Other forms of Justice

I don't often give this unit enough time since students are often eager and ready to begin their essays. (Yes, thats right, our students are often eager to write essays since an essay that meets our rubric earns them a social studies ticket towards graduation.) I do believe that engaging students in a discussion of different forms of justice is critical. It important that even though law and courts is a common mechanism for seeking justice, it is not the only type. These activities give students a chance to think about reparations, Nazi hunters and forgiveness as forms of justice. 

Activity 1:

Reparations

When people have been victims of genocide or mass violence; when lives have been lost, and land and possessions have been taken, justice demands that some form of reparations is given to those who suffered, or perhaps to their loved ones. But the issue is complex and there are no easy answers or processes for such an undertaking. This reading looks at one of the processes developed by the Allies for Germany's victims following the Holocaust. 

Questions: Please answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. 

The word reparations refers to the process of making amends. Why do you think it often involves a financial payment?

1. What does Wiedergutmachung suggest about the difficulty of erasing Nazi influences in government? 

2. Should the government have refused to hire former Nazi officials? Why or why not? 

3. Answer in a paragraph: After the United States declared war against Japan, 120,000 Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast were shipped to detention camps. Many lost homes and businesses. Yet no Japanese American was ever found guilty of sabotage or treason. When Japanese Americans challenged the legality of the camps, the Supreme Court ruled in 1944 that it was a valid use of the nation's war powers. It would take forty years before the United States government agreed to make reparations. Why do you think it took so long? How was the American response to Japanese Americans similar to that of the Germans to Jews, "Gypsies," and other victims of discrimination? What differences seem most striking?

Activity 2:

Nazi Hunters 

Deadly Jewish revenge: the real Basterds who killed Nazis by Guy Walters (July 26, 2009)

Question: In one paragraph explain whether or not you would you consider these types of Nazi Hunters as “upstanders”? Why or why not? Explain.

Activity 3:

Nazi Hunting Revisited 

His Legacy is Justice By Dr. Efraim Zuroff, The Jerusalem Post , September 21, 2005

Reflection:

Do you agree with Efraim Zuroff’s assessment that Simon Wisenthal is leaving behind a legacy of justice? Why or why not?

The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness

You are a prisoner in a concentration camp. A dying Nazi soldier asks for your forgiveness. What would you do?

Description of assignment:

1. Read the Sunflower (only pages 1-98).

2.Decide, once you are done reading the book, what you would have done in Simon's place.

3. Go back through the book and identify at least 3 quotes that helped you come to your decision.

4. Write a one to two page paper to explain, with your selected quotes, how you came to this decision.