Saturday, March 31, 2007

UI 2D rotation assignment, The Office Mii's

Today was rockin'. I had a good 10 hour sleep, much needed. I haven't been sleeping enough lately. So that was fantastic. Then I spent about 8 hours straight programming like a maniac. I have a UI assignment due sometime next week, but I have lots going on so I wanted to get it done. I spent maybe 3 or 4 hours on it yesterday getting it going, and then today I must have gone for about 8 hours straight on it. It is about 95% done now, sweeeeeeeeet. There were some issues I ran into with picking the items, as you select the circular joints on the crane to pick the next joint you want to rotate on the crane. This is all fine and dandy, but you need to translate the pick in world coordinates into local coordinates so this was a bit of an issue. But after a bit of work it made sense and I got it working. Sweet.

I was working super hard today because I wanted to go out to another VOC party tonight, and that was pretty fun. We went for about 3 hours or so, and it was great. The people had an amazing software DJ program running on the computer downstairs and it was connected to a nice speaker system. Pretty cool stuff!! The program was called Virtual DJ, this looks like the website, http://www.virtualdj.com, it was totally awesome!!

The party was fun and good to see some more of those cool VOC people. Tomorrow I gotta go hang out with them for a bit and then off to the mall to get my tax forms back from H&R Block (because they can't do them for me, see previous post for my rant about how this was a pain to deal with) then my roommate Yung has a choir recital/concert I am going to check out with my other roommate Nick. Good times. Looks like I'll have to do my own taxes tomorrow night, so I gotta get onto that asap.

I just found out that someone online posted pics of Nintendo Wii characters called "Miis", based on characters from The Office. This was so cool that I figured I'd better post them.


UI Crane Assignment


Crane rotated with one of the sections selected


Haha, a Dwight Mii from The Office!!


Jim from The Office, hilarious

Friday, March 30, 2007

Taxes, UI, Party, VOC, Matzah time

Wooord. Ok lots of stuff going on these days. H&R block is totally useless. I dropped off my taxes for them to do, and I called back 2 days later (they said I should to "make sure everything was ok") and the manager told me that I'll have to bus back to the mall to pick up all of my forms because "they can't handle US taxes" and I'll have to come pick them up. This is nuts. They were pretty darn unprofessional when I went in there, and it definitely looked like a major two-bit operation over there. :) Ohhh man, how frustrating. I guess it serves me right for trying to get H&R block at Conestoga Mall in Waterloo, Ontario to do my combined US/Canada taxes. Ah man. So I think I'm just going to do them myself on Sunday.

Whew. So what a schlep that was. Anyway I gotta go grab those tax forms now, probably have to take the bus over to the mall this weekend and pick them up. It's a bit of a pain but anyway, I guess I'll just bite the bullet and do them myself. I gotta get onto it though because taxes are actually due pretty soon. I'd better do them this weekend.

UI has one more assignment which is actually pretty awesome. It has to do with applying Affine Transformations along a hierarchy (sounds familiar, yep just like Graphics A3) but it's pretty straightforward and really fun too. I started today and in 3 hours I've done a good 2/3 of the assignment I think. Just need to sort out some details tomorrow and I should be rockin' and rollin'.

Tonight Joel invited us all to Morty's for some food and a nice little party. Lots of people said they were coming on the Facebook invite, but we still got a good 30 or so people there. It was great. Eventually we got downstairs to the pool table area which was sweeeeet.

I was working like a fiend today on UI because I want to party with VOC people tomorrow night, they are really awesome as always, I love the fellow Frosh Leaders and this is one of the last times we'll all get to hang out so I want to make sure I get my homework done this weekend.

In other news, it's Pesach (Passover) this coming week. the Jewish holiday where we don't eat "leavened" food for 8 days to commemorate the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. There is a big meal called a Seder next week so we're heading to a nice family in Kitchener who are going to hook up the hungry students with a legendary awesome meal. This is going to rooock.

You know what's crazy? I can't find Matzah here in Waterloo that is Kosher for Passover (i..e made in the current year so it hasn't risen so you can eat it during Passover), but almost every grocery store has a Kosher section in it which sells Matzah which is "not for Passover"?!?!! Haha that is hilarious. I can't say I know anyone who wants to eat Matzah outside of Passover, I think the point is that it's kindof dry and it's generally supposed to be an exercise in self-control: by living without certain things for a week, you come to realize their importance and how much you appreciate them in your life. I think you'd have to really want to prove this to yourself if you ate Matzah even when you weren't supposed to!! :) Seems crazy I reckon!! But, on the other hand... Matzah ball soup?!! This is a completely different story. Any day, any time. Hook it up!!!! That stuff ROCKS.

