The evidence of the memorial is that it shows what really happened in the War and that things this extreme went on and how the camps were such a horrible place. There is definitely some bias because obviously they wanted to leave the camps as a memorial to show how evil Germany was and how far they really went to torture a group of people who were just used as a scapegoat for Germany's problems. The website in a way counts a monument because it is evidence of history and it shows what happened in World War II.
Showing posts with label USHMM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USHMM. Show all posts
Thursday, April 29, 2010
MAP MAPS AND MORE MAPS
It was because the Nazi's had geographic advantage it allowed them to fight longer in the war then they did in World War I. One on the Geographic advantages is that they did not have concentration camps in Germany so it shows that they had they art of deception and that their enemies did not know where the camps were so it took them longer and made them fight Germany/Nazi's longer.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
CHECK OUT the animated maps on the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website. WATCH at least five. TAKE NOTES on the history being presented. Note also the role of geography. Then ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1. FORMULATE a thesis about the role of geography in the Holocaust that uses at least two of the maps as evidence. WRITE UP a defense of your thesis that explicitly references the information presented in the animated maps.
2. This resource comes to us from a museum – and a self-proclaimed memorial museum at that. What evidence of memorial do you see in these maps? What bias might the information be presented under? What assumptions, if any, is the website making about its visitors and what does that tell you about the memorial. Does a website – and a museum – count as a monument? WRITE UP your answer.
Europe, a large continent, has many countries. Because they are so close together, Germany and the Nazis were capable of slowly taking over the countries that surrounded Germany. Because they had their army prepared, they were able to take over Poland and France quickly. As the Nazis were uprising, they started the Holocaust and deported thousands of Jews to hundreds of different concentration camps. In the Warsaw Map, most Jews were occupied in Poland, or more specifically, Warsaw. When German forces took over in 1939, they forced the Jews into Ghettos where they had to struggle for survival everyday. In 1941, Jews were deported to the Ghetto from surrounding communities. In 1942, Germans forced massive deportations of the Jews to go to the Treblinka extermination camps, about 50 miles north of Warsaw. When the deportees got to the Treblinka camp, most of them were killed. As the war wore on, allied forces were able to take over some concentration camps and liberate the prisoners. For example, in the “Liberation of Nazi Camps” video, the Soviet Union advanced on Germany and took them by surprise. Because of the sudden attack, the Germans attempted to hide their brutalities by demolishing their camps. They were able to liberate Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec killing centers in 1944. Because Germany was between certain Allied Forces, they were able to liberate certain camps that Germans were just not able to protect. As the Liberators worked their way into Germany, the more camps they were able to free.
In all memorials and monuments, there is a bias to make the audience believe what is the artist’s belief. Even if the belief is true, it is a form of propaganda. The memorial is to show the people who visit how good or bad something is. For example, the Holocaust museum is obviously biased towards the Allied Forces, or the victors of World War II. It is biased in the way to make the viewer pity the victims of the Holocaust and glorify the allied forces. The images they show to the visitors at the museum are meant to make them feel disgusted at the German’s actions. I think that it is a monument because it respects all of the dead Jews who had to suffer through the viciousness of the Holocaust.
1. FORMULATE a thesis about the role of geography in the Holocaust that uses at least two of the maps as evidence. WRITE UP a defense of your thesis that explicitly references the information presented in the animated maps.
2. This resource comes to us from a museum – and a self-proclaimed memorial museum at that. What evidence of memorial do you see in these maps? What bias might the information be presented under? What assumptions, if any, is the website making about its visitors and what does that tell you about the memorial. Does a website – and a museum – count as a monument? WRITE UP your answer.
