Photo taken from the unloading area inside the Birkenau (Auschwitz II) Camp, Oswiecim, Poland - photo by R. Borneman - 2004

  "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

  "Extreme justice is often injustice." - Jean Racine (1639 - 1699)

 "Those who consent to the act and those who do it shall be equally punished." - Edward Coke (1552 - 1634)

 Purpose: This simulation is not so much about history as it is about situational ethics and moral choices.  Students will be asked to challenge themselves with the rationale for their proposed actions, additionally, students will be encourage to challenge each other.  At the close of the activity, students will be asked to reflect on their own ethical position and those of others.

 Process:  Each student will be asked to address a basic, hypothetical question:  If you had been alive in January, 1940, knowing what you do about Hitler's intentions and abilities (assume you have read Mein Kampf), after the invasion of Poland, yet prior to the invasion of Denmark, Norway, and France, given the opportunity, would you have killed Hitler?   If so, why, and under what circumstances would you change your mind and not kill Hitler?   If not,  why not, and would there be circumstances under which you would resort to acts of killing?  Students will write their answers out and bring them to class for the first of the three days of the activity.  They will be collected but kept confidential.  They are not "graded" but only given credit for having been completed.

Day 1 - The class will be divided into two basic groups: the Active (those who would attempt to kill Hitler) and the Inactive (those who would not).  These two groups will sit opposite each other, facing each other in the class.  On Day 1, the teacher will address a series of questions to the Active group.  Each student in the Active group must answer the situational ethical question regarding the circumstances under which they would consent to kill Hitler in January of 1940. Some students will reach a point at which they will not consent to kill Hitler, given the circumstances.  When this happens, they will move to the Inactive side of the class.  Students (in either group) will be encouraged to question them as to why they have "changed their mind".  The questions will generally reflect historical events (such as the use of a bomb to attempt to kill Hitler and his aides and generals - see The July Plot).

Day 2 - This day's activities focus on the Inactive group.  The Inactive will be divided into three sub-groups: 1. Pacifists (who believe that killing is wrong and will thus not do it), 2. Fatalists (who believe that nothing will change, regardless of one's individual actions), and 3. Realists (who realistically acknowledge that they probably do not have the personal willpower to kill someone).  These three groups will be acting as a group, a decision made by any one of them will affect the outcomes for the entire group.  They will be asked a series of questions regarding resistance to the Nazi regime (beginning with passive resistance and escalating to potential acts of "terrorism" or "freedom-fighting").  Their scenario will not be placed in 1940, before the main thrust of the war, but rather in the winter of 1944, shortly before the close of the European theater of the war, at the time in which the Nazis were stepping up their pace of Jewish extermination.  Eventual liberation will be a foregone conclusion.  Like the Active group, they will be asked questions individually.  Unlike the Active group, they will not be able to "change sides" but will remain with their Inactive group for the duration of the day.  Their scenarios will generally reflect historical events (such as the Warsaw Uprising).

Day 3 - Detox.  This day is the essential mental and emotional processing of the preceding two days. On this day students will be asked to evaluate their own and others' responses to the situations presented. 

 (Photo of Train in Latvia, passing through woods where Jews were executed during WWII by the Germans, outside of Riga - photo by R. Borneman)

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Hitler Debate FAQ's

Question: How can we answer a question about what we would have done if we were alive in 1940 or 1944 when we would have been totally different people?

Answer: Don't get hung up on the peripheral differences.  There are several things you can still assume: assume you are the same physical person, the same age, that you have the same general interests (maybe you'd have to imagine reading Marvel Comics of the 1930's instead of Japanese Anime; maybe you'd have to consider liking board and card games instead of computer games; try to replace the technological differences: maybe you listen to Louis Armstrong on vinyl records instead of "Power-Tool" on your iPod).  Assume you have the same basic friendships and family, the same religious or non-religious values.  Assume you are on an exchange program or holiday in Germany or Poland.  Even if you might not have known the eventual outcome of the war, your certainly could have known Hitler's intentions (hence, you've read Mein Kampf).  If you can't bridge that conceptual gap, you are a either a solipsist (and history is as utterly irrelevant to you as all other human beings) or you are profoundly lacking in mental creativity.  This is an exercise about values and choices, not time-travel paradoxes.

Question: What if people don't take this seriously?  I mean, who really thinks they'd have the nerve to shoot Hitler?

Answer: True enough, the exercise is only as valuable if taken seriously; if you consider it to be a joke, then you will be wasting your own time for three days (don't blame me).  On the other hand, virtually every one of the choices posed in the scenarios are choices made by real people during WWII.  At least you can catch a glimpse into the decision making processes of those who opposed Hitler with violence and those who did not.  Furthermore, in our era there are new threats and new choices to be made.  The struggle for human rights and dignity only ends when the entire human race is gone.

Question:  Wow, that was profound.  Any more pithy quotes for us?

Answer: Sure - here are two more (one of which is semi-sarcastic)

 "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." - Mr. Borneman

 "Those who know history are condemned to watch it repeat itself." - Mr. Borneman