Ok well it's getting late so I better get to bed. Lots of planning yet for Europe. I gotta decide when I am going to Paris and where I am going to stay. There is so much going on still at school that I've hardly had time to think about it. It's a bit nuts but I guess eventually I'll get it all sorted out.

Alrighty time for bed. Watch out for a mikejutan.com update in the next little while. Not too huge, but I've got a couple things I want to change around on there.

The impact of 3D animation software on modern filmmaking

Here's another essay I wrote recently.

The impact of 3D animation software on modern filmmaking

Written by: Mike Jutan

The majority of people would agree that computers have revolutionized the practical technologies that we use in our day-to-day lives. Telephones, microwaves, and even coffee makers now use computer technology in some form or another. The effect of computerization on practical, everyday technologies is perhaps a clear expectation, but it is somewhat unexpected that the arts have also been so heavily impacted by computer technology. The area of animated filmmaking and visual storytelling through the medium of computer animation and visual effects is an incredibly exciting area of computer science and has numerous ties to the development of software solutions for 3D graphics. The multi-billion dollar entertainment and storytelling industry is expanding as 3D animation software becomes more accessible to small animation studios, and, along with large animation studios and visual effects studios, the boundaries of computer graphics and animation are being constantly pushed forward.

To describe computer animation software, first the idea of animation and entertainment itself must be discussed. Animation is, first and foremost, the art of storytelling. Animation acts as an inspiration for millions of people from around the world. To quote myself, from the Intern (Co-op) experiences page on the Pixar Animation Studios job site:

“One day, we had lunch with Ed Catmull, the President and Co-Founder of Pixar. He told us that we are and always will be a storytelling company. Our job is to make timeless stories that inspire people, make them cry and make them laugh. We are not here to just make a quick buck… [Pixar] is much more than just a cool place to work. It is a place where you can live out your childhood dreams of storytelling and filmmaking, and know that your hard work is inspiring people of all ages, all over the world.”[1]

Modern animation has existed for over one hundred years, and is not limited by the methods of computer animation. Computers act as a means for artists to develop creative ideas though a medium that is currently popular with the mass market. Computers are therefore simply a tool for artists to use to inspire audiences. This essay outlines the technology behind animated storytelling, and clarifies some of the technological aspects of 3D animation software on the market today. This essay also discusses the impact that this software technology (and thus computer animation) has had on society, and includes both positive and negative consequences of the development of 3D animation software. Finally, this essay makes some predictions on how industry professionals can make the best use of this technology in the years to come.

Pencil, paintings, charcoal sketches, pastel drawings and initial 2D Photoshop computer graphics are many styles of concept art that are created well before a computer animated feature-film is translated into 3 dimensions. Pencil sketches are scanned into Adobe Photoshop™, a 2D computer graphics manipulation program, and layers are added, blended, removed, and tweaked until a desired artistic look is acquired. Storyboards, along with low-resolution 3D characters and environments, are created early in the idea generation process so that potential problems and design possibilities can be ironed out. Pixar’s motto “Story is King” is followed as the artists and writers work very closely with each other. These two teams propose ideas to the director and combine their visions of comedy and cinematography into a single unit, well before the animation is created.[2] John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Feature Animation and Pixar Animation Studios, who also acted as the Executive Producer for Finding Nemo says, “At Pixar, we’re not digital purists.”[3] The final movie will be computer generated, but concept art and storyboards begin with limitless blue sky, and the quickest route to an idea is still humble pencil and paper. He continues, “The art challenges technology and the technology inspires the art. It’s this wonderful yin and yang.”