Europe, a large continent, has many countries. Because they are so close together, Germany and the Nazis were capable of slowly taking over the countries that surrounded Germany. Because they had their army prepared, they were able to take over Poland and France quickly. As the Nazis were uprising, they started the Holocaust and deported thousands of Jews to hundreds of different concentration camps. In the Warsaw Map, most Jews were occupied in Poland, or more specifically, Warsaw. When German forces took over in 1939, they forced the Jews into Ghettos where they had to struggle for survival everyday. In 1941, Jews were deported to the Ghetto from surrounding communities. In 1942, Germans forced massive deportations of the Jews to go to the Treblinka extermination camps, about 50 miles north of Warsaw. When the deportees got to the Treblinka camp, most of them were killed. As the war wore on, allied forces were able to take over some concentration camps and liberate the prisoners. For example, in the “Liberation of Nazi Camps” video, the Soviet Union advanced on Germany and took them by surprise. Because of the sudden attack, the Germans attempted to hide their brutalities by demolishing their camps. They were able to liberate Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec killing centers in 1944. Because Germany was between certain Allied Forces, they were able to liberate certain camps that Germans were just not able to protect. As the Liberators worked their way into Germany, the more camps they were able to free.
In all memorials and monuments, there is a bias to make the audience believe what is the artist’s belief. Even if the belief is true, it is a form of propaganda. The memorial is to show the people who visit how good or bad something is. For example, the Holocaust museum is obviously biased towards the Allied Forces, or the victors of World War II. It is biased in the way to make the viewer pity the victims of the Holocaust and glorify the allied forces. The images they show to the visitors at the museum are meant to make them feel disgusted at the German’s actions. I think that it is a monument because it respects all of the dead Jews who had to suffer through the viciousness of the Holocaust.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Holocaust Maps
While it may have been German ideals that inspired and motivated the holocaust, it was their geography that allowed it to become so widespread and devastating. Had Germany been in a more isolated area such as Britain, the Holocaust would have been more like a civil war. However, the concentration camps would have been less easily liberated had Germany not been in so central a location.
The maps in "WWII and the holocaust" showed how Germany expanded out in virtually all directions around itself, stopping only where land borders or alliances prevented them. While Germany did , massively bomb England, on the map England remained blue, or Allied, the entire time. Because the Germans had to cross the channel to take England, it was much more difficult, and was not accomplished. However, they did control almost all of Western Europe. Because of this, they were perfectly set up for a mass genocide.
Because Germany controlled so much of Europe, they could go in and kill the Jews or deport them without any resistance from local government, because the Nazis made themselves the government everywhere.
When the camps were liberated (as shown in the "liberation" map), many different countries assisted, but all went from the outside in. Because so many of the camps were in northern Poland, it was closest to Russia, so they were the first to reach the camps.
The Holocaust museum is extremely biased towards the side of the winners of WWII, the Allies. I agree with their bias, but it is a bias nonetheless. A museum can be a memorial or monument, if it immortalizes an event, person, or group of persons. The Holocaust museum is exactly that. The whole point of the museum is to remember those lost in the Holocaust, which I think is enough to prove that it is a memorial. The website is biased the way you would expect an American museum about the Holocaust to be: it assumes the viewer dislikes the Nazis and regrets the Holocaust. This bias is apparent in the graphic images the choose to show of dead bodies stacked in piles, or lying in pits. The message presented is: "If you don't agree the Germans were wrong, you are a sick, twisted, homicidal maniac." (Well, its not quite so in-your-face, but it says that in a subliminal way.) However, most people probably don't notice, because the vast majority of the current world does not support the genocide of the Jews, at least in America, which is the most relevant as it is home to the museum.
The maps in "WWII and the holocaust" showed how Germany expanded out in virtually all directions around itself, stopping only where land borders or alliances prevented them. While Germany did , massively bomb England, on the map England remained blue, or Allied, the entire time. Because the Germans had to cross the channel to take England, it was much more difficult, and was not accomplished. However, they did control almost all of Western Europe. Because of this, they were perfectly set up for a mass genocide.
Because Germany controlled so much of Europe, they could go in and kill the Jews or deport them without any resistance from local government, because the Nazis made themselves the government everywhere.
