Hitler Articles

Before he was the sociopathic leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler was an artist, bum, and in some eyes a revolutionary. He was able to gain a tremendous amount of support due to his inspirational speaking and undeniable leadership. He did not, however, always have this power. In the early 1920's, many people doubted his ideals and his conviction to fulfill them. In this article (Alan Stern), he is compared to Mussolini because of his idea to establish a government of German Fascists. This article also says that, "the German republican press assure us that the Bavarian workers will have nothing to do with him or his followers." Oh how they were wrong. Despite all the predictions that Hitler was no more than a t-shirt, Hitler was still able to gain great following. The Republic government was so worried that they banned several of his meetings and processions. Hitler gained this support by linking a common enemy, communism and capitalism, with his own personal enemy, the jews. He linked these two by saying, "The world's capital is Jewish;Marxism is Jewish; Marxism and capitalism are responsible for the desperate straits the world is in, Therefore, Down with the Jews!" Overall, this article described how Hitler would be unable to gain support. The article made it seem like Hitler and his followers were nothing but a bunch of jive turkeys. They said he was less than Mussolini because he lacked conviction and was incapable of definite lines of action. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

Appeasement

Although no one likes to do it, we all use appeasement in our daily lives. Whether it be letting your friend win an argument just so that it will end or doing your chores, so that you don't have to fight with your parents, everyone has to do it sometimes. Although appeasement is supposed to be used to keep peace and therefore make another person happy instead of personal gain, often it can work in your favor. For example, if my mom asks me to do chores all day, from cleaning to doing the laundry, I do it so that we won't get in a fight and so that she doesn't have to do it. Since she didn't have to do the chores, she is in a better mood and is happy with me. Later in the day if I need something, like a to a friends house, she is more likely to give it than if I hadn't done my chores, because I did something for her. You could say that she is appeasing me back for when I appeased her. Appeasement is generally a good thing to do for others even if at the time it doesn't seem like a thing that you want to do. Although I understand that appeasement is not supposed to benefit you, because that would be compromise, I believe that in most cases, you will always benefit from appeasement because at the very least, the person that you are appeasing will think better of you for it.

Propaganda During WWII

Hitler is depicted as a giant monster. He is caged by a much smaller "American" bird. He looks almost drugged—docile. This cartoon—made by Dr. Seuss—implores Americans to "buy more savings bonds and stamps" because "cages cost money", implying that if only more people would contribute (or if people would contribute more) then Hitler could be locked away just like this, very quickly and easily. It is not that he cannot be chained and taken away—it is that there isn't enough money to buy chains. This propaganda is different from WWI propaganda in that it is a satirical take on the news. Some propaganda posters of WWI were depicting the war as an easy victory—a non-bloody battle. Others used rhetoric such as "Are you a man or a mouse?" to aggravate citizens' pride and force them to support the war effort in order to keep it intact. Dr. Seuss uses a similar tactic in this cartoon. By implying that it only takes a little more support from the home front to win the war and put away who Americans saw as the villain of the situation forever, he is making people feel obligated to donate their money to the cause. Each person feels as if they will make all the difference. However, because Dr. Seuss—being a political cartoonist—has drawn an obviously a comical view on the situation, it is also mocking of the public being drawn in by propaganda. Dr. Seuss shows in his cartoon a warped version of what everyone was hoping—deep down—would happen. Maybe, they thought, if I do what this poster says then the war will be over. By casting a giant horned beast as Hitler and a long-beaked bird with a gun as America, Dr. Seuss mocked this common dream.

How did Hitler turn out the way he did?

As I navigated various sites searching around for Hitler's biography, it came to me how vastly they different on some points, but how they also agreed on others. All the sites basically talked about how Hitler, when he was a student, and later, when he was homeless in Vienna, formed his ideas about how Jews should be treated, and how to solve Germany's economic woes. However, how he came up with these ideas, two very different sites caught my eye. One site said that he was taught by an important political figure. Another claimed that while staying in Jewish-funded homeless shelters, his bitterness against them formed. Where these sites differed even more, though, was on Hitler's childhood. The first site said that he suffered through a miserable childhood, and was of a "moody, lazy, and unstable temperament." The other one, though, talks about how Hitler was a talented and motivated child who yearned to join a peaceful monastery as an adult. The fact that these sites vary so much on the issue of Hitler's youth intrigues me; it seems that the best way to figure out his mentality - and how to prevent it from re-surfacing in our youth - would be to find out what caused it, and no one clearly really knows what did. I think that it would benefit our world to a great extent to have the key to Hitlers' mind through his childhood, and I am surprised that more research has not been done into the topic.