Once a story has been ironed out, scene details have been discussed, and characters and sets have been designed, the 3D portion of the animated film process can begin. Typically, this requires the use of a 3D Animation software product, such as: Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3Ds Max, Avid Softimage XSI, Side Effects Software Houdini, and more. Sets and characters are modeled (sculpted) in a 3D modeling environment, using techniques borrowed from the Fine Arts discipline. After 3D models have been digitally sculpted, textures and shaders are applied to the model to increase realism and believability. Shaders are often procedurally generated through a scripting language such as the RenderMan Shading Language (RSL). The shaders define the surface material of an object, and how the properties of this surface material change with modifications to the view, or camera eyepoint. Some shader types, such as metal materials, are view dependant. This means that when viewing a view dependant surface, the resultant colour or material properties will be different depending on the location of the camera. Once the 3D object has been modeled and shaded, it can be rigged. Rigging is a process in which an underlying skeleton of bone structure is attached to a 3D object, so that animation applied to an underlying skeleton structure is translated effectively to its parent object. This ensures that muscles and facial features react to the movement of the character’s skeleton. After rigging, animation occurs. Animation is the process of keyframing and tweening. Keyframing is reasonably self explanatory – the process requires the animator to set the key frames of the scene. These poses are set at effective moments along a virtual timeline. After keys are set, tweening (or “in-betweening”) occurs. In the past, this was a painstaking process that was usually carried out by interns or less-experienced animators. Nowadays this process has been somewhat automated, and can be accomplished by interpolation between animation data points, and the manipulation of animation spline curves. After animation, particle effects are added along with hair and cloth simulation, special effects (eg. explosions, snow, rain) and lighting. At the end of this process, the final set of images are rendered. These images are played together in sequence at a rate of 24 frames per second to create the final animated film.
Further advancements in computer hardware technology have fueled the development of computer animation software. The consistent decline in hardware prices over the years, coupled with a consistent increase in computational power has allowed for rapid improvements to animation software technologies. One benefit of the wider accessibility of animation software has been the expansion of operations in smaller, Canadian-based animation studios. Smaller production companies now exist with the goal of creating special effects for films or advertising, along with short-length or feature-length computer animated films. Locally, these companies include Toronto-based Topix (http://www.topix.com), Toybox (http://www.compt.com/), DKP Effects, now Starz Animation (http://www.dkp.com), and CORE Digital Pictures (http://www.coredp.com). Recently, The Wild, the first Canadian feature animation was created by CORE Feature Animation, and was released and marketed through Disney Pictures.

There are usually both social advantages and disadvantages caused by the adoption of new technologies, and this is certainly the case for 3D animation software. The field of animation has benefited from the recent surge in 3D animated films, and the technological push to create these films and improve upon existing software solutions. In 2001, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) added the category of “Best Animated Feature” to the annual Academy Awards, to further push animated film studios to strive for excellence in their filmmaking. Millions of people around the world, across a wide range of age groups, are given a strong message and moral lessons from Pixar films. The popularity of these films in the mass market allows giants such as Pixar to make strong social statements and encourage viewers of all ages to become better people. The downside of the increased cost-effectiveness of producing animated films and the accessibility of 3D animation software is that not only high-quality films are being created. A large quantity of silly, slapstick 3D animated films with cliché scriptwriting and confusing storylines are being created, and lumped together in the same category as other high-quality animated films. As John Lasseter describes in his 1987 ACM paper,

“Unfortunately, these systems [Computer Animation tools] will also enable people to produce more bad computer animation. Much of this bad animation will be due to unfamiliarity with the fundamental principles that have been used for hand drawn character animation for over 50 years. Understanding these principles of traditional animation is essential to producing good computer animation.” [4]

Another negative response to the increasing public interest in 3D animation was that some studios, such as Disney, decided that they thought the public was no longer interested in 2D Animation. The result was the closing of Disney’s 2D Animation unit, starting with layoffs in 2000. The idea that 2D animation is an old technology and the public now enjoys only 3D films and is thus no longer interested in 2D films is simply incorrect. With the recent purchase of Pixar by Disney, John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, the former heads of Pixar, are now in charge of animation at both the Disney Feature Animation studio and Pixar Animation Studios. One of the first announcements that John Lasseter made was that Disney would be re-hiring those traditional animators who had been previously fired, and that Disney would start producing hand-drawn animated films again. He said that recent 2D animated films have been unsuccessful because they lack the kind of stories that exist in classic Disney films such as Snow White, Bambi and The Lion King. The negative impact that 3D animated films had on the 2D animation industry is slowly being reversed. Disney plans to release The Frog Princess, a 2D animated feature film in 2009, marking its first foray into traditional hand-drawn animation in 5 years.

The future of 3D animation is extremely bright. Areas such as AI will continue to benefit computer graphics as crowd simulations become more common and software such as Massive is used by more studios to create crowd effects. There is an ongoing precedent set for technical innovation shown by companies such as Pixar and Dreamworks. Personally, I believe that we will see two major schools of animation in the future, each taking advantage of different areas of the software and hardware technology. The first will be a continuation in striving for realism at studios like Pixar. These studios will continue to push the technical envelope, and incorporate more and more complex effects into their films, with the ultimate goal of inspiring the audience and producing effects that are innovative and original. The other school of animation I believe will stem out of the ever-expanding real-time gaming industry. The line between films and computer games is growing closer by the day, and the distinction between these two technologies is becoming blurrier. I think that some studios will be drawn into the immediacy of real-time animation, and once this technology becomes closer to rendered animation in terms of quality, this style of animation will be adopted by smaller studios that do not necessarily require precise, physically correct simulations in their films.

