Word Cloud of Reasons for Arrest Using Wordle

wordle_4.png

The above word cloud, produced using Wordle, depicts the frequency of words present in descriptions of reasons for arrest for clergy incarcerated in Dachau Concentration Camp.  The size of the word in the word cloud corresponds to its frequency in the text.  As points of reference, Reich appeared 69 times in the reasons for arrest, and resistance appeared 60 times.  Note that although Wordle has filtered out common English words, I manually filtered out common German words.  Consequently, a few common German words are present in the above word cloud (a more in-depth discussion on this can be found at the Voyant & Wordle page).

Here are translations of some of the prominent German words, which convey the same strong sentiments as do the english words:

  • reichsfeindlich - hostile to the Reich
  • gegen - against
  • Predigt(en) - sermon(s)
  • Jugendsseelsorge - spiritual guidance of youth
  • Äußerung - statement, demonstration
  • Unruhe - riot, agitation
  • verhaftet - arrested
  • Verhaftung - arrest
  • Kirche - church
  • Pfarrer - priest
  • Weltanschauung - worldview
  • verschieden - different
  • Religionsunterricht - religious education
  • staatsfeindlich - hostile to the state
  • Tätigkeit - activity, practice
  • Aufhebung abolition

It is interesting to note that words related to Judaism (Jew, Jewish, etc.) do not appear frequently, suggesting that the overwhelming majority of clergy were arrested for reasons other than aiding Jewish people.

I chose to make the word cloud the "Logo" for this exhibit and the list of names of the 2679 clergy the "Banner" for this exhibit, as seen at the top of the page.  The small text size in the list of names is intended to convey the scale of just how many clergy were incarcerated at Dachau Concentration Camp, especially when juxtaposed with the large words in the word cloud.