Critical Thinking/Discussion Questions - Clark Blatteis
1. In 1939, Clark and his parents became passengers on the ship St. Louis. Read about the plight of the St. Louis in these websites:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/stlouis.html
(n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2017, from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/stlouis.html
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?ModuleId=10005267
(n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2017, from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?ModuleId=10005267
After reading about the St. Louis, write a hypothetical or “unsent” letter, one to two pages long, to one of the following people:
- Captain Gustav Schroeder—captain of the St. Louis
- The director of immigration in Cuba, Manuel Benitez
- The President of Cuba, Frederico Laredo Bru
- The U.S. Ambassador to Cuba
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
- …Or, any of the passengers you learned about in the reading
Your letter should have a clear persuasive purpose in mind. What is your argument? How are you going to appeal to your audience to get them on your side? What kinds of evidence will you use to support your reasoning? Use a standard letter structure, business or friendly, depending on your choice of addressee.
2. In 1936 the Olympics were held in Berlin and Hitler embraced this international spotlight to show the world how superior the selected groups of German athletes were. In his film, Clark mentions the “enormous” number of Olympic AND Nazi flags that were flying throughout the city of Berlin (1:25-1:30) during this time. Click the link below to learn more about the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
“The NAZI Olympics Berlin 1936” USHMM http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005680
(n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2017, from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005680
3. In Clark’s video testimony (1:48–2:15) he refers to a time when journalists/photographers wanted to take a picture of him and his mother together representing the ideal German youth. However, when his father showed up and was identified as Jewish this ended the picture-taking. of developing a superior race of people by eliminating all who did not fit the image relied heavily on a set of criteria. Click on the links below to learn more about which groups were considered inferior based on this process. How did this identification impact these groups’ treatment by the public in general? Read about Nazi policy and discuss the impact these laws had on all German citizens.
“The Biological State: Nazi Racial Hygiene, 1933–1939” USHMM
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007057
(n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2017, from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007057
The Nuremberg Race Laws below:
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007903
(n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2017, from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007903
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007057
(n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2017, from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007057
4. Clark felt strongly that lessons from the Holocaust could be applied to today’s socio-political world. He wrote an opinion piece, an editorial, advocating more humanity toward Syrian refugees. How did Clark use persuasive and essay techniques within this article? Click here to download a graphic organizer. Complete and add to the organizer , applying what you know about essay writing, as you read “Repeat of Refuge Denied” by Clark Blatteis at the link below.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2017, from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-04-22/denied-entry-by-us-after-fleeing-hitler-jewish-refugee-knows-syrian-plight.