Think of the Children

[Editorial]

In the opening moments of Casablanca, a man is shot in the street because he lacks the right “papers.” We watch it as a relic of 1942—a cinematic warning of what happens when a state loses its humanity. But today, as Black Hawk helicopters hover over apartment complexes in Chicago and federal agents rappel onto roofs to conduct “administrative” arrests, we are no longer watching a movie. We are creating a new “normal” for the eyes of our children.

When we say, “Think of the children,” we usually mean their physical safety. But the greater danger is the fundamental distortion of their moral development.. 

PROPAGANDA AS PEDAGOGY: THE REEDUCATION OF MORALITY THROUGH NAZI SCHOOLING AND YOUTH PROGRAMS

Research Gate

Shawn Craig, University of Michigan
February 2025

Abstract

This article explores how Nazi Germany systematically used schooling and youth organizations as tools of ideological indoctrination, transforming education into a mechanism for moral reeducation aligned with the tenets of National Socialism. Drawing on theories of propaganda, political pedagogy, and moral development, the article examines how the regime leveraged curricula, ritual, and youth mobilization to instill racial ideology, obedience to authority, and the redefinition of virtue. Through an analysis of educational materials, institutional design, and the psychological tactics embedded in Hitler Youth programs, the paper reveals the extent to which pedagogy became a vehicle for totalitarian control over moral perception and identity formation.

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Conclusion 

Nazi Germany’s reeducation of morality through schools and  youth  organizations demonstrates the  potent  convergence  of  propaganda  and  pedagogy  in  totalitarian  regimes.  By  embedding ideology into the everyday experiences of children and adolescents, the regime did not merely teach what to believe but shaped how to feel, how to belong, and ultimately, how to judge right from wrong. The moral world it constructed was not merely imposed but internalized, revealing the chilling efficacy of educational systems weaponized for authoritarian ends.

Stop and think for a moment about what Florida and Texas have done with “Don’t Say Gay” laws in schools and the banning of LGBTQ books and topics.

In addition to the bigotry being taught, there is also the lack of empathy that these policies are creating.

Sixty years later: post-traumatic stress symptoms and current psychopathology in former German children of World War II

International Psychogeriatrics

2007 Oct;19(5):955-61.

Philipp Kuwert 1, Carsten Spitzer, Anna Träder, Harald J Freyberger, Michael Ermann

Abstract

Background: The aim of the study was to determine the amount of trauma impact, post-traumatic stress symptoms and current psychopathological distress in a sample of former German children of World War II.

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Conclusions: In line with other studies, our data document a high degree of trauma exposure during warchildhood. In comparison with other studies on PTSD in warchildren, there is a persisting high prevalence of war-associated PTSD symptoms in this sample. Despite some methodological limitations, our data underline the urgent need for further studies on the ageing group of former children of World War II.

In cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, and Minneapolis, militarized policing and raids have transformed neighborhoods into occupied zones, echoing the environments of chronic fear and instability these children endured.

Empathy as a risk factor for internalizing symptoms during war: A 10-year prospective study from toddlerhood to adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2025

Dana Katsoty, Lior Abramson, and Ariel Knafo-Noam

Introduction

Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is vital for social relationships and prosociality and is generally associated with positive psychological outcomes (Swenson et al., Reference Swenson, Ehsanian, Tran, Petersen, Kennedy, Roche, Oppezzo, Noordsy and Fredericson2024; Van der Graaff et al., Reference Van der Graaff, Meeus, de Wied, van Boxtel, van Lier, Koot and Branje2016). However, its role may become more complex in the context of mass trauma, such as war exposure, where heightened emotional resonance with the suffering of others may increase vulnerability to personal distress. This issue is particularly relevant for children and adolescents, whose emotion regulation capacities are still developing, making them more susceptible to the psychological impacts of traumatic events (McLaughlin & Lambert, Reference McLaughlin and Lambert2017). Using a longitudinal design, we studied the role of empathy as a prospective risk factor for psychological distress during mass trauma, focusing on the October 7th atrocities and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war.

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Conclusions

Empathy is typically regarded as a resilience factor; however, our findings indicate that in the context of continuous mass trauma – characterized by extensive exposure to the suffering of others – it may function as a risk factor for internalizing symptoms in early adolescents. Specifically, empathic distress in toddlerhood was identified as a predictor of internalizing symptoms during war exposure occurring over a decade later. Similarly, pre-war emotional empathy in adolescence was associated with internalizing symptoms during war, even when controlling for pre-war internalizing symptoms. Importantly, both empathic distress in toddlerhood and emotional empathy in adolescence were predictive of internalizing symptoms exclusively during war exposure and not during regular times, consistent with a diathesis-stress model. During mass trauma, empathy may contribute to increased internalizing symptoms through prolonged exposure to the suffering of others.

I’ll ask the question again: what are we doing to our children today? What is Trump & Company teaching the children?

[/Editorial]