How far is too far ?

In the documentary we see how there were some Germans that took advantage of the polish Jews and their circumstances and sold them food and water for ridiculous prices and then made excuses saying that at least they brought the Jews food, all they asked for was something in return. Then when the Jews ran out of things to trade the Germans said that they didn't want to risk their life's just by bringing them some food. This really surprised me because as soon as I heard this I thought that the Germans were jerks. But then Mr. Stewart started talking about how we like to think what we would do but in reality we have no idea what we will do. Then it go time thinking how would I know and the truth is that I have no idea what I would do, because I don't know what circumstance I would be in. I could be a poor German and really need money and I could easily make money overpricing food and water to the polish Jews. Then I thought how could someone actually do all these things and I figured that many Germans had many different things going on but most people like to buy into the conspiracy's and stealing from Jews was just a justification of the conspiracy.

First They Came

During my further studying of what occurred during the holocaust to all victims, I remembered about a poem that I, and perhaps you too, read that has a powerful message and shows just how the bystander effect can hurt those who are not having anything done to them.

¨First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.¨

This poem helps to show why many people who weren´t Jewish or communist did anything to stop behaviors that were taken by the nazis. They were not the ones being targeted by the government and for that they were grateful but when they themselves were now the ones who were being targeted they all of a sudden are asking for the same help that they didn't give to others before them.

Hitlers raise to Success

Hello welcome back to my blog, I know I´ve been out but I´m back and better than ever.

Hitlers rise to Success was based off one of the dumbest decision ever made from the president Paul Von Hindenburg. Hindenburg gave Hitler the chance to become chancellor in March, 1933. The plan was that Hitler would become chancellor but he had to listen to the peoples opinions and make changes. Hindenburg also expected for Hitlers supporters to forget about Nazism. People desperate change but Hitler took another route.

Coca-Cola Recycling 120 Billion Bottles

According to CNN, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincy is taking a huge step in trying to help the planet become greener, by having all of his already recyclable bottles sent back to the company. He wants to collect all these bottles and help save the environment trying to reach his goal of " a world without waste". 120 billion bottles a year is the equivalent of everybody in the world to give back 2 bottles every month. His goal is to get a bottle back for every bottle sold until the year 2030. Quincy wants to avoid these bottles being "single use bottles" and wants to use them for many other things. When they collected back, the plastic bottles will be melted down and reused for other bottles, car bumpers, and many other things that reusable plastics can be used for. I chose this article because I thought this would be a cool article to read about the positive things happening in out society rather than focusing on all the harsh and negative current occurrences.

Should Hitler Have All The Blame?

I know that most of us have grown up hearing that Hitler is this all evil monster and all he wanted to do was kill every non-aryan and take over the world. Most of us also probably thought that the Nazis were incredibly loyal and organized, but from the documentary we are watching it is obvious that neither of those ideas are totally true. Yes Hitler did horrible things and obviously had some mental issues but in the beginning all he was trying to do was save the German economy and restore Germany to the power it originally had. But the things most people don’t learn are about how the Nazis actually worked and how Hitler really was as a leader. Hitler was said to often sleep in late, take walks, eat a lot, and sleep. He was not usually the one coming up with the plans or making all of the decisions. Also, the Nazis were based on the survival of the fittest so people who felt they deserved a higher position, they would have to take it from the person currently in that position but everyone was trying to get Hitler’s approval so no one wanted to challenge his position, especially since they were all busy fighting each other. Another thing most people don’t know is the concentration camps weren’t totally Hitler’s idea or run by him, they were largely the result of Himmler, a lower ranking Nazi. If Hitler wasn’t the one making the decisions and wasn’t the one running all of these horrible things how much blame should he have? Should he still have all of it because he went with and embraced everything his fellow Nazis enacted?

The Power of an Idea

There have been many times in history that an idea and a vision has caused a nationwide action and gained a huge following. A couple of examples would be Martin Luther King Jr. who had a vision for African Americans in the United States that pushed for equality for every man and woman, and Adolf Hitler who had a vision after World War 1 to revive Germany into a superpower country once again. Two vastly different causes but raised on a similar platform. They both started out with an idea that was small and not very backed in the beginning but through speech and presentation, it united people who felt the same way. Anyone could have an idea but it was how it was delivered to the community is what sparked the interest and belief that it could come true and provide a better life for many people. In the case of Adolf Hitler, it was very successful for the people who he accepted and supported him and unfortunately, the Jewish people got the short end of the stick and became the scapegoats. Ideas seem so small in the beginning but everything important in history that was caused by man was once an idea that transformed into action.

