The Human Face of Genocide:
Concepts and Images in Teaching the Holocaust
The New College and Department of Psychology
To adequately teach about the Holocaust, with its vast and complex structure, an interdisciplinary and integrative model appears to be most useful. This paper presents a teaching model from an interdisciplinary oriented Psychologist/Social Scientist that integrates many Social Science concepts with visual images of the Holocaust. The integration of the humanities through video insures the Human face of the genocide is maintained as a critical part of the learning experiences for the students. Concepts and videos are described; their integration is discussed, as are student responses.
Attempting to teach about the Holocaust, one must confront the enormous complexity of the topic and vast amount of material to be covered. In addition, one must consider the myriad lenses through which to consider the topic: all of the disciplines of the social sciences have played some role in attempting to study and understand this devastating event. Those who have engaged in this exploration range from historians and political scientists to sociologists, psychologists, economists, philosophers and anthropologists. The encompassing nature of the topic demands sources from various areas of the humanities as being of significant importance in obtaining a full picture of the event. These sources include, diaries, biographies, autobiographies, art, novels and short stories, survivor testimony and finally the powerful films and television documentaries that bring the Holocaust to life. It became clear from the beginning of my teaching and research that while the social sciences provide a framework for one level of understanding, adding materials from the humanities helps students to give deeper meaning to the concepts and framework used in class.
As a Psychologist/Social Scientist studying the Holocaust, I used sources spanning the disciplines to develop my own knowledge and facilitate my efforts to understand and possibly explain this event. For the first decade I approached the Holocaust more as an historian than from any other social Science perspective, believing that before I could act as a Psychologist I had to know what happened. Through this exploration, I realized two things: first, that I had to organize the varied and complex information available not only for descriptive purposes in my own research but also for explanatory purposes in teaching and; second, that no text or lecture would ever do justice to the human side of the event as would a survivor coming to class or the archival and documentary material available from the Nazi’s own hand, the material obtained at liberation and the follow-up interviews with the survivors and liberators. It was from these two realizations that my own research strategies developed and so my model for teaching. Only by combining social science concepts and the human face of genocide found in the humanities, could an organizing framework emerge that did justice to the event and its human consequences.
As my research and teaching developed and evolved, certain concepts that offered both organization and explanation emerged. These concepts allow the students to have frames of reference to organize the information and to give meaning and understanding to the data. I introduce these concepts the first class and develop them throughout the semester. The following list represents some of these core concepts that have guided my research and teaching. While others will emerge throughout the semester, the following initially give the students points of focus on which they can build. I will list them and then offer a brief explanation for each and how I use them in class.
Antecedents—enduring and immediate
Nationalism—love of country/loyalty
Continuum of Persecution/Destruction
Boundary Crossing
Prejudice/Anti-Semitism—Acting Out Sequence of Behavior
Eugenics
Holocaust Ethic/Morality
Perpetrators and Victims
Surviving, Survivors and Survivorship
One of the most important things I want my students to understand is that many precursors or antecedents are necessary in order for an event such as the Holocaust to occur. This leads to the presentation of the first important concept. Understanding the necessary conditions that set the stage for the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party is a basic prerequisite for the understanding of the Holocaust. Since I believe the antecedents include both the enduring factors that helped set the stage for the coming Holocaust and the immediate factors that led to the rise of Nazism, I introduce the antecedent concept and then begin presenting information that gives clarity and substance to the idea. For example, the most powerful enduring antecedent is the long history of anti-Semitism in Christian Europe. It was this long history that offered Hitler a convenient scapegoat to help focus both German frustration and hate to unify much of the country.
I want the students to be able to identify the immediate antecedents that specifically set the stage for Hitler and the Nazis. For this purpose, we discuss the end of WWI, the treaty of Versailles with its guilt and reparations clauses, the creation of the Weimer Republic, its constitution that led to the many parties that would compete for power and the ultimate replacement of the Republic, and the great depression of 1929. While there are additional factors, this allows the students to begin collecting and organizing information.
