History Education In The Us

[Baby Space Jesus]

I recently read a book entitled Black Earth. Basically, it is a very thorough account of a journalist's travels through Russia. It is pretty intense, but I reccommend reading it. At one point, the journalist (whose last name is Meier) recalls a question he asked an elderly Russian lady who lived through a fair amount of the Soviet regime: "What was the difference between Hitler and Stalin?" She instantly replied: "Hitler only killed his enemies."

All throughout my education I have been taught about the evils of the Holocaust, but I was amazed that I had to get into upper division college courses to learn quite a bit about what happened in the Soviet Union. My question is: why is the Holocaust covered so intensively in history classes throughout the US, but when similar (if not worse) things were going on in the Soviet Union much more recently students hear very little about it? Can our history classes really be considered to be teaching students enough about what has been going on in our world or are the youth of America terribly uneducated?

[Voski]

They don't want you to know about it. Theres a girl in my English class who lived in Germany for 8 years and had no idea about the holocaust until she came to America and had to write a paper on it for a class. Everything you learn is controlled if you ask me, dark things have happened in the US too that aren't thought extensively in history classes either.

Or maybe they just figure you don't need to know it until you take higher level classes. They can't teach everything in a few classes you know what I mean?

[Ralleac]

They don't want you to know about it. Theres a girl in my English class who lived in Germany for 8 years and had no idea about the holocaust until she came to America and had to write a paper on it for a class. Everything you learn is controlled if you ask me, dark things have happened in the US too that aren't thought extensively in history classes either.

It partially depends on where you go to school and who your professor is, but that's definitely the case. You'd think thousands of people weren't murdered in public lynch mobs (people took their kids to this **** to watch as entertainment) during the late 1800's straight up through the 1960's based on how little they teach of it in public school. At the same time, U.S. high schools don't focus on World History very much. At best it accounts for around 1/4 of the curriculum. I've actually completed all of my required history courses at a state university and all of them were focused around U.S. history. Edited March 25, 2008 by Ralleac

[Baby Space Jesus]

I have heard about people living in Germany that have never heard of the Holocaust and that blows my mind. I was just ovberwhelmingly surprised to hear about all the camps that were established throughout all of the Soviet Union. In that same book, the author said that political prisoners (who were also USSR citizens) were kept at a camp in a town called Norilisk. Once they were released fromt he camps they would mostly stay in that town even though it is an extremely uninhabitable environment. This is because they knew that the whole country was also in camps so there was no real point in trying to live anywhere else in the nation. Crazy ****, eh?

[Balthazar]

I have heard about people living in Germany that have never heard of the Holocaust and that blows my mind.

I know we got some German members on this board. Would someone care to elaborate?

Books about holocaust is widely available in Germany today, and with the presence of internet you'd have to do a pretty good job not to ever hear about the holocaust. I don't know much about how much they learn about WWII in German schools (or what part of the war that gets most of the attention) but I have a hard time believing that that the holocaust does not get a good portion of attention. Edited March 25, 2008 by Balthazar

[J-thehookaholic]

I have heard about people living in Germany that have never heard of the Holocaust and that blows my mind.

I know we got some German members on this board. Would someone care to elaborate?

Books about holocaust is widely available in Germany today, and with the presence of internet you'd have to do a pretty good job not to ever hear about the holocaust. I don't know much about how much they learn about WWII in German schools (or what part of the war that gets most of the attention) but I have a hard time believing that that the holocaust does not get a good portion of attention.

LOL. sorry funniest thing from family guy when they were taking that german bus tour... "We were on vacation! We Were invited!...." forgot what episode it was from but it just popped in my head and thought it was funny.

[Voski]

I have heard about people living in Germany that have never heard of the Holocaust and that blows my mind.

I know we got some German members on this board. Would someone care to elaborate?

Books about holocaust is widely available in Germany today, and with the presence of internet you'd have to do a pretty good job not to ever hear about the holocaust. I don't know much about how much they learn about WWII in German schools (or what part of the war that gets most of the attention) but I have a hard time believing that that the holocaust does not get a good portion of attention.

I'll elaborate. The leaders are ashamed of the black times in their history and would rather have no one know about it because it leaves a black mark on them. Since your youth is your future it makes sense to make them think your a great nation.

I think I have been thought about the Japanese detainment camps on the west coast after pearl harbor in only one class. Theres no point in a government making its people ashamed of its past.

But on the other hand everything BAD that has happened to your nation caused by other will be thought to you and everything that makes your nation look good will be thought as well. We nuked a bunch of people and pretty much set that land to be useless for many many years, but we can just tell the kids we saved Europe and won the war! Catch my drift?

[TheScotsman]

Must be a victim of a US education.

What was that about nuking people and leaving the land useless? Are you inferring that the land is contaminated beyond use for anything?

That would be as wrong as you could be. I have visited the hypocenter memorial, and stood below the spot of the actual burst. There is a memorial at that location, a rather somber experience. but it is in no way contaminated beyond use.

http://www.satellite-sightseer.com/id/4900...aki_Ground_Zero

In Hiroshima it is much less dramatic.
http://www.satellite-sightseer.com/id/2166...ima_Ground_Zero
Never been there myself. Doesn't look like much to see. The bridge was the target.


No point in a gov't making people ashamed of it's past? Now that is silly on several levels. First, to be ashamed of a past you had nothing to do with does not should very rational. Second, assuming it's the government's duty to educate people about anything, and lastly to infer that it is fine to rewrite history just to make people feel good is just plain insane. The past is just that, a lesson to be learned, and the mistakes to be avoided, not hidden by some revised history book, or ignored by some teacher that is somehow embarrassed by the truth, and things that can not be changed. Edited March 25, 2008 by TheScotsman

[r1v3th3ad]

Free Zundel lol

[.cOLt.45.]

Basically in Germany they try to cover up the Holocaust as much as possible. I remember the first time I came here and went walking in the woods...There was a plaque talking about the history of the forest...the time period 1939-1945 was just plain gone haha. Any display of the swastika or hitler march or hitler salute and such will get you a ticket. In eurotrip the little hitler kid scene was edited out.