To summarize, the effect of 3D animation software on the animated film industry is astronomical. 3D modeling, shading, rigging, animation, lighting, effects and rendering tools are necessary pieces of the 3D animation process. Due to the success of 3D animated films, studios such as Disney shortsightedly closed down 2D animation production when they incorrectly assumed that audiences no longer were interested in 2D films. Fortunately, this trend is reversing itself, and 2D films are beginning to re-gain some popularity. The important fact for consumers to remember is that animated films are good if they have a good story, and the medium (2D vs 3D) has very little to do with the enjoyment the customer can expect to have from the film. The future of the animation industry is exciting and full of many possibilities and interesting areas for research. Toy Story, the first feature-length computer animated film was released in 1995. Twelve years later, over 34 major feature-length animated films have been produced in the USA. This trend will continue as long as animation studios continue to create interesting stories which inspire people of all ages.

References

“3D computer graphics.” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics

“3D computer graphics software.” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics_software

“Alias Systems Corporation.” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alias_Systems_Corporation

“Autodesk Home Page.” Autodesk. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://www.autodesk.com

“Autodesk Maya.” Autodesk. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=7635018

“Computer-generated imagery.” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-generated_imagery

Cotta Vaz, M. “The Art of Finding Nemo.” (2003): 9. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2003.

Critical History of Computer Graphics and Animation.” ACCAD. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/lessons.html

“How 3-D graphics works.” How Stuff Works. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/3dgraphics3.htm

Lasseter, J., "Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation." In Computer Graphics, Volume 21, Number 4. ACM, 1987.

“Massive (software).” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_software

“Massive Software.” Massive. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://www.massivesoftware.com/

“Monsters, Inc: The Human World DVD,” Dir. Pete Doctor and David Silverman. Perf. John Goodman and Billy Crystal. Pixar Animation Studios, 2001.

Pixar Jobs.” Pixar Animation Studios. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/uni_internships.html

RenderMan Shading Language.” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RenderMan_Shading_Language

“Return to form — 'Frog Princess' is Disney's first foray into hand-drawn animation in 5 years.” Deseret News. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660203506,00.html

“Timeline of CGI in film and television.” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_CGI_in_films

“Toy Story at Silicon Valley ACM Siggraph.” ACM Siggraph. (1995): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://silicon-valley.siggraph.org/MeetingNotes/ToyStory.html

Walt Disney Feature Animation.” Wikipedia. (n.d.): n.pag. Online. World Wide Web. 28 Mar. 2007. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Feature_Animation#History



[1] Mike Jutan, Internships - The Pixar Path. http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/uni_internships.html

[2] “Monsters, Inc: The Human World DVD,” Dir. Pete Doctor and David Silverman. Perf. John Goodman

and Billy Crystal. Pixar Animation Studios, 2001.

[3] Mark Cotta Vaz, The Art of Finding Nemo (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2003), 9.

[4] John Lasseter, Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation (Computer

Graphics: ACM, 1987)

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Cannes Film Festival?!!

Things are getting much closer now for my trip to Europe, and I am really getting moving on all the details. I am going to probably book my flight on Friday!! Insane!!!!!

So that is totally nuts. Today I finally submitted my US taxes to H&R Block so hopefully I get those back soon enough and I can get my (hopefully) massive refund which will be great and helpful for my Europe trip. Sweet deals!!

More importantly, I found out that the Cannes Film Festival is happening in Cannes, France while I am there. It's a bit far from where I was planning to be at that time, since I thought I might spend some more time in Normandy, Burgundy etc before going down to South-West France where Cannes is. But... I can always backtrack as necessary and this seems pretty ammmaaaziiing. I gotta find out if I am actually able to go as I need to be accredited as an "Industry Professional" first... as long as that is possible I think I can probably move around my schedule based on the festival... insane!!!!!!!!!! It's kindof expensive for the ticket (299 Euros) but if I have the chance to go, it would be pretty nuts not to. Also this gives you access to all the screenings and 2 galas per night for the 10 days of the festival. Insane!! Well I am going to read a bit more about it first, but this certainly sounds coooool.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Finally got Mike and Sulley in Cars form

Well after a long road of trying to get these super hard to find toys from Cars, I finally just bought them on Ebay. I found a seller who wasn't way overcharging like most people who are selling these on Ebay, so it's not toooo crazy. Lots more of these toys coming out, and at the moment I have every single one available except this Mike and Sulley set, and the new Guido and Luigi set. Otherwise I am good until April when they release 4 more and I gotta start spending more money. :) Good times.


