| Author | |
Bridget
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Michigan
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2198
|
| Posted: Oct 25 2005 at 8:58am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
My son has been studying Edith Stein. He needs to write an essay on what motivated the Nazis. I am a little afraid to do a search, what might come up could be so ugly and the kids are all working on their school work here in the computer room.
Can anyone give me a concise explanation or direct me to a history site designed for kids that might help?
__________________
God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: Oct 26 2005 at 12:17pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Bridget, I wish I knew sites or resources for the age. I'm thinking you are talking about younger children and the materials in modern history are pretty depressing in terms of serious inhumanity.
This is my favorite area to study (guess I'm weird but I think it so relates to what is happening in the US now).
In general, the impetus/philosophy behind the Nazi movement was pagan (he used some Christian trappings as a means of pulling the people along - doesn't that sound familiar when you think of New Age). Hitler had been baptized Catholic but never set foot in a Catholic church beyond that as far as anyone knows. His henchmen were often from the criminal element. You will get a sense of this reading the life of Titus Bradsma. Titus was arrested because of his role in advising Catholic lay members involved in media that they could not publish the Nazi propaganda. We also ordered a wonderful book from Roman Catholic Books called "Christ in Dachau". Sorry about the quotes - I haven't learned to underline on the computer yet. It is a little less dreary simply because it is written by a Catholic priest survivor about the religious in the concentration camps.
Another source you might consider are the papal letters to the Catholic Bishops in Germany during this time period "Mit Brenderer Sorge" I think. They so angered the Nazis that Jewish converts to Catholicism were arrested before the Nazis started going after other faith's Jewish converts. They also caused reprisals against Jews in the camps which is one of the reasons the Holy Father became very cautious after that.
Another book might be Pius XII Greatness Dishonored. It is not a young person's book but I don't know what reading level you are dealing with. As I recall, this is difficult reading but not gory.
I have not read it but suspect a life of Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict the XVI) might give some insight into this as well. The reason I say this is that we have a self-published memoir of a local lady that grew up as a child in Germany during this time period. It is very enlightening and gives a lot more balance to the media's general "Jew's good" and everyone else bad sort of portrayal. It also gives a picture of the paganism with Christian trappings. Hitler was trying to destroy Christianity and replace it with a National pagan religion as far as I understand the various things I've read.
Hope this helps some. Sorry it isn't more full of specific things to read. Most materials from the time period, as you have discovered, go into gory detail about the sufferings and torture of the people (like the experiments that Slavs were subjected to which Titus Bladsma also endured) and are too intense for younger readers, imo.
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Kelly
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 21 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1211
|
| Posted: Oct 27 2005 at 6:00pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Bridget,
What age is your son (the one doing the Germany study)? Also, are you looking for Living Books?
Off the top of my head, without knowing the age of your child(ren), I'd highly recommend the audio set, "Bonhoffer: The Cost of Freedom" put out by Focus on the Family, Radio Theatre. It is acted, not narrated, and excellent. All my children were riveted, even the ones too small to really follow it. If our son could handle St. Edith Stein, he could handle this.
Also, here I am plugging Anne Carroll's lecture series again...  but she has a casette lecture on St. Edith Stein that is also excellent. It consists of about 4 tapes, and includes a comprehension test. She lectures in a way that is great for note taking practice, too, pausing to spell out words and so on. My children took notes on this, then did Encyclopedia style research on Nazism (nothing too sordid, but sordid enough, alas) and wrote a paper on it. That, with some Living Books, covered a lot of ground.
Kelly in FL
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: Oct 27 2005 at 9:01pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Oh CHC has an on-line site with heroes of the holocaust that you might find worth reading. We printed them all out to read a little at a time. She selects Catholics from each country that were martyred by the Nazis.
There is an excellent book by Elie Weisel(Jewish survivor) but way too intense for a younger reader imo - the forward was written by a Catholic and I would not skip the forward as it talks about the horror of robbing the soul of a child. Elie was a young child at the time he was sent to the camps - and witnessed the murder of all the members of his family and many other horrors described in the book and lost all belief in God as a result of what he saw.
