It's interesting how many of the people in the study seemed to share guilt, regardless of their "group identity". Helga, the daughter of a Nazi, explained feeling guilt on behalf of her parents despite the fact that she was ashamed of their actions and was not at all involved in their crimes. On the other hand Sally, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, said she felt guilty for participating in the study.
I think that this was an awesome study; it was really nice to see these two groups come together, even though we've talked a lot about how these were probably exceptionally open groups of people anyway. It might have been interesting to interview the people before they were faced with a room of people to see if their opinions were tempered at all by their company, half of which were from the "other side." (And maybe they WERE interviewed beforehand; I'm not sure.)
This sense of cathartic release brings me to wonder whether some folks came to meet solely for the purpose of cathartic release as opposed to catharsis in addition to getting to know other individuals and their stories. For example, when the daughter of one Nazi talked about releasing herself from the burden of guilt, I wondered if she had come to the meeting for the sake of being able to say, ‘I went. I did my part. I wash my hands, etc.’ If I were a Jewish person there, I might feel offended.
I found Helga’s response re: her guilt to be very genuine and painful. She seemed to be having a cathartic release from the discussion, and my guess is several others did too.
I agree they are not likely to have a common identity, but instead a connectedness in a shared sense of pain that manifests itself in different ways, and in the shared sense that history has indeed had a heavy, psychic burden on them.
I think that these two groups meeting was an act of courage on both sides. To meet the children of people who imprisoned and tortured your parents and tell them that you do not hold any hatred towards them is truly incredible. I know that I would never be able to forgive them, and for that I truly respect them. On the other side, to meet the children of people whom your parents tortured must have truly been awkward and difficult to do. This was truly a big step forward for both groups.
I think one of the more interesting parts of this process is how people deal with and express the idea of moving forward and leaving behind their guilt. Many participants talked about starting a new chapter by moving away from their past, but to do so requires this event in which they all face their past, a past that is only theirs by default. The video points out that "no one wanted to be born into this legacy," but they still feel it's impact so strongly, and must face it to overcome it.
I believe the meeting was fully beneficial for both parties. Although, as previously stated, I agree with the statement that they both do not share a similar feeling. They all can agree that the past events have affected their psychological well being today but they are suffering from completely different feelings: guilt and sadness/anger. Meeting the other side was very beneficial because, as said in the video, it is a great start to a forgiving future for these two conflicting legacies.
I believe the meeting was fully beneficial for both parties. Although, as previously stated, I agree with the statement that they both do not share a similar feeling. They all can agree that the past events have affected their psychological well being today but they are suffering from completely different feelings: guilt and sadness/anger. Meeting the other side was very beneficial because, as said in the video, it is a great start to a forgiving future for these two conflicting legacies.
I both strongly agree and disagree that the Children of Holocaust Survivors and Children of Nazis have a shared identity. I think the success of their meeting is proof of connectedness, but is that necessarily the same thing as identity? Their identities could be considered opposite. One side is consumed by lingering anger and sadness; the other is living with a nagging guilt. On the other hand, they do have the shared identity of letting the past define them.
My favorite part of the video was at the end when it was made clear that this discussion was not meant to change history, but to better our future. Nothing in this video can bring back the millions of people that were killed in the Holocaust. However, pointing blame, especially at the descendants of the Nazi generals, is not the right attitude. I was glad that both sides were willing to sit down and to discuss their feelings. Overall, it was a remarkable study that definitely brought closure.
The one thing I found really interesting was when one of the participants mentioned feeling a sense of guilt for being present at the meeting. She wondered if she was "betraying her family." I'd be curious to know more about the reactions of the families and their sentiments concerning reconciling with children of the "other side." Are these people particularly liberal or open minded? Or does time really heal all wounds?
IThe participants were all willing to openly discuss this topic, which is a very contraversial topic. The opinions expressed seemed to be pretty open, and accepting of the opposing groups, however I don't believe that the majority of children of Holocaust survivors would feel like this. My grandparents were all Holocaust survivors, and in the 3rd generation, I feel like it is still an uncomfortable topic for many, especially because of the lack of approval many would receive from family.
The people selected for this study truly desired healing, which is the only reason why the four-day meeting was a success. Since the study was four days long, I wonder how much of an impact this had—was it truly the start of healing, or did people revert back to their past thoughts and associations following the study? The video was clear in showing that both the children of Nazis and Holocaust survivors were experiencing guilt of some form and merely wanted to be able to talk about it.
This was a very wrenching video; it must have been incredibly tough to open up and have a conversation like this. One thing I was thinking about while watching this was the sampling used to contact the 22 participants- would certain types of people be more likely to attend a meeting like this? For example, if I was the son of a camp survivor/nazi and still had strong emotions towards the issue, I might not be willing to come to a forum and even "associate" with the outgroup.
