The Bombing of Auschwitz: Teacher Responses

After the lecture last Thursday on "The Bombing of Auschwitz," we asked to teachers to tell us what stood out to them most and they gained from the lecture.  Below are a few excerpts from their responses:

"The great numbers of Jewish people put to death so needlessly and callously was impacting.  The presentation helped in seeing them as individuals rather than a mass number... The comments were impacting, such as one man’s mother who was a prisoner at Auschwitz wanting the bombing, even at the cost of her life, so that the Nazi idea that they were untouchable could be destroyed.  The personal comments struck home.

My father was shot down while on a bombing mission, and served in a German POW camp.  The specifics of what he saw and faced, both in his bombing missions and in the camps as they tried to get information from him as the navigator; the 2 escapes he made and the miracle of his survival upon recapture when others were immediately executed; the liberation of the prisoners at the end of the war, which affected both his POW camp and the concentration camp across the city – these and so many more specifics brought home how these events, their significance, the PTSD so many faced, and how their lives from that time forward were impacted..  I can better understand why some choose not to talk about the details, as the reality is in front of them again."

- Sharon Cordova, Puyallup

"I appreciated the breadth, depth, and detailed content of the lecture. Although I teach what I consider to be a lengthy and hopefully thorough unit on the Holocaust, I generally brush over this topic and cover it superficially.   Many of the facts jumped out at me. The broken down statistics on Auschwitz where 12,000 victims were put to death a day and that 2,000 were killed every 30 minutes. While I knew about Jan Karski and a few others who revealed what was happening in the death camps of Poland, I appreciated the expanded list of not only people, but organizations such as the BBC and the N.Y. Times who both revealed their awareness in 1944. I was reminded of the impact of the World War I anti-German propaganda and the detrimental effect on the believability factor when people were told of what was occurring in Poland during WWII. One point that really struck me was the comment made by a leading Jewish organization that the Allies should not be allowed to bomb where there were Jews because the argument was put forth that the Germans would use this as a pretext to assert that the Jewish victims were indeed killed by the Allies. I really appreciated the references to primary sources such as the Executive Order 100 signed by Abraham Lincoln which stated something to the effect that “Once a war begins, the best and most humane thing is to carry it out as intensely as possible so as to be through with it as soon as possible.” Although I was aware that Buna had been bombed once I did not know that it had been bombed four times. My other revelatory moment was when Mr. Herschkowitz began talking about the different bombing strategies and I began to relate technology, strategy, and opportunity all into the equation. There’s a whole new perspective given when you consider that during the time frame of WWII only 20% of bombs aimed at a precise target fell within the target range. During the hours I spent at the presentation I gained a lot of new information, was challenged to add to my existing knowledge, and began to look at the issue of whether to bomb Auschwitz or not with new eyes.

I loved the way his lecture started with a couple of guided questions and then systematically looked at the issues of awareness of what was happening, who was aware and at what point in time, technology issues, emotional responses from both sides, etc.  It’s an excellent issue for getting students to research, present, and debate and provides ample opportunity to bring in some primary documents, historical maps, and primary photos. I feel a lot more comfortable now leading or prompting a discussion about whether or not  Auschwitz should have been bombed. Teachers teach what they know, are comfortable with, and what they feel will be of importance to their students.   My entire way of addressing this issue will be revamped into a more interactive classroom experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn more."

- Rosemary Conroy, Shoreline

"I think that it is hard for us to truly evaluate this question ["Should the Allies have bombed Auschwitz?"] as it so hard for us to separate what we know now about bombing in the 20^th and 21^st Centuries, compared with the reality of how unreliable a method this was during the war. When we discovered that less than 7% of bombs during the war actually hit the intended target, it is hard to imagine the unintended potential for more loss of life.

One of the most powerful lessons for me from the Holocaust is the resiliency of the human spirit. I cannot imagine the suffering, pain, and loss, these people endured. But I can stand as a witness to the resiliency of their spirit as I see survivors at events like tonight’s. When I hear children speak of what their parents endured; and yet these people did not give up on life. They had families, they moved forward as best they could. They celebrated the fact that they were alive, blessed by God, holy. Should we have bombed? What if these survivor’s would have been killed? I can’t even pretend to know the answer to that question. It was a very though provoking lecture.

I teach Literature and Religion and my partner teacher Rosemary Conroy teaches Social studies. We work hard to integrate this subject through all we teach. Any chance I get to become more informed helps me to be better at my job. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to hear such a great speaker."

- Tracey Rathke, Shoreline