If you want a great literature read in the time period that would be OK for all ages, we really all enjoyed The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum. Also The Trapp Family Singers is set in the same time period(which is the real life story of their family - one of the sons turned down a position because he knew he would be required to perform abortions and Mrs. Von Trapp actually was told she should consider an abortion. One of the children said something at school that put the family in danger and the father was offered a position in the navy - they felt they had to get out as there were too many things that put their family in danger. The father also lost a great deal of money trying to support a friend's bank - something to do with trying to uphold Austria against the Nazis).
I read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich as "pleasure" reading in about 8th grade, but I do think the content was somewhat graphic - although focusing on political history quite a bit. I'd look through it first before handing it to a child.
Another connection in all of this is the thinking of Darwin and the eugenics movement but that is very likely to go into a lot more than you would want to discuss with a child. Margaret Sanger basically had many connections with this group and many of the original founders of the movement were National Socialist - they actually changed their name after the war because of the animosity developed at that time, not because they changed any of their ideas. A friend of ours actually accidently picked up a book Margaret Sanger wrote in the 1920s (library booksale) and showed it to me. It was thouroughly disgusting but left no doubt that the thinking was very Nazi.
There are lots of other memoirs of survivors, life of saints, etc. We very much wanted to get our hands on an out of print book written by a Jew (Lapide) on Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust but haven't found it - it is out of print but an excellent source if you can find it. Also there are several Lives of St. Maxmillian Kolbe and also a film by de Fillippi (sp)(Ignatius Press sells the film)on him. It is intense (too much for our youngest but OK for our older 8th grader and high schooler).
I think I'd at least glance at anything for the child to make sure you felt it appropriate. I'm thinking the life of St. Edith Stein is more about her conversion, her philosophy and the fact that she offered her life for the Jewish people - but not as much about any actual experiences in the concentration camps (is much known about exactly what she experienced there or was she sent pretty quickly to the crematorium?) so while it is heavy reading it is not gruesome in details like much of the material on the time period.
The Ballad of the White Horse is a great read for the time period as well even though it is set in the period of Alfred the Great. It was written with WWII in mind and the great ongoing battle between Christianity and paganism seems to be a major theme of the work.
Not all these are really historical works, some are. I just don't know where to point you to a simple, appropriate work that would give the background succinctly for helping with the particular paper.
If you do find something, please share it with us!
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: Oct 27 2005 at 9:08pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Had to throw this one in...In the Shadow of His Wings by Gereon Karl Goldmann. It's a really gripping story, that gives a perspective from a Catholic living in Nazi Germany. Teenagers would love this book, but some of his stories could even be read aloud for some younger ages. My family LOVES this book.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: Oct 27 2005 at 9:25pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Another thought...when I was studying history in college, one thing was pointed out to us that the actions of the Nazis to wipe out the Jews didn't come out of a vacuum. That was an aspect I wasn't aware...that in all European countries, including Britain, in the 19th century and early 20th there was a distrust and anti-semitic movement...even laws on books regarding such issues. You can also see this as Janet points out with the Sanger connection. Hitler fed on this to put the blame of all the woes of Germany on the Jewish race. It wasn't a new idea of anti-semitism...he just channeled the anger and blame and took it to a new level the world had never seen before.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: Oct 28 2005 at 5:48am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Bridget,
Just very briefly how about
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" Doesn't quite answer your question but does give a feel for the timewithout being a horrific book. "I am David' I would probably think that about 13. And 'The Silver Sword" by Ian Serrailer is a big favourite of mine. These are more living books for the time period. Not anwering your question. I would suggest you read up yourself and then can describe the whole Aryan race philosphy to him and discuss it.
I take it this is for your ds12? I'll give it some further thought. Actually my ds10 had been wanting to do WW1 and 2 for some time. This is an area I studied quite thoroughly at school myself. I need to collate material in this area also.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bridget
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Michigan
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2198
|
| Posted: Oct 28 2005 at 6:23am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks everyone! It is so hard for me to search ugly topics on line because they all read over my shoulder. My 12 year old is studying this and he can handle a lot. The others would have night mares.
__________________
God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
juliecinci
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 20 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 294
|
| Posted: Oct 28 2005 at 12:15pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
My favorite children's book about Nazi Germany is _Number the Stars_ by Lois Lowry. Deals with the Danish resistance to the Holocaust. Powerfully written but not too much for kids to handle.