We talked in class that people from all over the world came to participate in this study. I was left wondering to what extent origin would factor into the sentiments that these individuals had. Perhaps the opinions of an individual having grown up in Germany might differ from the individually having grown up here in the United States or Canada. Growing up as a Chinese American, I feel no resentment towards the Japanese, which probably differs from many of the sentiments of individuals in China.
I agree with the person below. While exceptionally interesting, this study only reflects those who were actually willing to meet with the other side. Perhaps there is a large population of Jewish people who still harbor resentment, and Germans who still feel justified. It would be interesting to see how these separate ends of the spectrum feel towards the other group, and whether they think that their feelings could ever be reconciled.
It was surprising to see how willing and open both sides were to accepting the innocence of the other. However, it should be noted that these people represented what could be seen as the 'middle' of the population of children of survivors and children of Nazis. I would like to see a dialogue between people with extreme views, while also having these people with more moderate views in the dialogue .
I was impressed how open people were with discussing their emotions surrounding the issue. I think it would have been hard to be frank about your feelings in front of this group and with a tv camera there. Most of these people seemed to be looking for something out of this meeting such as closure, forgiveness, healing, or a reprieve from the sense of guilt. I would be interested to see if anyone could ever offer a big enough incentive to get people to come who did not want to meet each other.
I was impressed by how willing both the children of the holocaust survivors and the children of the perpetrators were to come together and move on with their lives. One thing I wondered about while watching was the extent to which this sample may have been subject to response biases. It would be interested to know more about how people were recruited for this meeting, as well as hearing from the people who chose not to participate.
As the third generation from this time in history, I have a connection to both sides of this discussion as I have Jewish and German heritage. I think that there is a lot of guilt and sadness around this subject, which leads to a lack of discussion. A lack of communication only will allow tensions to build and to create a divide between people. It is important to get the discussion started and talk about the pent up feeling of resentment or guilt in order to move forward.
It's amazing that this meeting was facilitated in order to release all of the participants from this shared guilt to allow them to move forward.
RElwood11 10 months ago
It's interesting how many of the people in the study seemed to share guilt, regardless of their "group identity". Helga, the daughter of a Nazi, explained feeling guilt on behalf of her parents despite the fact that she was ashamed of their actions and was not at all involved in their crimes. On the other hand Sally, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, said she felt guilty for participating in the study.
RElwood11 10 months ago
I think that this was an awesome study; it was really nice to see these two groups come together, even though we've talked a lot about how these were probably exceptionally open groups of people anyway. It might have been interesting to interview the people before they were faced with a room of people to see if their opinions were tempered at all by their company, half of which were from the "other side." (And maybe they WERE interviewed beforehand; I'm not sure.)
BeatBoxingBetty 10 months ago
All in all, an amazing study.
EastsideConnection56 10 months ago
This sense of cathartic release brings me to wonder whether some folks came to meet solely for the purpose of cathartic release as opposed to catharsis in addition to getting to know other individuals and their stories. For example, when the daughter of one Nazi talked about releasing herself from the burden of guilt, I wondered if she had come to the meeting for the sake of being able to say, ‘I went. I did my part. I wash my hands, etc.’ If I were a Jewish person there, I might feel offended.
EastsideConnection56 10 months ago
I found Helga’s response re: her guilt to be very genuine and painful. She seemed to be having a cathartic release from the discussion, and my guess is several others did too.
EastsideConnection56 10 months ago
I agree they are not likely to have a common identity, but instead a connectedness in a shared sense of pain that manifests itself in different ways, and in the shared sense that history has indeed had a heavy, psychic burden on them.
EastsideConnection56 10 months ago
I think that these two groups meeting was an act of courage on both sides. To meet the children of people who imprisoned and tortured your parents and tell them that you do not hold any hatred towards them is truly incredible. I know that I would never be able to forgive them, and for that I truly respect them. On the other side, to meet the children of people whom your parents tortured must have truly been awkward and difficult to do. This was truly a big step forward for both groups.
wilsays 10 months ago
I think one of the more interesting parts of this process is how people deal with and express the idea of moving forward and leaving behind their guilt. Many participants talked about starting a new chapter by moving away from their past, but to do so requires this event in which they all face their past, a past that is only theirs by default. The video points out that "no one wanted to be born into this legacy," but they still feel it's impact so strongly, and must face it to overcome it.
sweenea 10 months ago
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I believe the meeting was fully beneficial for both parties. Although, as previously stated, I agree with the statement that they both do not share a similar feeling. They all can agree that the past events have affected their psychological well being today but they are suffering from completely different feelings: guilt and sadness/anger. Meeting the other side was very beneficial because, as said in the video, it is a great start to a forgiving future for these two conflicting legacies.
