I'm interested in everone's opinion. Is this a free speech issue? I'm undecided.
A 14 year old's poem, written from the perspective of Adolf Hitler, includes
lines such as: "Make them [Jews] take many paces for being one of the worst
races, on their way to a gas chamber, where they will sleep in their manger.
I'll be happy Jews have died." In the United Kingdom, this contest entry
won a literary prize and is included in a children's poetry book to be
distributed to schools throughout the country. The editor of the book
claims that the poem is an excellent example of a student using
"perspective" and "historical fact."
I was unable to find a complete copy of the poem. While the poem may indeed have been an excellent example of writing from another person's
perspective - in this case Hitler's - is it really appropriate in a
children's book of poetry to be distributed to students as young as 11?
It could be argued that the poem is instructive about Hitler's hateful
nature and his beliefs. But since the book is not a history book, and no
context is given for the poem, it's hard to tell whether the poem was meant
to praise Hitler's deeds or shed light on his hateful ideology and behavior.
Since the poem ends with the question "At what price world domination?" it's
altogether possible the teenage author was attempting to get his readers to
ponder the evil nature of Hitler's deeds, but this nuance will likely be
lost on many young readers, many of whom have likely never even heard of the Holocaust yet.
Would a poem written from the perspective of Osama bin Laden, relating the
joy he gets from his followers killing "evil" infidels, including the
Christians and Jews in British trains and buses, have won a prize and been
included in the book? How about a poem written from the perspective of a Ku
Klux Klan member who takes joy in lynching blacks? Or how about a Serbian
soldier's glee in raping and murdering Bosnian Muslim women?
Please protest the inclusion in a children's book of a poem that many
children will infer praises the murder of Jews. Protest also that such a
poem was awarded a prize. Urge the publisher to delete the poem from the
book. Urge Prime Minister Blair to stop the book from being distributed in
UK schools if the poem is not deleted.
Forward Press
Email: info@forwardpress.co.uk
Tel: 01733 898105
Fax: 01733 313524
Prime Minister Tony Blair
To send a message to Prime Minister Tony Blair, go to the following website:
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page821.asp
Then scroll down, click on schools in the subject menu, and submit a
comment.
Or, you can mail a letter to:
Prime Minister Tony Blair
10 Downing Street
London, SW1A 2AA
England
You can also post a comment at the end of a www.timesonline.co.uk article
about the poem. Scroll down to October 21st entry:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,24869,00.html
Please let CAMERA know if you have submitted a comment to Forward Press,
Timesonline, or PM Blair: cameraletters@aol.com
The European Jewish Press article about the controversy is below.
With thanks,
Lee Green
Director, National Letter-Writing Group
CAMERA
********************************
European Jewish Press, October 26, 2005
Anti-Semitic poem in children's school book
by Jeremy Last
http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/3663
A poem which praises the murder of Jews by the Nazis has been included in a
book of children's poetry to be distributed amongst schools in the UK.
The publication, entitled Great Minds, features the work of school children
aged 11 to 18 who won a nationwide literary competition.
But one poem has generated outrage amongst Jewish groups, politicians and
Holocaust charities for its anti-Semitic content.
The entry by the 14-year-old Gideon Taylor is apparently written from the
viewpoint of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
It includes the lines "Jews are here, Jews are there, Jews are almost
everywhere, filling up the darkest places, evil looks upon their faces."
Another part reads: "Make them take many paces for being one of the worst
races, on their way to a gas chamber, where they will sleep in their manger.
I'll be happy Jews have died."
Publisher defends poem
The book was produced by Forward Press who ran the Great Minds competition
through its youngwriters.co.uk website.
Wining entries were rewarded with cash prizes of up to 20ukp for pupils and
1,000ukp for schools.
According to the Jewish Telegraph newspaper, the poem was the only entry in
the entire book not to include the writer's school or location.
Young Writers editor Steve Twelvetree, who also edited the book, said the
poem was included as it illustrated how the writer was able to empathise
with the infamous Nazi Fuehrer.
"Make them take many paces for being one of the worst races, on their way to
a gas chamber, where they will sleep in their manger. I'll be happy Jews
have died" the poem reads.
Twelvetree told the Telegraph: "From Gideon's poem and my knowledge of the
National Curriculum Key Stage 3, his poem shows a good use of technical
writing and he has written his poem from the perspective of Adolf Hitler."
The editor continued: "Key Stage 3 history requires pupils to show knowledge
and understanding of events and places - to show historical interpretation
and to explain significance of events, people and places, all of which World
War II and the Holocaust is part of.
"The poem clearly states 'I am Adolf Hitler' and it recounts a historical
fact, something Young Writers and Forward Press are not willing to censor."
Widespread outrage
However, communal leaders were less than impressed with the poem's inclusion
in a book which they said could be influential on youngsters' views of
Jewish people.
Chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Jon Benjamin said:
"It is the duty of the publisher to consider the consequences of the poem."
Jewish Labour MP, Louise Ellman, who represents the constituency of
Liverpool Riverside, spoke of her concern.
She said: "It's an incitement to racial hatred. The words are absolutely
outrageous and appalling."
And a spokesman for the Holocaust Educational Trust echoed Ellman's views.
The charity is now urging the publishers to issue a formal apology for the
book and remove the offending poem.
A spokesman said: "It is totally insensitive and inappropriate for this kind
of hatred to appear.
