Throughout our lives, we often get to confront a situations when the change in ground rules and regulations, concerning a particular group of people or society in general, prompts us to refer to such a change as unethical. At the same time, the very fact that such changes do take place, every once in a while, indicate their objective essence, which in its turn implies that some of them may be ethical, after all, simply because the cause that results in these changes coming into being, corresponds to the principle of impartiality, rationality and publicity.
In their book Research Ethics: a Reader , Deni Elliott and Judy E. Stern provide us with an insight on what should account for our reasoning as to which change in ground rules can be referred to as ethical or unethical: Not everyone agrees on which violations satisfy the three conditions of impartiality, rationality, and publicity, but it is a part of our moral system that no violation is justified unless it satisfies all three of these conditions (Elliot & Stern, 1997, p. 29). While keeping this in mind, we will analyze the introduction of holocaust denial criminal charges into the penal code of many Western countries that simultaneously take pride in the fact that their democratic form of governing is being firmly based onto the concept of freedom of speech.
In 2006, a critically acclaimed British historian David Irving was being sentenced to 5 years in Austrian jail, simply because he happened to suggest that Jews were not only the people who suffered during the course of WW2 and that the extent of their suffering is being grossly exaggerated by Jewish controlled Medias. In his article Freedom of Hate Speech , Jeff Jacoby states: Funny people, the Austrians. If youre Kurt Waldheim a former Nazi military officer linked to a genocidal massacre during World War II they elect you president. But if youre David Irving a British author who claimed that there never was a Nazi genocide during World War II they throw you in the slammer (Jacoby 2006). It is important to understand that this incident sheds light onto the fact that in the West, an impartial, rational and public concept of freedom of speech is being gradually deprived of its essential subtleties.
Ever since their childhood years, citizens in such countries as Canada, Britain, France and Germany are being taught to believe that they can utilize their constitutional right of freedom of speech in just about any way they want yet, as soon as they begin publically referring to Jews other then the holy cows , that are being beyond any criticism whatsoever, they automatically risk the chance of criminal persecution. Therefore, there can be no doubt that the introduction of various hate speech and holocaust denial legislations into the very core of Western jurisprudence represents a classical example of change in ground rules and regulations on a truly global scale. Can we refer to this change as ethical? After all, Jews used to be getting killed by Nazis en masse and many of them do get emotionally hurt when people like David Irving come up with holocaust denial statements.
The answer to this is most definitely not. And the reasons that allowed us to come to this conclusion are as follows:
Holocaust denial criminal charge, as the violation of ground rules of freedom of speech, is not impartial. For example, it is a fact that American and Canadian Natives were subjected to nothing short of genocide in 19th century; however, one can freely deny this fact publically, without experiencing the fear of criminal persecution. Obviously, the same does not apply to those who deny Jewish Holocaust. And, there is absolutely no rational reason for this, unless we believe that Jews are being truly chosen people .
Holocaust denial criminal charge, as the violation of ground rules of freedom of speech, is not rational. We are being told that the introduction of holocaust denial legislations is meant to increase the levels of tolerance in Western societies. However, the concept of tolerance organically derives out of the concept of democracy. In its turn, the concept of democracy is being fundamentally based onto the principle of freedom of speech. In the same article from which we have already quoted, Jacoby states: Punishing anyone who denies, grossly trivializes, approves, or seeks to justify the Holocaust or other Nazi crimes may seem a small price to pay to keep would-be totalitarians and hate-mongers at bay. But a government that can make the expression of Holocaust denial a crime today can make the expression of other offensive opinions a crime tomorrow (Jacoby, 2006). The freedom of speech is exactly about allowing people to express the opinions we might hate, rather then solely the ones that we like.
Holocaust denial criminal charge, as the violation of ground rules of freedom of speech, is not public. As for today, there is absolutely no rational way of telling whether the suspected holocaust revisionist is being driven by his malicious desire to defame Jews or simply by his intention to examine the history in truly objective and unemotional manner. This is exactly the reason why the hawks of political correctness in Western countries try their best to keep the true significance of introduction of holocaust denial legislations away from the public, simply because if citizens happened to closely examine these legislations, they would realize that they no longer live in free society.
Thus, the introduction of holocaust denial and hate speech by-laws, as the blatant violation of rules of the game concerning the concept of free speech, is grossly unethical, because of its simultaneously selective, irrational, and secretive subtleties.
Bibliography
Elliott, D. & Stern, J. (1997). Research Ethics: a Reader. Hanover: University Press of New England.
The policy paper targets the governments of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the United Arab Emirates in particular. The work concerns the danger of the possible nuclear activities, which can be caused by the conflict between Iran and Israel.
As such conflict would put a serious threat to the safety of the region, the policy aims at the acceptance of nuclear deal and the development of the effective course of actions aimed at eliminating the threat of the nuclear war between the confronting states and balancing the power in the region.
The Roots of the Nuclear Conflict
The roots of the nuclear challenges stem from the development of reactors and uranium enrichment. The threat, which evolved in the second part of the 20th century, came from the government of Iran, which claimed nuclear weapon elaboration. The act of Iran stirred not only its neighbors, which are Israel and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council but the United States as well since the enrichment of uranium contradicted the Treaty of United Nations on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
The conflict sharpened when the opposing government of the USA made an agreement with Israel, which aimed at the prevention of nuclear holocaust in Iran and the neighborhood. At this point, Iran officials developed an escalating rhetoric against Israel authority and the claim about the future war against Israel was made. The disagreement between two Eastern countries started when Iranian government took an orientation on political leadership revelation, which flew into a proxy conflict.
The estimation of the military forces of the states shows the absurdity of the nuclear war. The reason for that starts in the military sphere since Iran possessed approximately 3.8 million of troops while Israel has only 750,000 troops. Moreover, there are considerable population differences as well as oil production potentials, which demonstrate the weakness of Israel.
Recently, the Iranian government signed an interim deal with the United States, which demonstrated that the latter might choose a direction of cooperation with Iran. Nevertheless, the countries of GCC face the need to establish effective cooperation with the Western partners to prevent the possibility of nuclear holocaust in the region (Dueck & Takeyh, 2013). The united efforts promoted by such partnership can contribute to the stabilization of relations between Israel and Iran.
The importance of the policy agreement may be defined if one views the consequences of the nuclear strengthening of Iran. Thus, the countries of the GCC have to take into consideration the fact that the country can become the greatest nuclear power in the Middle East (Inbar, 2006).
A consistent enhancement of uranium enhancement can contribute to the cancelation of the non-proliferation policy. In this context, the Iranian government might realign its political regime in the direction of the authoritative state, which may destroy Israel and pose a consistent threat to the Eastern neighbors.
Furthermore, the immense nuclear reserves, which may be developed by Iran, can endanger the United Arab Emirates (Eisenstadt, 2006). Therefore, it is a great challenge for the GCC to develop a consistent policy, which might both support the development of uranium potential but at the same time provide an efficient system for controlling the nuclear activities of Iran according to the non-proliferation objectives.