Appeasing is Pleasing

Ahh appeasement, what is done to someone in order to give them a sense of "power/freedom", but in reality is kept under a glass ceiling. This tactic is used all the time in sports. I cannot recall the last time I appeased anyone, but I have recently witnessed an example of it. On my younger sister's basketball team, it is obvious who are better players than others. After spending numerous games spectating from the sidelines, one of the players sent the coach an email about possibly getting more playing time. It is clear that the girl is not as good of a player as the girls who got most of the playing time, but the coach felt bad and decided to take action. The next game, the coach put the complaining girl in the game during the first moments of the game. After about one minute and thirty seconds, they girl was right out. By doing this, the girl felt like she contributed to the team and was satisfied. When a coach does something like that to a player, he/she is basically saying, " I'll let you get a little taste, but you won't be in long enough to make a huge difference". I have also recently been the victim of appeasement and just now realized. My dance instructor knows that I prefer one specific dancer (in another class) over the other dancers. Realizing this, she placed me in the same number of my "prefered dancer". At first I thought, " Yes! I get to dance with my prefered dancer!". I soon realized that I would only be moving props around while she dances. I still found that satisfying enough, but I know see that I was just another victim of appeasement.

Father-Daughter Appeasement

The most memorable experience i have had with appeasement is with my father, Dominick. After being his daughter for 16 years i have learned that the more i give the more willing he is to let me do what i want but sadly that doesn't always work. For example, my dad has this thing about always wanting to walk with me, so whenever i know i want to do something on a weekend and he asks me to walk with him instead of saying no and arguing i say yes thinking that it will benefit be in the end. It did the first couple times. It was the magic charm and worked all the time but now my dad has figured it out and is using it to his advantage. He will tell me if i walk with him i "might" be able to go out, might being the key word. After walking with him and being the pleasant daughter i always am, i am excited cause i am thinking "yes i am going out" but no. Ill ask him and he will flat out say no. So over time i have learned appeasement isn't always the most effective way to get what you want because its to much in the air. Their is no signed agreement and there is for sure no grantee the other person will do what you think or wanted them to do.

Insane or Not?

I read an article in the New York Times titled Insane or Just Evil? A Psychiatrist Takes a New Look at Hitler. There have been many historians who have thought Hitler was “mad” because they cannot or do not want to believe that a sane person could commit such evil acts. Although Hitler had many physical ailments and even some psychogenic complaints he did not suffer from anything so severe that it could be used to excuse his crimes. Dr Redlich, a retired professor of psychiatry at both Yale University and the University of California at Los Angeles researched Hitler for years to disprove this theory that he was insane. Redlich concluded that even though Hitler exhibited many psychiatric symptoms, “he most likely was not truly mentally ill.” He believed Hitler “knew what he was doing and he choose to do it with pride and enthusiasm.” I agree with Dr Redlich. I believe Hitler was sane. The reason he committed these horrific crimes may never be known.

Appeasing the Pooch

According to me, a dog is both a friend and a family member; some may argue otherwise. Nonetheless, when speaking of appeasing, my dog is the first thing that comes to mind. My dog is what some would call a "barker". In general, there are dogs that bark and dogs that don't bark; my dog is a barker, therefore he barks a lot. From time to time when a new or unfamiliar face comes through the door, he wont stop barking. This is when I have to step in and appease the pooch. All I do to appease him is; let him bark for a little bit until he begins to get annoying. Then you give him a snack, and all the sudden he loves you and whom ever happens to be visiting. So far I have found this method to be very effective. Although it doesn't quite relate to how the allies tried to appease Germany, it is a story involving both me and the power of appeasing. Maybe you should try it out with your dog!

