How would you feel if a Nazi swastika was on your child's assigned reading?

[underpants]

Last edited Wed Jan 6, 2016, 12:09 AM - Edit history (1)

My child showed me the book they are reading in class ON EDIT "Someone Named Eva" and I was shocked.

Synopsis - a girl is one of 100,000 children who go through health inspections in occupied Czechoslovakia. Her features are determined to be "perfectly Aryan" so she, and others, are taken to be brainwashed (scrubbed really) and then adopted into the families of Nazis. Her named is changed to Eva. She has no memory of who she was. The war ends of course and she returns to her true family.

From our quick review we (my wife and I) see that this book is a means of conveying the horrific Nazi thinking and tactics with a main character that children in our kid's class can associate. The book appears to be well regarded.

My child's class is studying WWII. This is part of the curriculum. Today they also had an "enrichment" class on the uses of propaganda. My wife said, "That's one of your Daddy's favorite subjects" I added, " just turn on the TV". Our child said, "That's what he (the enrichment teacher) said too". The teacher used modern advertising as examples.

I know we have to teach history but that symbol in this context should not be on the cover in my opinion. Not on an assigned well used book from a school system. We found other versions of this book without Nazi symbolism on them. The book my child showed me was literally "dog eared" - it had dog bite marks on one corner. If you are wondering, this school system is not wanting for money - every kid in all the high schools is assigned a laptop computer and that is a lot of kids.


I have emailed the teacher (who is fantastic) of our concerns on this. I also put tape over the Nazi flag that shows part of the swastika.

Thoughts?

[emulatorloo]

1. Teacher sounds really great, that sounds like a good class.

Your daughter will see a swastika eventually. Sounds like the context is good.

[msongs]

2. over reacting & missing a good teaching opp - that symbol is 1000's of yrs old so a

short lesson on where it came from and some of its meanings would be helpful.

covering it up just adds to the allure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

[saltpoint]

3. Hard to see a serious study of

the Second World War without encountering the swastika.

Its being on the cover of a book wouldn't seem to me to be an endorsement of the Third Reich or its philosophy.

[underpants]

29. My problem with it is putting it on the cover

That's it. Yes it should and is show in this class to be a symbol of horribleness but I am not having my kid seen with a swastika.

[emulatorloo]

31. Make a book-cover out of a paper bag or left over holiday wrapping paper

[saltpoint]

33. If the student can come away with a

good understanding of how the symbol as used / abused by the Third Reich, that knowledge and understanding wins over the symbol.

By high school, there are a few kids who will plunge whole-hog into a period of history. I think it's a good idea to encourage their exploration. If the swastika is removed from a book cover, it's still an active force inside the pages of the book.

Students might be asked in class what power the symbol had in Germany during that period, and if there is a difference to allegiance to one's country and allegiance to a symbol.

[Ms. Toad]

44. I hope your correspondence with the teacher

expressed your concerns more clearly than your OP. Until I hit this post, I had no clue that your concern was not the author's/publisher's choice of cover art (which seems entirely appropriate, based on your description of the book) - but that you don't want your child to be required to carry a visible swastika.

[underpants]

46. It did

Thanks

[wordpix]

58. Better on a book cover than a brown shirt taking your kid to Auschwitz

You're missing the point imo. Getting upset at a symbol of evil is not the point. Discussing the events is.

[oberliner]

4. Absolutely fine with it

I don't understand what the objection would be.

[Tipperary]

10. I cannot see a problem either.

[840high]

50. I don't see a problem.

[tammywammy]

35. +1 n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

5. I think it is important for kids - everyone, really - to grok the difference between symbols, and

That which the symbol represents.

Without seeing the cover I dont know the presentation, but it certainly doesnt sound like the book is promoting Nazi ideology; and that's the rub on things like this, namely context.

There's nothing magic, nothing Voldemort-like about any particular word or symbol. It is what they represent, and the context in which they are presented, what makes all the difference.

[saltpoint]

6. Is your daughter in a high school class?

If so, maybe rent Louis Malle's film "Au revoir, les enfants."

