The Museum of Tolerance and the Swastika Essays

The Museum of Tolerance and the Swastika Essays The Museum of Tolerance and the Swastika Essay The Museum of Tolerance and the Swastika Essay The Museum of Tolerance and The Swastika Maria A. Kreit Anthropology 101 Dr. Raffaella November 30, 2011 Abstract This essay is about my first experience at the Museum of Tolerance. Although the museum was very informative, the one main detail that it did not have was many actual artifacts. It had a few artifacts, but none that were noteworthy or interesting in regards to history. My experience in the Museum of Tolerance mostly focuses on the holocaust exhibit of the museum, which then relates to Anti-Semitism and the Swastika. It then goes in depth about the Swastika and how it came to be. The Museum of Tolerance, Anti-Semitism, and The Swastika When first deciding on a field trip, I was unsure which one to go to because there were so many interesting options. Then the idea of going to the Museum of Tolerance came to mind. I had never previously visited the Museum of Tolerance, but I was often told about how it was mostly referenced for its Holocaust exhibit and its message about being prejudice. Just from personal experience, the Museum of Tolerance appeared to be a popular place to visit and a place people often talk about or reference within conversations. Because of its popularity and constant reoccurrence in topics of conversation, I finally decided that it was important I see this specific museum. Upon entering the museums parking structure, which had been strategically hidden beneath the building, My friend Cameron and I came across a security guard. Before being allowed to enter the structure, he instructed us to open the trunk and show him identification. Strange as it was, we had done exactly as told without question. He proceeded to check the contents of the trunk and Cameron’s ID. Once he was finished, he told us that camera’s were ot allowed in the museum along with several other things, and then he let us through and allowed us to park. (Due to this fact, I was unable to take any personal pictures of the museum or myself in the museum. ) After finding a parking spot, we went up the elevator to the lobby of the museum. Right next to the front desk, I noticed that the only way in was through a security checkpoint ; a high tech security checkpoint that reminded me of airport security. They had a bag scanner and what I assumed were metal detectors that people had to walk through. For a museum regarding tolerance and prejudice, it was unnerving to have to see that they actually use these machines on a daily basis. Although I cannot begin to imagine what they encounter there at the museum on a daily basis, I hardly think it necessary to use such intimidating machinery just to get into the museum. My theory is that the real purpose behind it is to make us feel unsettled and uncomfortable, as though we were being judged and demoralized just as the Jews had been back in the 1930s. It could also be for security purposes, but it seems odd that a museum with little to no artifacts would actually have a very obvious heightened amount of security when compared to museums like the Getty, which has paintings that are worth millions. Regardless, my experience for the Museum of Tolerance began with a confused and uneasy feeling. As we moved forward, there was a spiraling ramp going downwards and along the side of the ramp were framed photographs of people; Older people to be precise. At first glance, I assumed that they were contributors to the museum, or possibly even managers that headed the museum. Then after making that comment aloud, my friend who had previously been to the museum told me that they were pictures of Holocaust survivors. It was touching to see that there was a tribute to the holocaust survivors, but it was disheartening to know that it was nothing in comparison to how many had died, which again reinforced that uneasy feeling. Reaching the bottom of the spiral ramp led to even more confusion. Since I had never been to the Museum of Tolerance before, I had no idea where to begin. I decided to begin by visiting the Holocaust exhibit because that is what the Museum of Tolerance is famous for. The main issue that I had with the exhibit was that they did not have any actual physical artifacts up for display. A majority of the exhibit was technology based or was made up entirely of dioramas. It was intriguing to discover that they used a media based approach to inform their audience about the events that happened during the time of the Holocaust. To further enhance the experience and evoke emotions of the audience, the museum handed out cards with pictures of Jewish people on them. Each card could be entered into a scanner to receive a bit of background information on that person. At the end of the tour, there would be a scanner that told you whether or not that person survived the dreadful events of the Holocaust. The person I received had survived, but my friend Cameron received a person who had died at a young age. We even received a copied printout about each story and how they survived or died. Peter Freistadt