i'm in seventh grade and am studying the holocaust in my language arts class. i find the unit interesting, however seeing the pictures of the extremely skinny people and their shaved heads and things and seeing the dead bodies really takes a toll on me. i started this unit a week ago in school and haven't gotten a very good night's sleep since then. anyone have any suggestions on how i can cope with this?
2007-04-06 09:03:17 · 11 answers · asked by Aly 3 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
I experienced the same feelings on this when I was about your age. I don't know, maybe try to read a teen magazine or something light before you go to bed. Or watch a good comedy on TV or on a DVD to get your mind off of your studies.
2007-04-06 09:17:43 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
By accepting that it is real and committing it to your mind that it should never happen again. I remember the first time I saw the pictures I was horrified and felt so helpless. It gave me nightmares too - then I wrote a poem about how it made me feel and It helped. I know I can't change the past but I can learn tolerance and work to make sure this never happens again in the future by Voting and learning all I can about other cultures so I can encourage acceptance and not hate. This is an important module for teaching tolerance and showing what happens when a society turns a blind eye to its neighbor.
Good Luck and I hope you can find a way to feel you can make a difference.
2007-04-06 16:15:18 · answer #2 · answered by Walking on Sunshine 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The holocaust was one of the most shocking periods in the history of humanity. The planned murder of an entire race for nothing. I grew up during the aftermath of WW11 and while very interested in the war and the great battles in Europe, Asia and Africa I then went on to the Neuranberg trials for war criminals and then the story of the holocaust came out.
How do you cope with the telling of this horrible period of time in human history?
Perhaps its time to set it aside for awhile. I did for years and finally got interested again about twenty years ago. I have read all of Elie Wiesels books. I'm not sure about the spelling of his name. Anyway, you might divert your attention away from the horrors of the death camps and to stories of the capture of nazi war criminals. The tracking down of the nazi war criminals is very interesting and will take your mind off the horrors for awhile. I can't remember off hand the name of some of them but Adolf Eichmann was captured in a country in South America and returned to stand trial in Israel.
Another infamous death camp doctor was almost captured and was discovered only after his death.
Well, anyway, dealing with such a catastrophic issue like that can be pretty much of an impact on someone so young like yourself.
2007-04-06 22:29:36 · answer #3 · answered by telwidit 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't easy studying man's inhumanity to his fellow man, but like most disturbing things, over time you will become better able to accept that these things have happened. One thing that might help is if you can do some volunteer work in your community helping others to see how many people are just the opposite of those who participated in this travesty.
2007-04-06 16:14:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
the best way to cope it to move on. we have more than enough happening right now in our lives to keep us depressed, without haveing to look to the past. i am glad you are taking an interest in social issues, but this is where you have to decide. do you want to lose sleep over this, or become someone who changes the world, and never lets that happen again. be better because of this experiance!
best of luck to you!
2007-04-06 16:14:59 · answer #5 · answered by Sherry 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What you are experiencing is normal human emotion. A lot of times learning more or getting involved to make a difference can help make you feel better. You could do some research on genocides currently going on and try to do something to help - Darfur, for example.
http://www.darfurgenocide.org - main group
http://www.standnow.org - a student group
2007-04-06 16:16:35 · answer #6 · answered by Holly 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I empathize with you, especially since I visited Germany and the Dachau concentration camp last year.
As solemn and depressing as it was to stand in the processing room and think about what the people who went through it were headed for, it was interesting to see further on the museum rooms dedicated to the prisoners' secret exchanges and affirmations of each other that helped them get through as much as each one of them could.
There are horrendous atrocities occurring everyday in our world, and even more in our history. I think 9/11 and living through those events personally affected me even more.
I don't know what it will take for you to overcome this, but try to think of the good things that happen in your world everyday. While I think it is important to remember the bad things others do (with the determination to not allow them to reoccur!) we cannot dwell on them to the point of not celebrating the good things many others do as well.
2007-04-06 16:21:53 · answer #7 · answered by duhgbert 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Admit that God does not exist; it's entirely up to us to know what goodness is and to act in good ways.
If you're sickened by the holocaust, ask yourself what is happening today that is a lot like the holocaust. What can I do to stop it?
2007-04-06 16:36:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The holocaust was a horrible thing that happened, it is OK to be disturbed by it. If enough people were disturbed by what happened, perhaps that would be enough to keep it from happening again.
2007-04-06 16:13:35 · answer #9 · answered by Wiz 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you have a heart. There isn't really anything to do about feeling like you do. I get teary eyed reading the daily paper, lots of sad stuff, but I'm glad to be that way, we're human, we're suppose to feel empathy.
2007-04-06 16:10:07 · answer #10 · answered by jcampwick 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