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-au-revoir-les-enfants-1987

[TubbersUK]

13. Wonderful film n/t

[saltpoint]

15. It really is. the end scene is

emotionally understated which makes it emotionally devastating.

The school depicted was Malle's school. He was eye witness to just such events.

[Bluenorthwest]

63. A great, great film.

nt

[saltpoint]

89. Malle makes good ones, and for

me, at least, this is his best.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Conflicted

depending how old are the kids. They should know what that was.

[Bjorn Against]

8. Swastikas are extremely common in WWII literature and film

Most students will see numerous swastikas before graduating high school because WWII is a major focus of study in history and literature classes in most American schools. As long as they are not promoting the symbol there is nothing wrong with it.

[Person 2713]

9. My child's class is studying WWII. This is part of the curriculum.

I put tape over the Nazi flag that shows part of the swastika

Thoughts? Guess I'm just thinking about that action !

Book reviews no one mentions the cover but that it is good historical fiction
Review has cover of the book I believe you referenced
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1328363.Someone_Named_Eva

[aikoaiko]

11. You don't have to fear a book cover or the book's content.

Maybe take the time to explain the swastika's ancient origins and different symbolism.

[kelly1mm]

12. Not a problem at all, depending on the context, like the one you cited. nt

[jberryhill]

14. Does it bite?

Her class is studying WWII. What is this swastika going to do, exactly? Start rotating at high speed, separate from the book, and buzz saw someone's fingers off?

[ryan_cats]

40. That

That is not out of the realm of possibilities.

[Shandris]

16. I'd wonder why you were so scared of a symbol. If it symbolizes hate to you (and it does, in...

...appropriate context, the red and white Nazi flag with the black swastika or any other variant they specifically used), then it is even more important to teach the lesson of its appearance. Taping something over it is just going to make you look, well, like you think symbols are 'of the devil' or something. There's no FEAR attached to the symbol that we don't give it.

As for the other types of swastikas, as they are literally found over the entire world, I wouldn't bat an eye. It's a very prominent Buddhist symbol, among other religions. I suspect I am somewhat of a minority in this thought.

Just my thoughts on the subject of course. Good luck in whatever decision you choose.

[underpants]

25. Not scare of it. It just doesn't need to be on the cover.

Especially when there are other versions available.

[Tanuki]

51. If that's your only concern, why not cover it up with a removable full-adhesive label?

Post-it and other companies make them.

[TubbersUK]

17. I'd be fine with it in the context you describe n/t

[groundloop]

18. I'll agree with the others .... that symbol is a part of history

Taken in the proper context this can be a good learning opportunity.

[RandySF]

19. A swastika is the last thing in the world I would shield my son from.

My high school History teacher went over WWII in excruciating detail because he was determined that no student of his would NEVER FORGET. And now I worry a bit that millennial parents are going to shield their children's eyes from swastikas and anything else that might offend sheltered sensibilities. Nazism is ugly as hell but t's something the world should never be allowed to hide it, or its symbols, under the rug. Trust me, the Holocaust Museum hasn't covered it up.

[pnwmom]

53. EXACTLY!!!!! And every child needs to know what it came to symbolize.

Unfortunately, a symbol that has been around for eons became inextricably linked with Naziism. But it has and it doesn't help our children to shelter them from it.

[Nye Bevan]

20. Concealing swastikas in World War 2 era educational material

is like censoring "To Kill a Mockingbird" to remove the n-word.

[LiberalElite]

21. The Swatstika is an ancient religous symbol and it pains me

that Hitler and the Nazis appropriated it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

That being said, I see nothing wrong with the use of Nazi symbolism in a story about WWII. The Nazis used it so it belongs in the story.

[Ghost in the Machine]

22. Meh! The Nazis stole the swastika from some religion, who used

it from another religion, who borrowed it from yet another religion... and so on. I just read something about it the other day, and it had a graph that showed some different religions, as well as other Countries that used it.

That's my 2 cents worth on the subject...

Peace,

Ghost

[roody]

23. It seems like an appropriate part of the story.

[Flatpicker]

24. Seems

Like the correct place to deal with it.

