Social Studies 10 – Mr. Crane

This week we extended our look at immigrants by looking a bit more closely at immigrants. This film will give you an update on what is happening in Syria.

This week, however, was mostly spent working on our resolutions. Please don’t forget that they are due on Tuesday at 8:00 am for both classes….

This week you all made some impressive progress on your global issues resolutions.  In addition we looked at the positive and negative effects of migration.  You should be able to discuss the following ideas:

• How can immigration have a positive effect on a country’s economy?
• Why can illegal immigration hurt a country’s economy?
• What is meant by “remittances” and how can this affect a country’s economy?
• What are some of the problems that migrant workers face in their new country?

Here is an interesting clip on the current immigration policies in Denmark.  Take a look and see what you think….

This week we didn’t get as far as I had hoped thanks to me breaking my ankle. Thank you for all being flexible – and for being so helpful. Only 22 more days with a cast.  Then life may get back to normal – whatever that means at ISP!

This week we started our geography unit on global issues.  By now you all should have chosen a topic for your resolution.  Next week we will be working to write out resolutions.  Remember, thinking both locally and globally.

As for our content this week, at least one class has begun the discussion of migration.  You should be able to explain the following:

• The difference between emigration and immigration.
• Be able to give examples of seasonal migration.
• What is meant by “forced migration?”
• What are the push and pull factors associated with migration?
• What is meant by the statement: Pull factors may be real or perceived?

Finally, Mr. North reminded us that animals also migrate.  Though not really highly relevant at the time, I thought I would honor his contribution with a video clip.

Gay Men in Auschwitz

This week we wrapped up our study of the Holocaust.  We  looked at the other victim groups.  Here are some of the key ideas that we discussed:

• The German police deported Roma  to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the camp authorities housed them in a special compound that was called the “Gypsy family camp.” Some 23,000 Roma were deported to Auschwitz altogether.  SS medical researchers assigned to the Auschwitz complex, such as SS Dr. Josef Mengele, received authorization to choose human subjects for medical experiments. In May 1944, the camp leadership decided to murder the inhabitants of the Gypsy compound. The SS guards surrounded and sealed off the compound. When ordered to come out, the Roma refused, having been warned and having armed themselves with iron pipes, shovels, and other tools used for labor. It is not known precisely how many Roma were killed in the Holocaust.  Historians estimate that the Germans and their allies killed around 25 percent of all European Roma. Of slightly less than one million Roma believed to have been living in Europe before the war, the Germans and their Axis partners killed up to 220,000.
• Jehovah’s Witnesses were subjected to intense persecution under the Nazi regime. The Nazis targeted Jehovah’s Witnesses because they were unwilling to accept the authority of the state, because of their international connections, and because they were strongly opposed to both war on behalf of a temporal authority and organized government in matters of conscience. When Germany reintroduced compulsory military service in March 1935, the conflict with the Witnesses escalated. For refusing to be drafted or perform military-related work, and for continuing to meet illegally, increasing numbers of Jehovah’s Witnesses were arrested, tried by judicial authorities and incarcerated in prisons and concentration camps. Conditions in Nazi camps were harsh for all inmates. Many prisoners died from hunger, disease, exhaustion, exposure to the cold, and brutal treatment. The number of Jehovah’s Witnesses who died in concentration camps and prisons during the Nazi era is estimated at 1,000 Germans and 400 from other countries, including about 90 Austrians and 120 Dutch.  In addition, about 250 German Jehovah’s Witnesses were executed for refusing to serve in the German military.
• The Nazis posed as moral crusaders who wanted to stamp out  homosexuality from Germany in order to help win the racial struggle. Once they took power in 1933, the Nazis intensified persecution of German male homosexuals. The Nazis believed that male homosexuals were weak, effeminate men who could not fight for the German nation. They saw homosexuals as unlikely to produce children and increase the German birthrate. The Nazis generally did not target non-German homosexuals unless they were active with German partners. Gay men had a high fatality rate in the camps.  Reasons for this include the nature of the work that was given to them by the SS, lack of solidarity with other prisoners, and the lack of connection to family outside of the camps.  Upon liberation, many gay men would be forced to spend time in prison to “complete their sentence” for the crime of homosexuality.
• Determining the number of people killed in the different groups is difficult for several reasons: lack of evidence (like the Einsatzkommando killings), lack of testimony (often true for Roma and gay victims), “double counting” of groups, political bias, and the question of the labels that were put on individuals.
  
• You can also read here about black Germans in the Holocaust.

And here is a good video on the Roma Holocaust

This week we finished the amazing story of Nicholas Winton – and we looked at our first documents regarding the Holocaust.  As part of our discussion, we have discussed the difficulties of immigration for those who wanted to leave Nazi Germany.  Here is a video on the famous SS St Louis – the ship with Jews fleeing Germany who were not allowed into Cuba because of intervention by the US.  A film worth seeing.