When the camps were liberated (as shown in the "liberation" map), many different countries assisted, but all went from the outside in. Because so many of the camps were in northern Poland, it was closest to Russia, so they were the first to reach the camps.
The Holocaust museum is extremely biased towards the side of the winners of WWII, the Allies. I agree with their bias, but it is a bias nonetheless. A museum can be a memorial or monument, if it immortalizes an event, person, or group of persons. The Holocaust museum is exactly that. The whole point of the museum is to remember those lost in the Holocaust, which I think is enough to prove that it is a memorial. The website is biased the way you would expect an American museum about the Holocaust to be: it assumes the viewer dislikes the Nazis and regrets the Holocaust. This bias is apparent in the graphic images the choose to show of dead bodies stacked in piles, or lying in pits. The message presented is: "If you don't agree the Germans were wrong, you are a sick, twisted, homicidal maniac." (Well, its not quite so in-your-face, but it says that in a subliminal way.) However, most people probably don't notice, because the vast majority of the current world does not support the genocide of the Jews, at least in America, which is the most relevant as it is home to the museum.
The Holocaust
Since Europe is such a large but connected landmass, and the Germans possessed enough force to gradually spread throughout it, Germany was able to maintain control over the killings in its land without having to worry about enemies attacking from the sides. As illustrated by the World War II overview map, after Germany began to swallow up surrounding countries, it quickly moved into Poland, intimidated other surrounding countries into alliance, and quickly invaded France. Essentially, Germany had completely secured the entire continent, except for Britain which was an isolated island. With such a broad expanse of land and railroad systems running throughout it, Germany eliminated potential boundaries that come with controlling a continent in addition to making it relatively impenetrable from the outside. This also made it extremely difficult for anyone to immigrate from Germany in order to escape the Nazis' persecution. As shown by the voyage of St. Louis, people wanting to escape had to go to extreme measures and travel overseas to another country who would accept them. Even then, they were not accepted and forced back to Europe, where the Nazi party was rapidly gaining more power.
The Holocaust Museum displays a history of the Holocaust and memorializes it by retelling the horrors of the event. The museum clearly holds the view that genocide should never happen again like the Holocaust, which is a completely valid viewpoint given the its severity. However, the bias does show, from the negative light that the subject is constantly shown in to the inflation of less significant events - the Voyage of St. Louis made the consequences seem much more severe than reality - to the details that are presented - gloomy images and death counts. Again, this is the consensus that the general public has come to, but the museum does assume that people believe that the Holocaust is a touchy issue that we all deeply regret. The museum intends people to feel this regret by painting this negative picture of the Holocaust. At some rate, it is very difficult not to have this bias, but it doesn't interfere with the basic way the Holocaust is perceived or the facts that are taught. I believe that it does qualify as a monument because it commits the Holocaust to public memory as an atrocious crime against humanity, with an intended bias, regardless of the form that it's in.
Geography's Role in the Holocaust
1.Geography was very important in the Holocaust. Geography was utilized by Nazi's to hide the atrocities they were committing by committing them outside of Germany and far away from Berlin.The Auschwitz video shows that reveals that all of the death camps were in Poland instead of Germany. The Nazi's placed these camps outside of Germany in order to hide their evil deeds from German citizens. In the Holocaust video I found another example of Germans using geography to hide their atrocities. To quote the narrator,"The Germans established ghettos in occupied eastern territories, isolating and persecuting the Jewish population". The narrator tells us that the Germans established ghettos in foreign countries, not Germany. this is a prime example of Germans using geography to hide their sins.
2.The museum is definitely attempting to be a memorial with the somber tone of its videos, and thought provoking facts about the Holocaust. The use of pictures also gives the website memorial like qualities. The website clearly is a memorial to the suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust. The information may be presented under the bias of a Jew towards the holocaust. The website assumes that its visitors believe that the Holocaust was a real thing. A website does not count as a monument because it is easily erased from existence; It is much easier to delete a website than a statue. A museum is a monument because it is a physical specimen and more times than not it will be around for a while.
