My Trip to the Phillips Center Judgement at Nuremburg

The Spatial Experience: When I entered the Phillips center I was pleasantly surprised by the decor of the building. The actual auditorium was much larger than I anticipated, which slightly unnerved me and made me more anxious to witness the play. My seat was quite far back, making it difficult to see the faces of the actors. This was somewhat detrimental to my experience, as I could not see the actor's facial expressions. The audience around me remained somewhat noisy even when the lights went out, which made it difficult to focus my attention on the play. One's place and surroundings have a large impact on experience, as the size or atmosphere of a location can stir emotions.

The Social Experience: I attended the performance with some of my pledge brothers. With all due respect, they were pretty unknowledgeable about the subject matter, such as the Nuremberg trials and Nazi war crimes. On the other hand I visited Nuremberg this summer and witnessed the room where the trials were held. Thus, I was able to provide my pledge brothers with a lot of extra background knowledge that helped them further understand the play. Shared experiences remind us that while we are eternally alone in life, we can share moments with those close to us.

The Cultural and Intellectual Experience: The central issue addressed in the play was whether Nazi criminals should be responsible for the evils they committed or whether they were simply executing their orders for the good of their country. As I previously stated, I knew a large amount of this subject matter since my grandfather is a Holocaust survivor and I recently visited Nuremberg this summer. This is also the city that my ancestors descend from. The play reminded me that we are responsible for all of our actions, whether we are told to do something or not, and we must question and actively think about the decisions we make, for everything we do has consequences.

The Emotional Experience: Katharisis can be found in Judgement at Nuremberg through the way that the American staged the trail. After years of war, chaos and a blatant disregard for mankind from the Nazis, the Americans showed their class by giving these criminals a fair trial in order to create a stable world order following World War II. To me, this is very uplifting and inspiring, for the Nazis brought mankind to the darkest abyss it had ever seen and the Americans were keen to still grant them equality under the law.

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