On the cover of a book that deals with WW2 history and the Nazi's role in it.

Can't go on hiding images we don't like. Best to let the light shine on them and explain why they are as reviled as they are.

[DFW]

26. Our girls went to school in Germany

They went to the Anne Frank Grundschule in our town near Düsseldorf. They learned all about the Nazis, Anne Frank, the whole WWII story. Not only that, their grandfather, my father-in-law, was drafted off his farm into the Wehrmacht at age 17. He was sent to Stalingrad and returned minus a leg at age 18, unable ever to work on his beloved farm again.

The East Germans washed their hands of their past, said that there were only good Socialists there and no more Nazis. So when the wall came down, guess where most of German neo-Nazis were to be found? Right there in the part of Germany that had refused to confront its past. Better every child knows what happened and how horrible it was. Hiding it accomplishes nothing except creating forbidden fruit.

[earthside]

27. A highly regarded book.

The cover seems appropriate to me.

Putting tape over the Nazi flag smacks of censorship ... do you see the irony in what you have done?

Someone Named Eva
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1328363.Someone_Named_Eva

[underpants]

30. Damn I got the title wrong

Thanks. That's the cover.

[deutsey]

67. I have no problem at all with that cover

I think the girl's uneasy (to say the least) expression overshadows the flag behind her.

I am sensitive to the display of a swastika. My copy of Rise and Fall of the Third Reich looks like this:



The stark black-white contrast is pretty eye-grabbing and without knowing what the book is about, it can give the wrong impression.

I had the copy with me when I went to college and left it sitting out in my room. When one of my new roommates (who was Jewish) saw it from across the room, he demanded to know what the hell it was that I was reading. Probably making it worse, I have what can be called Aryan features (blond hair, etc.). I explained to him what it was and the situation was defused (we actually became pretty good friends), but I've always been very self-conscious of this cover ever since.

With this book, though, I think that face does a lot to undermine the symbol.

[earthside]

69. I thought of that book and book cover, too.

The black and white, the simplicity -- one of the most evocative book covers ever.

If you have seen and read the book, you never forget it.
Shirer was there and as a reporter it is a brilliantly written book.

I wonder how many young people (under 40 years old) have ever read or heard of this book?
How political evil can insinuate itself onto a people is something we all ought to be aware of -- maybe especially right now.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

84. The cover pretty much smacks you in the head what the book is about

No issue with it. People would probably complain if it just showed the girl and then realized "OMG my kid is reading about NAZZZIIIS!!!!"

[kentauros]

28. It's on the cover of Art Spiegelman's "Maus"

a graphic novel told through the use of "funny animals." Most people would call it a comic book, and yet it won the Pulitzer, among other prestigious awards.




I have no issue with it being on the cover of anything that is at least academically attempting to teach about WWII history.

[Demit]

43. One of the first, if not THE first, graphic novels. So gripping.

Yes, the Nazi symbol is a necessary part of remembering.

[kentauros]

55. Yeah, I need to pull out my copy and read it again.

I got to talk to Mr. Spiegelman back in the early 90s, in an attempt to interview him on a radio show. He declined, but we still had a good 20-minute phone chat. Very nice and congenial fellow

[Perogie]

32. you're over reacting

We should be able to look at any symbol no matter if it represents good or evil through a history lens.

You're the one allowing it to disturb you.

[underpants]

37. I appreciate your opinion

Thanks. Not snarky response from me. I just don't want my kid seen near a swastika.

[arcane1]

34. Sounds like an excellent course that equates the symbol with horror, instead of it being mysterious.

[X_Digger]

36. I think the point missed you by '' <-- that much.

That you're considering covering it up-- that must be the richest deposit of ironium that I've seen in a while.

[underpants]

39. I get your point but there's no irony here for me n/t

[saltpoint]

41. Authoritarian movements remove

literature and painting -- and human beings -- who get in their way, who challenge their authority, who offer an intellectually nuanced position for the consideration of a nation or culture.