The St. Louis

The St. Louis was a German Transatlantic liner that left from Hamburg, Germany. The liner was headed for Havana and was a link to the states that some Jewish people, and a few other minorities, wanted to escape further persecution that the Nazis would bring to them. Many of the passengers had applied for US Visas and their plan was that they would be getting off in Cuba until their visas got accepted. However, when the liner arrived at Havana only 28 passengers were allowed to disembark while the rest couldn´t. The liner was given orders to turn back towards Europe despite passengers pleading to the then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt asking or them to be allowed to head to the US. The liner turned back but it was agreed that instead of taking the passengers back to Germany they would be taken to different European countries such as Britain, the Netherlands, and France. many of the places with the exception of Great Britain were all taken over by the Nazis and hundreds of those former passengers fell victim to the Nazis. Had the US and Cuba accepted the Cubans and set aside their antisemitic views, these people who attempted to escape would have lived.

Indict Prosecutor Alizadeh

We're pretty much moved on from Darren Wilson at this point in the class, but I'd like to go back for just one second and examine something we might have completely missed: The clear misconduct and misinformation spread by Prosecutor Alizadeh.

There are two main acts of misconduct committed by Alizadeh. One is less explicit one: Bringing up witnesses that clearly should not have been brought in. The most ludicrous being the person with short term memory loss who could not recall the events properly, or people who never even saw the event happen. And the more explicit one - giving the jury an outdated, and since overruled law that says an officer can shoot at someone running from them. The law? From 1987. That's ridiculous. No prosecuting attorney worth their weight would ever give the jury an outdated and overruled law from over 3 decades ago on accident. And if they did, they do not deserve to be a prosecuting attorney.

The fact that the jury had this misleading information in their conscious while the witnesses were up testifying would have undoubtably lead them to make incorrect conclusions. In addition, Alizadeh took very few steps to try to remedy this "mistake".  Not telling the jury what was incorrect, moving past the subject extremely quickly. That's not proper conduct and Alizadeh most definitely should have done more to make clear what the jury was mislead on.

Take into her account her history with the Ferguson Police Department, and her being an attorney for St Louis, and you have yourself a clear case for someone who has committed clear misconduct. The results of this Grand Jury Trial could have been seriously impacted by her misconduct, and she took very little steps to remedy this mistake. In my opinion, Prosector Alizadeh deserves to be indicted.

Controlling Colors

The other day I was sitting in my car at a stop light. I looked around and saw all these other cars around me sitting and waiting. I realized what makes them stop. They are all being influenced and controlled by these lights that shine 3 different colors listening to them as if they speak. No one is really thinking of why they do this or what makes them. They just sit there obediently waiting for the all mighty light to guide them through. How does it become so normal to where people don't even think about who is controlling them and telling them what to do. They just stay obedient and carry on through the light. They don't have a mind of their own anymore just guided by a light that someone controls. Trusting the light with their light. Blinded to the thought that maybe the light is wrong and make you crash. Totally blinded obeisance and trust from the light. I can connect this to Adolf Hitler, he was the man behind the light in Germany. He told people what to do and when, this also was blind obedience and trust. No one in Germany thought for themselves what if he is wrong and will end up crashing. This eventually happens in 1945, when Germany is defeated and crashes. All those people following and trusting Hitler thinking how could he be wrong.

The Third Reich (1933-1945)

Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and immediately got rid of any other party that was against the Nationalist Socialist Workers Party because Hitler wanted complete control of Germany and for everyone to be on his side. The Nazi's had camps for those who were the enemy but weren't killed in those camps they were tortured and left to starve but they were let out after about a year. The Nazi regime also went after catholic churches and others to try and get them on the side of the Nationalist party or to be an enemy of Hitler and the Nazi's. When Paul von Hindenburg died in August 1934 Hitler took control and became the President, the Chancellor, and Fuehrer in Germany. Women did play a role during the time of Hitler and the Nazi's being in power in Germany because Hitler was about race and the Third Reich's aggressive population policy encouraged "racially pure" women to bear as many "Aryan" children possible. Hitler hated the Jews and were the Nazi's number 1 enemy and started to create concentration camps to torture and to kill them all no matter how they do it the Nazi's plan was to erase the Jewish population.

Information

Korea

South Korea and North Korea have made a little bit of peace this month combining forces to make a woman's hockey team. This is a big step for the world really since it is showing Kim easing off the insanity and at least being part of the world. It also gives a bright look into the olympics and a hopefullness of peace between nations of whom didn't always get along. This is a huge step since it shows that Kim is also worrying about smaller problems and not spending all of his time plotting an attack.

How did a person like hitler come to power?

