The Nuremberg Trials

Watching the movie about the Nuremberg Trials made it seem so surreal. It was almost as if it was all just a movie to begin with. The Nuremberg Trials were the very first of its kind, and I think the intensity of it really showed through in the movie. It really brought what happened to life. One thing that I couldn't get past was that the Nazi leaders just kept saying "We were following orders" and then Goering said that the Fuhrer didn't know what was going on in the camps. Well if the Fuhrer didn't know, then who was the person giving them the orders? Every soldier claims to follow orders to an extent, but it had to have reached a point where if they truly cared they would stop. I also thought it was interesting how they used a Jewish man as the Psychologist. Looking from the German perspective it seems kind of unfair because the Psychologist will have a biased opinion. But, on the side of the Allies it gives them an advantage in prosecuting them. When they showed the real video footage that was taken during the Holocaust my heart just broke. I could never fathom why or how one human being could do that to another. You would think that the Nuremberg Trials would be a lesson to every country to never commit something like the Holocaust again, yet we see it happening still today in places like Darfur and Rwanda. I guess it really is true that History will repeat itself.

Self-reflection

Overall I have really enjoyed this class. I think it was an eye opener for me at how fast paced things will be in college, and having to balance everything. I think I did pretty well in the class, although I think I could've done much better. I am a procrastinator at times and I think it showed most in this class. This is my first year taking a social studies course during the year and I found it a little bit harder to balance everything with all of my other classes because I haven't had to do that in awhile. The most beneficial skill I have learned from this class is to get ahead and how to use technology to my advantage. I've only used an online forum once before in a class and most of the time power points are optional, in this class I became more acquainted with online forums and I learned how to better utilize a power point. I really think that this class has prepared more than some of my other classes for what I'll be doing in college.

Israel vs. Palestine

The past week we went over the Israeli Palestinian Conflict. This conflict has been going on for a very long time, and I don't see it ending any time soon. The conflict is too complex to just end. There are arguments over land, water rights, refugees and prisoners, and religion. It is hard to end a conflict when one side isn't willing to compromise with the other. Israel will agree to do something that the Palestine won't and visa versa. It is a sad thing to see happening between to countries.

Connection Across Time: Chapter 31

My connection for Chapter 31 is between the September 11 attacks and Pearl Harbor. The attacks of Pearl Harbor were done by the Japanese as their way of trying to involve America in the war by means of violence, rather than supplying goods to allied countries. Pearl Harbor was an unexpected attack that hit America hard, because we had not had a war come that close to home since the Civil War. The attacks of September 11 were also unexpected and hit America extremely hard. The attacks of September 11 were done by Al-Qaeda in an effort to break down our country. The attacks of September 11 backfired on Al-Qaeda though, because America only came back stronger. Because of September 11, American citizens realized that we needed to become more nationalistic which brought us together in the War on Terror. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 both refreshed America's nationalism.

A Child's Perspective on Global Warming

This piece of artwork is a twelve year old's perspective on Global Warming. I think it's a pretty accurate piece for what is going on. He has made the Earth look as though it has a cold, which is kind of what's going on with global warming. We keep putting harmful things in our environment causing the Earth to be "sick". I really like how this kid portrayed his vision of global warming. You can see pollutants coming up from the city part of the drawing into the sky forming a black umbrella. For only being twelve years old this kid has a pretty good hold on what Global Warming is and that it isn't good for our Earth.

Burning Village

This is a painting of a burning village in Darfur done by a child at a refugee camp. This really brings the events of Darfur to a heartbreaking perspective. Not only adults are suffering but also children. No child should be making finger paintings of their village being burned. As I was looking for art representing Darfur, I came a across a lot of drawings and paintings done by children. Children were drawing pictures of the Janjaweed killing their neighbors, setting not only huts but people on fire. These are some of the most devastating accounts of the Genocide in Darfur. It is one thing to see it through the eyes of an adult, but another to see it through the eyes of a child.

Kibeho (Rwanda)

George Gittoes is a Contemporary Artists who travels to the most horrific areas of war and paints what he sees and feels from the experience. Gittoes takes the side of war that the media doesn't publish, “ I believe there is a role for contemporary art to challenge, rather than entertain. My work is confronting humanity with the darker side of itself.” This painting is one that Gittoes painted from what he saw in Kibeho. In the distant background is a cross,a sign of God and hope, but in the the foreground there is a child with no hands and a man holding a child's head.He also uses unrealistic colors, that make you think that maybe it's a dream. I think he uses these colors because the people of Rwanda wake up every morning wishing that what is going on is all a horrible dream that they had the night before.Overall I find this artwork to be very chilling and sad.

