A private school in the US is making news for giving assignments to Class 8 students on Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. According to Fox5 Atlanta, the students were given a series of questions asking them to rate some of Hitler’s characteristics as a leader. A screenshot of the question-and-answer assignment given by Mount Vernon School in Atlanta to the students has been posted on X by Fox5 reporter, highlighting the sections that are causing controversy.

EXCLUSIVE: An Adolf Hitler themed school assignment is causing controversy at the Mount Vernon School. 8th graders were asked to rate Hitler as a “Solution Seeker” & as an “Ethical Decision maker.” At 5&6pm on @FOX5Atlanta: students & the school respond. pic.twitter.com/sxEJq11mLy

— Brittany Edney (@BrittanyEdney) May 14, 2024

In one of the questions, students were asked, “According to the Mount Vernon Mindset rubric, how would you rate Adolf Hitler as a ‘solution seeker’?”

Another one asked students to “rate Adolf Hitler as an ethical decision-maker”.

Both the questions included options like “Lacks Evidence, Approaching Expectations, Meets Expectations, Exceeds Expectations”.

The questions sparked an outrage with some parents expressing concern and questioning if these are anti-semitic in nature.

Students too found the questions “troubling” and wondered if the questions glorified the Nazi leader.

“Obviously, that looks horrible in the current context. Knowing Mount Vernon, we do things a little odd around here,” one student told Fox5 Atlanta.

One student said he can see the school’s intended approach to critical thinking.

“I can definitely see why they’d be upset, but overall, I think it’s important to look at both sides of the coin in every situation and I think it’s important to be able to compare and contrast everything that’s happened in our world history, whether it’s been good or bad,” said the student.

The outlet also spoke to some former students who said these questions weren’t given to them during eighth grade.

When school officials came to know about the phrasing of the questions, they removed if from the school’s curriculum.

The principal of Mount Vernon, Kristy Lundstrom, wrote in a statement that the assignment was “an exploration of World War II designed to boost student knowledge of factual events and understand the manipulation of fear leveraged by Adolf Hitler in connection to the Treaty of Versailles.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s police booking mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in Atlanta, Georgia.
| Photo Credit: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Reuters

The story so far: Donald Trump on August 24 became the first President, either sitting or former, to have his mugshot taken at a jail in the country, on racketeering and conspiracy charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

According to official records, he was booked on 13 charges at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta and released on a $200,000 bond. This was the fourth criminal case against Mr. Trump since he became the first former U.S. President to be indicted earlier this year.

The Hindu looks at charges against Mr. Trump so far.

New York

Mr. Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on charges related to payments made to hush claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, prosecutors and defence lawyers said on March 31, 2023.

Mr. Trump was allegedly involved with adult actor Stormy Daniels in 2006. During the 2016 presidential campaign , Mr. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels to stop her from disclosing any information. He also arranged for the publisher of the tabloid National Enquirer o pay Playboy model Karen McDougal $1,50,000 to suppress her story of Mr. Trump’s affair.

Mr. Cohen officially surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in August 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison for the hush money to Ms. Daniels, characterised as “excessive campaign contribution”. He spent most of his sentence in home confinement.

Mr. Trump pled not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Florida

In the State of Florida, Mr. Trump has been charged with mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He was also accused of obstructing government efforts to recover the records. Mr. Trump held on to classified documents that contained information on national defence when he left the White House in January 2021.

Out of the 37 charges against him, 31 relate to violations under the U.S. Espionage Act. This Act was enacted by the Congress in 1917, just months after the U.S entered World War I. Some of the charges levied against Mr. Trump under this Act carry a potential sentence of 20 years in prison.

Mr. Trump pled not guilty to 37 federal criminal charges relating to possession of classified documents. Later, three more charges were added by the prosecutors, bringing the total count to 40.

Washington

Mr. Trump was charged on four counts in the State of Washington for his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat. This was the third criminal case against Mr. Trump, after those in New York and Florida.

The former President appeared in a federal courthouse in Washington D.C. on August 3 before Indian American Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya. The indictment was filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith who led an investigation into the allegations that Mr. Trump tried to overturn the election result.

Charges levied against Mr. Trump included conspiracy to defraud, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.

While the indictment does not directly accuse Mr. Trump of being responsible for the January 6, 2021 riots when a mob entered Capitol Hill, the obstruction charges indirectly relate to it.

Mr. Trump pled not guilty to four criminal charges alleging he tried to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to current U.S. President Joe Biden.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has approved March 4, 2024, as the trial date in Mr. Trump’s election subversion conspiracy case. It’s right before Super Tuesday, when more than a dozen States will vote in a primary to pick the Republican presidential candidate for 2024. Despite his legal troubles, Mr. Trump appears to be among the favourites to secure the nomination.

Georgia

Mr. Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted in Georgia on August 14 with charges related to scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in the State. He was booked on 13 charges in Atlanta’s Fulton County jail on August 24 and had his mugshot taken.

Other defendants in the case include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Mr. Giuliani surrendered on August 23 and had his mugshot taken, while Mr. Meadows surrendered on August 24.

The indictment against Mr. Trump and allies also mentions an alleged scheme to tamper with voting machines in one county of Georgia to steal data.

The defendants will be arraigned next week, on September 6.

Do the charges disrupt Mr. Trump’s presidential plans?

Apparently not.

The Trump campaign reportedly raised more than $7 million since he was booked at a jail in Georgia and his mugshot was released.

According to survey research company Morning Consult, Mr. Trump is the leading candidate among Republicans aspiring to be the party’s face in the presidential polls scheduled to be held in late 2024. Despite not attending the first Republican presidential primary debate held on August 23, Mr. Trump has retained the top rating among the party’s candidates. Morning Consult’s survey reveals Mr. Trump polled 58% as of August 29, while his closest contender Ron DeSantis polled only 14%. The survey also reveals that Mr. Trump’s popularity has consistently grown since December 2022, but the same cannot be said about other Republican presidential hopefuls.

(With inputs from news agencies)