Presentations

Buchenwald was a mean's concentration camp in 1937, and women were put there in '43 or '44.  They had barbed wire fences and the prisoners were confined to the north part of the complex.  Other parts were reserved for the riding academy, zoo and headquarters for the guards.  The Commandant's name was Koch.  The camp itself was located near the city but was in a forested area.  Prisoners were made to build roads as means for transport.  There were political prisoners, Jews, Gypsies, German army deserters, and officials from occupied countries held at Buchenwald.  The average workday was 14 hours long, roll call was 4 times a day, and the dead had to be taken to roll call.  When the war was ending, the Allies bombed near the camp.  Soon after, the prisoners were made to stand in the forested areas around the camp during bombings.  On the third day of this, the US bombed the camp instead of the area surrounding it.  It seems that the prisoners had a radio and were communicating with them.

FDR

One thing that this class has kind of shed light on, for me, is the fact that, as Strauss mentioned, you either loved or hated FDR as a President.  We've talked about the possibility that he was naive about the Soviets, and other things.

For me, I wonder what the exact motivations were for not having Truman in the loop at all for any of the actions taking place near the end.  I realize that no one really expected Roosevelt to die, but considering his position coupled with the notion that he was, in fact, sick, what was the deal?  Were there negative implications of having Truman more in the loop?

What If Roosevelt

This week in class we went over the fascinating and rather important but often overlooked section of the What If? of WWII. This form of study is useful, because not only does it force you to know events and possible deviations that may have occurred but didn't, and also to analyze the effects that said events and their alternatives may have had. As has been mentioned, so many events in WWII shaped policy, economy, and society for many years to come. I believe we still feel the echoes of the larger decisions made, especially towards the end of the war.

As for Roosevelt, I wonder how everything may have turned out if he had survived to the end of negotiations with the victors, specifically the Soviets. As it was, he has been accused of going too soft on what was an obvious threat to postwar freedom throughout the world. But knowing that FDR always played his cards close to his chest, I wonder if he didn't have something in the works that he went to his grave with before he could start of complete it. For sure he never shared such sentiments with Truman, but then again he didn't share much at all with his vice. What if ...

FDR

I think it is difficult to discount FDR and his actions of interpreted softness towards the soviets. Everyone had two things in mind: keep another war from happening, and do what's best for THEIR country. Some people may argue that FDR should have taken a more hard nose approach to Stalin and the Soviets but that could have produced future conflicts. Maybe Patton was right when he said we should have just kept moving East, but that would have obviously taken a lot and Russia would have been pissed regardless.
Though the cold war may have come as a result of the decisions made by FDR, I dont think he is to blame.
It also leads to a question of whether that is a bad thing. There were no large conflicts as a result of the cold war and there was a long period of relative peace after WWII. Had we tried to take out or diminish the power of the Soviet Union in WWII, given Stalin's policies, I think it could have led to more conflicts.

WHAT IF'S

Class in general this week was interesting due to the fact that Lon Strauss posed many questions, doubts, and what if's that one should always, not only address but also assess when so many lives are changed in a span of 5 years, and the economies became forever changed due to such events. Therefore when reflecting upon the battle of the bulge or the bombing of tokyo one must wonder not only how these decisions came to pass but also what brought on these decisions and like Lon said, are these decisions inevitable, NO, but what would we do today vs in  the 40's. IT is hard to say because much of those decisions were made by the high ranking officials but the carried out by many. Which comes into the factor of, Dont think just react, type of mentality. However still being rather ignorant on military tactics and strategies, I feel that you can strategize all you want but it comes down to the real time decisions that make and break battles.

Class

I thought the argument about FDR being naïve was fascinating because that was the first time I have ever heard that. I always thought everyone loved FDR but apparently not. However, regardless of FDR’s actions, a President will always have individuals that think they have done wrong regardless of what they did, because we know the outcome of their decisions. However, the one problem I do have with FDR is that it seems to me that he kept Truman out of the loop of information, especially about the Atomic bomb I have always found that to be interesting that the Vice-President did not even have a clue about the bomb until FDR died.

I thought the cartoons were very funny and offer a good insight to what the public may have been thinking. I think we should have watched at least one per class, but that is just my opinion. However, about the cartoon Private Snafu I wonder if they were made to break up the routine of Army training or if the Generals thought, the average GI was so dumb that the only way for them to learn was with cartoons? Just a thought.

Presentations

The presentations on the concentration camps were very interesting because of the personal stories they told about the prisoners. I always seem to learn something new when I hear about the Nazi’s concentration camps, mainly the horrible methods that SS members used to kill defenseless individuals. I always thought that the length of the workday between the two camps would have been the same, because I always figured that the Nazi regime managed all the camps from a central location. However, it appears that may not have been the case and maybe the camp Commandant’s had a lot of leeway in running the camps, which was seen in the way one made the Jews work in the factories during bombing raid and one didn’t. Finally, I guess I will never understand how the German people did not have ANY clue about what was taking place in the woods next to their town. I know that the Nazi’s censored a lot of information and spun a web of lies but the disappearing of whole communities is hard to hide.

