Peter Becker, Part 3 | S.C. Voices: Lessons from the Holocaust

Peter Becker was born in Munich in 1929. At the special Nazi school he attended, students were taught to be political or military leaders and that Hitler was the savior who would lift Germany up. In schools, Jews were depicted in anti-Semitic publications as fat, repugnant and ugly. Students were told that the Jews were their enemies. In biology, students were brainwashed about racial purity. There were inferior races, and then there were the Germans—the top race and an all powerful people. After the war the Russians occupied Potsdam where Becker lived and he was denounced as a Nazi. "I was 100 percent Nazi, but not a leader; I was arrested and interrogated, then released. It took me two years to accept that Germans had killed Jews." According to Becker, eternal vigilance is the order of the day to keep people from controlling others and to guarantee there are no secrets. In addition, a viable, strong press and political activism are needed.

Dr Becker died on June 8, 2018. 

Standards

• Along with the rest of the world, the United States and South Carolina experienced economic instability during this period. As a result, political instability and worldwide conflict consumed the world in the 1940s. Following World War II, the United States emerged as a world leader through political policies and economic growth.
  • 5.3.CE Analyze the cause and effect of government-sponsored policies within the United States and Europe related to the status of different groups, to include the Holocaust.
• The modern era has seen an increase in global interdependence culturally, economically, and politically since 1920. The advent of technology has fueled the interconnectedness of the world. Civil rights and independence have been at the forefront of this era; however, tensions remain in how to achieve these goals.
  • 6.5.CE Explain the impact of nationalism on global conflicts and genocides in the 20th and 21st centuries.
• This indicator was designed to promote inquiry into military and economic policies during World War II, to include the significance of military bases in South Carolina. This indicator was also developed to foster inquiry into postwar economic developments and demographic changes, to include the immigration of Jewish refugees following the Holocaust.
  • 8.5.CO Compare South Carolina and U.S. wartime contributions and demobilization after World War II.
• This indicator is intended to encourage inquiry into the significant causes of World War I and the impacts of the Treaty of Versailles, including its failure to prevent future global conflicts.
  • This indicator is intended to encourage inquiry into the relationship between World War II and interwar foreign policies, global business cycles, the rise of totalitarian regimes, and postwar alliances. This indicator was also developed to promote inq...