I also second the Bonhoeffer series from Focus on the Family and there are two films that feature Bonhoeffer - one is a documentary ("Bonhoeffer" by Martin Doblmeier) and the other is called "Agent of Grace" which is a dramatization of his life story. Each one has its own perspective, but if you sort of "soak" in Bonhoeffer a bit, you get an amazing view of how the German church did (or didn't!) respond to the anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany.
Julie
__________________
Julie
Homeschooling five for fourteen years
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
|
| Posted: Oct 29 2005 at 3:42pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Julie's favorite is also mine! The Winged Watchman is probably second. Sonia Levitin has written some good books on this topic, too, that are not too graphic. I haven't read the one set in Denmark, though, so can't comment on it.
__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Robin
Forum Pro
Joined: March 06 2005
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 74
|
| Posted: Oct 30 2005 at 1:22am | IP Logged
|
|
|
There is an out of print World Landmark book called "The Rise and Fall of Adolph Hitler" that I bought when my 11 year old ds was interested in WWII. I learned a lot about the man, his youth, the beginnings of the "Third Reich", and how wretched his life and last days were. I could scarcely put the book down but I decided not to give it to my son because of the chapter about Hitler and his girlfriend... But then I'm kinda funny about that kind of thing...
__________________
Robin Dupre
"If we become what God intended for us to become, we will set the world on fire." ~ St. Catherine of Siena
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Kelly
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 21 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1211
|
| Posted: Oct 31 2005 at 12:29am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Depending on the age and maturity of your son, here are some of our favorite books on this subject (many of these have already been mentioned!) A star next to it means Mom had better look at it first:
The Winged Watchman (our top favorite!)
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Number the Stars
The Borrowed House* (pretty sobering, for older child)
Enemy Brothers
THe Story of the Trapp Family Singers
The Hiding Place* (for older child)
Shadow of His Wings
Operation Escape - Story of Fr. O'Flaherty (tho it doesn't take place in Germany per se, it is in Europe and is about a priest who defies the Nazis-good read!)
The Other Victims: First Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis* (Young Adult-Mom, check this one out first, very sobering, but an important reminder)
I Am David
The Singing Tree (or is that one WWI? Hmmmm)
The Chestry Oak (also by Kate Seredy)
The Chalet School Series (the first 9 or so all take place in pre-war Austria, up to their exciting escape from the Nazis)
Post war Germany-books by Margot Benary-Isbert
Biographies of St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Edith Stein and the aforementioned Bonhoeffer resources
Twenty and Ten (nuns hiding Jewish children in France)
Snow Treasure (evading Nazis in..was it Norway?)
The Silver Sword
The Miracle of the White Stallions (or maybe that's the name of the movie-old Disney flick, great movie about Patton saving the Lippizaner horses) It is also talked about in great detail in the book, "My Horses, My Teachers" by Alois Poznansky, former head of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna
A Man Called Intrepid*(Great Book! But not sure of the reading level, might only appeal to older kids, about spies in WWII, and the general struggle to disseminate mis-information to the Germans during the war)
In Face of Danger - by Mara Kay I haven't read this one, but it's about an English girl and her uncle who get stuck in Germany and are sheltered in a German home. Cited as being for grades 5 and up...looks interesting)
Silence over Dunkerque
And while we're on the subject of movies...
The Heroes of Telemark
The Great Escape
Miracle of the White Stallions
Chariots of Fire
Das Boot* (pretty intense, but riveting for older crowd, about German submarine-from German perspective)
The Red and the Black (priest hiding Jews in the Vatican)
Mrs. Miniver (England during WWII, but a great flick)
The Sound of Music - Of course!
Kelly in FL
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bookswithtea
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 07 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2621
|
| Posted: Oct 31 2005 at 6:27am | IP Logged
|
|
|
This isn't about the Nazi's, just WWII during the bombing of England, but I just have to plug the PBS special, 1940's House.
Very modern grandparents and their divorced daughter and her two sons spend 3 months living as the British did during the air raids. Dh and I *loved* this show. There was none of the nonsense that some of the other "house" movies had. I learned a lot and have a new respect for what the British endured and overcame.
Preview first if you are concerned, but after previewing it myself, we would have no problem letting our 12 yo ds watch it.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: Oct 31 2005 at 7:25am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Kelly wrote:
| Depending on the age and maturity of your son, here are some of our favorite books on this subject (many of these have already been mentioned!) A star next to it means Mom had better look at it first: |
|
|
Great list. Do you also read Diary of Anne Frank?