Adolf Hitler was Crazy

Adolf Hitler was remarkably similar to Dr. Gregory House from House. Both were geniuses in their main fields, politics appealing to the masses and advanced medicine, respectively. And, according to this article, from the Holocaust Teachers' Research Center online, Hitler had many extremely odd personality issues, just like Dr. House. (It is important to notice the bias on any piece about Adolf Hitler, because he was such a volatile character; this article has very little, seeing as it's designed to help teachers teach impartial information). Hitler had "almost hypnotic power" over his subordinates, with his grand visions and eloquence. But he also had intense disputes with his more-experienced generals about tactics and frequently flip-flopped on important decisions, often with disastrous results for his troops. He was determined that a complete social upheaval was not necessary, but he saw nothing wrong with abolishing the political system and crowning himself ultimate dictator. He condemned his army to death by refusing to surrender, and was bordering on insanity. By 1943, he was being kept alive by injections, which may have had a hand in his later madness.

This article has much more information than just on his mental health; I just thought that was a new look at his life, and more interesting than the rest of the article. It is impartial and factual, and a good resource to learn about Hitler's life.

Appeasement Not As Good As Compromizing

I do not use appeasement very often because I learned from previous experiences that it does not work very well. Generally when people use appeasement, they let little things slide, and little things build into giant problems that could have been prevented. For example, if you let someone take your food and hope that they won't do it again, you merely encourage them to keep taking more of your things. When my dog was a puppy, he would beg and annoy my entire family, and we would appease him by giving him some human food, and now he chews up things such as shoes and pillows.

Appeasement is different than compromisation because when you compromize with someone, you may lose something, but you gain something as well. When you appease, you just lose and as time goes on, you lose more and more. World War II happened because everyone appeased Germany and let the Nazis grow very strong. Nobody bothered to compromize, and most countries paid for it with lives. Therefore, I think that appeasement should not be used and compromization should be the method of choice.

The Hitler Cult

In an article from Ken magazine barely predating World War II, I was able to gain some firsthand perspective regarding the rise of Hitler (stern). In this article, the author was shocked by the dedication of the German people towards their leader, Adolf Hitler. In the primary accounts, Hitler was described as a man who had an untouchable social and political status. Women scoffed at the idea of him honoring their gender with an offer of a hand in marriage. The author described a secret policeman's eyes as being so enveloped in vigor and rapture that it led the writer to foresee Hitler's deification throughout Germany. Hitler, In 1938, had indeed already begun to lead a cult following. Too radical you say, calling the whole German nation a cult. Well it seems that the ideals and ethos they so willingly obliged for years are radical enough to compare to the extremism of some cults. Disregarding their unabashed desire to accept any new idea or fresh prospect of wealth before the war, it is virtually unfathomable to imagine a whole society uniting under such immense anti-semitism and thug-life activities. Think of it this way: After the first World War, germany was left with a stock of shocked and vulnerable brains that seemed to be wiped clean by such a heavy and costly defeat only a decade before. Hitler, being the opportunistic politician he was, saw these unmolded brains and using a deadly cocktail of twisted morals and hatred, molded the brains until he couldn't mold no mo'. The entire nation of Germany, in some sense, was brainwashed.

Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons

While fishing through the many political cartoons that Dr. Seuss gave to readers everywhere before his popular children's stories it amazed me that he had so much variety and range to his cartoons. He had cartoons ranging from Holiday's to how the War is going, to Battles, to people of the war. These two cartoons, found under Ireland and Greece, are two that I not only liked, but thought that they would be O.K. to post on the blog. Unfortunately, I think that it was some of this "terriblesness" whether because of it being "politically incorrect" or something along those lines. Just that "so bad but true" type of humor. Being that it is Dr. Seuss, of course the pictures are going to be fantastic, but it is sort of the tone that makes his pictures ironic. You usually associate Dr. Seuss with really happy things and what he is writing about isn't all that joyful.

Both of these two cartoons are, in my opinion fantastic. In the Greece one, Mussolini, depicted consistently as an older man with a lot of wounds, here a band aid, is pulling off the wings of the weaker, more beautiful countries of Greece, Croatia, Albania, and Ethiopia, while an army of super-butterflies comes at him from behind daring him to pull off their wings. Not only does this article challenge Mussolini, as most do, it talks about "The Inevitable Invasion of Italy," written amongst the charging butterflies. Because the Butterflies, probably the U.S. or Britain, or France of something, are coming while he is pulling off the wings, implies that we are going to get tired of what he is doing and are going to come to the rescue of the beaten down weaker butterflies. (There is also another good cartoon of Mussolini as the master chef teaching the other world leaders how to make "Victory Spaghetti," which could probably be a lot of different things. He also notes that the ingredients will never run out which means that it can be attained over and over forever.)