Mike and Sulley Cars toys

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Friday, March 23, 2007

Craaaazy day

Wow what a crazy day. Started by going to bed at 4:30am after an awesome but insane night at Bomber. I had some friends who were sad about stuff too do I had to solve some problems for people. Crazyness. Then the usual 7:30am wakeup on Thursday for 8:30am class. Yes kind friends, that's only 3 hrs of sleep. Then off to class. Then chillin', I saw Norm for a bit which rocked. Then History of the Holocaust class which was really intense and powerful and upsetting today. Then we walked to Joel's house. Then we watched Edward Scissorhands for our Soundtracks in Film class. Then I walked to the Fine Arts building for the Opening of the 4th year final Art Show. It rocked. And I got free cheese, so that rocked too. Then to the SLC, then to Soundtracks in Film class. Then to Bubble Tea afterwards for a few hours. Then back home to chat with a good friend who is having some problems at the moment, very good to talk it through so I know the real story over there and taking comfort in the fact that I know the real story now. Now it's 3:18am. I've been up for about 21 hours. I gotta get some sleep.

Man... what a crazy day!!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Office U.K. Version

Over the past week or so I've been watching the U.K. version of The Office. It's also totally awesome, and Ricky Gervais just might be a total comic genius... yes... yes he is.

I was surprised that in fact there are only 12 episodes total of the entire show. They have impressively told the whole story in much less time than the American version. It's way more depressing and serious than the American version, but of course the American version is still going and is already at around 45 episodes so it has a more in-depth flavour. You also get to know the secondary and tertiary characters a lot better in the American version rather than just the main four characters as in the UK version.

The UK one is hilarious as well, but it is definitely harder to understand than the US one for North American audiences I think. It's really funny but there are lots of little British phrases that I usually miss on the first "go" and if I rewind and watch a part again I still don't know what they are talking about. Still really funny though.

So yes, Matt, I'm pulling the classic Mike Jutan style, and staying up until 4:12am watching The Office... seems necessary!! Good times. I love this show. I might start watching Entourage now too if I have a chance, I also want to start watching Curb Your Enthusiasm and Extras (the new Ricky Gervais show) but I don't have a lot of time at the moment for more TV. When I have a chance I'd definitely like to check those shows out.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Congratulations breakfast

A week or two ago, my parents came up to Waterloo to have a congratulatory breakfast for me!!!!!!! We had it at my sister Norma's house, complete with Gefilte fish at 9:30am. It was awesome and the breakfast was fantastic, but I wasn't quite sure if I could handle Gefilte fish that early in the morning, haha. I had some awwwessooome smoked salmon though which was definitely edible and slightly less crazy for breakfast food than the other fish. :)

Good times. My Mom just sent me a few photos so here they are! As expected my Mom brought lots of ILM-related stuff for my congratulatory breakfast (pirate hat for Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter plates, Yoda napkins, all the fixins.) Haha my family rocks.


Yarrrr!!!


Me and Ben, my sister's new cat

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Finished UI, 300, Tax time

Whew, so I got UI finished today no problem. It was super fun, I created a mock-up user interface for 3 different views of a next-gen handheld GPS device. I've got a standard Google Maps-style birds-eye-view, then a 3D rendered view with buildings that are of approximately the same relative dimensions as their real life counterparts (kindof like late 1990's era VRML website worlds) and finally an immersive stiched photo environment which is a hybrid of Google Maps and the Microsoft Photosynth research project. I was happy with how it all worked out.

Tonight we went to see 300 and maaaaan it was intense. The backgrounds and sets are just fantastic. I really liked the slow-motion camera work too, they used it quite well and it looked pretty intense.

I got most of the things done that I wanted to do this weekend, but I guess I still need to do my taxes. I should be getting some US moolah back which is fantastic, and I am going to spend it all in Europe this summer. Soooooo excited for that. I gotta keep going on the trip plans too. But anyway lots going on. I see that the new Ninja Turtles movie is coming out soon... I wonder if that is going to rock??!

The enduring nature of Jewish identity in Nazi Germany

This is the research essay I just wrote last week for my History of the Holocaust class this term. Enjoy.

The enduring nature of Jewish identity in Nazi Germany

The history of the Jewish people is fraught with slavery, racial hatred and intolerance. There have been many accounts of the persecution of Jews – the Exodus from Egypt led by Moses, the Spanish Inquisition, and more recently, the Holocaust. This history of suffering is taught to Jewish children from a very young age, so that they may clearly understand their heritage and the meaning of Jewish holidays which commemorate important historical events such as the Exodus. With this history of persecution, a cultural mentality of “enduring in spite of the odds” is common amongst many Jews.[1] Education, community, optimism, and an ongoing determination for self-improvement are some of the many reasons why the Jewish people have survived this history of hatred.