Analysis: The Nuclear Policy Options
The countries of the GCC, particularly, the United Arab Emirates, have to embrace a consistent policy to prevent the escalation of the conflicts between Israel and Iran. Both the countries of the Middle East and their Western partners are interested in the prevention of the growth of Irans nuclear power.
The policy, which can be developed by GCC, may take several directions. Primarily, the adopted regulation might create the basis for the effective collaboration of GCC countries with the Western partners that share the interest of decreasing the nuclear threat in the Middle East. Such direction might help to use the united power of GCC countries and Western states to prevent the development of negative scenario related to Iran and Israels nuclear holocaust.
Such cooperative actions might not only stop the growth of Irans nuclear power but also help to develop better relations between the Arab and the Western coalitions. Ensuring the effective cooperation between these world powers is crucial to preventing the possibility of confrontation between the Western and Eastern worlds. Working on achieving the common goal might eliminate the disagreements between the partners and contribute to the safe environment of the region and the world community.
Another option embraces the strategy of neutral partnership. The GCC countries might detach from participating in dealing with the nuclear conflict between Iran and Israel and promote a stable diplomacy dialogue with both sides. Such position would require GCC countries to give the right to deal with the problems related to the nuclear threat to the Middle East to the Western partners.
Such course of actions appears to be rather ineffective and can contribute to the dominance of Western countries in the region. Such dominance will have numerous negative consequences since Western governments tend to pursue subjective goals in the Middle East if the countries of GCC demonstrate passivity and do not put efforts in being actively involved in controlling such kind of activities (Amuzegar, 2006).
The final alternative of the course of actions include the independent activities of the governments of GCC aimed at dealing with the nuclear conflict between Iran and Israel. Such direction of actions would help the GCC countries to impose a strong control over the nuclear activities in the region without the participation of the Western partners.
In such case, the GCC countries would have to accept a stable plan of sanctions, which would come into power immediately after the breakage of the rules developed by them to control the nuclear activities in the region. However, such course of actions can have various negative results as dealing with the issue of Irans nuclear aggression can hardly be managed without the participation of the world community, and the Western partners in particular.
Nuclear Conflict Decision-Making Alternatives and Recommendations
The major policy recommendation, which has to be applied by the GCC to the nuclear crisis in Iran, must take the alternative of peaceful cooperation with the Iranian government and the Western world. However, it is important to emphasize that the adoption of the policy should rely on the principles of non-proliferation, which regulate nuclear facilities development (James, 2000).
It means that the policy should rely on the common goals of preventing nuclear threat instead of pursuing the subjective goals corresponding to the interests of a separate country.
The interim deal between the United States and Iran demonstrated that the reality of nuclear development in Iran might take a disruptive course against the Eastern world. Consequently, a proactive position and partnership should become the guiding principle for the new policy.
Therefore, the governments of the GCC have to initiate negotiations with the authority of Iran about the establishment of controlling institutions in the capital of Iran, Tehran, with an aim of supervising the nuclear weapon production. Moreover, the initial stages of the policy implementation have to embrace prevention of the conflict between Iran and Israel since Iran has previously claimed that the latter is a target for Iranian nuclear destruction (Perkovich, 2003).
The policy has to rely on the principles of effective cooperation between the world powers interested in dealing with Iran and Israels nuclear holocaust. Therefore, GCC countries, and the United Arab Emirates, in particular, should actively participate in dealing with such conflict together with their Western Partners.
The collaboration appears to be the key principle the policy should rely on as the neither separate participation in dealing with the conflict nor passivity and giving the initiative to the Western partners can benefit the countries of the Middle East. The effective combination of the power of both GCC and Western countries is the key to ensuring that the nuclear conflict between Iran and Israel is finished in favor of objective goals benefiting the region and the whole global community.
References
Amuzegar, J. (2006). Nuclear Iran: Perils and prospects. Middle East Policy, 13(2), 90-112.
Dueck, C., & Takeyh, R. (2013). Irans nuclear challenge. Political Science Quarterly, 2(1), 189-205.
Eisenstadt, M. (2006). Living with a nuclear Iran? Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, 41(3), 124-148.
Inbar, E. (2006). The need to block a nuclear Iran. Middle East Review of International Affairs, 10(1), 85-105.
James, C. (2000). Iran and Iraq as rational crisis actors: Dangers and dynamics of survivable nuclear war. Journal of Strategic Studies, 23(1), 52-73.
Perkovich, G. (2003). Dealing with Irans nuclear challenge. Survival, 44(2), 1-16.
The stories of Borowski and Lispector explore the stories that are different in many aspects. While the work of Boworski is directly connected to his life as it shows the Holocaust victims during their imprisonment, Lispectors writing portrays the life of a woman, who is unhappy in her marriage. However, both authors use some similar themes in their works. The feelings of rage, for instance, are defined by characters from both works.
Borowskis protagonists are angry at each other. Their emotions are influenced by their situation as they are pitted against each other by people that control them. The fear of these people turns to rage because of their shared powerlessness. One of the prisoners says to another Ah, you bloody Jewess! So youre running from your own child! Ill show you, you whore! as he tries to prove his position of power to Germans (Puchner et al., 2017, p. 704).
Lispectors portrayal of rage, on the other hand, shows it being partly directed towards the main protagonist herself. The woman hates not only her husband, her children, and her way of living but also her decisions that led to this life. She often curses and degrades herself with such harsh words as what a slovenly, lazy bitch youve become (Puchner et al., 2017, p. 814). It is safe to assume that the protagonist blames herself for her current situation.
Celan and Amichai
It is possible that Celan uses repetition to express the feelings of repetitiveness that he and the other people felt during the imprisonment. His use of metaphors shows the tragedy of the situation, while the constant reoccurrence of the same phrase only strengthens its force (Pritchett, 2014). Through these devices, Celan tries to show readers the everyday routine that he remembers to be both monotonous and hopeless. Boase-Beier (2014) states that such language also shows obsessive thoughts of the author connected to particular memories. Amichai uses metaphors without mentioning the Holocaust in many poems. Moreover, he rarely repeats them and usually uses metaphors as a way to talk about general situations. Celan, on the other hand, utilizes multiple metaphors for one event.
Literary Blog Entry
The themes of identity and relation of self to the other can be emphasized in these readings. All authors try to show their emotions connected to their past lives. While they all had similar experiences, their feelings find different ways of expression. For example, Borowski speculates about self, writing that some people found solace in rejecting such aspects as humanity and empathy to continue living.
The author asks questions that make readers think about the necessity of distancing oneself from the troubles of others as a way to survive. Lispector talks about the problems of self-identification and self-hate. The authors protagonist is unsure of herself first and foremost. She does not question other people as much as herself. While describing the characters thoughts, Lispector writes her open dressing gown revealed in the mirrors the intersected breasts of several women highlighting that the woman may not recognize herself as one person (Puchner et al., 2017, p. 809). The contrast of these two themes shows that understanding of self and identity is a complex concept that can be looked at from different sides.
