Welcome and First Assignment

Welcome to the Blog! I have provided a few materials that you are welcome to browse through to get a sense for the course. 

I've posted a famous quote from Martin Niemoller in order to focus on one theme for this course, which is the role of the "innocent bystander." When we study the Holocaust, or look at more recent genocide in Darfur or Kosovo, we need to ask what role did the bystander play? Did ordinary people try to help save their friends and neighbors from genocide, or did they look the other way?

We will be reading three books over the ten-weeks; Night by Elie Wiesel and the graphic novels Maus I and Maus II by Art Spiegelman.  Feel free to start reading as soon as you get your hands on these excellent books. October 7 is less than two months away, so please register soon. 

For those of you looking to get more information about this course, or to register, please click the Course Description link at the right.

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The first reading we will work with is a poem by Maurice Ogden called "The Hangman." I've posted the four stanzas, or parts, of the poem in four separate pages that you can link to at the right side of this blog. 

Each page has definitions for the words in the poem that might not be familiar, and I've put review questions at the end of each stanza.  We will discuss "The Hangman" in our first class meeting and we will watch a short movie that was made from the poem.

Assignment due by October 7: Please read the four parts of "The Hangman" and email me your answers to the review questions. Links are included in each stanza.

"They came first for the Communists

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

"First they came ..." is a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text expresses, in a condensed form, the understanding of history presented by Niemöller in a January 6, 1946 speech before representatives of the Confessing Church in Frankfurt. 

Source: Wikipedia

2010: Introduction to the Holocaust, a course for Unschoolers

Background: The Holocaust refers to a specific event in 20th century history: The systematic, bureaucratic annihilation of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and their collaborators as a central act of state during World War II. In 1933 approximately nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Germany during the war. By 1945, two out of every three European Jews had been killed.

Purpose: The purpose of this course will be to explore the history and events of the Holocaust, in compliance with the teaching principles established by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Resources will include literature as well as first-person video from survivors of the Holocaust.

Course Details: $150 for the ten week course, $25 discount for families with multiple siblings

Who: Unschoolers, ages 11+, maximum enrollment 14 students.
Where: 18 Highland Ave, Old Orchard Beach
When: October 7 through December 16, Thursday evenings from 6 pm – 7:30 pm, we will not meet on Thanksgiving.
Contact Info: Email: alexbradstreet@gmail.com. Please email me in advance if you will miss a class.

Enrollment and Payment: Please register now to let me know if you would like to participate. Course payment is due by October 1, please mail checks to Alex Bradstreet, 18 Highland Ave, Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064. You may also send money using PayPal, using my email address: alexbradstreet@gmail.com.

Required Course Materials: Please read these books! You may purchase them if you wish, or borrow them from a library. These first-person reports of life before, during and after the Holocaust will be a key part of this course. I have split up the reading over the first half of the course, but you may find that you cannot put these down once you start reading them.

1. Maus I by Art Spiegelman, Oct 7- Oct 21

2. Maus II by Art Spiegelman, Oct 28 - Nov 11

3. Night by Elie Weisel, Nov 18 - Dec 9  

Safe Learning Environment: This photo shows a pile of shoes outside a gas chamber. This image is chilling, but does not exploit the victim’s memories or assault the viewer’s emotions. In line with the USHMM teaching principles, I will attempt to maintain a safe learning environment for the students as we explore a horrific period of our history, while being respectful of each other and of the victims of the Holocaust.

A mound of victims’ shoes found in Majdanek after the liberation (#13108)

Online Work: We will be using a blog for assignments and to share online resources, as well as giving students the option to share their work. Students with laptops are encouraged to bring them to class. If access to the Internet is not possible at home, please let me know in advance and I will make accommodations for you.

About the Instructor: Alex Bradstreet holds a BA in History from the University of Maine, with a minor concentration in Modern Europe and the Holocaust. Alex taught at a middle school for one year until he decided to pursue a career in technology rather than education. Alex is the father of Adam and Olivia, two unschooling children who have been asking him to offer this course for some time.