One of the most interesting questions that I have come across is how did a party that didn't want to cooperate with the rest of the world and that only got 2.6 percent of the vote in 1928 go to become the party that controlled the German government. Hitler was a man that was very good with his words, when he spoke is what most people say, but looking deeper into the history of Hitler and Nazis and especially Germany we now see that Hitler wasn't a superhuman that could come into a room and convince people to do what he wanted. The truth behind the Germans wining the election were due to many circumstances that Germany was under at that moment. Germany at the time was under great poverty and when the great depression hit in Germany, people started to get desperate and started to look for a change. And the person that most made them feel like change could happen was Hitler, and even though he was a big majority he was getting more votes and was backed up by more people than other party's.  Then with the help of people like Von Papen that allowed him to become chancellor and then betrayed them to gain full power and become the dictator of Germany. So in conclusion Hitler wasn't a superhuman but with the circumstances that Germany was in and the help that he got by people that underestimated him, he was able to control Germany.

The Blame Game

After watching several minutes of the Nazis Warning Video in Global as well as taking part in the nightly reading I have found a reoccurring issue. The Blame Game. The Nazi Warning Video, episode 1, begins on November 11, 1918. The date in which the war suddenly stopped. In this case the Germans lost the battle. But in their eyes they were not losers, instead they thought that they were betrayed. By whom you may ask? The politicians. Germans were great at learning how to continuously blame others for their wrong doings. In this case the politicians thought that they did no wrong in the fact that Germany lost the war and then went on blaming the communist, the Jews. This constant blaming is were the hatred for Jews began. They linked things that they hated and made it a issue. Due to these blaming cycles many traumatic events later occurred. But if this blaming never were to happen do you think the Holocaust or Hitlers rise to fame would have ever happened?

Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King Day is a holiday that is celebrated throughout the United States and in Japan on the third Monday of every January. While it is widely celebrated today, Martin Luther King Day was first proposed in 1960 but it wasn´t until 1980 that the proposed holiday was accepted and passed through congress with a 78-22 win which president Ronald Reagan signed into effect immediately. However even with the holiday having passed in congress the actual holiday was officially celebrated until 1983 and even then entire states didn´t accept it. Southern States were reluctant to accept it but eventually they paired the day with Robert E. Lees Birthday which is still happening to this day. Other states like Arizona fully accepted the new holiday when it first happened and then backtracked until eventually voters decided to celebrate the holiday. 2000 was the fist time that the entire US celebrated Martin Luther King day. Japan had accepted Martin Luther King day after he had reached out to them in an effort to try to connect the east and the west in solidarity.

The Jungle

The Jungle was a homeless encampment that resided in the area of Silicon Valley near Coyote Creek and it was near tech companies. It was shut down by authorities on 2014. The makeshift shelters of The Jungle covered about 68 acres of the creek which made it the largest homeless encampment in the U.S. The Los Angeles Times claims that the creation of the Jungle was caused by the rise of rent. So, it seems that people in the Jungle weren't able to afford rent or even begin to rent an apartment. Quality of life was bad is to be expected, even Robert Aguirre, a man that once lived in The Jungle, stated that everyone fended for themselves.

The government did not see this encampment as a homeless problem, rather a encampment problem, they did not like the fact that a large number of people were living in tents near high tech companies.

Some ex-residents of The Jungle were able to find housing and a job, while some were left to roam the streets


http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-silicon-valley-homeless-20141204-story.html

Columbus and his impact

Many of us are well aware of Columbus day and that there are people that celebrate it but what many don't know is the backstory to that day and the impact of his landing in what is now an island in the Bahamas.

August 3, 1492, Columbus landed in what he thought was India on his trip to find a different route to the indies. Though he claimed to have been the first to have discovered the Americas there have been many ancient artifacts that show that the Vikings had in fact been the first people from the east to have discovered the land. What this day became known as was Columbus day to commemorate the discovery of the Americas but the events that happened after the discovery are anything to celebrate about.

Columbus and his crew were greeted by Lucayan-Arawak natives who he called Indians thinking that he was in fact in India. The natives offered the crew food and their knowledge is a nomadic tribe but Columbus used that to his advantage. In his own words, he called them stupid and ignorant for not knowing what a sword was and subsequently cutting themselves. In his journal, he accounts how he stole many of natives from their homes so that he may learn about the land and where their gold was hidden. As time progressed he stole children and women and offered them as rewards to people which lead to the creation of a slave trade and sex trafficking. The natives that were still fine had experienced many cases of abuse, such cases were documented in many accounts that say that he would cut off the hands or thumbs of these natives. Eventually, the last remaining full-blooded natives were wiped out in this genocide and replaced with slaves from Africa and their half native children. His atrocities didn't go unpunished and he was sentenced for his abuses in his later years. In recent times there have been efforts to change the name of Columbus day to natives day or something similar so that kids aren't taught to look up to a man who led the genocide and enslavement of an entire population.

http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinncol1.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html

http://rapidcityjournal.com/lifestyles/people/top-atrocities-committed-by-christopher-columbus/collection_76ebb2b8-f63d-11e3-a137-001a4bcf887a.html#1

An Example of Why People Should Really Know History...

Check it out...

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/03/us/black-confederate-monument-trnd/index.html