Hitler-themed class assignment raises red flags at metro Atlanta school

ATLANTA - A Hitler-themed class assignment is causing controversy at a metro Atlanta school.

FOX 5 exclusively obtained the questions posed to 8th graders at the Mount Vernon School which asked them to rate some of Hitler’s attributes.

Some parents have expressed concern and outrage at that assignment and question if it is antisemitic in nature.

School officials told me this afternoon that when they learned how the assignment was written it was removed from the curriculum.

One question asked: "How would you rate Adolf Hitler as a ‘solution seeker’?"

Another question asked: "How would you rate Adolf Hitler as an ethical decision-maker?"

"It’s troubling," commented one student. Some students questioned the appropriateness of the assignment and if the question glorified the Nazi leader.

"Obviously, that looks horrible in the current context," said one student. "Knowing Mount Vernon, we do things a little odd around here. We try to think outside the box, but oftentimes that doesn’t work."

Several students told FOX 5 that the questions were not in their curriculum when they were in 8th grade. The Mount Vernon School says it wholeheartedly denounces antisemitism and gave Fox 5 a letter in response.

Letter from Kristy Lundstrom, head of The Mount Vernon School

"The intent of 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," wrote a school official.

One student says 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.