Student’s Speech on Hitler

I read your article “Pro-Hitler Speech by 5th-Grader Decried” (Feb. 29). I was appalled at the actions of the parents and Jewish community leaders.

I recently presented an oral book report on Adolf Hitler in my seventh-grade language arts/reading class. I dressed in khaki, was decorated with swastikas and wore a fake mustache. My report was eight minutes long about Hitler’s life and was greatly respected by all who heard it. I did not even think that it would ever be called a controversy to educate others on the history of the man who is thought to be the terror of our 20th Century.

We cannot ignore the fact that he was both notorious and intriguing. It is a part of history. You cannot rewrite history because a person was not good for the world.

If we allow the burning of a symbol of our country, our flag, then most certainly an opinion of Hitler is allowed in an oratory contest.

Do we question the teachers’ judgment because they looked past the subject and at the quality of the speech?

If we only focus on the education of people who made positive contributions to society, we are being like an ostrich, hiding from life by sticking our heads in the sand.

DESIREE HOLLIS, Torrance