BConNU1 10 months ago
I believe the meeting was fully beneficial for both parties. Although, as previously stated, I agree with the statement that they both do not share a similar feeling. They all can agree that the past events have affected their psychological well being today but they are suffering from completely different feelings: guilt and sadness/anger. Meeting the other side was very beneficial because, as said in the video, it is a great start to a forgiving future for these two conflicting legacies.
BConNU1 10 months ago
I both strongly agree and disagree that the Children of Holocaust Survivors and Children of Nazis have a shared identity. I think the success of their meeting is proof of connectedness, but is that necessarily the same thing as identity? Their identities could be considered opposite. One side is consumed by lingering anger and sadness; the other is living with a nagging guilt. On the other hand, they do have the shared identity of letting the past define them.
rhartemayer 10 months ago
My favorite part of the video was at the end when it was made clear that this discussion was not meant to change history, but to better our future. Nothing in this video can bring back the millions of people that were killed in the Holocaust. However, pointing blame, especially at the descendants of the Nazi generals, is not the right attitude. I was glad that both sides were willing to sit down and to discuss their feelings. Overall, it was a remarkable study that definitely brought closure.
TheNapster555 10 months ago
The one thing I found really interesting was when one of the participants mentioned feeling a sense of guilt for being present at the meeting. She wondered if she was "betraying her family." I'd be curious to know more about the reactions of the families and their sentiments concerning reconciling with children of the "other side." Are these people particularly liberal or open minded? Or does time really heal all wounds?
Adriana041000 10 months ago
IThe participants were all willing to openly discuss this topic, which is a very contraversial topic. The opinions expressed seemed to be pretty open, and accepting of the opposing groups, however I don't believe that the majority of children of Holocaust survivors would feel like this. My grandparents were all Holocaust survivors, and in the 3rd generation, I feel like it is still an uncomfortable topic for many, especially because of the lack of approval many would receive from family.
absdancingqueen 10 months ago
The people selected for this study truly desired healing, which is the only reason why the four-day meeting was a success. Since the study was four days long, I wonder how much of an impact this had—was it truly the start of healing, or did people revert back to their past thoughts and associations following the study? The video was clear in showing that both the children of Nazis and Holocaust survivors were experiencing guilt of some form and merely wanted to be able to talk about it.
hoooliemama 10 months ago
This was a very wrenching video; it must have been incredibly tough to open up and have a conversation like this. One thing I was thinking about while watching this was the sampling used to contact the 22 participants- would certain types of people be more likely to attend a meeting like this? For example, if I was the son of a camp survivor/nazi and still had strong emotions towards the issue, I might not be willing to come to a forum and even "associate" with the outgroup.
arthurjago 10 months ago
We talked in class that people from all over the world came to participate in this study. I was left wondering to what extent origin would factor into the sentiments that these individuals had. Perhaps the opinions of an individual having grown up in Germany might differ from the individually having grown up here in the United States or Canada. Growing up as a Chinese American, I feel no resentment towards the Japanese, which probably differs from many of the sentiments of individuals in China.
franklinrchang 10 months ago
I agree with the person below. While exceptionally interesting, this study only reflects those who were actually willing to meet with the other side. Perhaps there is a large population of Jewish people who still harbor resentment, and Germans who still feel justified. It would be interesting to see how these separate ends of the spectrum feel towards the other group, and whether they think that their feelings could ever be reconciled.
dwschieber 10 months ago
It was surprising to see how willing and open both sides were to accepting the innocence of the other. However, it should be noted that these people represented what could be seen as the 'middle' of the population of children of survivors and children of Nazis. I would like to see a dialogue between people with extreme views, while also having these people with more moderate views in the dialogue .
Lostfanatic77 10 months ago
I was impressed how open people were with discussing their emotions surrounding the issue. I think it would have been hard to be frank about your feelings in front of this group and with a tv camera there. Most of these people seemed to be looking for something out of this meeting such as closure, forgiveness, healing, or a reprieve from the sense of guilt. I would be interested to see if anyone could ever offer a big enough incentive to get people to come who did not want to meet each other.
23reddy1 10 months ago
I was impressed by how willing both the children of the holocaust survivors and the children of the perpetrators were to come together and move on with their lives. One thing I wondered about while watching was the extent to which this sample may have been subject to response biases. It would be interested to know more about how people were recruited for this meeting, as well as hearing from the people who chose not to participate.
tyralind 10 months ago
As the third generation from this time in history, I have a connection to both sides of this discussion as I have Jewish and German heritage. I think that there is a lot of guilt and sadness around this subject, which leads to a lack of discussion. A lack of communication only will allow tensions to build and to create a divide between people. It is important to get the discussion started and talk about the pent up feeling of resentment or guilt in order to move forward.
eca802 10 months ago