2.17.15+and+2.18.15

Journal entry #2 DUE for check-off--if you're missing any journals thus far, you need to work hard to catch up. The due dates are there to help you stay on top of the work which will help you with your essay at the end of the text. Waiting until the final due date will result in a great deal of work for you--stay up on these journals!

Class annotation: "Never shall I forget" passage (pg. 34)

WU: Individuality vs. Group Mentality

One wonders how the Nazis and other Germans could possibly have carried out the horrific acts demanded of them, even if they did in fact learn to hate the Jews. Some scholars explain their collaboration in terms of “deindividuation”: a loss of individuality as one becomes submerged in the group, which leads to lessened self-awareness and weakened restraint against harmful acts. Can you think of instances when you experienced a reduced self-awareness due to membership in a cohesive group?

Other scholars focus on the excuse given by many people who went along with horrific massacres: “I was only following orders.” At what point do people bear a responsibility for their own actions, even when ordered to commit an act by a “legitimate authority”?

Discuss with connections to //Night--//cattle car, deportation, Elie watching father be beaten, hangings in Ch. 4

HW: Journal #3 DUE next class