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Letter
to the Editor (Revised Version as requested)
April 5, 2000
Response on the article "Teacher's
use of flag props stirs controversy"
by Viktoria Hertling
Dr.
Viktoria Hertling, Professor & Director
Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace Studies University
of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89557 775-784-6767
hertling@scs.unr.edu
April 5, 2000
On April 3, when I first learned about the issue of
a Nazi flag being displayed in connection with a two-week
teaching unit on WWII at Vaughn Middle School, I had
hoped to contact the teacher by phone or write a private
letter to the principal asking them to consider taking
down the swastika flag. However, after seeing the front-
page coverage in the RGJ the next day, I feel compelled
to react publicly. Also, in view of the number of phone
calls our Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace
Studies has received from local teachers and students,
I think it is necessary to comment on this issue. I
fully concur that the teacher at Vaughn did not intend
to present Nazism as an acceptable tradition. But issues
relating to flags and what they stand for are often
thorny and some- times contentious.
Like
the Confederate flag, the Nazi flag is a symbol that
causes great pain and discomfort. As the Confederate
flag is offensive to African-Americans and other ethnic
minorities, so is the Nazi flag to Jews and all those
who suffered horribly at the hands of National Socialism.
It is also offensive to those Americans who risked their
lives freeing Europe from the yoke of Fascism, thus
ending WWII. Many Gls were paws in camps dominated by
this flag; and many GIs even gave their lives in their
attempts to liberate Europe from Nazism.
White
supremacist groups use the Nazi flag to legitimize their
rejection of the diverse ethnic makeup of our country.
They almost wrap themselves with it. In this way, they
denigrate African-Americans, Jews, other minorities,
and everybody who disagrees with their message of racial
hatred and violence.
Given
that students in middle schools are likely targets of
recruitment by such groups, we as educators should be
mindful of what we give credence to and what we should
avoid. Nazi and Confederate flags belong in a museum
and not in classrooms as extended displays or "enhancement"
of a teaching curriculum.
As
a professor teaching at the University of Nevada, Reno,
a state-funded university, and as Director of UNR' s
Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace Studies,
I strive to use symbols and teaching tools that do not
cause pain or animosity among my students and peers.
We all realize that the decision what to use and what
to avoid is a difficult one and often depends on how
such tools and symbols are used in a classroom. Speaking
for myself and as a representative of an academic center
dealing with genocide, a Nazi flag represents nothing
but pain, fear, unease, animosity, and discomfort.
In
view of the atrocities that were committed under the
banner of this notorious flag, and given the fact that
various racist groups purposefully use this flag to
recruit young students and promote racial hatred and
bigotry, I urge everybody, to choose symbols, pictures,
images, and texts that represent the full scope of the
events surrounding WWII in a dignified, empathetic,
and compassionate way.
We
at the Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace Studies
are ready to offer support with such teaching units.
There are also several local Holocaust survivors willing
to come to any school in Washoe County. We would be
glad to share our resources--photos, videos, teaching
aids, etc. I would be available to speak to students
on issues related to the Holocaust and WWII.
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