Presentations:

Although the presentations shared much information, it had to have been depressing for the presenters to research this topic. Each time I hear about the death camps I am overwhelmed by despair and helplessness the people had to have felt. To think that the Jews, young and old, were worked as much as 18 hours a day with little food and drink and fear of offending the guards. At Auchswitz there were 90,000 prisoners with as many as 56,000 murdered. I cannot even fathom what it must have felt like to be one of many who were stripped and marched into the gas chamber. What must a parent have felt who walked with their child or children to their death? However, I did not realize that depending on who you were determined which camp you went to; however it does not appear that one was any better than the other. For instance, at Buchenwald the prisoners were called out as many as four times a day for roll call. If they did not get something right they would have to stand and wait; one time they stood for 18 hours because they did not answer roll correctly. Whether it was a death camp or a concentration camp, death was inevitable, sometimes quicker than anticipated.

Presentations

Buchenwald - There was a lot of good information given in this presentation. I had heard about the lampshade thing before, but never specifically about the "Bitch of Buchenwald". Was she know for anything else that gave her this title? And although it's a grotesque thought, what has happened to the lamps that they did find? I would imagine they were either destroyed or put in a museum somewhere.

Auschwitz - I never realized the camp was divided into smaller sections. I guess it makes sense that not only are men and women kept separate, but also Russians, Polish, etc. With so many prisoners are there any statistics on how many prisoners, if any were able to escape?

April 21-24

The political situation behind the war, especially towards the end of the war, is really fascinating. It is interesting to learn about how the various governments wanted to divide up Europe and then to look back and see how things actually worked out. I found the pros and cons surrounding FDR's administration to be very interesting. I came out of that lecture with slightly more insight on him and a slightly different perspective than I had before this semester. The cartoons were also really good.

I thought both presentations were well done. It always amazes me to hear the number of people who were murdered in the camps. It is a number that is so high it is almost unbelievable, until you see the pictures and hear the evidence, then it is just mind boggeling. I had the opportunity to visit one of the camps and I don't think I will ever be able to forget that experience. I think it was important for the Germans to walk through the camps and see what went on.

Zoo at Buchenwald

Sorry I did not make this clear. The Zoo at Buchenwald was in the administrative part of the camp, though the prisoners could see some of it. The zoo was there for the amusement of the SS officials, it was another benefit like the riding stables. It also acted a showplace for when higher Nazi officials, such as Himmler, came to the camp.

The presentation on Auschwitz was well done. I do not think I ever quite realized the shear magnitude of that particular camp. I found it very interesting that 75% of the prisoners arriving there were sent to the gas chamber. This camp was obvious very efficient in carrying out the Final Solution.

In lecture this week, I was particularly amused by the Donald Duck cartoon. It is hard to believe that Disney was once so racy. I did not previously know that many Disney features were made for adult, though it does explain some of the jokes made in the cartoons.

Presentations

I thought the presentation on Buchenwald was really interesting. You don't really hear much about the work camps vs. the death camps in World War II. In doing the research for my presentation on Auschwitz, I noticed that there were many similarities between them as well from the "Arbeit Macht Frei" saying at the entrance of the camps to the daily rountines.

I think it is also interesting to see the propaganda that the US government used during WWII. Specifically the cartoons seem not so politically correct but I guess that can be expected in a time of war.

Lecture and Presentations

The presentations over the death camps was interesting. How they positioned them in the woods but close to towns so that the SS could have a place to was something I didnt know. The zoo in the one camp was pretty interesting. I dont know why they would have a zoo there though. Its also interesting to know that they tried to burn the evidence before people found out. I think they knew that what they were doing was wrong. We were asked whether or not WWII was inevitable. Becasue of hindsight we think that it was inevitable and I still think that it was. Maybe not to the huge scale that it was, but that another war in europe was going to happen. Countries wanted more land and were upset about the whole treaty of versailes. Hearing about all the politics that was taking place, and the back door politics, was definetly interesting. I didnt know before that FDR did the things that he did. The cartoons were interesting and unique, and a little ridiculous in how they tried to train people.

Caricatures

The political caricatures that we saw were good training aids. This is what they were used for. The reason that they were good was because they delivered to the auduience the intended message for the purpose of training. To assist in the attempt to deliver this information, the cartoon was humorous which always makes learning anything far more easier because it attracts the attention of those involved.

Death Camp Presentation

The Death Camp presentation on Wednesday was done incredibly well. The presenter made a good decision to discuss the specific details of what was ocuring to the individuals who were stuck in these horrible places. By doing this, her presentation delivered a far more affective description of the treachery that was wrought on by the Nazis. The use of different images also brought to life what this situation was like. For example, she explained in detail how three persons to one bunk would sleep in relation to one of her chosen pictures. In my opinion, the content of this presentation was of the most depressing nature.

sledge

sledge mentions that the marines were told to expect 80-85% losses on the beeches alone, but the landing were very lightly opposed. I wonder if this was based on actual intel or just an assumption since okinawa was so close to the home islands.