2.The museum is definitely attempting to be a memorial with the somber tone of its videos, and thought provoking facts about the Holocaust. The use of pictures also gives the website memorial like qualities. The website clearly is a memorial to the suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust. The information may be presented under the bias of a Jew towards the holocaust. The website assumes that its visitors believe that the Holocaust was a real thing. A website does not count as a monument because it is easily erased from existence; It is much easier to delete a website than a statue. A museum is a monument because it is a physical specimen and more times than not it will be around for a while.
Geography. Monuments. Important Stuff.
Because European countries are situated so closely together, it made the annihilation of all Jews a comparatively simple process. All of the countries could be easily connected by railroads, as shown in the map WWII And The Holocaust. This made transportation and invasion very easy. The Germans were inclined to invade whichever countries were closest to them, because they were easy to get to. This meant that countries occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union slowly expanded out like a growing amoebea, and didn't jump around like they might have if they had been island hopping or using boats to reach their next target. Instead of carefully choosing the weakest place to strike, the Germans simply moved forward.
These maps memorialize the Holocaust by showing an obvious bias towards the Jews and other minorities who suffered and lost their lives during this mass genocide. Never once do the maps say something along the lines of, "Well, the Germans really did mean well." The museum assumes that all the visitors want to honor the memory of the victims by silently observing the cruelty of the Nazis and empathizing with their victims. My original reaction is that a website cannot be a monument, because it is not a physical entity. However, I suppose that if its sole purpose is to commemmorate a certain event or person, then it falls under our definition and is indeed a monument. A museum can be a monument, but only if it is a biased museum like the Holocausst Museum. A Museum showing soley concrete data about a certain event with absolutely no opinion is simply informative. A memorial must be honoring not only a certain event, but what that event means to the people.
These maps memorialize the Holocaust by showing an obvious bias towards the Jews and other minorities who suffered and lost their lives during this mass genocide. Never once do the maps say something along the lines of, "Well, the Germans really did mean well." The museum assumes that all the visitors want to honor the memory of the victims by silently observing the cruelty of the Nazis and empathizing with their victims. My original reaction is that a website cannot be a monument, because it is not a physical entity. However, I suppose that if its sole purpose is to commemmorate a certain event or person, then it falls under our definition and is indeed a monument. A museum can be a monument, but only if it is a biased museum like the Holocausst Museum. A Museum showing soley concrete data about a certain event with absolutely no opinion is simply informative. A memorial must be honoring not only a certain event, but what that event means to the people.
Geography in the Holocaust
The Holocaust and Hitler's plan to control the world was heavily influenced by the geography of his surrounding area. His first claim to Poland and Czechoslovakia was based on their close proximity to Germany. As illustrated in the video "World War 2 and the Holocaust," Germany conquered and allied with all the countries surrounding it, slowly spreading it's influence to all surrounding areas. They didn't just shoot through one direction, but instead extended their power out in all directions until they were stopped and pushed back. It is important to note that many Jews were moved from the edges of German power to Poland which was closer to the center of their growing empire. This may also have been because the Jewish population in Poland was "relatively numerous and densely settled." As the Soviets started cutting into Germany's territory they began to pull people out of the extermination camps in the northeast and move them further into the center their territory. As shown in the video "Liberation," the marches and transportation methods to get the Jews to the center of Germany's power were brutal. Many referred to them as "death marches." These death marches and worsening conditions of the concentration camps as more and more people packed into fewer and fewer camps killed many, many more people.
There is always a bias in memorials and monuments. A memorial by default has a good connotation, even if it commemorates something bad. It demands respect for whatever it is memorializing, whether it be a person, place, or event. It does not necessarily demand an appreciation for whatever it memorializes, but it does demand recognition for it. Even if the respect is given towards something bad like the Holocaust, a monument still requires people to respect it.