Post-war writings often explore internal conflicts of characters as some of them try to return to the processes and activities of normal life. It allows writers to reflect upon the actions and emotions that were perceived as normal during the years of the war and see whether the same aspects of their lives would change or stay the same. Some internal conflicts may be resolved because the problems are no longer present, while others do not go away with time. Thus, the post-war society lives with the changed perception of self. Popular culture often centers on the internal conflict of the main hero if he or she goes through some changes. Superheroes, for example, often battle their human side and heroic side and struggle with the concept of self.
References
Boase-Beier, J. (2014). Bringing home the Holocaust: Paul Celans Heimkehr in German and English. Translation and Literature, 23(2), 222-234.
Pritchett, P. (2014). How to write poetry after Auschwitz: The burnt book of Michael Palmer. Journal of Modern Literature, 37(3), 127-145.
Puchner, M., Akbari, S. C., Denecke, W., Dharwadker, V., Fuchs, B., Levine, C., & Wilson, E. (Eds.). (2015). The Norton anthology of world literature (3rd ed.) (Vol. 2). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
History, as well as memory, is the bearer of experience. The past often contains such events that can be compared with nightmares. Human memory usually chooses to forget them but in most cases it is hardly possible. The same goes with history, there are a lot of events, whose ugliness history seems to be unable to bear, but it has to. So, both, memory and history suffer from evil deeds that occur because of human cruelty. These nightmares that occurred in reality found their embodiment in literature and works of art because neither human memory nor history could cope with such burden alone. One of such awful atrocities against humanity was the Holocaust, the nightmare that became reality for thousands of people during World War II. The Holocaust left its brand on the whole subsequent history of humanity as well as on the memory of its victims. Thousands of people were put to death; they lost their lives because of the Nazis hatred. Still, many people survived and they paid for the Holocaust with their memory, the memory that was infected with enormous grief forever. Carl Friedman and Anne Michaels write about people infected by the Holocaust and the way the authors render their response to grief and sorrow of this awful man-made catastrophe deserves special consideration.
Both literary works have characters that are direct witnesses and victims of the Holocaust and the representatives of the second generation, the children of those victims. Their attitude to the awful atrocity is different, it is natural. Its analysis promises interesting results. Thus, let us consider the attitude to grief, pain and horror of those who witnessed them: the survivors of concentration camps, people who faced death, who remembered the face of Grim Reaper.
The fathers attitude to grief and pain
Carl Friedman presents a somewhat mystical character of the father, a survivor of a concentration camp. It is necessary to mention that the character of the man and the narrators character are autobiographical to some extent. This contributes to the impressiveness of both characters. So, the character of the father is the Holocaust incarnate. The presence of grief is evident in every word of the man, in every story, in every deed of his. It appears that he has survived the Holocaust only physically, while he is still its prisoner spiritually. It is his memory of the nightmare that keeps him imprisoned, he appears in the camp again and again by the volition of his memory that is eager to play painful tricks with him. He was alone in the concentration camp. He cannot be alone any more. The grief is too much for him, he has to share it with his family, his children and his wife are the only people who can rescue his soul from concentration camp, gas chambers, and tortures.
The father finds relief for his pain in the stories he tells his children. The stories become the resurrection of the Holocaust, every word carries endless pain of memory, loneliness, and fear. The Holocaust finds the way to penetrate into a fairy-tale about Little Red Riding Hood who is going to visit her grandmother who is in the hospital with typhus and who encounters a vicious dog [that] jumps out of the Hunderzwinger (Friedman 34). In fact, all stories of the father starts with the words about his staying in the concentration camp instead of the words once upon a time , which are common for usual fairy-tales. There can be no usual fairy-tales in a family that knows what the Holocaust is; this is what Friedman wants to say.
Jacobs attitude to grief
If the father finds the way to share his grief through the stories he narrates to his children, Jacob Beer, the protagonist of Fugitive Pieces , chooses a similar way to share his experience, he becomes a professional poet and translator. Thus, both characters prove that the memory of the Holocaust is too much for one person to bear. It must be shared with people, this is why war can turn even an ordinary man into a poet , says Michaels (68). Jacob needs many people to share his inspiration and pain with, for the father from Nightfather his children are enough. Jacob Beer is the bearer of different kind of pain if compared with Nightfather. His pain is not physical, it is not in tortures and hunger; it is the grief of a great loss. He lost his parents and his elder sister Bella, the one he adorer, the one that was inside him (Michaels 14). The horror that haunts him is not the image of tragedy; it is the sound of death of his parents and his guilty conscience caused by his escape without his sister. His pain of the Holocaust is embodied in the ghost of Bella, her constant presence near him. Jacobs soul cannot find rest; he cannot find a place where he would feel at home, he is entangled in the past. It is only love that eventually helps Jacob to find peace.
The tragedy of the Holocaust-survivors is so awful that it makes flesh creep, but the tragedy of the second generation is horrible as well. The characters that are not witnesses but victims of the Holocaust are described in both literary works. In Nightfather , it is the narrator and her brothers; in Fugitive Pieces it is Ben, Alex, Michaela and Jacob too.
The narrator of Nightfather remains nameless during the whole book, the girl represents the whole generation, this is why she does not need name. The girl and her brothers have never been in a concentration camp but this does not mean that they have normal life. Their tragedy is as awful as their fathers one. They have to live in two worlds, the present real world, and the world of the Holocaust that enters their life with their fathers return. They cannot understand it because a childish mind is unable to figure out such horror. This is why sometimes they misinterpret fathers pain as love, when Max accuses his father that stupid camp is all he loves (Friedman 115). Children define the camp as the disease, such as, for instance, measles. They think their father differs from them because he used to have camp . In fact, their comparison of camp and disease is eloquent; it is the best one to be used. The children are also infected by the camp, at least by the symptoms of the camp. It is painful, and they try to cope with it with the help of opposite measures. Sometimes they refuse to hear the stories because they are real. Sometimes they accept them and try to live with this reality, like in the episode when Max puts his feet in the refrigerator to feel them freeze (Friedman 114). This experience is very painful because it is their experience and strange experience at the same time. The only thing that helps the family is their love and support that sets Papa and the whole family free.
Love is the thing that rescues Jacob Beer as well. However, his way to freedom is thorny as well. Alex appears not powerful enough to set him free from the past, she is unable to bear the pain, she simply wants to snatch Jacob from the past, it is impossible. Michaela manages to rescue him just as the children rescue their father in Nightfather . Besides, Ben, the protagonists of the second part of the book, makes use of Jacobs painful past to set himself free. He gets to know the past that is common for his parents and Jacob. He understands that it is necessary for him to as it relieves his own pain.
Conclusion
Drawing a conclusion, it is possible to say that the Holocaust, as presented in both works, is a terrible tragedy. It ruined peoples lives, took away souls, left endless pain instead. Both authors state that the only way to put an end to this awful pain is to use endless love of near and dear people. They can and should share it with the victims of the Holocaust. History and painful memory are too much for one lonely person; it should be shared with the next generation. This is the common idea of Nightfather and Fugitive Pieces .
Works Cited
Friedman, Carl. Nightfather. Trans. Arnold and Erica Pomerans. New York: Persea, 1994.