The second important concept that ties directly with the rise of Nazism is the idea of Nationalism. The sense of loss of honor and pride as a people was a critical factor in selling the Nazi movement as a way of reestablishing that honor and pride. The outcome of this developing Nationalism would be the establishment of a Totalitarian state. This sense of Nationalism and the underlying idea of ‘love of country’ would enable the Nazi’s to rationalize subsequent behaviors of genocidal destruction. Further, Nazism equated Hitler with the state and all oaths of loyalty were to Hitler and not Germany or the Fatherland. This would have importance in future events in which loyalty and obedience to authority would have major consequences.
The next concept I introduce comes from the work of Staub (1989). In looking at the unfolding of the events that would define the Nazi period and the Holocaust, it is clear that they can be tracked chronologically. These events often represent the culmination of certain plans or the initiation of certain other plans. In looking into the specifics of these events and the progression of conditions of genocide, Staub talks about and uses the idea of a Continuum of Persecution/Destruction as a very useful schematic in identifying and describing the escalation of the destructiveness and the specific behaviors that constitute these events. It allows the ordering of the various stages of the persecution, the particular events that define these escalations, (e.g.) Krystalnacht, the Wannsee Conference, and the progressive stages of Lebensraum that would lead to the invasion of Russia, the beginnings of the Einsatzgruppen (the mobile killing squads) and the eventual development of the Extermination Camps as the means to the Final Solution. This concept emerges as being central to organizing data.
Continuing with the idea of the Continuum, Thompson (1989) developed the idea of Genocide as Boundary-Crossing behavior. Quoting Thompson, “. …concentrating on developments over time, genocide can be viewed as boundary-crossing behavior, a movement of social antagonism into prohibited areas, i.e., as behavior which crosses moral boundaries which normally prevail.” The three areas that Thompson identifies are 1-the category of the victims, 2-the activities of the victims, and 3-The outrage at the escalating persecution and violence. When the Boundary-crossing idea is added to the continuum of destruction, it represents critical activities that tell us that as each boundary is crossed, the next boundary becomes easier and soon no boundaries can withstand the onslaught. For example, the Euthanasia program was implemented against fellow Germans based on the racial doctrines of Nazism and the idea of Life Unworthy of Life. The idea of state-sponsored murder of fellow Germans on racial grounds was a major barrier that produced relatively little outrage. Having crossed this boundary with little response, there is evidence that Hitler took this as a sign that if there were no outrage against killing fellow Germans, there surely would be none against killing Jews.
Since many of the acts of the Nazis appear to be made based on what could be gotten away with or in anticipation of possible responses, the idea of Boundary-crossing is very useful in understanding the progression of events.
There is no question concerning the role of prejudice, in particular, anti-Semitism in the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust. Allport’s (1954) description of the developmental stages of prejudice, what he calls the Acting Out Sequence of Prejudice, is parallel to the Continuum of Persecution/Destruction in looking at the stages of prejudice from Antilocution to Extermination. This is just one of the examples of how the concepts build on each other and give greater structure and understanding to the material.
Continuing with the nature of prejudice, particularly the historic roots of anti-Semitism in Christianity, the dramatic switch made by the Nazis in changing the historic sense of a religious basis for prejudice into a racial one, introduces the students to the concept of Eugenics. This concept gives added understanding to the Euthanasia program but also helps the student understand that with this change, the historic safety valve of conversion was removed, and now a logical and direct path to the Final Solution becomes clearer.
Eric Hoffer in his brilliant book, The True Believer, offers insights into the nature and dynamics of all movements. To understand Nazism and the Holocaust requires some understanding of how movements draw people in and set the conditions under which many destructive behaviors appear to become justified. Using the ideas of Unifying Agents and Self-Sacrifice, Hoffer gives an excellent framework for understanding some of the dynamics and strategies that made the Nazi movement possible and a success.
Trying to understand how so many could become active or complicit in genocide presents an ongoing problem for scholars and students. Peter Haas, in his book, Morality After Auschwitz, offers a model for the development of a Holocaust Ethic that not only justified the treatments of the Jews but also gave a moral imperative to combat the evil of Jews and Judaism and its perceived threat to civilization and the Germanic culture. With the idea of a Holocaust Ethic tied to a Holocaust Mindset, students can move toward understanding events that, initially, can seem incomprehensible in their magnitude and horror.