There is always a bias in memorials and monuments. A memorial by default has a good connotation, even if it commemorates something bad. It demands respect for whatever it is memorializing, whether it be a person, place, or event. It does not necessarily demand an appreciation for whatever it memorializes, but it does demand recognition for it. Even if the respect is given towards something bad like the Holocaust, a monument still requires people to respect it.
Geography's Role in the Holocaust
Geography played a role in determining the countries that were targeted by the Nazis, but improved transportation made geography less of a factor in the Holocaust. In the "WWII and the Holocaust" animated map, the Nazis first took over in countries southeast of Germany like Czechoslovakia and then moved east to capture Poland. Geography affected the countries that were taken over because Germany had to initially work away from Britain and France. The Fatherland also took over countries that were closer to its secretive ally at the time, the Soviet Union. Germany had to start out with the bordering countries and build a bigger empire before venturing across the many miles to take over France. We learned that during the Industrial Revolution Europe built many railroads. As shown by "Railroads," most of the extermination camps during the Holocaust were located close to cities with Jewish populations of over 40,000 and were in the thick of Europe's railroad system. The segment "Rescue" made me believe that during the 1930s and 1940s technology and transportation had improved enough to negate geographical advantages and disadvantages. Even though Denmark's government succumbed to Germany the Danish were still able to move many Jews to neutral Sweden by boat. There were also secretive escape routs all the way in France leading out to Spain. The great distances covered by the escapees and types of geography overcome show how the layout of the land (or water) was less of an issue.
I could definitely sense an aspect of memorial in the animated maps through the still images on screen. It's hard to believe but there are a lot of people who downplay the horrors of the Holocaust, and others don't even believe it happened. The USHMM assumes that the people who view the website see the Holocaust as a tragic event and, as shown by the definition of the Holocaust in the segment "WWII and the Holocaust" was the "systematic killing." Museums definitely count as monuments, probably more of memorials, but museums will have more bias than a more simple statue.
This represents exactly 30 minutes of work.
World War II: A Geographer's Delight
1. Geography played a large role in World War 2. The concentration camps and ghettos were already strategically located in barren wastelands. Germany was centered between many different European powers which gave them easy access to the places they wanted to fight, but also gave its enemies an easier chance to attack them. Germany controlled many areas throughout Europe, but obviously it wasn't enough since they lost the war.
Also in the liberation maps, each country liberated the camps that were closest to where they were fighting. Russia to the east, and England to the west. The USA, who were from far away helped out with camps all over europe.
2. A museum can be considered a memorial or monument because there are many historical artifacts at museums that remember the achievements, or in this case the tragedies of history. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum remembers all the people who were killed and how big of a tragedy it truly was. There is an american bias on the maps that I saw. In the liberation maps, it only briefly mentioned all the camps Russia helped with, but went in depth of all the camps that the USA helped. While the number was almost the same, the time that they talked about the USA was far more than the time it talked about Russia or England.
Also in the liberation maps, each country liberated the camps that were closest to where they were fighting. Russia to the east, and England to the west. The USA, who were from far away helped out with camps all over europe.
2. A museum can be considered a memorial or monument because there are many historical artifacts at museums that remember the achievements, or in this case the tragedies of history. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum remembers all the people who were killed and how big of a tragedy it truly was. There is an american bias on the maps that I saw. In the liberation maps, it only briefly mentioned all the camps Russia helped with, but went in depth of all the camps that the USA helped. While the number was almost the same, the time that they talked about the USA was far more than the time it talked about Russia or England.