The Ireland one is a great cartoon too. Discussing the Nazi's influence on happy old Ireland, Dr. Seuss pokes a bit of fun at the Irish by having the German Hitler Figure sing a rhyming song. Hitler sings, while playing the harp, that he is going to bring snakes back to Ireland. This is showing something terrible will happen to them, because Hilter's actions basically counteract St. Patrick when he drove the snakes out of Ireland. Hitler is the opposite of a saint and can sing about potentially devastating things. I think something that is so effective here and a lot of other places is how much work he puts into the detail, making sure that you know that that is Ireland with clovers and dress, or making the snakes look a little evil. Every little thing contributes a great deal to a Cartoon and can be key in understanding one.

It is ironic that Dr. Seuss went on to write children's books because some of the cartoons he drew were not for people of the younger generation, although if you look carefully enough you can still see some traces of brutality/older generation stuff (end of plot).

Appeasement

Normally I use appeasement with my parents. When they ask me to do chores, like walking my dog or cleaning the table, I just say ok. I avoid arguing with them, or trying to get out of it because I know that they will win in the end and they will just end up mad. Other times that I use appeasement is if I am arguing or debating with someone and I know that it is going no where. Neither of us are going to sway our opinions, and so I normally just give up. This is simply easier than continuing an endless argument.

Appeasement

Now that I have learned the concept of appeasement I realize that I do not use this concept often in my life. This may be one of my many, many weaknesses. I am often wound up too tight and rarely let anything slide. This leads to the loss and destruction of many friendships. I also never appease any school work. I always do every homework assignment no matter how pointless they are. I have been given such a good opprotunity to go to such a great school, why waste it. The only time I appease people is in sports and in relationships (with women). In sports I often allow the opponent some appeasement so that he will be able to survive my wrath. In relationships (with women) one must appease the opposite sex if they want to have a successful relationship. I wasn't informed this in a my last relationship and the relationship quickly ended because both my partner and I often butted heads about time management, PDA, and other things of that nature. I think that appeasement is a very confusing thing that needs to be greatly considered while in any relationship. It is different in every situation and a formula cannot be used to understand it's importance.

After rethinking the term appeasement I believe that an example in my life where I am appeased is when I want to attend a party and at first my mom does not want me to go. Then after persuasion she will let me go, however I will need to come home by ten o'clock although the party ends much later. So my mother appeases me to go the party, yet I will need to leave it early.

Controversy between State and Law

Starting off with the line, " after 62 years after his death, Adolf Hitler could loose his citizenship," Der Spiegel's article in the online economist was very thought provoking. This article interviewed German political figures on the issue of revoking Hitler's German citizenship. Many people, such as Isolde Saalmann, would like to take a symbolic step forward through this act. When Hitler became a German citizen in Braunschweig, he wrote down fraudulent information in order to quickly receive his papers and gain influence in government. Much of Braunschweig today is behind this revocation; however, the German constitutional law states that they cannot take a person's citizenship if he would become stateless. This is an interesting toss up - should we follow the constitutional law or acknowledge the horrid past and make a symbolic change for the future.

Appeasement: Sibling relationships

There have been various times when my brother and I have got into a huge fight, where we are screaming and yelling at each other. In addition like all siblings my brother and I hit each other occasionally when we are mad. However, what my brother always has against him is the fact that if he starts hurting me and I scream my mom will run into the room, and he will get punished for hurting me, because I am younger. So I normally start screaming and he i appeases, and gives into my trap because he knows that he will get in trouble if he doesn't stop.

Art of War Longing

This propaganda poster is very different than what the World War I posters and the March Revolution brought up. It's purpose and message are somewhat misleading. The World War I posters used women as an icon to persuade capable men to ship off to war. This poster seems to reverse this role, now the women are the capable ones. Even though the poster empathizes with the hardships it sprung upon the women, it manages to push its cause of total war to trick women to participate in war efforts. However, the March Revolution (for Russia at least), proved that women were more worried about their own lives and rationing than the men off at war. It brings the illusion that working for the war cause will bring the men in their lives back sooner, which isn't necessarily true. Perhaps the fact that this poster is from America and the posters we studied were mostly from Europe changes perspective. Americans want to believe that they are capable and productive, which this poster encourages. It also encourages nationalism, which is perhaps most important of all during a war.