While it may seem obvious about the next categories of Perpetrators and Victims, I have found it to be very useful in helping the students on the issues of responsibility and consequences. Throughout the course there is always considerable focus on the Nazi leaders, particularly Hitler, but we also look at his top henchmen in the Nazi party and their role in the Holocaust. Usually this includes Goebbles, Goering, Himmler, Heydrich, and Eichman. The broad category of Perpetrators also forces attention on the ordinary men and women who were the active participants in carrying out the genocide. To this end, the work of Stanley Milgram (1974), Philip G. Zimbardo (1972), Christopher Browning (1991), Leonard Berkowitz (1999), Albert Bandura (1999), Herbert Hirsch (1995) and David H. Jones (1999) are introduced and discussed.
The final focus of the course is Survival, Survivors and Survivorship. The reason for these three terms is to recognize how each is definable by a set of conditions and a period in time. Survival focuses the class on the conditions of surviving and coping strategies used in the camps and other areas. Survivors look at those who lived through these horrible events and were there at liberation. Survivorship speaks to long-term consequences of these events and the burdens that may accrue to being a survivor, (e.g.) confronting the growing assault of the revisionists and denialists.
At this point the conceptual framework for the course has been established. With the images of the victims as seen in the many films of camp liberations, and the stories of the survivors bearing witness, the Human Face of Genocide emerges.
The general concepts previously discussed are introduced early in the seminar in order to give the students a frame of reference with which to organize and develop their understanding of the material. The videos, which constitute the human side of the Holocaust, are also introduced early so as to maintain the human dimension throughout the course. Each video is presented with a set of guidelines for the student to direct them to the particulars of each video as well as the overall impact. Much of this is possible because of the extensive film records kept by the Nazis of all their activities, the powerful films made by the allies during the liberation of the camps, and the emotional and important videos made of the stories and interviews with survivors after liberation and continuing even today.
One of the first films I show is the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, based on William Shirer’s book. This film not only exemplifies the dynamics of movements with its spectacles, rituals, symbolism and images of masses of people, but it also introduces some of the major perpetrators. It also presents the images of the adoration of the people to their new Fuhrer and his cohorts. One can see the emergence of the nationalistic fervor and the resurgence of the sense of community, honor and pride and the clarification of the Jew as scapegoat.
Also, with this video and many others, a major learning experience is to see the perpetrators and bystanders, beginning this journey of destruction with youthful fervor and group adoration. The pleasing shape of evil is disconcerting knowing what was to come. The beginning of the new morality can be seen here.
A recent documentary, interestingly titled The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler, is a useful addition to already available material. It traces all segments of Hitler’s life, but of particular use is the final episode, aptly titled Hitler the Criminal. It focuses on his final acts and helps in understanding his commitment to genocide and the eliminating of all he perceived as racially inferior.
Along with Hitler, it is clearly important to understand the other leaders who bear the responsibility for shaping these events. A recent series entitled Hitler’s Henchmen, offers a profile of Goebbles, Himmler and Goering and the way they shaped the propaganda and the implementation of the racial policies and the genocide through the power and dedication of the SS.
Two videos used early in the semester, tell some of the story of the Hitler Youth and the Eugenics basis of the Euthanasia program and the subsequent genocide are 1-Heil Hitler: Confessions of a Hitler Youth and 2- Selling Murder: The Killing Films of the Third Reich. Both of these films show the power of indoctrination and persuasion and the evolving ethical mindset that would lead to the Holocaust.
A recent series called Nazis: A Warning From History, contains an episode titled The Road to Triblinka and introduces Reinhard Heydrick, a critical figure in the implementation of the Final Solution but also the man who gave the orders to the Einsatzgruppen, the first major effort at extermination with mobile killing squads. Graphic scenes of an action-in-progress give a dramatic look at the perpetrators as well as the victims.