Introduction: The Price of Holocaust. When a Murder Is Justified
Whenever one thinks of the most dreadful events of the past, the history stages at which the humankind became so cruel and unreasonable that from the retrospective of our times it seems almost unbelievable, such event as the Holocaust is bound to come to ones mind.
Because of the scale and the violence of the event, it cannot be erased from the memory of the world, ad is never to be forgotten as one of the most dreadful acts of segregation against the other race. However, according to the recent statements, the denial of the Holocaust events is currently one of the world major tendencies, which offers certain arguments concerning the reasonability of the movement and its controversy.
Despite the fact that Holocaust was one of the hideous crimes against the humanity that is never to occur again, some tend to represent the tragic event as the stage of the history that people should not pay such attention to, which creates the air of considerable controversy and presupposes debates concerning the significance of the event and its meaning for the modern humankind. Therefore, it cannot be doubted that such phenomenon as Holocaust denial is to be discussed and its absurdity must be proven.
The Wind of Changes Is Blowing: When Holocaust Is not a Crime
There is no doubt that Holocaust is one of the most dreadful events in the world history. However, once trying to find a suitable definition for the event, one inevitably faces certain problem as a matter of fact, there is no actual definition of the issue, as the phenomenon cannot be classified according to the existing standards.
As Landau (1998) says, What was the Nazi Holocaust? So uncomprehended and incomprehensible is the dread event still, a whole generation after, that in this brief space we can answer this question only with a series of negations (p. 13).
According to the author, Holocaust was not a war, neither was it a war crime or a part of the war, or a case of genocide, or racism. Therefore, in the light of the abovementioned, one should agree that Holocaust as it is does not have a suitable definition. However, one can supposedly explain the given issue by the uniqueness of the phenomenon.
It is quite peculiar, though, that the Holocaust denial does have certain definition, which can be interpreted as an Anti-Semitic propaganda movement active in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe that seeks to deny the reality of the Nazi regimes systematic mass murder of six million Jews during World War II, according to Anti-Defamation League (2001). Hence, it can be concluded that, generally, the Holocaust denial is posed as a negative concept.
The Reasons to Reconsider the History: Mayers Case
Since the outcomes of the World War II were unanimously considered by all states of the world as the act of utter inhumanity, the roots of Holocaust denial mood are rather essential issue which offers plunging into the complexity of the interracial and international relationships.
Despite the fact that the origins of the given movement are rather vague, one still can spot the starting point of the Holocaust denial ideas development. According to the recent statement of historians, the Holocaust denial originated from the assumptions of Mayer, which were further on critiqued by Browning (2011), which means that the ideas of the latter are to be reconsidered.
It is important that Browning dies give credit to Mayers assumptions. According to browning, Holocaust does not need reassessment, since Mayers attempt to reconsider the course of history seems rather futile:
Mayer does indeed attempt to set the Judocide (a term he prefers to Holocaust) within various comparative frameworks, as the subtitle promises. But as the book progresses, the real thrust of Mayers argument becomes apparent. He is not so much placing the Final Solution in a wider historical context as he is redefining it. (p. 77)
Therefore, it should be admitted that the idea of Holocaust as the event that did to have the significance that people believed it to have first originated due to Mayer. However, despite the fact that Mayers objections to the significance of Holocaust are quite debatable and were offered quite a while ago, the Holocaust denial movement is currently gaining momentum.
Reinventing Peoples Perception of Truth
It is evident that there is considerable change of peoples perception of the Holocaust all over the world, as Jewish Virtual Library says. The latter belittles the importance of the fact that millions of Jews were killed in the course of the WWII, thus, diminishing the role of Jews in the WWII; on the other hand, reinforcing the idea of Holocaust denial and offering it to the population, the latter make people think carefully over the events of the tragedy and, hence, spurs the discussion. According to what Holocaust Denial (2011) claims, the phenomenon of Holocaust denial is supposed to diminish the role of Jews in the WWII and spread anti-Semitic ideas all over the world:
One of the most notable anti-Semitic propaganda movements [&] has been known in recent years primarily through the publication of editorial-style advertisements in college campus newspapers. The first of these ads claimed to call for open debate on the Holocaust ; it purported to question not the fact of Nazi anti-Semitism, but merely whether this hatred resulted in an organized killing program. (Holocaust Denial, 2011)
Hence, it should be concluded that the Holocaust Denial movement is aimed at belittling the Jews assistance and suffer in the WWII, as well as convince the world in the necessity to follow the anti-Semitic ideas. However, Holocaust denial movement is rather efficient. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the Holocaust denial ideas and compare them to the ones that support the fact of Holocaust. Hence, one will be able to see if the Holocaust denial ideas have some grounds to base on.
Consider the Ideas of Anti-Holocaust: Lost in& Interpretation
However, even though most people might consider the ideas of anti-Holocaust movement hideous, it is necessary to consider the major points of the Holocaust Denial theory. Once envisioning the main concepts of the Holocaust denial theory, one is most likely to confront it successfully. Therefore, the major ideas concerning the Holocaust denial are to be viewed.
According to what Raul Hilberg says, Jones & Icke (2009) claim, one of the greatest mistakes of the people who learn the issue of Holocaust is the attempt to see the entire picture from the every beginning, skipping a number of essential details, and, thus, being an easy prey for those who can lure the public into believing the futility of Holocaust.. According to the researcher, it is important to consider the niceties of the Holocaust first before trying to see the whole picture:
In all of my work I have never begun by asking the big question, because I was always afraid that I would come up with small answers, and I have preferred, therefore, to address these things which are minutiae, or detail, in order that I might then be able to put together in detail a picture which, if not an explanation, is at least a description, a more full description [&] (Jones, & Icke, 2009).
Thus, it is necessary to consider the details of the event without trying to embrace the whole concept of Holocaust, the scientist claims. However, the given idea offers considerable complexities as well, since it does not allow to consider the entire concept if Holocaust and, thus, leaves much room for the Holocaust Denial ideas, which is quite undesirable. Once the Holocaust denial supporters are able to manipulate the concept of Holocaust and peoples vision of the latter, the change of the attitudes towards the historical event is inevitable.
Concerning the Motifs and the Ideas: The New Concept
It is essential to mark that in the given case, when the ideas of tolerance and the political correctness can intertwine to be used a shield for the Nazi-like behavior, one should consider the concept of the Holocaust denial movement closer. According to the recent news, the issue is currently getting out of control. As Sandy & Allan (2011) report,
Friends of a high-flying Tory MP are facing prosecution for chanting offensive Nazi slogans in a crowded restaurant at a French ski resort where one of the party dressed in an SS uniform.
Aidan Burley, MP for Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, was with 12 friends, some of whom chanted Hitler, Hitler, Hitler. One toasted the Third Reich and one taunted a waiter for being French. (Sandy & Allan, 2011)
Judging by the above-mentioned example, the motifs of the movement adepts can be hardly viewed as another attempt at restoring the Nazi regime. The given trend is rather a tendency to conduct the policy of political correctness and forgiveness. However, it is worth mentioning that the given policy allows and actually promotes the idea that the tortures of millions of people were insignificant. Hence, the Holocaust denial is the concept that does not have the right to exist.