Why can't a high school student be trusted with information? The Third Reich was abominably immoral, no question. But it occurred within very recent generations. A high school student should be asked to consider the moral cost of mass movements and what it means for an authoritarian government to extinguish the lives of people times 6 or 7 million.

[H2O Man]

38. Context is everything.

My children attended public schools, and had mostly outstanding teachers. I support learning history. Parts of human history are both ugly and disturbing. Hence, my appreciation for the capable teachers they had.

[underpants]

47. Thanks

I'll keep you in mind if it continues as unbelievably well as it has gone so far.

[lindysalsagal]

45. We want to shield our children from pain and loss

But we're not doing them any favors. High school is the time.

[Demit]

48. Is your reaction to the fact that the symbol is on a flag?

And not pictured as a graphic symbol alone? I'm trying to figure out your visceral reaction. Is it because it's on an object that we are taught to treat with respect, automatically, that you feel that it has more subliminal power, in the illustration, than it should?

My feeling is that the girl's face has such trepidation, or worry or fear on it, that her expression balances out and even negates the power of the symbol behind her. The symbol is far in the background at any rate. You see the girl's troubled face first, then you make the association that it is the flag and what it represents that's the source of it. I hope you'll reconsider wanting to hide the symbol. I think the illustrator did a good job with how he/she handled it.

[Shrike47]

49. I would not be bothered by the book cover, to answer your question. The kids all know why.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

52. Helicopter parents are destroying our youth.

Instead of hiding and running from history use it as a catalyst for discussion and reflection.

[RandySF]

59. +100000

[underpants]

61. I agree

[Agnosticsherbet]

54. This is another one. A great book.

If we hide form the monsters, they only get worse.

?w=600&h=576&crop=1

[phleshdef]

56. As long as the content properly portrays the Nazis in the historically accurate, disgusting light...

...that they should be portrayed in, I have no problem with the artwork on the front cover.

[winter is coming]

57. Take the tape off. The swastika is historically accurate for the time period and

appropriate for this book. As for the copy being beaten up... I've seen what happens to paperback books that get tossed into kid's backpacks. This is nothing unusual, and there's no need to replace the book unless part of it is missing.

[Dorian Gray]

60. I don't understand

what the problem is.

The swastika is on the cover art of a book critical about Nazi-ism? Do you want your daughter to never see what a swastika looks like? Are you afraid someone may see her book and think she's a neo-Nazi?

[Bluenorthwest]

62. I was 12 when I visited former camps, met survivors and heard all of those horrible stories. One

lesson I took from learning about the Nazis is that they judged people by their looks, they judged the book by the cover.

The actual course of the narrative is that she is taken from her family, culturally assimilated to a great extent but that she retains her true self even in the face of what has been done to her, the reunion with her 'true family' is actually a reunion with just her mother, who has suffered in a concentration camp, her father and brother killed, home and village destroyed, her sister is missing having been 'adopted' like Milada which is Eva's real name. They move in with a distant cousin and Milada recovers her true language and her true self. I would describe that, the post war portion, as the 'third act' of the story and not merely the denouement.

I offer that 'The war ends and of course he reunites with her true family' is not really accurate, sadly reductive and indicates that you have not in fact read the book you are taking to task. You looked at the cover, heard a summary from your child and that's where your soapbox got placed.

[hack89]

64. I think you are severely over reacting and teaching your kids a bad lesson

the power of the book is in the message it conveys, not a symbol on the cover. Are you concerned that seeing a Nazi symbol will lessen the message of the book?

[Iggo]

65. Fine with it.

Never Forget.

[Bettie]

66. Sounds as if

it in in correct context.

Given what you've said about the class, the kids should be fully aware of what the flag was and what it stood for, what it still stands for.

I'd not worry about it. My kids are smart enough to know that it is an ugly part of history, but part of history nonetheless.

[Brickbat]

68. You haven't said why you think the swastika shouldn't be on the cover. Why shouldn't it?

[raccoon]

70. Sounds like a good book. I'll have to read it. I don't see any

problem with the swastika on the cover.