For older teenagers, two books I would recommend:
Soldiers of Destruction (on SS)
I Am Afraid of My Dreams by Wanda Póltawska. (OOP, first hand account of Polish girl who underwent experiments like Mendel. Very vivid)
Kelly wrote:
| And while we're on the subject of movies... |
|
|
Love "Mrs. Miniver"!!!
I think the title is The Scarlet and the Black instead of the "Red and the Black"...It's based on the book Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican which I keep meaning to get!
I'd also add the following, but I have put an asterisk to make sure it's nothing offensive.
Stalag 17* to get a feel of POW in a German camp (our family favorite!)
Battle of the Bulge
Life is Beautiful * (Dh and I watched this our first Date )
The Pianist* (I just finally saw this!)
The Bridge Over the River Kwai (not Nazi, but just great for WWII and POW perspective)
Judgment at Nuremberg * Very moving perspective.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Kelly
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 21 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1211
|
| Posted: Oct 31 2005 at 8:08am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Oops, yes, the "Scarlet and the Black" not the "Red and the Black". I always confuse that with "Le Rouge et le Noir" by Stendhal  tho Stendhal is not for children, and this movie IS. We've watched it several times and enjoyed it always.
Diary of Anne Frank - Hmmm. I went to bed last night pondering that book. I did not add it to the list because when I saw it as a play as a 13 year old, it had quite a bit of sexual innuendo concerning Anne and her apartment mates. I don't know if they added that to the play, or whether I read it in the book, but there was talk about her attraction and "feelings" toward a girl-then her same warm feelings toward Peter. And the Peter thing was definitely part of the book-no surprise, really. I visited the place she was hidden in Amsterdam, and it would be hard NOT to have "feelings" toward an age-mate kid packed into that small space with you for three years. Still, as a teen, I just remember being very disturbed by this aspect of Anne Frank.
Kelly in FL
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mary G
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5790
|
| Posted: Oct 31 2005 at 11:05am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Don't forget "Miracle at Moreaux" with a surprisingly good job done by Loretta Swit as the nun whose school helps Jewish children escape. ....
__________________
MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: Nov 01 2005 at 12:13am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Another title to add to these great lists is the LIttle Riders by M Shemin. Set in occupied Holland.
This discussion has got me finally moving and we are reading The Winged Watchman. It is provoking so much discussion. (Don't you just love that) The children asked about the'why's' I explained to them that HItler was the head of Germany and he made many Germans do things that they din't want. I explained to them his Aryan Race ideology and they understood that quite easily. They knew that not all Germans were bad, they mentioned about when we had read Little Riders and the nice German Officer in that story.(I feel stongly that I want them to understand this very clearly when we study war, children tend to see the 'good and the 'bad' but we need to also explain the individual)
Although they then asked why if Hitler was so evil didn't the German people themselves kill him. I told them the story of how some top German officers had plotted to kill him, they were led by quite a devout Catholic and that Hitler had found out and they were killed. (I didn't tell them the horrible manner in which this was done however).
My children are familiar with the term of concentration camp although I haven't gone into great detail of what happened there. Just stated that most died if sent there.
Don't know if this is very clear, just rambling.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MaryM
Board Moderator
Joined: Feb 11 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 13104
|
| Posted: Nov 01 2005 at 1:10am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Erin wrote:
| I explained to them that HItler was the head of Germany and he made many Germans do things that they didn't want. |
|
|
Our own Pope Benedict's experience would be interesting to look at here. His father was an outspoken critic of the Nazis and their familywas relocated because of it. Josef Ratzinger like German children of that age was made to be part of the Hilter Youth and then he was drafted along with the rest of his seminary class in 1943. He later deserted. All a good example of the forced nature of what was happening to so many German people but who were helpless to stop the Nazi's.
__________________
Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: Nov 01 2005 at 1:17am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Wow Mary
I didn't know any of this. Fascinating.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MaryM
Board Moderator
Joined: Feb 11 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 13104
|
| Posted: Nov 01 2005 at 1:30am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Here is a link to the Ratzinger Fan Club with some specific discussion on the topic. It references his autobiography where he shares experiences of life under the Nazi rule. It also has links to some interesting and thought provoking articles.
__________________
Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Nazi Germany
