This is something I have been meaning to address and you could say that today's blog deals with some heavy stuff. We all learned about the Holocaust, Nazi Germany and Hitler when we were in school. Now this subject always fascinated me as to not the "How" but the "Why" as in Why would people let this happen? I'm sure some of you have your own opinions but let's please remain civil.
Anyways, you may be wondering how Nazi Germany can tie into a blog about Disney. You see, back during World War II. The Disney studio was taken over by the army for a short period of time and they had to make instructional videos. We are not going to talk about those. You see during that time, two shorts came out that dealt with the subject matter of Nazi Germany. There may have been more but I don't know. Anyways, I'm going to showcase these two shorts and then give my thoughts on each one. Some of the stuff your going to see may be heartbreaking and unsettling.
Our first short stars Donald Duck and if you have read my Donald Duck blog, I have featured this short before as it is my favorite Donald Duck short. The short in question is Der Fuher's Face.
Now this short here is the more light hearted of the two shorts but the concept is still frightening. I mean, I would be scared if I went asellp in the USA but all of the sudden woke up in Nazi Germany. Granted, I may have figured out time travel but I woudln't want to go there. The best way to describe this short, I feel is by saying that it is a satire of what was happening in Germany at the time. It is very comedic and goes for laughs but it still gets its point across very well and I have always loved the ending to this short. Fun Fact: In this short, Germany is referred to as Nutzi Land poking fun at the Nazis.
Our next short is rather serious. There is some comedic moments but for the most part, it plays it straight. I'm referring to Education for Death. This short follows the life of young German boy, Hans as he grows up in Nazi Germany as part of the Hitler Youth and finally becoming part of the S.S.
Now the first time, I tried watching this short, it took me two tries because I love kids and I hate seeing children being led down a path of evil. Even though, they are taught this was the right thing and that Germany needs "purity" Some of the ending scenes such as seeing the S.S being masked and chained defintely gets the point across as that they are blindly following. Also seeing the burning was perhaps the saddest part. I also like how this short has the characters use German. The only English dialouge you hear comes from the narrator. I hope you enjoyed this blog.
If your ever in the D.C. area, take a visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem. I've been there about 6 times and each time I have been, my eyes become more open to what was happening and I also feel a little apalled that people would let this happen. Though that is being judgemental and Hitler's judgemental attitude led to the Holocaust. We need to try to be less judgemental of people and more understaning. Here is a link to the Museum's offical website.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Now I would like to end this with this poem. Well, it was actually part of speech that has been turned into a poem. I leave you with "First They Came for the Jews"
First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the socialist, and I did not speak out
because I was not a socialist
Then they came for me
And there was no one left to speak for me
Anyways, you may be wondering how Nazi Germany can tie into a blog about Disney. You see, back during World War II. The Disney studio was taken over by the army for a short period of time and they had to make instructional videos. We are not going to talk about those. You see during that time, two shorts came out that dealt with the subject matter of Nazi Germany. There may have been more but I don't know. Anyways, I'm going to showcase these two shorts and then give my thoughts on each one. Some of the stuff your going to see may be heartbreaking and unsettling.
Our first short stars Donald Duck and if you have read my Donald Duck blog, I have featured this short before as it is my favorite Donald Duck short. The short in question is Der Fuher's Face.
Now this short here is the more light hearted of the two shorts but the concept is still frightening. I mean, I would be scared if I went asellp in the USA but all of the sudden woke up in Nazi Germany. Granted, I may have figured out time travel but I woudln't want to go there. The best way to describe this short, I feel is by saying that it is a satire of what was happening in Germany at the time. It is very comedic and goes for laughs but it still gets its point across very well and I have always loved the ending to this short. Fun Fact: In this short, Germany is referred to as Nutzi Land poking fun at the Nazis.
Our next short is rather serious. There is some comedic moments but for the most part, it plays it straight. I'm referring to Education for Death. This short follows the life of young German boy, Hans as he grows up in Nazi Germany as part of the Hitler Youth and finally becoming part of the S.S.
Now the first time, I tried watching this short, it took me two tries because I love kids and I hate seeing children being led down a path of evil. Even though, they are taught this was the right thing and that Germany needs "purity" Some of the ending scenes such as seeing the S.S being masked and chained defintely gets the point across as that they are blindly following. Also seeing the burning was perhaps the saddest part. I also like how this short has the characters use German. The only English dialouge you hear comes from the narrator. I hope you enjoyed this blog.
If your ever in the D.C. area, take a visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem. I've been there about 6 times and each time I have been, my eyes become more open to what was happening and I also feel a little apalled that people would let this happen. Though that is being judgemental and Hitler's judgemental attitude led to the Holocaust. We need to try to be less judgemental of people and more understaning. Here is a link to the Museum's offical website.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Now I would like to end this with this poem. Well, it was actually part of speech that has been turned into a poem. I leave you with "First They Came for the Jews"
First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the socialist, and I did not speak out
because I was not a socialist
Then they came for me
And there was no one left to speak for me
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