This particular video clip is important to show students because it highlights some big corporations and their involvement in producing things that benefited and supported the Nazi regime. There are specific references made about General Motors, Ford, and Coca-Cola. However, the corporation that is mainly highlighted is IBM's involvement in creating software that allowed the Nazis to track Jews and Poles through census reporting.
This video would be great to show to students and allow them to have a guided discussion about whether they are are for or against what these corporations are doing and why, and looking at how the elements of greed, morality, and ethics either shape or not shape our decisions. Follow-up questions could be: How does this or could the content presented in this video-clip compare to the War in Iraq? Do you see any similarities between the video-clip and the war we are currently fighting?
1 comment:
Crystal, I really like the fact that you selected this topic of the role of US corporations in World War II--this should serve to challenge students' notions of how corporate America portrays itself as the "good guy." I also like the idea of driving home this critique by analyzing the role of corporations in the Iraq War--where US "security firms" such as Blackwater are benefiting from that war (there's a whole book just on this firm.)
There's a lot of good stuff on this topic, such as the Greenwald documentary, Selling of the War. There may also be some material on any of the PBS Frontline sites related to their documentaries on the war. And, the whole defense industry is benefiting from this war, for example, if Congress passes a 50 billion dollar bill to buy amored trucks.
I really like your larger focus here on developing materials around the Holocaust.
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