Geography and the Holocaust
1) While the Nazi Party hunted and rounded up Jews throughout Europe, they also had to fight a two front war between France and Russia. This circumstance made it essential that Germany place its concentration camps carefully. Since Jews were scattered throughout all of Europe, they set up "mini-camps" for Jew collection and then transported them on trains across Europe to the center concentration camps, such as Dachau and Auschwitz. Dachau was located in southern Gewrmany, while Auschwitz was located in west Poland. Germany located these camps in central Europe to increase their isolation and decrease their accessibility. Although the Allied forces continued to close in on both the west and eastern fronts, Germany's main camps remained in the middle, untouchable for a over a decade. This geographical tactic of the Germans also helped hide the numbers of Jews killed.
2) Clearly, the website containing these video-maps commemorates the Holocaust as a horrible tragedy. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum created/sponsors this website, implying that its features aim to reveal the evil nature of the Holocaust and the unfair treatment of Jews. The statistics that each video presents are valid and clearly emphasize that Jews and other minorities were immensely executed unjustly and savagely. However, were all of the people sent to these camps innocent? Most of them probably were, but there were surely German citizens who were sent as a punishment for their crimes. The videos assume that its viewers sympathizes towards the Holocaust (which the vast majority does indeed), which is a fair assumption (the videos were probably not created to prove anything to non-Holocaust-believers). The website and its contents definitely memorialize the Holocaust. The videos take on a somber tone and use statistics to cut to the bare truth: 6 million Jews were killed, along with millions more minorities. Monuments commemorate something - the website commemorates the Holocausts not with placards or statues, but with hard facts presented in video form on a museum's website. It is the same as a museum, only in electronic form. These very facts that make the Holocaust the horror as we remember it today.
Geography and the Holocaust
The geography in Europe made the Nazis' lives much easier during the Holocaust. There's no chance of even trying to control the world if you are not in contact with or in a very close proximity to the countries that are the first target. It makes it easier to invade a country when it is just a train ride away. "World War II and the Holocaust," displayed just how convenient it was to go to a surrounding country with the railroad situation. Germany never would have made it as far as they did in the war, or even attempted to do so if the geography were not more perfect for them. Germany was able to go in just about any direction, as there was nothing holding them back. The addition of a plan like Germany's and the perfect geographical situation made it possible for Germany to achieve what they did in WWII.
As it is difficult to present information about something as horrific as the Holocaust without a strong opinion about how it went, there is certainly a bias at the USHMM. Their website will of course display the same opinions that the creators have in the museum. I think that it is easy to look over the bias and disregard it because such a strong percentage of the viewers of the museum or the website most likely agree with what the people of the USHMM have to say. To show the Holocaust in a certain light and to go into grueling detail about how each person was brutally murdered during the Holocaust definitely presents bias. There are facts and statistics in the Holocaust that do not tend to have as much impact on people hearing about it, but they still do not lie, and they give a true understanding of just how bad the Holocaust was. I think the USHMM is a monument because it brings a memory of what happened during the Holocaust.
Holocaust Museum Memorial Maps
The most important geography during the Holocaust was how Germany was laid out and where the Nazis strategically placed their concentration camps to ensure the most harm to the minorities. Most ghettos and concentration camps were located in the east, where they "isolated and persecuted the Jewish population." The fact that many concentration camps were located in Poland, away from central Germany, is significant because it is a way for the Germans to torture the Jews in these camps without drawing much attention to themselves. Had the camps been in the middle of a big city, Germans who were against Nazism would see the horrors being done, and most likely protest or cause another sort of trouble. Germans knew Jews were being tortured, but by having the concentration camps so far away, it was a very vague and distant idea, and the German citizens would not have believed anything could be done. In addition, the Germans had also smartly placed a larger concentration camp in the middle of German. When the German territory started to shrink when the Soviet Union and the Allied powers started to win the war, "transports from evacuated camps arrived continuously at Dachau," the central camp. The fact that Nazis put so much thought in their placement of the camps showed just how intent they were on harming the Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies and other minorities.
