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Social psychology of convenient (im)memory

March 11, 2006 · 2 Comments

On the first day of German class last year the teacher [who was German] asked, “when you say German or Germany, what is the first thing that comes to mind?” Each person suggested one thing. None of the suggestions included the Nazis, WWII, or the Jewish Holocaust. Would make an interesting case study for a M.A thesis in sociology or psychology.

Categories: Holocausts

2 responses so far ↓

  • Neruda // March 11, 2006 at 11:56 pm

    well …i guess everybody said BEER …
    hmm … i think we can relate that to the fact that the teacher is German, so basically the students disnt wanna say sth to disturb him ….we know how the mentioning of those things makes the german ashamed and sad !!!!
    my sociological explanation: the students were too greedy for grades (or had aspirations to become the teacher;s pet) that they didnt want to say anything he wud find disturbing or even insulting …..

    PEACE

  • Freedom // March 12, 2006 at 12:01 am

    Yes, I agree with your explanations.

    Ironically, the teacher turned out to be Jewish. :)

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