Reblogging because most readers will not be aware that antisemitism changed its target after the Industrial Revolution, with “the Jews” moving from deicide to symbols of hated modernity, building upon the association of Jews with the love of money, then identifying Judaism with “finance capital.” See https://clarespark.com/2012/08/05/hating-finance-capital/.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/School-apologizes-for-Nazi-writing-assignment-4428669.php
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/13/my-take-nothing-wrong-with-nazi-assignment/
Immediately above, I have compiled some of the stories about an assignment that asked three sophomore classes in English at Albany High School to pretend that the student was persuading a Nazi who had power over him or her, that s/he acquiesced in the core principle of Nazi propaganda: that Jews are evil. Subsequent to this assignment, students were to read Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night. (On Wiesel’s memoir, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_(book). On Wiesel’s generally conservative politics, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_Wiesel.) According to one report, the “pretend you are a Nazi”assignment was a response to the Common Core curriculum mandated by the federal government that English students be able to write about problems usually taught in history classes. (I have written previously on the Common Core curriculum, noting its critics and adherents: https://clarespark.com/2013/01/05/american-fascism-and-the-future-of-english-and-american-literature/.
The teacher’s name is not given, but has been put on leave, and there is talk…
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