Talking to Your Child about Hitler and Other Challenging Topics
I’ve been supportive of all the plays and concerts at my son’s school. I’ve sat and smiled through a seemingly endless rendition of “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing.” I’ve taken photos of every Tweedledum and candy-cane character in the class and handed out copies to other parents. I’ve even managed all the costume requests through the years. I’ve found black long underwear in May for a wolf costume. I’ve created an Evil Marshmallow (white long underwear stuffed with pillows and a spiky dog collar, in case you were wondering). I even managed to clothe a Gangsta’ Cockroach. But last year threw me for a loop.
I knew the roles were being handed out, so I asked Liam at dinner what he would be doing in this year’s school play.
“The butler,” he said.
“That’s wonderful!” I congratulated, silently cursing. Where the heck was I going to get a size 8 black suit and cummerbund?
“And the bishop,” he added.
“That’s good too!” A white cape and a red hat? Okay, I can do that.
“And a prince.”
“Wow.” This might be more challenging. And it was adding up.
Then came the doozy.
“And a Nazi.”
“Pardon me?”
The Grades 4, 5 and 6 were staging The Sound of Music, and Liam was apparently playing all the small roles, including a Nazi soldier.
The play is great, of course, and it would be a real accomplishment for the children to learn all the songs and the lines, not to mention build all those Alps for props. But I sensed awkward conversations ahead.
I hadn’t planned on sitting down with Liam to explain war atrocities just yet—he was only eight years old. But, sure enough, I found myself forced to when he addressed me with a “Heil Hitler” and a forward arm salute. “Whoa,” I exclaimed. “You cannot joke about that. Ever. It is not funny.”
I explained who Adolf Hitler was, who the Nazis really were, and what they did. I didn’t get into details about gas chambers or torture, but I told him that there was a time in Europe when the Nazis were in power and they killed millions of people. I told Liam that my grandpa, his grandma’s father, went away to war to stop them. I explained that Nazis were full of hate and this was a sad, terrible chapter in the world’s history. He asked me if there were still Nazis in the world. I said no. There are no neo-Nazis or skinheads in The Sound of Music, so I figured I didn’t need to scare him further.
see all contests