Tibet Crisis

Before we had to do our presentations for Chapter 31, I had no idea there was a crisis going on in Tibet. Researching it really opened my eyes to it. China decided to take over Tibet, for reasons that people still aren't sure of, and in the process they have taken away every right that Tibetans hold to their culture and their humanity. It is so bad that the Dalai Lama hasn't been to Tibet in over 50 years. One thing that I found extremely heartbreaking is the Chinese kidnapping of the Panchen Lama. The Chinese went to the extent of capturing this little boy, just so the Tibetans could never really reinstate a new Dalai Lama if the current one were to pass away. The Tibetan Crisis has been going on for over 50 years and the Chinese show no signs of leaving. I never knew this, but in 2008 many people boycotted the Summer Olympics being held in Beijing because of the Tibetan Crisis. This is one of the most heartbreaking things that I've learned about, and it seems like there will be no end to it.

The Korean Conflict

I think it's interesting that war was never actually declared on any part of Korea, but to many it is still viewed as a war and not a conflict. General MacArthur is the person who urged U.S. troops into the conflict between North and South Korea. At first MacArthur succeeded in his plan to invade, but he persisted that the U.S. troops continue to invade and things got much worse. Although we don't call it a "war", I think that people still like to consider it one because 34,000 Americans were killed during it. We don't picture a conflict as being something with a death toll at all, a conflict is just a disagreement and to many Korea became much more than that.

Connection Across Time: World War II

My connection across time for WWII is my family, and the different way it affected those who were involved. During World War II my Grandfather was a part of the 143rd Seabees. The Seabees were a part of the Navy, stationed in the Philippines. In the Philippines my Grandfather built bases for ships and airplanes. He never saw any of the "action" in war, and has told me that it really felt like any other construction job he has done except it was in another country. World War II didn't really affect my Grandfather; he went, did his job, and then came home. My Uncle Tommy, on the other hand, was an ambulance driver during the war. That's all I know about the war from him, according to my Grandfather he saw too much during the war. It is interesting how war can affect people, just by the job that they were given. Growing up I always knew that it was okay to ask Pappy about the war, but it was something to never mention in front of Uncle Tommy.

The Nuremberg Trials

The end of World War II, we saw new ways of ending war. There were no official treaties, but a series of conferences. The end of World War II also saw the series of trials against leaders who committed war crimes, these were called the Nuremberg Trials. We watch the video on the Nuremberg Trials in class, and it seemed as though those charged of these war crimes were either proud of themselves, or thought that they wouldn't be found guilty. I remember one piece of evidence brought against someone was the shrunken head of a Jew that he used as a paperweight, it shocked everyone in the court room and the man who owned it seemed proud. The Nuremberg Trials were the first of their kind, and they seemed like the most intense and shocking trials that a person could ever attend.

This is a painting by Yasuko Yamagata. She was just seventeen when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima.Yamagata didn't do this painting until she was forty-six years old. It took her almost thirty years to be able to express the horrors that she saw that day. I admire her for this because I don't think I could've ever taken a paintbrush and relived one of the most horrific moments of my life the way she did. This image is very cold and unpleasant. Everything is done in very dark colors and this painting just gives a feeling of loneliness and devastation. Yamagata said that this is her depiction of the day after the bombing. In the painting there are corpses in a tank of water and the charred body of a mother holding her baby.This is just one of those things that I look at and I can't even imagine the way she must have felt. This painting leaves me speechless.

Diving For Cover

The painting Diving for Cover by Alexander P. Russo is a depiction of the Storming of Normandy. In this painting soldiers are frantically diving for foxholes as the enemy is relentlessly attacking them. I can't imagine what it would've have been like to storm Normandy. I would've been scared out of my mind. The soldiers we sent rode on a boat for days and then when the time came they got off of the boat and right into war. They had no idea what their surrounding were like, they just knew they were there to fight a war. This painting is done with very dull colors, which I think adds to the frenzy. Have you ever seen a movie where as soon as it becomes frantic things seem to slow down? I think that this painting has that slow frenzy effect because of the dull colors. I feel like I'm watching these soldiers dive for cover in slow motion. I also noticed that not everything has a sharp definition to it either. I think that the Russo's intent was for us to look at it and almost feel like we are there. I can't say I know how the soldiers felt during this time, but I bet it felt like everything was moving in a slow undefined frenzy. I know that sounds a little weird, but I really think that's how they may have felt.