The Argumentation of the Holocaust Rejecters: Lame Excuses
Among the most essential proofs that support the fact that Holocaust could not have taken place the way in which it is described nowadays, the ideas offered by the U.S. forensic expert concern the opposite side of the conflict, namely, the way in which the mass extermination of Jews took place.
As a result of the research conducted by Fred A. Leuchter, it became evident that the capital punishment tools used in the WWII by the Nazi were not designed for conducting mass executions and, hence, could not be used as the weapons of the Holocaust as it was depicted in a number of sources. As Leuchter explained, his discovery was an utter surprise for him as well:
One by one I determined that this state equipment was not functional, this state equipment was not functional; and suddenly, one day I said, None of the equipment is functional! Many of the electric chairs were built by inmates and electricians who had no idea of what they were building. They took a picture of another states electric chair and they made something that was looked like it. (Leuchter, 2006)
Therefore, it can be suggested that in some of the cases, mass manslaughter did not take place in the course of the Holocaust. Though the fact that the data concerning the Holocaust victims was imprecise or exaggerated has not been stated yet, there are certain reasons to think that the number of Jews who have suffered death for their nationality I the course of the WWII and the Holocaust is much smaller than it is estimated, Leuchter thinks.
However, it still must be admitted that the observations offered by Leuchter are not precise calculations, but merely suppositions and the researcher does not have the sufficient evidence to prove his point, having only the circumstantial one at his disposal.
Bringing Back the Ideas of the Past: No More Misunderstandings
Despite the fact that the ideas offered by Leuchter do contain certain evidence which can be used as a proof for the reasonability of the Holocaust Denial, it is still obvious that denying the fact of mass slaughter of the Jews is completely absurd.
Taking into account the existing evidence concerning the concentration camps, the anti-Semitic ideas that the Nazi proclaimed, and the attitude towards the Jewish people in the epoch of the WWII, one can still observe the violent treatment of Jews, which confirms the fact that Holocaust did take place. As Lipstad (1999) explained, the fact that the fact of the Holocaust can be denied is one of the most outrageous ideas of the XXI century. According to the authors own words,
When I turned to the topic of Holocaust denial, I knew that I was dealing with extremist anti-Semites who have increasingly managed, under the guide of scholarship, to camouflage their hateful ideology. However, I did not then fully grasp the degree to which I would be dealing with a phenomenon far more unbelievable than was my previous topic. (p. 12)
Hence, there can be no possible doubt that the idea of Holocaust denial is absurd. Defying the Jewish people several years of fighting for justice and the acknowledgement of their nationality is one of the crimes of the XXI century. With the help of efficient evidence, one can easily prove that the Holocaust did take place in the distant 1939-1745.
The Analysis: When the Obvious Needs to Be Proven
Comparing the two existing viewpoints, one must admit that, no matter how absurd the fact that the Holocaust did not take place could seem to the humankind, there are certain proofs that the theory offered by Raul Hilberg is quite worth believing. Since restoring the historical facts does not seem possible, one is supposed to rely on the evidence remaining since the end of the WWII, which might have failed to pass the time testing. Therefore, there are certain concerns as for the veracity of both theories.
It is worth mentioning that the Holocaust denial theory offers sufficient proofs that can be considered worth taking a closer look at. Providing profound scientific basis for the ideas that Raul Hilberg conveyed with his observations of the German weapons of mass destruction and the Nazi concentration camps, the followers of the theory create the environment that favors the development of the Holocaust denial ideas.
It is essential to emphasize that at present, specific techniques of Holocaust denial are suggested for faking the results of the independent researches concerning the Holocaust issue. As Stein (n.d.) explains, these are aimed at creating the impression that the Jews were not as oppressed in the WWII as they claim and, hence, undermine the trust in the Jewish nationality:
One thing scientific Holocaust deniers like Berg and Fred Leuchter count on is the fact that many non-scientists cant follow scientific debates, and assume that if it is dressed up in scientific terms, it must be right. But there are many other scientific debates we see today pollution, cancer, global warming, etc. which enter into the political arena. Some of these arguments are made to support a hidden ideological agenda, and the science is dishonest.
Therefore, it cannot be doubted that the research results are faked. Noting the tiniest discrepancies in Bergs conclusions, Stein (n.d.) explains that the Holocaust denial is actually another attempt at conducting anti-Semitic policy.
Be Upstanding in Court: Passing the Judgement
Even with the evidence presented so far on the issue of Holocaust denial, there can be no possible doubt that the Holocaust did take place, taking away the lives of millions of Jews. Taking into account the stories that have been told, the things that have been seen and the issues that were documented on the subject of the Nazi concentration camps, one must admit that the Holocaust as a phenomenon of utter violence and incredible cruelty did take place, which means that the assumptions of those who support the Holocaust denial are completely wrong.
Even though there is a considerable lack of the documented evidence of the genocide of the Jews, as Shermer & Grobman (2009) explain, it is still worth keeping in mind that the facts of tortures and murders are still evident. Thus, it can be deduced that the Holocaust denial does not have enough sufficient ground to base on and is an abuse for the Jewish people.
Conclusion: When There Is Nothing to Find. The Holocaust as It Is
Judging from the afore-mentioned facts, it can be concluded that the Holocaust did exist. Moreover, it I necessary to admit that people must not forget the Holocaust; nor may they pretend that the given event had no significance in the course of the WWII. Hence, the situation concerning the attitude towards the Holocaust is slowly getting out of control and becoming increasingly controversial.
However, the situation can still be changed. Once offering sufficient proof of the inconsistency of the Holocaust denial ideas, one is likely to restore the self-esteem of the Jewish nation and the relationship of the latter with the rest of the states. In the given situation, it is crucial that people should not follow the false leads and be confused into misconceptions by the half-baked claims. Only with the help of the mutual respect and careful consideration of the historical facts, one is likely to find out the truth.
Reference List
Anti-Defamation League (2001). What is Holocaust denial. ADL. Web.
Browning, C. R. (1995). The path to genocide: Essays on launching the final solution. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Shermer, M., & Grobman, A. (2009). Denying history: Who says the Holocaust never happened and why they say that? Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Stein, M. P. Deceit & misrepresentation. The techniques of holocaust denial. The Nizkor Project. Web.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is a national museum located in Washington D.C. Since its inception in 1993, the museum has served as the nations reminder when it comes to issues of the holocaust. So far, the museum has had more than thirty million visitors.
These visitors have been from over one hundred and thirty countries. I had the chance to visit this Museum a few days ago. After waiting in line for about thirty minutes, I was able to gain admission to the museums exhibition. While at the museum, I tried my best to visit as many exhibitions as I could.
The museum boasts of a collection of about fifteen thousand artifacts and over nine hundred other items. The museum also uses seventy video monitors as part of its exhibition. Once one arrives at the museum, one takes an elevator to the fourth floor where the main exhibition is located.
Before one boards the elevator, a visitors badge is provided. This badge contains a true story about a random holocaust victim. I found this to be very thoughtful. The woman whose story was on my card was said to have died during the holocaust. Her story included details of how she was separated from her family and hauled into a concentration camp.