This essay will outline the intentions of Jewish educators to maintain, within their pupils, a strong bond with Judaism. Both elementary school and adult education curriculum will be discussed, and related back to the theme of the enduring Jewish identity. Some of the Nazi laws against Jews will be outlined, and the resilient response from some Jewish communities in Germany will be described. The will of the Jews to maintain their traditions in spite of the increasing threat of Nazi Germany is remarkable. This essay will attempt to discover how the Jewish identity, within German Jewry, was able to endure the horrors of the Holocaust.

Jewish public elementary schools in pre-WWII Germany developed a sense of duality within their pupils, much like modern day Jewish schools. The curriculum ensured that the students were able to assimilate into German culture up to a point, so that they were able to relate to, converse with, and live amongst non-Jewish Germans. The students were also taught of their past, and of their responsibility to maintain strong bonds with their religious and cultural traditions of which their ancestors fought to uphold in spite of many obstacles. As described in the Instructions for Jewish Public Elementary Schools in Documents on the Holocaust, “The Jewish school develops a special character as a result of the two-fold experience of life of every Jewish child living in Germany: Jewish and German. These two basic experiences are to be equally developed and made conscious…”[2] The importance of creating this bond is described, “The growing child is to have a secure and healthy awareness of himself as a Jew… A vital understanding of the eternal values of the Jewish religion… must be aroused and developed.” [3] Due to the historical struggles of the Jewish people and the political climate of Germany at the time (early 1934) when this elementary school instruction document was written, a warning is also made to the students. “…the Jewish child must be enabled to take up and master the exceptionally difficult struggle for survival which awaits him.” [4]

Jewish adult education facilities also were aware of the growing problems for the Jewish people and sought to ensure that the Jewish community bound themselves together and helped each other through tough times. The Study Institute for Jewish Adult Education noticed a significant increase in participation from the community, and thus was aware of the growing necessity for Jewish brotherhood and sisterhood. “For those with an acute ear, the Study Institute always served as an indicator of the level of spiritual problems of the Jewish intellectual…”[5] Also, these education facilities strived to maintain a sense of shared Jewish heritage and common purpose amongst the community, with the purposes of ensuring the survival of the Jewish religion. As Martin Buber stated, “The issue is no longer equipment with knowledge, but mobilization for existence.” [6] The importance of keeping the bonds strong between the community and their shared Jewish heritage is explained quite eloquently by Martin Buber, who describes this connection as “the spark.”

“Persons, Jewish persons, are to be formed, persons who will not only ‘hold out’ but will uphold some substance in life; who will have not only morale, but moral strength, and so will be able to pass on moral strength to others; persons who live in such a way that the spark will not die. Because our concern is for the spark, we work for ‘education.’ What we seek to do through the educating of individuals is the building of a community that will stand firm, that will prevail, that will preserve the spark…”[7]

As the years progressed, the political aggression against the Jews increased. On April 1, 1933, an Anti-Jewish boycott took place, a “…systematic implementation of a boycott of Jewish shops, Jewish goods, Jewish doctors and Jewish lawyers.” [8] In 1935, under the Nuremberg laws, Jews were forbidden from certain relations, such as marriage, with non-Jewish Germans. One of the laws implied a reduction in the citizenship status of the Jew, “Jews are forbidden to fly the Reich or National flag or to display the Reich colors.” [9] The first regulation to the Nuremberg laws spelled out these rules more directly, “A Jew cannot be a Reich citizen.” [10] The implied position of the Jews amongst their German countrymen was greatly diminished by these and other laws and by the increasingly hostile nature of the political climate. As Alfred Wiener stated, “According to the ruling of the laws and regulations directed against us only the ‘Aryans’ now belong to the German people. What are we, then?” [11] It was becoming clear to the Jews of Germany that they were “…non-Germans without equal rights.” [12]

