The
first day of class Mr. Gallagher pointed out the fact that this course will not
be like any other we have ever experienced in the high school. We were
addressed that after leaving this course some of us will leave with a lot of
new knowledge. However, some will leave
with just a little bit of knowledge gained, but Mr. Gallagher would still feel
it was a successful semester. At first I
didn’t find the course meaningful, I figured it be like any other history
course in the Westborough High School curriculum. With only a few days of class
left, other than feeling sad, I realize I am a totally different person because
of what I have learned.
This course by far is extremely
brilliant in so many levels, from serious talent, to anti-Semitism, from
overwhelming happiness, to intense sadness on families; all are examples of
issues in the course. For me to give up time from hanging out with my friends
and any other plans I could have possibly made is very rare. Starting a week
and half in advance, I went to the library to start this project. That already
by itself expresses how meaningful this course was to me. I can’t say I have
ever done such a thing throughout my school career.
Blogging is a part of the course
that helps reflect the movie or lesson to ourselves. In reality, the homework
assignments were not only our opinions; but, it was a time to state your own
reaction to some of the events that took place in history, what would I have
done? For example, I found that when reflecting back onto the movie “The Pianist” I also would have done what
Wladyslaw Szpilman did by trying to escape.
He had an opportunity to leave the Warsaw Ghetto and then used his
friend’s connections to survive on his own in apartments. If I were in that
position I would have also tried to escape instead of awaiting the fate of the
gas chambers. The blogs gave me a new perspective of what average people had to
face during a time of chaos. These assignments helped me grow as a person and
understand the choices and outcomes people had to face in history. One movie that was uplifting to me was
“Twelve Angry Men” it was uplifting to me because out of all twelve men who
were asked to vote for the young man who supposedly killed his father, all
eleven of the men voted guilty. The one guy who voted not guilty, Mr. Davis
made it clear that he wasn’t voting not guilty and wasn’t voting guilty either,
until he could get enough details from the murder scene to be able to make up
his own decision of whether the young man being accused of murder was guilty of
the crime or completely innocent. Mr.
Davis was very assertive and straight forward to the point with his answer,
which still was not guilty and wouldn’t change his vote to otherwise until he
was fed with facts that he needed to prove that the young man was guilty. The other eleven men were really getting
frustrated with Mr. Davis because they didn’t understand why he was voting on
either guilty or not guilty. Mr. Davis
inspired me very much, what I took from the movie was always do your research
or find all the evidence you need before jumping to conclusion. Although it
took a lot of time, the few angry men, which would rather be doing other things
in their lives instead of being in a non-air conditioned room inside a court room.
By the other eleven men, Mr. Davis was perceived upon at the time as a bad guy,
but instead he was truly a hero at the end because the young man was innocent
of the murder.
Warsaw Uprising was an interesting
movie. In this movie, it shows how the Jews fought back against the Nazis. They
were known as “The Jewish Combat” and although it was hard for them to
transport the ammunition from one place to the other walking passed Nazis, they
did their best. It took courage, creativity and perseverance. I liked this
movie because at one point I was asking my self how come the Jews never tried
to fight back against the Nazism. As the German forces came to the ghetto, trying
to find the rest of the Jews, since all the streets were deserted, they were
hit by home made ammunition, a few pistols shots, grenades thrown at them, automatic weapons going off and riffles being shot at them, which lead to the German SS getting injured if not killed.
This forced the Germans and their leader to retreat outside the ghetto wall.
The Warsaw Uprising gets into details of how they got into intense street
fighting, at this point where the German SS have been attacked by the Jews made
them second guess the Jews and re-group for a better plan of attack. The
retaliation made me so proud because I was losing hope on the Jews trying to
fight for their right. This movie touched my heart. It seemed like there was no
more hope for these Jew's but instead they looked upon on how they would
better themselves. They decided that they will not put up with Germans anymore and decided to stand up for themselves, which at this point meant to take the responsibility and grab
weapons to retaliate. To me this was the most important Jewish uprising.
Now that I have learned about the
Holocaust I am more than ever appreciative of the kind of life I have, I
appreciate others, respect others, and become sensitive when it’s needed. I
have learned that I shouldn’t take life for granted, I should appreciate
everything and live happy because tomorrow is never promised. I have a much
better understanding of myself; Facing
History and Ourselves is really the course that helped me open up my
mentality and eyes to the near surroundings. It helps you become less ignorant
and more educated.
Thank you very
much Mr. Gallagher, you have really made a change in my life and I’m sure of my
fellow students as well. You truly inspire each one of us in one way or another
and this is why your course is always over subscribed. I consider myself lucky
to have been a part of this remarkable course and I am extremely thankful that
you were the one to instruct the course. Because of your passion, I don’t think
any one could have done a better job than you have Mr. Gallagher. May God bless
you and all the best of luck to you. Thank you again.
