Understanding Government and Behavior of Individuals Through Animal Farm and The Holocaust

Original Dictator of Animal Farm

Mr. Jones

Old, dying pig who delivers a praising speech to animals on how their lives can be changed.

Major

The favored, just leader pig who gets driven off of the farm halfway through the book.

Snowball

The 2nd main leader pig who develops the plan to chase away Snowball and gains total control of the farm afterwards. 

Napoleon

The pig who delivers propaganda to praise Napoleon, and works alongside him.

Squealer

Allegory

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Example: Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution.

Utopian Society

A perfect society where everything is stable, and all of the people are in unanimous agreement of having peace and calm in the government and in everyday life.

Dystopian Society

A society that is falling apart. People lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. The government is completely unstable and falling apart. Nobody is in agreement. The whole society is intense, stressful, and in a state that is the complete opposite of at peace; at war potentially.

Communist Manifesto

The response to Capitalism: Capitalists were believed to be getting richer than workers, creating a significant gap between the two. One of the two following were believed to happen: 1. Rich must distribute wealth 2. Workers led a violent revolution.

Proletariat

People who earn a wage for a living, especially people who are dependent on manual, daily, or casual labor. 

Bourgeoisie

People who make their living through property or through ownership of the means of production (land, labor, money for investment, factories, etc.)

Joseph Stalin

Takes control when Vladimir Lenin dies. The leader was originally going to be Leon Trotsky, but Stalin had him killed. Stalin ended up establishing an unstable government.

Russian Revolution

February 1917 - Workers protested, soldiers sent to end the protest side with the protesters. Czar Nicholas is forced to resign, arrested, along with his wife and five children, and then killed. Provisional government set up. October 1917 - Wages increased but cost of food and other necessities increased at a higher rate. Civil war breaks out - Reds (Bolshevik) vs. Whites.

Bolsheviks overthrow the government, and Vladimir Lenin takes over.

Antisemitism

The prejudice against or hatred of Jews.

Genocide

A violent act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethic, racial, or religious group.

The Holocaust

The systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi-German regime and its allies and collaborators. 

The Pyramid of Hate

The categorization of different levels of prejudice and hate against groups of people, specifically in the form of the Holocaust’s escalation.

Level 1: Biased Attitudes - Pyramid of Hate

Scapegoating, Accepting Stereotypes, Non-inclusive language, Insensitive remarks, Microagressions. Example from the Holocaust: The stereotype that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus caused many Biased Attitudes throughout Germany.

Level 2: Acts of Bias - Pyramid of Hate

Examples: Name calling, Ridicule, Social Exclusion, Bias/Belittling Jokes, Social Avoidance, Slurs/Epithets. Example from the Holocaust: The Germans would not talk to the Jews in the early stages of the Holocaust, before they had started with concentration camps; they would just ignore them and act as if they weren’t there. Jews were not valued in social interaction.

Level 3: Discrimination - Pyramid of Hate

Employment discrimination, housing discrimination, educational discrimination, criminal justice disparities, harassment. Example from the Holocaust: The Jews were prohibited from going to school in Germany, they were prohibited from getting certain jobs, they were restricted on what kinds of houses they could buy, they were teased; all of these apply to the Holocaust. This was the last stage before concentration camps started.

Level 4: Bias-Motivated Violence

Murder, terrorism, cyber terrorism, threats, assault, arson, desecration of a house of worship or a cemetery. Example from the Holocaust: Pretty early on in the Holocaust, the Jews started getting caught in the streets and deported to concentration camps, tortured in the concentration camps or absentmindedly, carelessly killed by the leader of the concentration camp. The whole Holocaust was an example of this level also. In addition, Kristallnacht: The Night of Broken Glass. This was an example of arson, vandalism, and terror, or genocide, intended to spread countrywide anger for the Jews in Germany.

Communism

A political and economic system that seeks to create a classless society in which the major means of production, such as mines and factories, are owned and controlled by the public. There is no private property and the wealth is divided among citizens equally or according to individual need.

Socialism

A political and economic system in which property and the means of production are owned in common, typically controlled by the state or government. Socialism is based on the idea that common or public ownership of resources and means of production leads to a more equal society.

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. There are social classes since some people have more money than others. Property and goods are not equally shared.

Fascism

A political system based on a very powerful leader, state control, and being extremely proud of country and race, and in which political opposition is not allowed.

Propaganda

Information in the form of facts, arguments, rumors, or lies to influence public opinion. It is often conveyed through mass media.