In spite of the relentless Anti-Semitism of the Nazi party and the increasing laws against the Jews, the powerful bond to Judaism in some Jewish communities increased in its resilience. As the Proclamation by the Central Committee of German Jews for Relief and Reconstruction stated, “There is great distress in German Jewry… The purpose of a community reveals itself in times of trouble… In times of distress the community must grow anew, gain life and existence. It is from the community that the individual must draw the strength to live and be active.” [13] The Jewish people in these communities were strongly encouraged to band together, and to respect their fellow Jews who were even less fortunate than themselves. The need for charity from those fortunate enough to still have jobs was explained, and those in the community who were more fortunate were asked to support those in the community who were not. The emphasis for direct action from the community was clear. “We must not be the cause of making one of our own people lose his job or his bread!” [14] It was also implied that emigrating from Germany to a safer country was cowardly and was only for the betterment of one’s own situation, rather than for the betterment of the Jewish community as a whole. “Do not imagine that the problems of German Jewry can be solved without the greatest of sacrifices, by means of undirected emigration. There is no honor in leaving Germany in order to live untroubled on your income abroad, free of the fate of your brothers in Germany… don’t leave Germany senselessly! Do your duty here! Don’t push people off blindly to an uncertain fate.” [15] As previously stated in this essay, the Jews understood that the rise of Anti-Semitism in Germany was yet another trial in the history of the Jewish people, and they must meet these problems head-on and overcome them, as their ancestors did before them. “The hour of German Jewry has arrived, the hour of responsibility, the hour of trial. Let German Jewry prove itself capable of facing this hour.” [16]

The ongoing optimism and underlying strength of the Jewish people is stated in a powerful, yet unexpected manner in the article Wear it with pride, the yellow badge. This article displays another example of the drive to keep the flame of Judaism alive, and the brave political defiance of the Jewish people. In this article, Robert Weltsch states that the Jews must come to terms with the reality of the political climate. “We live in a new period, the national revolution of the German people is a signal that is visible from afar, indicating that the world of our previous concepts has collapsed… in this world only those will be able to survive who are able to look reality in the eye.” [17] The Anti-Jewish boycott of April 1, 1933 is referenced, and is used as a political “call to arms.” “April 1, 1933, can become the day of Jewish awakening and Jewish rebirth. If the Jews will it. If the Jews are mature and have greatness in them. If the Jews are not as they are represented to be by their opponents… The Jews, under attack, must learn to acknowledge themselves… in the face of the unprecedented display of the universal slander of the entire Jewish population of a great and cultural country, we must first of all maintain: composure.” [18] The article then attacks those Jews who do not stand up as part of the collective Jewish community. “It is not true that the Jews betrayed Germany. If they betrayed anyone, it was themselves, the Jews. Because the Jew did not display his Judaism with pride, because he tried to avoid the Jewish issue, he must bear part of the blame for the degradation of the Jews.” [19] The surprising part of the article occurs when Robert Weltsch asks the Jews to stand up behind the symbol of the yellow star, the device used by the Nazis to identify Jews and Jewish businesses. This is the symbol of the shield of King David and the symbol of Judaism itself. He turns the singling out of the Jews by the Nazis as an opportunity for Jews to wear the Star of David with pride, and to bind themselves closer to their fellow Jews. “A powerful symbol is to be found… this regulation [to post a yellow star on Jewish shops] is intended as a brand, a sign of contempt. We will take it up and make of it a badge of honor… One often saw windows bearing a large Magen David, the Shield of David the King. It was intended as a dishonor. Jews, take it up, the Shield of David, and wear it with pride!” [20]

The final article that will be discussed in relation to the theme of the enduring Jewish identity, is a prayer composed by Rabbi Leo Baeck for all Jewish communities in Germany for the eve of the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is widely accepted as the holiest day of the Jewish Year. Jews around the world go to their synagogue to atone for their sins, and to re-evaluate themselves. The Jew is in a constant state of self-renewal, and of self-improvement. In Judaism, there is a great deal of importance assigned to one’s actions: if you are a good person, your future will reflect this. If you acted negatively in the past year, the purpose of Yom Kippur is to come clean to G-d and acknowledge your shortcomings. The end result is that if you truly repent for your negative actions, you will be forgiven by G-d and start the New Year with a “clean slate.” Note that this prayer was spoken by Rabbi Leo Baeck in October of 1935 on Erev Yom Kippur (the eve of the Day of Atonement.) This holiday occurs eight days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which takes place in September or October each year. The context of Yom Kippur offers an explanation to the underlying message in the Rabbi’s sermon.

“We shall examine our ways before Him. We shall examine what we have done and what we have failed to do… We stand before our G-d and with the same courage with which we have acknowledged our sins, the sins of the individual and the sins of the community, shall we express our abhorrence of the lie directed against us, and the slander of our faith and its expressions.” [21]

“We believe in our faith and our future,” [22] continues Rabbi Leo Baeck in his Yom Kippur sermon. As explained in the thesis of this essay, the history of the Jewish people is fraught with many accounts of persecution. This history is taught to schoolchildren and to adults, in the hopes that these Jewish people will band together as a community and uphold the pillars of their faith. The mentality of enduring hard times, in spite of all odds, is visible in the subtext of Rabbi Leo Baeck’s sermon. There is a clear hope expressed for the resilience of the Jewish religion and identity. The painful memories of Jewish ancestors are indirectly referenced, and thus the plight of the Jews in the past is used as a ray of hope for the Jews receiving this sermon.