I thought it was very clear that the maps were from a Holocaust memorial site. A lot of what the videos said were horrific statistics ("two in every three Jews were killed") that showed just how terrible the Holocaust was. Not to mention the pictures shown of Jews being forced to work, dead bodies laying in a pile, and masses and masses of starving people. I think the website already assumed people knew about the Holocaust and knew it was bad, but wanted to show pictures and statistics to emphasize just how bad it really was. I think this is really common in what memorials do. The main goal of a memorial is to make people feel emotion for what is being commemorated. Some monuments are for specific people, and show all the great things this person has done, and therefore what a loss it is that they are dead. In this case, the USHMM does not memorialize one person, but rather the millions and millions of people who died. They emphasize the number of people dead so that visitors really the losses caused by the Holocaust.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Talking Maps
Thesis: While geography may still have played a consequential role in war-time strategy, this was significantly lessened by the efficiency and might of modern systems and technology that had, comparatively, only been hinted at by WWI.
Defense: Of course, geography still controlled the form in which governments would plan an offensive, be it by land, sea, or air, but the important point was that geography no longer proved an insuperable obstacle. Wars could be launched across oceans with full expectation of success. This itself is proven by the U.S. attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; in two sittings, the Americans destroyed their enemy's morale and ensured that the war was won for them, all done with only a handful of airplanes and a couple of ships. The Japanese were cowed into submission by the shock of such horrific and advanced weaponry, the atrocity that such a thing was possible. Though this situation was by far the best example of long-distance war-fare, similar things could be said of Germany (annexed Austria; invaded France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, and Greece; attempted to take the USSR; "allied" itself with Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, and Croatia) and the USSR (annexed northeaster Romania; attacked Finland; occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.); they annexed, invaded, and allied, with whole mouthfuls of countries, between the two of them almost engulfing Europe (see map of WWII and the Holocaust). For this they crossed puddles, rivers, oceans, you name it. Overall, it was as if political and physical geography did not exist within central Europe. Of course, the matching technology in Britain, with the help of the English Channel, was enough to hold the Germans at bay. Still, both were able to push on with remarkable successful offensives against each other with the use of Jets and bombs. An example of this would be the fire-bombing of Dresden by the British air force. From afar they completely destroyed a city, literally razing it to the ground. Not only with war was geography negligible, but with transportation too. Jews and other "lesser races" were shipped from all over Europe to extermination and labor camps centered mostly in Poland. Again, the geography was not an issue, mostly due to the German organization and efficient construction of trains and train tracks that criss-crossed the continent. So while, geography still held its own in places of middling to high technology and severe topography, it was no longer the maker and the breaker that it was before the 20th century.
Extra Points:
Defense: Of course, geography still controlled the form in which governments would plan an offensive, be it by land, sea, or air, but the important point was that geography no longer proved an insuperable obstacle. Wars could be launched across oceans with full expectation of success. This itself is proven by the U.S. attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; in two sittings, the Americans destroyed their enemy's morale and ensured that the war was won for them, all done with only a handful of airplanes and a couple of ships. The Japanese were cowed into submission by the shock of such horrific and advanced weaponry, the atrocity that such a thing was possible. Though this situation was by far the best example of long-distance war-fare, similar things could be said of Germany (annexed Austria; invaded France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, and Greece; attempted to take the USSR; "allied" itself with Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, and Croatia) and the USSR (annexed northeaster Romania; attacked Finland; occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.); they annexed, invaded, and allied, with whole mouthfuls of countries, between the two of them almost engulfing Europe (see map of WWII and the Holocaust). For this they crossed puddles, rivers, oceans, you name it. Overall, it was as if political and physical geography did not exist within central Europe. Of course, the matching technology in Britain, with the help of the English Channel, was enough to hold the Germans at bay. Still, both were able to push on with remarkable successful offensives against each other with the use of Jets and bombs. An example of this would be the fire-bombing of Dresden by the British air force. From afar they completely destroyed a city, literally razing it to the ground. Not only with war was geography negligible, but with transportation too. Jews and other "lesser races" were shipped from all over Europe to extermination and labor camps centered mostly in Poland. Again, the geography was not an issue, mostly due to the German organization and efficient construction of trains and train tracks that criss-crossed the continent. So while, geography still held its own in places of middling to high technology and severe topography, it was no longer the maker and the breaker that it was before the 20th century.
