Nuremberg

As we are watching the movie "Nuremberg" which semi-fictionally portrays how the trials of the Nazi war criminals took place in Nuremberg, Germany. As I watch the movie I am shocked to discover more and more about the horrendous crimes that the Nazi's committed. What shocks me the most is that they seem to have no remorse for the actions that they have done, they continuously say that they "were only doing as we were told." As far as I can see, the war criminals are basically incriminating themselves because the lead prosecutor, Robert Jackson was able to feed into them the correct arguments. Along with being fed their death wish, the video that was presented of how the death camps were run was some of the most gruesome and disgusting evidence. The video pretty much sealed the fate of anybody connected to the creation of the death camps. Although the prosecution is doing a very good job at leading the trials, Hermann Goring, pretty much Hitler's right hand man has been able to keep the prosecution on their toes and also boost the morale of the other defendants. Over all I think that this video has really opened my eyes to the true facts of the Holocaust and also of the justice that was served out to those people that committed such horrible crimes. If anybody is looking to know more about the proceedings that took place at the Nuremberg trials but does not want to watch a documentary I would definitely recommend this movie, it presents the facts in a way that keeps your attention.

Review of the Class

Having made it through the year of AP European History I have realized that I made the right decision in taking the class. In the beginning of the year I was second guessing myself for choosing to take the class because of the shock of the amount of work that we had to do. But looking back at it, Maz was just preparing us to the best of her ability for the work load at college. The experience and the knowledge that I have gained from this year is more than I was expecting and I am glad to have such a great teacher that kept us on a firm track but made it a fun year in the process. I feel that this class has more than prepared me for the road ahead of me at college and it has helped me to realize that as high school students we have been blessed to have a teacher that cared enough to make sure we would leave with the experience we would need at college. So in the past year I have gained a new knowledge of history, of my present learning ability, and the future that depends on what I have learned this year. So I must say thank you Maz for preparing me and my fellow students in more ways than any teacher has before for the future that we all have ahead of us.

Greater Love Hath No Man Than This

This painting by Jim Davis called "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This" is of a New York City firefighter in the rubble of the World Trade Centers after they came crashing down. The firefighter is holding the helmet of one of his fallen friends and also an American flag. In the background is more firefighters and the famous steel cross that was found to be standing in the rubble. To me this is one of the best representations of that infamous day in 2001. People's lives were shattered with the loss of loved ones and with the loss to come due to the war on terror to make sure this would never happen again. I think it is important that the firefighter is holding an American flag because it shows that everything that any American does is for the lives of their fellow Americans. I think it is also important to note the cross in the background because it symbolizes that yes it was a terrible thing that happened but all things happen for a reason, everything is based on God's will. I think that the cross was a reminder to us that if we put our faith in God then we will be able to get through anything that comes at us.

This oil painting called "Globe" by K Madison Moore shows how a hole bunch of colors are pretty by themselves but are awe inspiring when put together in a form like this. I think this painting shows how diverse the whole world is and each culture is amazing on it's own but when you put us all together we can make an amazing picture. I think that as individual countries and cultures people are overlooked in a way and people can blend into the crowd. In this picture all the colors are blended together but yet you can still see each and every color stand out in it's own way because the other color's complement each color. No color nor anyone can be overlooked in this painting or in our world, every color and every person complements another.

I found this picture of the Cambells' soup can and it just brought me back to when I was in elementary school and everything was so simple. I remember the first time I saw this picture, it was in first grade. Looking back to that time and realizing how far and how much I have learned since then just amazes me. I chose this because for me it shows how things should be, it is a simple picture of a simple meal. For me it reminds me of how simple my life was when I first saw this picture and it symbolizes that I do not always need to be going fast all the time, I can slow down and still enjoy life.

The Growth of Immigration

Today in America we see everyday on the news that more and more people are immigrating illegally to the U.S. from Cuba, Mexico and other countries. What many American's do not realize though is that it does not only happen in America, all over Europe the same situation is happening. More and more people are trying to flee from captivity, poverty, and oppression to better living environments offered in many countries that are a part of the EU. Since 1997 Europe's population has gone up by 3 million people due to immigration, not all of which is illegal but some is. In the past decade more people have fled to Europe than we realize due to illegal human trafficking. Tourists have been targeted recently and have been abducted and brainwashed and put into either the slave trade, sex trade, or other countless things. It really is amazing to think that in these new technological and militaristic times that we still have so much illegal operations going on. You would think that since we have advanced so much since the time of the legal slave trade that we would be able to cut down on the new slave and sex trafficking. I can not blame the people for fleeing from oppression but what does bother me is that these people are taking jobs away from people that are working and living in the country legally. I think the cure all solution for this situation then is that we need to crack down more on the reason for the illegal immigration.

Arab/Israeli Conflict

Learning about the Arab/Israeli conflict in the middle east I became more aware of the situations that just pass us by as Americans. To tell you the truth I had no idea that the Israeli's and the Palestinians were fighting over land, I thought that when it came up on the news it was because of some terrorist attack that one did on the other. But after learning more about the real reason that these two countries are fighting I became more aware of really how childish the situation really is. I mean this fighting over land is like two five year old's fighting over the 64 box of crayons in preschool. The situation of how the Palestinians moved into Israel after the Israeli's moved out to seek the Holy Land is a valid reason for them to due so. If I was the Palestinians and I saw the Israeli's moving out of prime land I would move in too, the Israel's obviously did not want it at the time. So when the Israel's come back like 3,000 years later demanding their land back I would do the same thing as the Palestinians. Again it is like a little kid saying "finder's keeper's loser's weeper's." I really do not think that the Israel's have any right to come back and demand for their land back and drive the Palestinians out. True, the Bible does say that the land was given to the Israelites by God, but they did not want it when it was given to them so I do not think they deserve to have it 3,000 years after it was given to them.