The exhibition in this floor includes the events surrounding Nazis rise to power. There are video tapes that help explain the origin of Aryan superiority. In one of the videos, Adolf Hitler can be seen spreading anti-Semitism through a public address. The exhibition also featured newspaper articles of the time. There were also billboards and other signs that Hitler used to propagate his propaganda.
From this exhibition, I learnt that Hitlers circle of hate included the disabled, the mentally ill, homosexuals, gypsies, and other non-Aryan groups. Previously my attention was only focused on the hate Hitler had for the Jews. It was clear from Hitlers mode of address that he was a man of great intelligence. This is in contrast to the usual characteristics that are often associated with dictators.
The third floor exhibition showed how things continued to deteriorate for those people who were targets of Hitler and his Nazi machineries. I also had a chance to listen to the recordings of victims who were contained in Nazis concentration camps.
There was also a model of the car that was used to transport Jews from their ghettos to the concentration camps. From this exhibition floor, it is clear how things changed for those targeted by the Nazis. One can also feel getting closer to the holocaust experience.
By the time we got to the second-floor exhibition, things had gone south for the victims. However, in this floor reactions from the rest of the population were featured. There were stories of Jews trying to rescue fellow Jews who were in greater danger. There was also a story about how the King of Denmark refused to give up his Jewish subjects. His bravery helped him save over ninety per cent of the Jewish population in Denmark.
In this second-floor exhibition, there were stories about events that followed the holocaust. These include emigration of Jews from Europe to Israel and America. This exhibition makes one question why the world reacted in such a slow manner. The tour ended with participants lighting candles in remembrance of the holocaust victims.
I have always read and heard about the holocaust. However, this visit to the USHMM brought me closer to the whole experience. The visit was also unlike the dozens of movies that have been made on the subject. It was a step into the actual experience.
Holocaust refers to the state sponsored genocide that took place in Nazi Germany in the duration preceding the World War 2. The major targets were the Jews. It is estimated that over three million men, two million women and a million children of Jewish descent died in this incident.
About two thirds of the Jews who were staying in Germany were executed. Led by Adolf Hitler, the Nazi party did not limit themselves to the Jews alone. They eliminated any government enemy, both real and imagined. Some of the victims were Germans, Russians and people from other descents.
Cold war refers to the military and political tension between the United States of America and the Soviet Union immediately after the World War 2. This was caused by economic and political differences between these two countries. Even though they did not engage directly in military fights, they supported supposed enemies of each other. Germany, once feared state before the wars, became the center stage for these wars leading to creation of the Berlin walls in 1948-1949. The Berlin Crisis later followed this in 1961.
The Germans found themselves between the two evils. They got involved both in the holocaust either directly or indirectly by either supporting or opposing the ideologies of Nazism, Capitalism and Communism. Adolf Hitler and the entire Nazi party propagated Nazism. Capitalism was propagated by the western block led by the United States of America while the eastern block was led by the Soviet Union, which propagated Communism.
This article focuses on the role played by German citizens in promoting or opposing these ideologies and the consequences of their actions. It is established that both the Nazi party and German nationals played a role in propagating capitalism, communism and Nazism. This means that without citizens, the three ideologies could not have materialized.
Nazism
Nazism was an ideological concept that was propagated by Hitler and other Nazi party loyalists. Nazism started out as a movement against communism immediately after the World War 1. Started by Anton Drexler, this ideology was soon adopted by Adolf Hitler and attracted a large following.
It soon changed strategy and started fighting capitalism and big businesses in Germany. The Jews owned the majority of such businesses. It changed tone in 1930s to oppose Marxism in a bid to win the support of the industrial owners who sponsored the party.
Once in power, this party maintained that Aryan race was the future of German and in extension, the world. Other races were considered as a threat to this holy race and therefore had to be eliminated. The targeted races were the Jews, Romani and the blacks. The homosexuals, physically and mentally challenged individuals, political opponents and Jehovah Witness followers were also considered undesirable elements in this society. This was the onset of holocaust.
Browning in his book Ordinary Men reports that there was a well-organized mass murder of the Polish Jews in various ghettos and comps. The targets for the mass murder in the ghettos were women, children and the aging population.[1] The Order Police carried out the execution. This involved mass shooting of the victims by the firing squad, while some were taken to gas chambers and gas vans where they were introduced to poisonous gases. The condition was very serious and tragic to other races.
The ordinary Germans played part in fanning or fighting this ideology. A population of the Germans believed that the Nazism was the best ideology for this particular nation. They believed that the mass execution done by the soldiers and police was very normal as they acted in the interest of the populace.
They were in solidarity with the state and some even accepted to be recruited into the military and the police force to enforce this ideology. They maintained that the state was within its mandate to authorize the mass murder as it was doing so in the interest of its citizens. A section of women played a very active role in the persecution of the perceived state enemies.[2] However, a category of citizens was vehemently opposed to this notion and defended the social diversity of the nation.
Some indigenous Germans, who were members of the Jehovah Witness Church, believed in moderation and publicly rebuked the extremist actions of the government. They advocated for a policy that would enable all the Germans-Aryan or otherwise-exercise their democratic rights as citizens of this nation. They advocated for equality and non-discriminatory policies.
Capitalism v Communism: the Cold War Era
Immediately after the world war two, the United States of America and the Soviet Union emerged as the super powers. They developed suspicion towards each other as they differed in ideology. Each wanted the world to adopt the ideologies they were propagating.
Germany was, until the close of the world war two, considered a strong country both economically and militarily. When it fell to the hands of the allied forces, both the super powers wanted to control the country. This led to the split of the country into two: West Germany and East Germany.
After the fall of Nazi party and death of its leader, Germany was divided into East and West, with the larger West going to the United States of America and the East going to the Soviet Union. The tension between the super powers grew and they expressed this in their spheres of control.
Berlin, the capital city of Germany, had to be split into two, in what was famously referred to as the Berlin Wall. This was aimed at cutting off any link between the east and the west completely. No German citizen was allowed to cross the wall from one territory to the other.
To this end, most civilians in both parts of Germany found themselves victims of the circumstance. They had not anticipated that such eventualities would arise in their country. With Stalin taking East Germany as a satellite state of Soviet Union, the ordinary Germans were ushered into a new era of dictatorial leadership.
No one was allowed to cross the mighty wall to the West. The police and the military were keen to ensure that this was followed. The Germans had showed their dislike towards communism. However, the Eastern German had limited choice as they were under the control of a communist state. Many tried to move to the West, which was apparently fairing well but a number of citizens met their death in the attempt from bullets of officers who were under strict instructions never to allow the cross over.
Those who were on the West German prospered. They embraced capitalism and worked very hard to ensure that they reconstruct their nation. With the help of the US, West German developed its infrastructure and was soon on its foot. It recovered very fast and the ordinary citizens tolerated the idea of capitalism.