Garden at Hiroshima, Autumn

I found the painting Garden at Hiroshima by Standish Backus to be chilling. This painting is the depiction of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped, leaving the city in ruins. There are only two people left standing in the middle of everything and one of them looks like a very small child. It is hard to tell where anything was and it is amazing that there are still things lying around. There is only one item that I can really tell for sure what it is and it is a bicycle. Looking at a painting like this really makes me wonder how we could drop such a devastating bomb on a country and not feel like we've done anything wrong. Especially when it was dropped on a city of innocent civilians.

The Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March was something new to me. I knew that during World War II the POW camps weren't the greatest, but I didn't know that there was one that treated people this cruelly. It amazes me that anyone survived it at all. The agreement during war was that it was a POW's duty to try and escape and that if they were to do so they would be left unharmed. The Japanese completely ignored this and killed POWs if they tried to escape. Comparing this with the Rape of Nanking, I'd say the Japanese were pretty horrible people and I'm surprised that we don't hold any sort of grudge against them today. Looking back at the Bataan Death March it was a pretty horrific thing, but the Japanese believed that it was more honorable to die for your homeland than to be captured. They treated their POWs according to their beliefs, which were pretty hardcore. I think that the Bataan Death March was a big surprise to me because it took place in the Philippines, and that is where my grandfather was stationed during WWII. He was part of a naval unit that built bases and repaired ships. When I was in elementary school I did a report and interviewed my grandfather about the war. I can remember asking him, "Were you ever afraid?" and he replied, "No.". My grandfather was never around any of the "action", but learning about the Bataan Death March sent a chill up my spine with the realization of how close he might have been to it.

Connection Across Time: Age of Anxiety

During the Age of Anxiety there were a lot of advances in the entertainment industry. We began to see more silent films and public radio stations. Much of these advances are still in use today. The KDKA in Pittsburgh it is still one of our nations top radio stations that has expanded into television.The KDKA radio was started because of Westinghouse Electric, which is a company worth billions today. When I received my assignment for the Age of Anxiety I called up my cousin and told her that part of my topic was KDKA. My connection across time to the KDKA is that my cousin Shannon had her first internship with KDKA television and now works in communications at Westinghouse, it is amazing that something like a radio station can expand so far and create jobs for a nice sized portion of Pittsburgh. I also find it amazing that the BBC, a public radio commissioned by Parliament, is also continuing to expand today. The BBC has gone from one radio station to about ten radio stations and over twenty television stations that are broadcast worldwide. In fact every morning on my way to school I turn on my satellite radio and listen to BBC 1 and then at night I watch BBC America. Listening to radio today we would never think that they were started to help ease tensions after a war, or that they are what evolved into the television we watch everyday.

"The Persistence of Memory"

The Persistence of Memory is probably one of Salvador Dali's most recognizable pieces. I always used to call this the painting of melted clocks. I think that Dali is trying to show that our memories are kind of like melted clocks. Obviously once a clock is broken it stays on whatever time is stopped working at. I think he showed them melted because he is trying to convey that the part of our brains that stores memories is a very desolate deserted place that we really don't visit all that often. I don't know whether or not he is trying to say we need to revisit our past more or if we need to stay in the present and let our memories become these deserted places. I always liked this painting and honestly I have no idea why, it has just always stuck out to me and has become, ironically, one of the most memorable paintings I know of.

"Guernica"

As I was reading through the book I came across this painting, it is called "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso. I read a summary on the painting that was in the book, and it said that "this is often considered his greatest work.". "Guernica" was inspired by the civil war in Spain and the bombing that took place in Guernica. At first glance I can tell that this painting is sad by the color and the expressions on faces, but I couldn't tell it was inspired by something that impacted and entire country. In the book it explained what the people were doing; the woman on the left is holding a dead child, in the center there is a speared horse and on the right there is a woman falling from a burning building. I can't help but keep staring at this painting to try and see what else is going on. One thing that makes me the most curious is the figure on the far left that looks like a bull, I am also wondering if the person on the right is dragging a severed leg behind her. This painting also has a lot of dark colors and shades of gray. I am actually kind of disturbed by this painting because in my last post I compared Picasso's painting "The Three Musicians" to what it would be like in a child's mind, this painting is something that I would certainly never want to see in a child's mind. I think that the color and the cubist techniques, of sharp lines and geometric shapes, definitely heightens the effect of this painting.