[LeftishBrit]

71. If it was a book about the Nazis, and portrayed them negatively, I would not object

I don't like cheap Nazi comparisons for everyone whom one dislikes or finds too bossy, but the Nazis were, well, Nazis, and a historical novel about them has to portray them as such, including the swastika. Nor do I think that it makes a difference to the young reader whether it's on the cover or within the book.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

72. Should we allow any symbols on any books that could be regarded as propaganda by some?

Flags? Religious symbols? Dollar signs in the study of economics?

Using a swastika in the study of Nazism seems appropriate just as showing a burning cross is appropriate to a study of racism.

[ProfessorGAC]

73. We're Old Pals UP, But You're Overreacting

I get your point. But, the thing is in deep background and the book is obviously about the young woman.

If the material is age appropriate, then an explanation as to how bad that period was would not be above grade level. And, it would become a teaching moment.

[underpants]

78. **MY FINAL RESPONSE ON THIS THREAD** I received responses from the teacher and principal

My kid is getting a new copy of the book without the Nazi symbolism.
Content of the covers will be presented to the committee that selects material to be considered as a policy change in the future.

I appreciate your post Prof and the others as well. They do extensively discuss the true historic use of that symbol and the directional orientation aspects of it. My child's book is being switched to a cover without the Nazi element present on it.

Thanks everyone but this is my kid and my issue. I don't regret at all expressing my opinion on it and I am glad that I could make this change.

[Throd]

74. You are overreacting.

[KatyMan]

75. I would feel they are getting a good education

And the 'never forget' torch is being passed to another generation. I wouldn't be reaching for the fainting couch.

[Android3.14]

76. Literally judging a book by its cover. Sad

I love books, love reading and love free expression. Mrs. 'Droid is a librarian and I make my living under the protection of the First Amendment.

My kids would feel ashamed if their mother censored a book in this way.

[Maeve]

77. In this context, I would let it be

Now, if I were taking a class with, say, "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" with it's stark cover, I'd likely put a red circle with line thru over the swastika just so my opinon would be noted by anyone seeing me with the book, but in the context of the cover as shown in one of the other responses....or the Maus cover...it's acceptable. I think it's better to face the symbol openly than to fig-leaf it.

[leveymg]

79. Banning symbols is probably counter-productive.

If one is to study the history, one must also understand the origins, messages, and nomenclature of totalitarian societies, no matter how offensive the ideology.

[MosheFeingold]

80. Meh

My children read the "Mein Kampf" in German.

I had (have) an original. It was passed out like candy in Germany in my youth -- just prior to me escaping the Shoah by the skin of my teeth.

Knowledge is power. You must understand the world.

This coddling of children, "safe spaces" and stupid sheltering from different points of view is creating a country of weak, stupid, people, who are apparently unaware that there is a lot of evil in this world.

[bigwillq]

81. I would be fine with it (nt)

[BlueCollar]

82. you asked how I would feel.

I would be OK with it in this context. The swastika image is historically appropriate.

[Zynx]

83. Presumably people in school know that it is assigned reading.

Shouldn't be a big deal.

[DefenseLawyer]

85. I have to say, I don't understand your concern

There were nazis. They had a flag. It had a swastika on it. How is knowledge of that going to harm your child?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

86. How unfortunate

You've completely ignored the real story, the book itself, to obsess over the cover.

[hunter]

87. A big black marker will fix that.

Something like this, perhaps:



http://chocodrama.deviantart.com/art/no-nazi-stencil-132206382

My wife's uncle was killed by the Nazis and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

When our kids were in high school we took them to visit his grave. We also visited the Holocaust Museum.

Children whose parents can't afford them these opportunities, or worse, have parents who are various flavors of Nazi themselves, they are entirely dependent upon on good teachers for their education.

A Nazi swastika on the cover of a school textbook is disturbing, but everything about the Nazis is disturbing.

[GeorgeGist]

88. If this is the cover ...

I think you're over reacting.

[LiberalAndProud]

90. Make the teacher's life miserable because you don't like the cover of a book.

That seems petty and nit-picky to me.

There are battles to be chosen. For me, this isn't one of them by any measure.