Thursday, January 30, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
NHD topic
Well Dad, My NHD topic is mainly about the psychological impacts the Holocaust had on its victims and their families. I chose this topic because I've noticed that, unlike the actual events of the Holocaust, this topic isn't discussed nearly as much. The Holocaust survivors are widely known for their ability to conform and continue living in a normal society as if nothing happened. But from what I've learned the true effects of the Holocaust didn't show for about 40-50 years later, when they began to retire and live on their own. Once they weren't busy each day with work or kids, their minds started to show signs of PTSD, anxiety, depression and survivor guilt. Survivor guilt is the feeling that they shouldn't have lived, or the feeling that they must make sure everyone else is safe and happy, this guilt leads people to believe they'll never be able to fulfill their children needs and they distance themselves from their kids, family members, and friends.
My National History Day topic is focused on first and second generation psychological effects of the Holocaust. I chose this topic because I was appalled how unexplored it was. Most of the refugees who fled from Germany to other countries weren't given any financial or mental help. Unlike many reports on the events of the Holocaust, there is little discussion of the fact that the Holocaust had a major psychological impact on its victims and everyone they came in contact with on a regular basis. There are record amounts of mental illness in concentration camp inmates and their offspring. PTSD, anxiety, and depression is often passed down to children even if they had not experienced the genocide for themselves. Only in recent years have organizations been created for the sole purpose of preserving the mental stability of anyone affected by the events in Germany.
Work time : 2 hours
My National History Day topic is focused on first and second generation psychological effects of the Holocaust. I chose this topic because I was appalled how unexplored it was. Most of the refugees who fled from Germany to other countries weren't given any financial or mental help. Unlike many reports on the events of the Holocaust, there is little discussion of the fact that the Holocaust had a major psychological impact on its victims and everyone they came in contact with on a regular basis. There are record amounts of mental illness in concentration camp inmates and their offspring. PTSD, anxiety, and depression is often passed down to children even if they had not experienced the genocide for themselves. Only in recent years have organizations been created for the sole purpose of preserving the mental stability of anyone affected by the events in Germany.
Work time : 2 hours
Monday, January 20, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Human Nature
Human nature is who each of us truly are, some believe we are all just wild animals and in an extreme situation will revert back to our instincts, some think we are all naturally good, some think we are all naturally evil. I believe we are all canvas's, there is a base color for the rest of the world to color on and make its impressions but not all of our bases are the same color. What I mean by that is everyone is born with a preset personality, like angry or happy. But as we grow the world around us leaves impressions.
When were young there's nothing on our "canvas" so there's a lot of space for impressions to be made, and as we get older there's less and less space so were a lot less impressionable when were older. There is always going to be that original base that we were born with but over time it gets covered up, happy people can be exposed to something horrible and completely lose that happiness. I believe human nature is a blank slate, no one is born evil or good. It all depends on what we went through.
When were young there's nothing on our "canvas" so there's a lot of space for impressions to be made, and as we get older there's less and less space so were a lot less impressionable when were older. There is always going to be that original base that we were born with but over time it gets covered up, happy people can be exposed to something horrible and completely lose that happiness. I believe human nature is a blank slate, no one is born evil or good. It all depends on what we went through.
NHD topic
My NHD topic is the Holocaust, more specifically how it affected people. I'm focusing on how the events in Germany affected German citizens and other countries. I chose this view point for many reasons, I like psychology, its not as popular as other topics involving the Holocaust and I've never heard much about what people felt after it was all over. No one ever talks about the fear people felt, especially minorities, no one talks about how long it took before the horror of the Holocaust left peoples hearts and they could go back to living normal lives. Did family members hide their disabled relatives from the public in fear that they would be taken away? Did Jew's get as far away from Germany as they could, or did they stay in their home?
This topic is significant in terms of rights and responsibilities because its our responsibilities as humans to make sure others are okay. Whether that means opening up mental facilities to care for traumatized citizens, or charities to help those affected by the Holocaust get back on their feet. After the Holocaust ended many textbooks stop there, like after Hitler was dead and the rest of the Nazi's fled to unknown regions, everything was suddenly better. That's not true. My plan for this week is to research interviews with Holocaust survivors and see what life was like afterwords. I would also like to research what charity organizations helped anyone in need in that time.
Reading:
80 min
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
This topic is significant in terms of rights and responsibilities because its our responsibilities as humans to make sure others are okay. Whether that means opening up mental facilities to care for traumatized citizens, or charities to help those affected by the Holocaust get back on their feet. After the Holocaust ended many textbooks stop there, like after Hitler was dead and the rest of the Nazi's fled to unknown regions, everything was suddenly better. That's not true. My plan for this week is to research interviews with Holocaust survivors and see what life was like afterwords. I would also like to research what charity organizations helped anyone in need in that time.
Reading:
80 min
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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