"It is also immensely insulting to those who lost their lives in the
Holocaust and to those who survived."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Copyright C 2001-2005 EJP
A 14 year old's poem, written from the perspective of Adolf Hitler, includes
lines such as: "Make them [Jews] take many paces for being one of the worst
races, on their way to a gas chamber, where they will sleep in their manger.
I'll be happy Jews have died." In the United Kingdom, this contest entry
won a literary prize and is included in a children's poetry book to be
distributed to schools throughout the country. The editor of the book
claims that the poem is an excellent example of a student using
"perspective" and "historical fact."
I was unable to find a complete copy of the poem. While the poem may indeed have been an excellent example of writing from another person's
perspective - in this case Hitler's - is it really appropriate in a
children's book of poetry to be distributed to students as young as 11?
It could be argued that the poem is instructive about Hitler's hateful
nature and his beliefs. But since the book is not a history book, and no
context is given for the poem, it's hard to tell whether the poem was meant
to praise Hitler's deeds or shed light on his hateful ideology and behavior.
Since the poem ends with the question "At what price world domination?" it's
altogether possible the teenage author was attempting to get his readers to
ponder the evil nature of Hitler's deeds, but this nuance will likely be
lost on many young readers, many of whom have likely never even heard of the Holocaust yet.
Would a poem written from the perspective of Osama bin Laden, relating the
joy he gets from his followers killing "evil" infidels, including the
Christians and Jews in British trains and buses, have won a prize and been
included in the book? How about a poem written from the perspective of a Ku
Klux Klan member who takes joy in lynching blacks? Or how about a Serbian
soldier's glee in raping and murdering Bosnian Muslim women?
Please protest the inclusion in a children's book of a poem that many
children will infer praises the murder of Jews. Protest also that such a
poem was awarded a prize. Urge the publisher to delete the poem from the
book. Urge Prime Minister Blair to stop the book from being distributed in
UK schools if the poem is not deleted.
Forward Press
Email: info@forwardpress.co.uk
Tel: 01733 898105
Fax: 01733 313524
Prime Minister Tony Blair
To send a message to Prime Minister Tony Blair, go to the following website:
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page821.asp
Then scroll down, click on schools in the subject menu, and submit a
comment.
Or, you can mail a letter to:
Prime Minister Tony Blair
10 Downing Street
London, SW1A 2AA
England
You can also post a comment at the end of a www.timesonline.co.uk article
about the poem. Scroll down to October 21st entry:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,24869,00.html
Please let CAMERA know if you have submitted a comment to Forward Press,
Timesonline, or PM Blair: cameraletters@aol.com
The European Jewish Press article about the controversy is below.
With thanks,
Lee Green
Director, National Letter-Writing Group
CAMERA
********************************
European Jewish Press, October 26, 2005
Anti-Semitic poem in children's school book
by Jeremy Last
http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/3663
A poem which praises the murder of Jews by the Nazis has been included in a
book of children's poetry to be distributed amongst schools in the UK.
The publication, entitled Great Minds, features the work of school children
aged 11 to 18 who won a nationwide literary competition.
But one poem has generated outrage amongst Jewish groups, politicians and
Holocaust charities for its anti-Semitic content.
The entry by the 14-year-old Gideon Taylor is apparently written from the
viewpoint of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
It includes the lines "Jews are here, Jews are there, Jews are almost
everywhere, filling up the darkest places, evil looks upon their faces."
Another part reads: "Make them take many paces for being one of the worst
races, on their way to a gas chamber, where they will sleep in their manger.
I'll be happy Jews have died."
Publisher defends poem
The book was produced by Forward Press who ran the Great Minds competition
through its youngwriters.co.uk website.
Wining entries were rewarded with cash prizes of up to 20ukp for pupils and
1,000ukp for schools.
According to the Jewish Telegraph newspaper, the poem was the only entry in
the entire book not to include the writer's school or location.
Young Writers editor Steve Twelvetree, who also edited the book, said the
poem was included as it illustrated how the writer was able to empathise
with the infamous Nazi Fuehrer.
"Make them take many paces for being one of the worst races, on their way to
a gas chamber, where they will sleep in their manger. I'll be happy Jews
have died" the poem reads.
Twelvetree told the Telegraph: "From Gideon's poem and my knowledge of the
National Curriculum Key Stage 3, his poem shows a good use of technical
writing and he has written his poem from the perspective of Adolf Hitler."
The editor continued: "Key Stage 3 history requires pupils to show knowledge
and understanding of events and places - to show historical interpretation
and to explain significance of events, people and places, all of which World
War II and the Holocaust is part of.
"The poem clearly states 'I am Adolf Hitler' and it recounts a historical
fact, something Young Writers and Forward Press are not willing to censor."
Widespread outrage
However, communal leaders were less than impressed with the poem's inclusion
in a book which they said could be influential on youngsters' views of
Jewish people.
Chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Jon Benjamin said:
"It is the duty of the publisher to consider the consequences of the poem."
Jewish Labour MP, Louise Ellman, who represents the constituency of
Liverpool Riverside, spoke of her concern.
She said: "It's an incitement to racial hatred. The words are absolutely
outrageous and appalling."
And a spokesman for the Holocaust Educational Trust echoed Ellman's views.
The charity is now urging the publishers to issue a formal apology for the
book and remove the offending poem.
A spokesman said: "It is totally insensitive and inappropriate for this kind
of hatred to appear.
"It is also immensely insulting to those who lost their lives in the
Holocaust and to those who survived."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Copyright C 2001-2005 EJP