Ordinary Germans: Victims of Cold War and the Holocaust
The history of the cold war and holocaust depicts ordinary Germans as victims other than active agents of these wars. Schneiders book, The Wall Jumper depicts a scenario where ordinary Germans are trying to flee from the communist East to the capitalist West.[3] Those who were not successful enough to cross over had to withstand the harsh economic situation in the east.
The Ordinary Men by Browning introduces us to the reality in the military set up. Even though the police officers did the executions, most of them were not enthusiastic with the holocaust. Major Wilhelm Trapp instructed his battalion of the planned execution but appreciated that the plan was nasty, but he had no choice but to do as per the instructions of the highest office.[4]
They found themselves swept along the wave, made to fight a battle that was not theirs and in the ensuing confusion, ended up to being victims after the end of the World War 2, which was their creation.
Bibliography
Browning, Christopher. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: Harper Perennial, 1998.
Orlow, Dietrich. History of Modern Germany: 1870-present. New York: Prentice Hall, 2007.
Schneider, Peter. The Wall Jumper. Chicago: University of Chicago press, 1998.
Footnotes
Christopher, Browning. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: Harper Perennial, 1998 p. 2
Christopher, Browning. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: Harper Perennial, 1998 p. 14
Peter, Schneider. The Wall Jumper. Chicago: University of Chicago press, 19 p. 36
Dietrich, Orlow. History of Modern Germany: 1870-present. New York: Prentice Hall, 2007. P. 31
During the Nazi regime, and particularly under Adolf Hitler, the European Jewish community underwent a massive massacre throughout the second world war of 1945, which has been named the holocaust. They adopted humor to comfort themselves during the dark times. This paper looks at the place of humor during the holocaust.
Jewish Humour
This is the Jewish long tradition of jokes in Judaism that dates back to the Midrash and the Pentateuch but it generally refers to the more recent group of verbs that were first used in Eastern Europe and developed into the United States of America over 100 years ago. Jewish humor is grounded in several traditions like the intellectual and legal methods of Talmud which uses elaborate legal arguments and situations to tease out the meaning of the religious law. Its often traced back to the medieval influence of the Arabic traditions on Hebrew literature (Yehuda Alharizis Tahkemoni). Another tradition is the egalitarian tradition among the Jewish community of Eastern Europe in which the powerful were often mocked subtly (Saul Bellow).
Jewish Holocaust
Its also known as the hashoa and it means completely burnt and is used to describe the genocide of Eastern European Jews totaling over six million during world war II as part of a planned program to deliberately exterminate and execute Jews by the Nazis Germany under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. Other groups that were also executed include the Romani, Soviet civilians, the poles, the disabled, political and religious opponents. The Nazis regarded the holocaust as the final remedy to the Jewish problem and the number exterminated has been agreed to be twelve million.
Genocide and persecution were done in stages and the legislation to remove the Jews from the German society was enforced several years before the Second World War. Concentration camps were established where inmates slave-labored till death due to diseases or exhaustion. Jews and political opponents were also murdered in mass shootings while others were put into ghettos before being transported miles away in trains to death camps where they were killed by the use of poisonous gases in case they survived awful journeys. Nazi Germanys arms of bureaucracy were all involved in the planning of the manslaughter (Dobroszycki, 1984).
Holocausts Place in the Jewish Humor
John Morreal, PH.D., describes humor during the holocaust as of three functions: critical, coping, and cohesive functions. He went ahead and notes that disaster on stage or in real situations is serious while humor creates a light moment. Dramatists like Shakespeare realized the worth of comedy that it gives a different perspective on the world a round. Mark Twain believes that the origin of humor is the sorrows and the problems that one goes through and that there is no humor in joy. One would be able to take humor seriously once he understands its value. The theory of incongenuity enables one to enjoy inconsistencies and the mental jolts are what make one laugh. It requires one to avoid emotional engagement and to be playful for one to find fun and be able to avoid fear, anger, sadness, and negative emotions whenever things take an unexpected turn (Shapiro, 1989).
Critical Function of Humor
Humor during the holocaust, as focused by the artists on the evils of the time and resulted in some degree of resistance to such evils needed critical minds to know what was being done wrongly. Humorists, entertainers, and cartoonists were among the first ones to call for attention to what was not going right that the clergy and the politicians could not recognize during the rise of both Hitler and the Third Reich when America was unaware of what exactly was happening in Germany (Dobrzynsk and Kampf, 1944).
Dozens of jokes about Hitler were written in the ghettos and this worked against Nazi propaganda because humor revealed the scary and awful facts about the Nazi party and this made them afraid of humor that they attacked the famous cartoonists like Bertold Brecht. This also made the Nazi government enact laws against treachery and this meant that listening or telling anti-Nazi jokes were treason acts and this saw hundreds of Jews put on trial for naming their pets as Adolf. Sabotage and resistance actions had humorous perspectives as whenever Nazi officials came into the city the signs of traffic and warnings signals were put on. Jews outside Europe like those in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem had greater freedom to critique Hitler and his party.
Cohesive Function of Humor
The Nazis and their allies were targeted through jokes by those groups that were opposed to them i.e. the Jews of Europe to whom humor produced solidarity and to all the other groups opposed to the Nazis. Hitler, Goering, and other Nazi leaders were demonized in cartoons by the cabaret performers like Weiss Ferdl who made satirical comments that made the Nazis look ridiculous. This saw the cabaret performers taken to prisons. They did not see freedom but humor gave them strength and the willpower to survive and resist the oppression.
The copying function of humor
Humor served as a weapon, spiritual sword against the oppressors and the horrors of daily living and this helped the Jews to keep their high morale as asserted by Emil Fackenheim who was a survivor of the regime. Victor Frankl narrated how he taught a young fellow prisoner to understand the survival skill of humor and how he requested his comrades to be telling each other funny stories on daily basis about how their lives would be after liberation hence humor helped the inmates to face the real situation without much mental torture.
Defense Function of Humor
The Jews also employed the use of humor for self-defense against their perpetrated enemies. They would laugh at their inability to set themselves free from the hands of the Nazis. During the holocaust, the Jews made great jokes and laughed heartily to make their unavoidable predicament seem easy and bearable. This would defend them from neurological stress and duress.
Humor about the gallows i.e. the guillotine where every Jew waited to be exterminated also thrilled them a great deal knowing that it would finally be the last solution to their problems. Funny names were adopted to refer to their exterminator in an attempt to mock the killers and drive the message home that they were doing injustice to humankind.
Laughter and humor helped them to carry on surviving without having to commit suicide and this enabled them to have the right attitude towards what lied ahead of them which was unknown to them. To overcome starvation they introduced some form of humor that was related to food and recipes since starvation was part of their existence. The inmates scrambled for their rare rations and the food remains without fear of conducting infections.