Hitler the Traitor

On April 13^th, 1931, The New York Times published an article about the tension that was present in the Nazi party. The famous Nazi leader, Hitler was not always favored in his party. Hitler favored his voters rather than his Guards and Troopers. Hitler ordered them not to make any resistance to President Paul von Hindenburg's decree suppressing freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and free speech. The Troopers saw this as a betrayal of the party:

“Instead of obeying, Storm Captain Stennes and his "brown shirts" seized the only Hitler newsorgan in Berlin, Der Angriff, filled an entire edition with abuse of the owner,* sent it out headlined TRAITOR HITLER!”

In the article we see other accounts of the party not being supportive of Hitler’s actions and decisions, such as the payment that the party members received.

Hitler was always seen as the supreme leader of the Nazi party, which followed his word and did whatever was asked of them by him. In reality, there were moments were the people stopped and though, “Is this man right for us?” To justify Hitler’s actions, it was said that he tried to get in a few more party members into the German Cabinet, by appealing to the people, rather than his own party. This would increase his political power in Germany and help him win the seat of power. This tactical approach might seem very rash because he has the chance to lose the support of the enforcers, but this holds a bigger chance of succeeding in pushing him up to the command of Germany. Hitler knew this and picked the wiser path-to do everything in his power to get picked as the next ruler of Germany.

The Passing of a Titan

By the end of April 1944 the majority of the war in Europe was over. Just days away from capture, Berlin, no longer the glorious center center of the third reich that it had been for the last decade. Himmler, the SS leader was trying to discuss a surrender with the allies, and when the seriously corrupt and delusional Hitler found out, he had Himmler arrested and his assistant in Berlin shot. By that point, Hitler knew that the end of the war was there. Instead of fleeing the country as advised by his peers he gave his last statement which said that he had made decisions that no mortal man had made and that everything that he did was for Germany and for the love of the people. At 3:30 pm the Fuhrer shot himself. Before being cremated, a piece of the skull was sent to a Russian archivist and then after being burned his remains were sprinkled over the Elbe River

Taliban= Hella H.U.U.T (Humanity Undermined by Unfair Tyranny)

Appeasement

For the most part, I am not the type of person that likes to resort to appeasement, however, this rule of thumb is broken when it comes to my needy miniature dachshunds. When Cocoa gets on my lap, I know that she will stare at me longingly wagging her tail, climb up my stomach, and lick me until I pet her. Of course, if I give into a few pats, this usual leads to a long belly rub. On days that I don't drive home, Cocoa jumps into my lap and starts her routine that ends every time with me appeasing her. My dogs are the only ones that I appease: my parents are not so lucky. With my parents I would much rather argue it out than let them have their way without substantial reasoning. The only times I recall appeasing them is if I am wrong, lethargic, or lackadaisical.

Satire - A New Type of Propaganda

This image created by Dr. Seuss is an example of the new style of propaganda that arose during World War II. Rather than just appealing to one's sense of nationalism and loyalty to the country, this image uses satire to convince people to support the war effort. Dr. Seuss is making fun of the hypocritical people that say that they will do anything for their country, but then get annoyed when asked to invest money in the war by buying war bonds. Instead of using pictures of gallant soldiers in front of quaint villages, he is using cartoon figures that look almost ridiculous. To me, this use of satire and humor is a more effective form of propaganda than the previous examples of propaganda. It does not single out one group of people, like young, strong males that are able to fight, and allows everyone to help in the war. It also does not demand that people must donate or must join the army by declaring it "your duty"; it lacks the accusatory tone many previous examples had. It instead uses humor, by making fun of how money is more important to people than life, to more subtly persuade people. It seems that using humor as propaganda was common, but it is possible that humor was used because Dr. Seuss was the creator of this piece, and he is a political cartoonist.
Another interesting difference between this example of propaganda and previous examples is that rather than stressing that all the men join the army, it focuses more on giving money that can then be invested in the war. This could be because there was a draft instated at the time, so it was not as necessary to encourage people to join the war since they were being forced to anyway. Because of this, the government may have need more support from the home front, which is why many more propaganda posters of the time were geared towards women and giving money than to convincing people to enlist.
It is very interesting to see how different propaganda became in just a decade. Propaganda was no longer just a nationalist appeal for help, but a humorous and enjoyable form of media. This new form of propaganda was more effective than the old one simply because it was more enjoyable and could not only invoke feelings of pride for one's country but also a sense of amusement, a powerful emotion.