As the class moves closer to the genocide, an excerpt from the outstanding documentary The World at War is shown as an overview of the genocidal period of 1942 to 1945. This segment entitled Genocide, presents some of the first efforts to gather the story of the genocide with some of the survivors telling their stories. It particularly points out the role of Himmler and Eichman in the Final Solution and introduces the Wannsee Conference to the student. Following this video, I often show a re-creation of the Wannsee Conference, which is based on the minutes of the conference and excerpts from Eichman’s diary. This video is an important look at the Nazi bureaucratic leaders and their bureaucracies, as well as, the passing to Heydrick and Eichman, the final authority for the Final Solution. It is, also, a frightening look at the Holocaust mindset and morality at work.
One of the most vivid images of the systematic dehumanization and destruction of the Jews can be seen in the archival film made by the Nazis on the Warsaw Ghetto. The Nazi’s kept a detailed record of the creation of the Ghetto, life in it and its ultimate destruction. It contains striking scenes of the suffering of the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto, as well as, amazing pictures of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the first civilian resistance to the Nazi’s in Europe.
A very recent addition to the documentary resources is a series made in Germany entitled Hitler’s Holocaust. With extensive interviews with ordinary men who did extraordinary things, it looks at the perpetrators own efforts to explain their behavior. It also includes detailed footage of the Holocaust and interviews with survivors.
When the allies came upon the camps in their drive into Germany, it was a great shock to see these factories of human destruction, because they were basically unprepared for these findings and often unable to deal with the atrocities that they found. To insure that these horrors would not be discounted because they were so hard to believe, Eisenhower ordered film crews to accompany these units as they came upon the camps and to make permanent records of what was found. These would be evidence for Nuremberg, but also lasting images of the consequences of Genocide. These images are available in many videos, but a PBS program entitled Memory of the Camps. It shows the horrors of the camps with the victims and survivors but also the reaction of the liberators to these findings.
As we move into the latter part of the semester, we begin to look at survivors and surviving. Kitty Hart, an Auschwitz survivor took her son back to Auschwitz in the 1970s to help him understand the daily living conditions and what it took to survive. The documentary Kitty Returns to Auschwitz introduces the students to the many jobs or commands in the camp that the inmates had to work in to survive. She describes her survival strategy and talks about one of her most important jobs, working at the Canada Command. Canada was Auschwitz slang for the barracks of abundance that housed the articles the deportees had brought with them on the way to resettlement in the East. Since they could take so little, they tended to take things that would be useful but also spoke to the family ties. Usually this meant silverware, often a family heirloom, which upon arrival was taken and stored in the Canada Command. In 1989 I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz/Birkenau and the staff member who was my guide allowed me to take some of the remnants still at the Canada Command area with me for my work and to share with my students. I show these to the class after the Kitty Returns to Auschwitz film, and it proves to be a powerful link to the lost human beings.
Following Kitty’s story of living in the camps, we will then look at survivor testimony, often the most emotional part of the course. Steven Spielberg’s Visual History of the Shoah Project and Witness; Voices from the Holocaust, a project of Yale University are moving and informative pictures and stories of the human consequence of genocide.
Given the depressing nature of the content, I try to close out the semester with some images of the survival of the human spirit and examples of human compassion. To that end, I often show two videos, the first is The Voyage of Butterfly, the story of the children of Teresianstadt and the remarkable legacy they left in poetry, song and pictures. The second video is a documentary made by Pierre Sauvage entitled Weapons of the Spirit. This tells the story of the people of the village, Le Chambon, who saved over 5000 Jewish lives. It leaves the students with the knowledge that while most people were good Nazis or indifferent bystanders, some did stand on principles and ethics that dictated that human integrity involves being thy brothers’ keeper. The rescuers represent an important dimension to the Human Face of Genocide.
Throughout the semester and accompanying each exam, I ask the students to include a non-graded State of the Mind Question in which they discuss their thoughts on what they are learning and on how it is being taught. Without question, the most common response concerns the enduring power of the visual images and the impact it has on them. It is not uncommon to hear from students many years after they have taken the course to let me know they are still affected by the material and are much more sensitive to those issues in today’s world. The combination of the concepts and the visual images in the context of the course are indelible reminders of the human face of genocide.
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