was the name of the individual whose card I had received. He was born on October 13, 1931, in Bratislavia, Czechoslovakia and his family had practiced Neology, which is the Hungarian Reform of Judaism. When the anti-Semitic laws came around in the 1940s they had to start wearing the Jewish star of David around their arms so that people could see that they were Jewish. They were even required to hire a non-Jewish person to overlook their business. Eventually, they were forced to leave their home and his mother, Irene, thought it best that Peter go into hiding with a nice Slovak family. Ultimately, he got turned in by the boyfriend of the Slovak family’s daughter and was forced to showing his false identification papers. Once it was discovered that his papers were fake, he was sent to the Sered transit camp. Not long after, he was transferred to the ghetto where he eventually escaped and went back to his hometown to live with his grandparents and uncle. The paper I received ends by saying that â€Å"Peter’s current name is Peter Freistadt† demonstrating that he suvived the Holocaust and that he kept his name as well. (Museum of Tolerance 2011) These intriguing stories were printed to each individual who had received a card in the beginning of the tour. The thought that millions of people had gone trough this exhibit and had witnessed the same intolerance towards Jews astounded me, and it made me wonder what people thought about these stories. Most importantly, it made me wonder why people from the past would go about doing these horrible crimes to people who have not actually done anything wrong. This activity made me interested in researching anti-Semitism, but more specifically, the symbol behind the Nazi party that stood for being anti-Semitic: The Swastika. What exactly is Anti-Semitism though? According to Anti-Semitism: A Modern Perspective, Anti-Semitism is the â€Å"hatred of Jews because of their religious heritage and beliefs (Arnold and Silverstein 1985),† not because they committed a crime. Only because â€Å"they were Jews (Arnold and Silverstein 1985). † Anti-Semitism can be dated back to 1873, when it was first coined, but it truly became a problem when Hitler killed off millions of people because he was anti-Semitic. The phrase was first coined in a pamphlet titled â€Å"TheVictory of Judaism over Germanism† by Willhelm Marr, where he declared that â€Å"Jews had corrupted German society (Arnold and Silverstein 1985). Since 1873 was a time of economic turmoil, it was easier to just put the blame on the Jews, which lead to its spread across Germany. Funny thing is, Hitler actually avoided using the term â€Å"anti-Semitic† because he did not want to offend the Arabs who were Semites. He wanted to make sure that they were to be allies even though he had a strong dislike for Jews (Arnold and Silverstein 1985). One of the most notable symbols today that depicts anti-Semitism and Hitler’s views is the Swastika. An interesting fact bout the swastika is that it is originally meant to be a sign of luck, but now it is known to be â€Å"the universal symbol of hate (Goodstein 2010). † As the story goes, the swastika â€Å"is an ancient symbol† that is used to â€Å"represent the sun wheeling across the sky(Fuchs 1990). † It was actually first seen in ancient India and has been known as â€Å"the symbol of good fortune† for thousands of years (Fuchs 1990). Hitler was said to have possibly found this symbol in a church in Lambach (Fuchs 1990), but he was not the first to use it for politics. It had been used for right-wing radical parties, but was not as effective as Hitler’s use of it due to propaganda. Hitler chose this symbol because â€Å"it would represent the basic concept of Germandom (Fuchs 1990). † He then chose it to be displayed on a red flag so that it would catch people’s attention. The article â€Å" Swastika Is Deemed ‘Universal’ Hate Symbol† goes on to say that it is now used for more than just hating the Jews but also African-Americans, Hispanics, and Gays(Goodstein 2010). It is fascinating to discover that the swastika’s meaning keeps changing over time and that the image of it keeps developing a increasingly negative image as time goes on. To conclude, the Museum of Tolerance gave an unsettling feeling from the time I entered the museum to the time I left. It showed me disturbing images and displayed depressing statistics. All due to an economic depression and the growing ideas of anti-Semitism, millions of people died. In the end, I discovered that everyone is a little bit prejudiced, but it is how we handle it that makes the difference. Arnold, C. Silverstein, A. Anti-Semitism: A Modern Perspective. New York, NY: Julian Messner, 1985. Print. Fuchs, Thomas. A Concise Biography of Adolf Hitler. New York, NY: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1990. Print. Goodstein, Laurie. Swastika Is Deemed Universal Hate Symbol. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 29 July 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. . Peter Freistadt. Museum of Tolerance. Simon Wiesenthal Center, 2011. Web. . -Used parts of their website, but mostly used the print handout they gave at the end of the tour.