Appeasement

When, for example, my older sister drops off her kids at our house so that my mom can take care of them, I usually get into conflicts with them. Conflicts usually revolve around them wanting to be in my room watching TV while I do homework. Now they are ages 9 and 4, so I can't really just tell them off. I usually have to just forcefully push them out, and that makes them mad. And cry. My mom usually gets mad at me for pushing them out and says that my sister will get mad if she finds out that I'm not being nice to her kids. She usually just tells me to let them smack my arm so that they'll feel better be happy. This actually works.

The Final Days

We have looked quite a bit at Hitler as a speechmaker, a leader, a war chief, and a scheming murderer, but in the article "There was such a feeling of joy"; six years of agony and hope, then one bright day of dancing in the streets., one will learn about the gloomy death of the most sinister yet powerful leader of our time. It would appear appropriate for the most evil man on earth to have a most horrific end, and in fact Hitler's death was one of a somber atmosphere. After marrying his long-time mistress and girlfriend Eva Braun, Hitler prepared his death on the eve of April 28th, and day of April 29th. He claimed that he never wanted a war, that his crimes were at the faults of "the international Jewry and its helpers," and that he was a victim of his officers (article contains information about the last days of war for Hitler's right hand man Heinrich Himmler.) For me, it is shocking that the man who started it all, ended it all (rarely do we see the problem solved by the creator of the problem.) Hitler obtained so much power that he was untouchable, however his one weakness came in the form of fearing failure. He felt only appropriate that he be the one to kill himself. It is ironic how the ruler of arguably the greatest military of all time ended his life huddled away in a bunker, where he shouted orders that would soon be given to his anxious yet hesitant troops. Hitler's bunker was directly beneath the Berlin Chancellory. He died directly beneath the hall in which his life as supreme dictator began. A revealing article on the last days of WWII, and the most socially corrupt leader of our time.

Appeasement-Here To Stay

For many of us appeasement in our lives is a result of just being plain tired, at least it is for me. Often when I try to appease someone it is because I am too tired to care that deeply about the issue at hand anymore. It usually is not worth it to me to keep fighting over it, just so I can be right or get my way. I have a friend who I can often get in arguments with over unimportant issues. She is the type of person who will never admit she is wrong and unless I truly care about the matter, I will often end the conversion with a "whatever, it doesn't matter" because I know she will never admit that she is in the wrong. And since I have known her for a while, I know that this trait in her will not change and I am tired of trying to alter it. Maybe if it is a topic I that I am passionate about, I won't so easily surrender, but I think that appeasement is here to stay.

Appease the Little One... or else

Appeasement. Very popular in my life. Especially when it comes to getting into fights with my eight year old brother, who usually wins because he's the  "innocent little one." (according to my parents) I'm sure those of you with little siblings might know what I'm talking about. In order to avoid future conflict like, for example, my brother ripping my homework or stealing my "valued items," I tend to let things go his way... sometimes. Going into chemistry class and saying "my brother ripped by poster board" won't serve as a good excuse to getting an extension/ another night to redo my work. Therefore, I tend to agree with him on certain issues and avoid making fun of him in order to avoid future conflicts like him stealing my phone to play games and dropping it on the floor. It might sound lame that my little brother wins, but he does anything to get revenge, and he does it in the blink of an eye. 

Although these events occurred when my brother and I were younger, sometimes I still have to appease him in order to avoid sad consequences. But now, I show him who's boss. 

Appeasement

I think all of us have had many situations in which appeasement has definitely been the reason that things don't get out of hand. There obviously is a line to draw in certain situations, like when things get personal or when someone says something they know that they should not have said. When these things happen to me, I have definitely used appeasement to try to take some of the sting off of my words. A lot of times I will accidentally say something that I regret saying, and to try to make up for that, I will try to agree with that other person to take some of the meanness out of what I said that maybe upset them or something like that. I think that this comes up a lot with parents, where you get angry, or you are trying to get them to allow you to do something, and appeasement can often times be what you use to get what you want for a lot of people. Overall, I find this concept to be pretty interesting, and I am curious to see how it becomes relevant in some of the topics that we are studying right now.