“We stand before our G-d: Our strength is in Him. In Him is the truth and the dignity of our history; In Him is the source of our survival through every change, our firm stand in all our trials. Our history is the history of spiritual greatness, spiritual dignity. We turn to it when attack and insult are directed against us, when need and suffering press in upon us. The Lord led our fathers from generation to generation. He will continue to lead us and our children through our days.” [23]

The strength and resilience of the Jewish people and the Jewish identity was again threatened and tested to the utmost of its limits during the Holocaust. Once again, the Jewish people have used their commitment to each other, and their undying optimism and determination to survive, against all odds.



References

C.V.-Zeitung. (1933). Proclamation by the Central Committee of German Jews for relief and reconstruction. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (pp. 47-50). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

C.V.-Zeitung. (1933). The position of German Jews, as seen by Alfred Wiener, of the leadership of the Centralverein. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 50). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

First Circular Letter of the Center for Jewish Adult Education. (1934). Martin Buber on the tasks of the Center for Jewish Adult Education. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 51). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

Israelitisches Gemeindeblatt Mannheim. (1933). Activities of the Study Institute for Jewish Adult Education. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 52). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

Jüdische Rundschau. (1933). “Wear it with pride, the yellow badge” Article by Robert Weltsch. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 45). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

Reichsgesetzblatt. (1935). First regulation to the Reich Citizenship law November 14, 1935. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 80). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

Reichsgesetzblatt. (1935). Nuremberg law for the protection of German blood and German honor, September 15, 1935. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 78). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

Report of the Central Committee of German Jews for Relief and Reconstruction. (1934). Instructions for Jewish Public Elementary Schools, January 1934. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (pp. 65-66). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

The Attorney-General of the Government of Israel v. Adolf Eichmann – Minutes of Session No. 14. (1961). Prayer composed by Rabbi Leo Baeck for all Jewish communities in Germany for the eve of the Day of Atonement, October 10, 1935. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 87). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

Völkischer Beobachter. (1933). Organization of the Anti-Jewish boycott of April 1, 1933 – Instructions give by the National-Socialist party. In Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman & Abraham Margaliot (Eds.), Documents on the Holocaust (p. 32). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.



[1] From the author’s [Mike Jutan] personal experience with Jewish culture and history, through teachings from

Rabbis, family and friends.

[2] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #24 Instructions for Jewish Public Elementary Schools, January 1934

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 65.

[3] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #24 Instructions for Jewish Public Elementary Schools, January 1934

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), pp. 65-66.

[4] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #24 Instructions for Jewish Public Elementary Schools, January 1934

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 66.

[5] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #18 Activities of the Study Institute for Jewish Adult Education

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 52.

[6] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #17 Martin Buber on the tasks of the Center for Jewish Adult Education

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 51.

[7] Ibid., pp. 51-52.

[8] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #7 Organization of the Anti-Jewish boycott of April 1, 1933

Instructions given by the National-Socialist party (University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 32.

[9] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #33 Nuremberg law for the protection of German blood and German honor, September 15, 1935 (University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 78.

[10] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #34 First regulation to the Reich Citizenship law November 14, 1935

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 80.

[11] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #16 The position of German Jews, as seen by Alfred Wiener, of the

leadership of the Centralverein (University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 50.

[12] Ibid., p. 50.

[13] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #15 Proclamation by the Central Committee of German Jews for Relief

and Reconstruction (University of Nebraska Press, 1999), pp. 47-48.

[14] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #15 Proclamation by the Central Committee of German Jews for relief

and reconstruction (University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 49.

[15] Ibid., pp. 49-50.

[16] Ibid., p. 50.

[17] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #14 “Wear it with pride, the yellow badge” Article by Robert Weltsch

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 45.

[18] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #14 “Wear it with pride, the yellow badge” Article by Robert Weltsch

(University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 45.

[19] Ibid., pp. 45-46.

[20] Ibid., pp. 46-47.

[21] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #39 Prayer composed by Rabbi Leo Baeck for all Jewish communities

in Germany for the eve of the Day of Atonement, October 10, 1935 (University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 87.

[22] Ibid., p. 87.

[23] Arad et. al, Documents on the Holocaust - #39 Prayer composed by Rabbi Leo Baeck for all Jewish communities

in Germany for the eve of the Day of Atonement, October 10, 1935 (University of Nebraska Press, 1999), p. 87.