Helpful Research Paper Tips

Dear Students,

Some of you have visited me during office hours or contacted me via e-mail regarding your research papers. Many of your topics began quite narrow, whether that was the original topic chosen or otherwise. After speaking with me, you have altered your topics, by broadening it or embarking on a new direction. If you have spoken with me and altered your topic in consequence, please post about it here on the blog (for your weekly post credit or out of a desire to help your peers if you have already posted this week). Your experience may be of assistance to other students who are running into difficulties.

Thanks,
Lon Strauss

presentations

i learned some new bits of information from the presenters. I didn't realize that buchenwald held mostly political prisoners and thought that the zoo animals were a little odd-maybe just another mental game played on the prisoners.
i also learned that auschwitz was comprised of 3 sections built at different times that kept adding to its size. I been told that the camp was the size of overland park (for those of you from kansas city)

Death Camps

The presentations were very good and informative. They gave many good detailed accounts. I agree with the other posts concerning the lack of knowledge about the death camps other than Auschwitz. As the presentations demonstrate how bad the other camps were, it is wild that the public does not know more about them. I think it is unfortunate in general that there are so many battles that are relatively unremembered and yet they can have claimed thousands of lives. I guess other camps are kind of the same thing, and there was so much death that it is impossible to know and realize everything that occurred during the war.

Presenting: The Holocaust Camps

As always, this subject was a bit of a downer, and certainly a sobering reminder of just what humans are capable of doing to each other. Even 'civilized' humans. The fact that the Jews and others were considered sub-human I sure played a role in how badly they were treated, like rats to be exterminated, but that is itself showed there was something seriously wrong about society's views on the subject. Apparently Germany had got over the idea of pogroms before Russia and Poland did, but to trade that out for wholesale genocide is not an improvement in any way to me. And yet, though most agree that this sort of thing is terrible, we as a world people tend to try and ignore it when it happens around us, just so long as it doesn't directly effect us. Sad state of affairs, to be sure.

Presentations 4/23

My first question is: What was the purpose of having zoos and parks in Buchenwald?  I am not sure I understood why they did this.  The Germans did many very weird, crazy, and wrong things, but even those things had reasons.  I did not even get a warped reason for them including bears and the like.  It sounds like a costly thing that they did without a very good reason.  

The interesting thing I did find about these awful places is that they grew and grew as time passed.  Auschwitz had three sections that they added for specific purposes each time.  Buchenwald even had 88 satellite sites.  I knew that they kept getting more and more prisoners, but I did not know that they made the camps bigger multiple times.  I guess I assumed that they either killed the prisoners or they created new camps.  This is just something that i had not realized before today.   

Presentations

The presentations were well-done and informative. To see the personal items (glasses, clothing, shoes etc) taken from prisoners piled up in such vast numbers really sort of knocks the wind out of a person. I cannot begin to imagine how a person gets to the point where he thinks that sort of behavior towards, that sort of treatment of, that sort of philosophy about other human beings is remotely acceptable.

Presentations and videos

The presentations on the two concentration camps gave a lot of information that I had not previously heard. I have previously heard and read a lot about Auschwitz, but I never realized it was that large. Learning that it was built up of three separate areas put into perspective how they killed so many individuals.

I had never heard of Bukenwald, but was surprised by some of the pictures shown. Some of the scenery pictures looked like they were of a summer camp, not a death camp. I guess it was all for the comfort of the officers. Does anyone know if "science experiements" were preformed at all of these camps?

The cartoons we watched today were interesting because I didn't realize they were used for training videos. Disney really was involved in a variety of the war effort. They are humorous cartoons, but also give a warning to soldiers about safety.

Political Cartoons

I thought that the political cartoons, especially the donald duck film was funny, but was also very stereotypical and demeaning. I know durig world war 2 many japanese americans were confined to internment camps in the U.S. However, were all of the japanese americans in these camps and have they not seen this film? And were there any critics of how demeaning this film was?

Propaganda played a huge role in the war, but it seems as though this film is just looked at as a mistake in the past that the U.S. has forgotton to remember. Also could these films have had an impact on racial tensions in America after World War 2. Most likely they did and they undoubtedly help lead to the increase of stereotypes on Germans and Japanese.

Political Situation 4/21 Maria Gonzalez

After discussing the political situations of the dominant powers during WWII, it seems to me that each country wanted to not only become the most powerful but they also wanted to keep other countries from becoming the most powerful as well.  These power struggles were not just to keep their country on top.  Leaders were trying to protect their country from things that they feared.  Germany was a fear because they were trying to change the favored international system as well as conquering and controlling countries.  USSR was feared because of their very different communist views.  Power can also become a an issue when more powerful countries make decisions for less powerful countries.  Having this power over a less powerful country can be very frustrating, angering, and lead to conflicts nationally and internationally.  An example of this is the new nations created from the USSR after WWI and the conflict created by these actions.  Political power is what drives political situations and war.