“Three Musicians” by Pablo Picasso

In class we went over Pablo Picasso and cubism. Sloane put up a slide with Picasso's "Three Musicians" as an example of cubism. I really liked that painting as soon as I saw. The thing that amazes me most about cubism is that everything is made from geometric shapes. It's hard to tell that people are in the painting from a first glance because all you see are squares and sharp lines, but when you actually look, it makes up people. I like cubism because it doesn't portray things realistically. It's almost like walking into a child's mind and seeing how they view the world. I think that Picasso had a great artistic point of view to be able to create this abstract form of art. Looking at Picasso today we remember him for his abstract style of painting, no one really ever looks back and says, "Man, that Picasso was really great at painting portraits!".

The Interpretation of Dreams

Today in class we spent a small amount of time on Sigmund Freud and The Interpretation of Dreams. Freud believed that to truly understand the human mind we need to look further into the unconscious, and the only way to get there is by observing our dreams. This is really interesting to me because I am one of those people that have weird dreams and then wakes up going "Oh, that must mean something!" Freud believes that our dreams are attempts made by our unconscious minds to resolve some kind of conflict. I really see where he's coming from because for me personally I have my most vivid dreams when I am under stress from some sort of conflict. It also makes sense because if we look at Freud's Iceberg Theory we see that our unconscious mind is made up of the id and the superego. The id being the impulsiveness of "I want it now!" and the superego being the moral "No it's wrong."These two parts are constantly conflicting which is what creates our dreams because during sleep the conscious part of our brains (ego) is not working to mediate between the two. I took Psychology last year and we spent a few weeks on Freud's ideas. I really enjoyed it and when we went over Freud a little in class it got me pepped up to go into further detail of the conscious and unconscious mind. I must say the Sigmund Freud was interesting fellow.

Responding to World War I Part 2

http://formaementis.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/1919-treaty-of-versailles.jpg

In the Treaty of Versailles I think that the Germans got the short end of the stick. They, along with Russia, weren't invited to the conference. Germany got no say in what would happen. They got blamed for the war and were forced to pay roughly $32 billion in reparations. They had absolutely no way to pay that large of a sum of money. They were forced to rid themselves of their military defenses and were completely embarrassed by the other world powers. Let's face it, the U.S., England, France and Italy left the Germans out to dry. They didn't even start the war. Shouldn't Austria-Hungary be the ones forced to pay because they made the first declaration of war? No, we blame Germany because they wrote the "blank check" saying that they would stand behind Austria-Hungary. Germany was completely stabbed in the back. They were left out of a peace treaty. How can you make a peace treaty and leave out a country you are trying to make peace with? It makes absolutely no sense, the Big Four were not thinking very well. When the Treaty of Versailles was signed they weren't thinking about fairness or peace, they were thinking about how quickly they could get it done and how much money each country would come out with in the end. The Treaty of Versailles wasn't a treaty for peace it was a treaty for greed. I feel bad for Italy in all of this too; they switched sides because they were told they could win the "spoils of war", the only thing Italy came out with was that they didn't have a huge debt to pay like Germany did.

http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/images/wpvd724u.jpg

Flanders Field

http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/images/otto-dix-flanders.jpg

This piece of artwork is called "Flanders" by Otto Dix. Again I just can't get over his work, he really has captured a terrifying moment in his life and has shared it with the world. This artwork stuck out to me because I have to actually look to find the people in it, they fade in with the ground so well. One thing I've been racking my brain about with this piece is whether or not the men are dead or alive. I can see them being dead because they fade in with the ground, and with trench warfare one really did blend into the ground when they died. I think they are alive though because they appear to be huddling around each other for safety, warmth, or maybe the comfort of knowing that there are others going through the same thing.It looks like dawn might be breaking in the background, which is a lightness overcoming the dark. Maybe Otto Dix is seeing a hopeful image in this? One thing that this artwork reminded me of was a poem called "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae wrote this poem about WWI. He was inspired to write it because, like Otto Dix, he served in the war and his friend was killed in the war. This poem is meant to represent the battle fields that became graveyards. I associate this with the artwork by Otto Dix, not just because they share a similar title, but because they both represent the same thing; the horrors of war.

