the type of animal their character was portrayed as in the book?

Treaty of Versailles

Going off of our discussion during class, do you think that Hitler would have come to power if the Treaty of Versailles hadn't existed/ was a lot less severe?

Appeasement

Are you pro or anti-appeasement? Why?

Maus

What do you think about Maus? Do you think that the comic book style helps bring the story to life, or do you think that the panels are just distracting? And how does the narrative change your view of the story- do you like how it is a reflection of what has already happened or not?

Great Documentary

This is and always will be my favorite WWII documentary, and I think it is definitely worth watching. This link is just to an episode that outlines the beginnings of WWII, but there are more episodes that expand on Hitler's background and so on. Plus it's in color so it's easier to relate to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo4CNMlp6hU&list=PL152E8D1B0EBF9E87&feature=player_embedded

Hitler

Do you think Hitler was ultimately good for Germany, or bad? Explain.