Social Appeasement

While appeasement is used politically as a method to avoid war or conflict, it is also a tactic used socially to keep the peace with a family member or friend. For example, when I was young, my brother and I would constantly fight. Being the older sibling, he always thought he could just take or use my things without asking. While in the beginning I would put up a fight, I'd eventually just give in and let him keep one of my beanie babies, stuffed animals, or other toys. I didn't want to get in a screaming fight with him anymore and this one tiny little gesture could prevent just that. Of course, doing so only caused him to want more and more of my belongings so in retrospect, maybe that wasn't the best idea. So overall, appeasement solves conflicts socially in the same way that it does politically, by simply keeping the peace.

Appeasement and Family

There have been quite a few times when I have tried to appease someone in order to avoid further conflict. I have had numerous clashes with my parents over time, many of them ending with one of us giving up some ground on an issue. For example, my parents will often start thinking of increasing our (that is, my brother, my sister and I) regular chores. They will say that we are not doing enough around the house and that we often forget to do something. Consequently, my siblings and I will work extra hard for a few weeks and offer to help with other tasks whenever we can. Our parents will usually refrain from pursuing increasing our chores, and are satisfied enough to let the matter drop.
However, my parents are not the only ones who I have to appease sometimes. My younger cousins Jasper and Jones can be quite a handful at times. In particular, Jones is forever making demands of various things. When told "No!" he usually whines "But I want it!" and then has a tantrum. Often, I find myself just giving him whatever he wants in hopes that he will go bug someone else. Unfortunately, that is rarely what happens.

Appeasement

Sometimes my mom will say something that I completely disagree with when she drives me home from school. When I vocalize my opinion, she will try to shut me down and only say her idea. The car ride is only 10 minutes and I do not want her to follow me into my room to talk about topics I do not like, so after a few minutes I say that 'she won'. However, sometimes she likes to continue to talk about why she is right even after, which is why appeasement does not work very effectively with my mother. It is almost counter-productive.

Extra Credit Op

Who doesn't love extra credit? More important question: who doesn't love looking at pictures of Hitler as a bowling pin?

As an extra credit homework assignment, you can choose to go to either this site or this one and write a short paragraph analyzing the rhetoric and effectiveness of one piece of propaganda featured therein. Do these posters bear a resemblance to the ones who investigated in our study of the first world war? Has the rhetoric changed? Also – who's producing these posters and does that appear to have an effect on the message or tone?


[Due on the blog by 7pm Thursday, March 5th]

Adolf Hitler - Adams

This article I found from Time.com is a very opinionated piece. The author acknowledges not being a professional historian, but her points are convincing and very strong. Over the course of the article, she addresses many things and these have furthered my thinking on Hitler's rise to power. First, as we saw in the video of Hitler's speech in class, it is clear that his presence and speaking are powerful, especially for a man of his intentions. He had a great charm and like we decided after watching that video in class, if you saw that with no prior knowledge, you would believe and want to support this man. We have no learned quite so much on the resistance to Hitler. The author asks that question, was there any? While the others were too weak to fight Hitler's power, "Germany railed behind him." People of such high education and class backed Hitler's ideas, showing how great a influence these people have over the rest of society. These peoples are government officials, lawyers, doctors, scholars, and more. Through such strong descriptions of Hitler's effects on the world, she not only asks how one person could lead this whole movement, but how a person could do such things. She describes his childhood, but i guess that isn't really the big question. Yes, it is appalling to think about how bad a man Hitler is, but its more how did anyone let this happen. It could have been Germany's economic state and how Hitler offered a change and hope. Sound farmiliar? Obama was on a similar platform when on the path to power. We supported him because he offered a better future, which is something Hitler used to appeal to his audience. I agree with everything this author of the time's article talks about, even though her use of language is quite strong. 

In the article I found, the writer argues that democracy is the producer of this monster; Adolf Hitler. Ian Kershaw, the writer, believes Hitler got to such high power through democracy. Because he was able to get some power by doing it the "right" way, he took advantage of that and began to take more power into his own hands. Ian Kershaw also states that even today, skilled politicians know how to and go on to do do, manipulate the system into gaining higher status and more control. I agree with him on this. Although we don't see exactly what politicians do to get to where they are, I believe that some of them have the skill and know how to "trick" the system. In addition, one thing that separates today's politicians with Adolf Hitler, if and when they do manipulate the system, they do not want to kill or anihilate anyone.