Extra Points:
- Controlled the discovery of German actions - only as the USSR swept into POLAND from the North-east could they find evidence of the death camps
- Restricted liberation - those in the middle of German territory had to wait longer to be freed and helped
- Highlights the conditions that Jews had to live with - Warsaw contained 350,000 people, 30% of which were Jews. This population and more was held within 2.4% of the city of Warsaw- 400,000 at height.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is certainly successful as a memorial: it is a strong reminder of the Holocaust simply as a general event; it focuses into more detail, giving specific data on every possible point; there are stories chronicling the short lives of some Holocaust victims. Each of these things were represented within the maps, from numbers to personal anecdotes. Obviously, in such a memorial, there will be a bias. In this case it is towards the victims of the Holocaust and against the Germans, done by paying closer detail to the atrocities that were inflicted. I noted also that while the Germans were often subtly or tacitly rebuked, no such feeling was given towards those who were allied with Germany. Perhaps the makers of the website were a little to focused on those who they felt bore the blame. I am not sure, however, that this memorial assumes anything about the audience that views the site. Obviously, it would be a less argument-arousing experience should the person viewing the maps happen to agree on the guilt of the Nazis. I do believe that while there is a slight bias, it is fairly negligible. Even did I believe differently (which I don't) this site would still be a good source of information. As it is, the Holocaust is memorialized well in this website, a form that the modern world is more likely to connect to.
Speaking Slowly
Geography plays a huge role in the Holocaust. In May of 1939, many Jewish refugees decided to flea the Nazis. The St. Louis left Hamburg taking 937 passengers to Havana, Cuba, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to get away from the Nazis. Cuba was an ocean away from Nazi Germany; there was very little chance Germany would be able to take over Cuba. Since the vast majority were rejected from Cuba and the United States, the St. Louis returned to Europe, where the remaining refugees went to France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Here, because these countries were so close to Germany, the refugees were not completely safe. When the Nazis took over France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, many of the refugees were "again trapped under Nazi rule." They were not physically far enough away to escape the Germans. Because France, the Netherlands, and Belgium border Germany, they were at risk of being taken over.
Concentration and extermination camps were present throughout Europe, mostly in Germany and Poland. Six extermination camps were set up in Poland, since that's where many Jews lived. These camps were set up near where the most Jews lived so that the Germans did not have to transport them far from their homes. Ghettos were also set up where the most Jews resided. Warsaw and Lodz, first and second with most Jews, respectively, had the two largest ghettos. The Germans did not have to transport them far to contain them in designated areas. Once they gathered the Jews together, it was easier to transport them to concentration camps and extermination camps.
Unlike the concentration camps, resistance to the Nazis could be found all around Europe. Both Jewish and non-Jewish resistance organizations were running throughout Europe. There were may uprisings in ghettos and concentration camps, which were calmed by the Nazis. Resistance wasn't all violent. There were members of the resistance who hid Jews, and smuggled them to neutral territory. They were able to get the Jews out of the occupied countries nearby to safety.
There is definitely a huge bias against the Nazi's on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website. Nonetheless, the maps provide useful information with real numbers, and maps that explain what happened. The speaker speaks slowly and clearly, so that everybody can understand him, even if they don't know anything about the Holocaust. The website believes that the visitors to the website are against Nazism, and are curious to find out more about the Holocaust. The maps suggest that the museum is interactive and easy to understand. The museum counts a memorial but the website does not. The museum is tangible, and has actual artifacts in it. The website just has pictures and videos, but nothing to touch. No real artifacts can be found on the site.
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