Poem Credit: http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/McCrae.html

Snoopy vs The Red Baron: A Connection Across Time

Our first day working on notes for WWI we talked about Manfred Von Richthofen aka the Red Baron. As soon as the name Red Baron was said, the first thing that popped into my head was Snoopy vs. The Red Baron. Of all of the things with the Peanuts gang I would have to say the Red Baron is my favorite. Because of Snoopy I knew that the Red Baron was a top pilot during WWI. I find it amazing that a cartoon that everyone watches during every holiday known to man can almost glamorize something like the Red Baron. What started as a cartoon short eventually turned into a beloved Christmas song. Of all the times to be singing about a German pilot who killed eighty men, we chose Christmas. Snoopy vs. The Red Baron just goes to show how we deal with war. Instead of taking the gruesome paintings of Otto Dix to show what war is like, we look to the brighter side and make a family cartoon. I can't really say it's a bad thing though because I really do love Snoopy vs. The Red Baron. Below I have included the actual clip of Snoopy vs. The Red Baron and a video of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNremK0cBEg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RKHq5b3oLI&feature=related

Disclaimer: I do not own Snoopy vs. The Red Baron clip or song

Paths of Glory

http://www.linesandcolors.com/images/2008-05/nevinson_450.jpg

This is an oil painting by C.R.W. Nevinson called "Paths of Glory". I have found that pretty much all of the artwork that comes up when I type "WWI Artwork" into my search-bar are about the horrors of war. There really isn't a single piece that shows any type of victory or glorious moment. Then again what else should I expect? War is a horrible thing and I couldn't even fathom what it is like for an everyday citizen to go out and experience these horrors for their country, where they don't even know one percent of the people who reside there. This painting like all of the others shows what it should, two soldiers whose lives have been taken because they are brave enough to go out and fight a war that isn't theirs, but their governments. I am willing to bet that these men were just barely in their twenties, and that makes this artwork all the more depressing. The title of this painting is "Paths of Glory", both of these men set out on a path to fight for their country hoping that it would maybe make them heroes when or if they came home. Sure these men are heroes, but they would never get to experience the joy on people's faces when the war was over. Is it really necessary to sacrifice so much for a simple four letter word? I think that the whole point Nevinson was making with this painting is that so many young men set out on their "Paths of Glory" only to not make it home.

Sturmtruppe geht unter Gas vor (Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas)

http://www.art-ww1.com/gb/texte/021text.html

This piece of artwork is a print by Otto Dix called Sturmtruppe geht unter Gas vor (Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas). There is something about the artwork that Otto Dix does that absolutely frightens me but I can't help but love it. He paints what he saw during the war, and the images seem so unreal. I can't imagine going out into No Man's Land and seeing nothing but death. The gas masks make it seem as though he wasn't at war with another human being, but at war with a monster. Something that really interested me about this print is something that I didn't notice on my own. I was reading a summary about the painting and it said that, "Dix chose to depict not enemy, but German soldiers." On further research I found that Otto Dix was a member of the German Army and that he was an enthusiastic volunteer to join. Dix made a print that represented war as an evil thing and he chose to portray the "gas monsters", as I like to call them, as German soldiers. Instead of making his comrades seem like these big war heroes he decided to depict the truth and the horrors that come with war. I admire him for his work, he is a brave man to recreate all of his darkest memories and on top of that not glorify his homeland.

Responding to WWI Part 1

http://dancutlermedicalart.com/AlbertEinstein%27sZionism/images/250%20pixels/1900-1919/1914%20June%2028%20gavriloPrincip%20shoots%20archduke%20ferdinand.jpg

One of the biggest things that amazes me about WWI is how it was so easily started. All it took was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. The worst part, is that the attempt wasn't even really that successful. It took seven people to kill Franz Ferdinand; the first three chickened out, and the fourth one, Nedelko Cabrniovic, managed to throw a bomb at the Archduke's car but he missed and hit a neighboring car, he then managed to fail at killing himself with an expired cyanide capsule. Although Carbniovic failed, the explosion made his accomplices believe that he succeeded, and they went off to get a drink in celebration. Had Franz Ferdinand's driver not taken a wrong turn on their way to visit the victims of the bomb that was meant for himself, he may have never been assassinated. If it weren't for chance Gavrilo Princip wouldn't have seen the Archduke and shot him. I find it amazing that even though the assassins were doing a horrible job, they still managed to succeed. Because of this "blunder" a major war was started. I understand that a major leader was killed, but a war doesn't seem entirely necessary. In the U.S. we've had our fair share of leaders assassinated, granted by other U.S. citizens, but you don't see us starting another Civil War over it.