Propaganda Technique: Name-Calling

Attacking the opponent personally instead of his or her ideas.

Creates an unfavorable hatred towards a person or group instead of their ideas or beliefs

Example from Animal Farm: Snowball - Traitor

Propaganda Technique: Common Enemy/Scapegoat

This method is used extremely often during wartime, and also in political campaigns and debates. This is an attempt to simplify a complex situation by presenting one specific group or person as the enemy. Example from Animal Farm: Snowball is used as the scapegoat for the failure of the windmill

Propaganda Technique: Repetition

By repeating information or ideals that the person in power wants people to believe, people are influenced and brainwashed. Example from Animal Farm: Sheep - “Four legs good, two legs bad” 

Propaganda Technique: Glittering Generalities

Using vague wording, or generalizations, which are often a slogan or a catchphrase. They appeal to the senses such as honor, love, country, peace, etc. Example from Animal Farm: Napoleon - Beloved leader, protector of sheep, father of all animals. Military decorations.

Propaganda Technique: Plain Folks

This approach is used to convince the audience that the spokesperson is just like them. Portrayed to be someone they can trust and someone who has their best interests in mind. Example from Animal Farm: Squealer portrays Napoleon’s ideas as being in the best interest for everyone.

Propaganda Technique: Bandwagon

Portrays ideas to get people to “follow the crowd.” Gives the impression of widespread acceptance and support and expresses that it is in a person’s best interest to join the cause or movement. Example from Animal Farm: When Boxer confronts Mollie about getting ribbon from the neighboring farm, he is very upset with her because she is breaking away from the group

Propaganda Technique: Card Stacking

Propagandist makes the best argument possible for his or her side and presents it against the weakest argument of his or her opponent or leaves out information. Example from Animal Farm: Squealer often covers up problems and controversy (why pigs are treated better) by using card stacking to explain it away

Propaganda Technique: Fear

This technique is used when a propagandist warns members of the audience that disaster will result if they do not follow a particular course of action. Example from Animal Farm: Napoleon constantly reminds the animals of Jones, and how horrible the farm was under his power.

Legal discrimination in the form of antisemitic laws - Persecution Form

The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service: This law excluded Jews and the “politically unreliable” from civil service.

Public identification and exclusion - Persecution Form

The Jewish Star Badge: An identification mark used by Nazis to label Jews and to be able to easily tell who was a Jew.

Organized Violence - Persecution Form

Kristallnacht - Nazi German leaders unleashed a national anti-Jew riot. It was supposed to look like an unplanned outbreak of popular anger against the Jews, but ended up turning out as state-sponsored vandalism, arson, and terror.

Physical Displacement - Persecution Form

Forced Emigration, Resettlement, Expulsion, Deportation, Ghettoization.

Internment - Persecution Form

Initially, the Nazi regime used concentration camps to terrorize and incarcerate political opponents.

Widespread theft and plunder - Persecution Form

Jews’ property, personal belongings, and valuables were all confiscated.

Forced Labor - Persecution Form

This was a war effort for the enrichment of Nazi organizations, the military, and/or privately owned businesses.

Persecuted Groups in the Holocaust

Jews, Political Opponents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Men accused of homosexuality, Black people in Germany, People with disabilities

Life in the Ghettos during the Holocaust

Life was miserable and perilous. There was very little food and cleanliness. Little medical care existed. Hundreds of people living in the ghettos died by starvation, rampant sickdom, exposure to severe temperatures, and exhaustion from forced labor. Imprisoned Jews were killed through brutal beatings, torture, arbitrary shootings, and lots of other forms of arbitrary violence.

The Final Solution of the Holocaust

This was to systematically mass murder Jews and European Jews. This was the final stage of the Holocaust.

Increase in Antisemitism

Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews evolved and became increasingly more radical between 1933 and 1945. This radicalization culminated in the mass murder of six million Jews. This happened due to the Nazis falsely blaming the Jews for causing the social, economic, governmental, and cultural issues in Germany, specifically their defeat in World War I. This anger increased antisemitism a lot in Germany. In addition, Germany was unstable under the Weimar Republic, and they feared communism. They had huge economic issues due to the Great Depression.

Resistance during the Holocaust

This was an effort from the Jews to fight back against the Nazis. Some forms included armed resistance - ghetto uprisings, partisan groups, camp rebellions, etc., spiritual and cultural resistance - preserving humanity, documentation, etc., aid and rescue - underground networks, escapes, etc., participation in broader movements - joining national resistance force groups in other countries, etc.