Other kinds of humor also developed like humor related to aggressiveness towards their supervisors. Inmates had gotten disillusioned and angry towards their oppressors and sounds had developed that denote certain individuals according to their character and behavior towards the inmates. The humor related to frustration also rose as most Jews held captives had their development plans which became nightmares and now were figuring out how they would restart their lives should they be released alive. Another humor is one related to the superiority complex as the Jews wondered about the extent of the German treatment of them as though they were not human beings. This made the Jews ask themselves a lot of questions about their origin and the future of their generation. The sexual aspect of humor was also rife in the prisons and the concentration camps where inmates shared jokes to do with their sexual prowess should they be given opportunities. This captivated mostly the young men but the majority were not interested in these erotic dimensions due to the health conditions as most of the time they stayed without food. They also lacked privacy while bathing and in toilets. The Jewish humor also had the social aspect since a single individual could not make a joke to him/herself hence humor helped to bring friends together for a chat. Humor created intellectual advantages as the laughter and satirical criticisms created mental perseverance and will to live as well as to struggle to preserve identity and personality.
Conclusion
Humor was not connected to any particular place as it was found in ghettos, death or the concentration camps and even in the streets and was expressed in paintings, drawings, caricatures, cabarets, songs, reviews, and other episodes. Humor was very instrumental in helping the European Jewish community in overcoming the massive massacre that they went through.
Work Cited
B.D. Shaw, ed., Is Hitler Dead? and Best Anti-Nazi Humor. New York: Alcaeus House, 1939.
Konnelyn Feig, Hitlers Death Camps: The Sanity of Madness. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1979.
Lucjan Dobroszycki, ed., The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto 1941-1944. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.
Robert Moses Shapiro, Yiddish Slang under the Nazis, The Book Peddler: 1989.
Stanislaw Dobrzynsk and Sein Kampf. 41 Caricatures politiques. Jerusalem: Wydawnictwo W Drodze, 1944.
Ziv, A. Personality and Sense of Humor. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1984.
Exploring additional materials as presentations created by specialists for specific issues discussion helps understand the various aspects of the topics studied. I chose a presentation uploaded on the ChhangeBCC channel and dedicated to International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration in 2022. The Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education executive director, Sarah Brown, introduced the speaker Dr. Devin Naar, a professor of Sephardic Studies. He was the only presenter in the video: he revealed the question about Sephardic Jews in the Holocaust and answered questions from the audience. In particular, speaker traces the fate of the Jewish community from the Salonika city (Greek name Thessaloniki), located in Greece. Despite the widespread discussion of the Holocaust tragedy and the Jewish genocide during World War II, many aspects are still insufficiently covered, and Dr. Naar seeks to fill some gaps.
The presentation contains many aspects which may surprise the audience. First of all, even though Holocaust horrors are widely-known, its scale and the Nazi efforts put into genocide are underestimated. For example, it is surprising that historical maps do not include Greece in the history of the Holocaust. Even a woman, Auschwitz survivors, whom Dr. Naar met, did not know that there were Jews from Greece in the camp. Another interesting point of the presentation is the question of identity for the Jewish community in Salonika. The professor told the story of a postcard from an orphanage, which shows Jewish children and indicates their affiliation through inscriptions in the corresponding languages (ChhangeBCC 35:03-37:40). The institution taught children from various directions of Judaism, and they also considered themselves Greeks and Europeans. Such a multicultural approach is more consistent with the modern world but was very provocative for nationalism dominant in Europe of that time.
Dr. Naars presentation contains a story about a Jewish cemetery in Salonika, revealing human natures unpleasant side. The cemetery in this city was one of the largest in Europe, and it was destroyed in 1942. The uniqueness of this situation is that the cemeterys destruction occurred on the initiative of the Greek people and not the Nazis. Moreover, materials from the cemetery were used to construct various buildings in the city university, church, and other places. The presentation includes many more surprising points, like buying tickets to Auschwitz and attitude to Sephardic Jews in the camps, which significantly complements the material studied on the course.
The presentations information simultaneously disputes, reinforces, and complements the materials studied earlier. In particular, Dr. Naar draws attention to the exclusion of Greece from the maps of the Holocaust, significantly limiting its understanding, and he gives a broader map for the audiences attention. His understanding disputes the course materials since Bentley et al. also uses a limited map (625). Video reinforce knowledge obtained from materials, as all sources mention the cruelty of the Holocaust but do not present it in such details. Finally, the presentation greatly complements the understanding of the events. Strayer and Nelson briefly mention the Holocaust as a war outcome and report that the Nazis destroyed Jews and other peoples the Slavs and Gypsies (914). Bentley et al. also concentrate mainly on Jews from Europe and briefly describe the period (624). The presentation from Dr. Naar provides significantly more information and understanding.
The addition of material mainly concerns the fate of Sephardic Jews from Salonika. The study of this perspective has critical importance for the research of the entire Holocaust, which is not sufficiently covered. The information complements the understanding of the Jewish mentality in Salonika and knowledge about anti-Semitic sentiments. Moreover, the video adds knowledge of the events that took place in the camps, for instance, the use of Sephardic Jews by the Nazis to accompany victims to murder, their riot, and execution. Such data are difficult to find in ordinary textbooks and articles.
One can consider the importance of studying Holocaust history from a personal and professional perspective. From a personal position, students should realize the horrors of the past and honor the victims memory. This aspect is critical for those who have the Holocaust as a family history commemoration demonstrates respect for the past and the dead. Moreover, understanding the fate of victims and their heroic examples of struggle inspire people to value their own lives. From a professional perspective, history teaches the analysis of events and the need to prevent genocide. The study of the Holocaust highlights the importance of combating stereotypes, prejudices, and xenophobia. Moreover, understanding the past is necessary to discuss and protect human rights, promote peace, and prevent abuse of power.
Thus, in the considered presentation, Dr. Devin Naar reveals the details of the experience of Sephardic Jews from the Greek city of Salonika before and during the Holocaust. He presents unique information since little data is available on this issue. It is essential to study all perspectives to understand better the events of World War II and the Holocaust. The presentation includes many surprising moments and stories, which significantly expands the knowledge gained earlier from the course. Studying the past, particularly the Holocaust, is necessary to commemorate the victims and prevent future genocide.
Bentley, Jerry, et al. Traditions and Encounters, A Brief Global History. McGraw Hill Publishers, 2016.
Strayer, Robert W., and Eric Nelson. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources. 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martins, A Macmillan Education Imprint, 2019.
The movie presents a clear narrative of events that happened at Sobibor, one of the most infamous concentration camps in Nazi Germany. As the movie starts, a train full of Polish Jews arrives at the camp. At first, they are told that they are brought to the camp with the primary goal of working at various sites. However, it did not take long before they realized it was a death camp. Jews were taken into gas chambers where they are murdered and their bodies cremated within the camp. Those who tried to escape or question activities going on within the camp were executed immediately. The narrative presented in this film is corroborated by findings made by (Giorgos et al. 19). In the study, it is demonstrated that indeed the concentration camps in Nazi Germany were specifically meant for mass murders of Jews and other minority groups considered unwanted in German territories.
The gas chambers could only handle a given number of prisoners meant for murder at a time. As such, the officers chose those who they wanted dead each day. Some were executed using guns, especially those who were rebellious. The film also demonstrates how women were gang-raped by soldiers before being shot. To these officers, it was like handling dangerous animals that had to be eliminated from society. The officers sometimes ordered prisoners to choose their death mates. These strategies were meant to make the process as traumatizing as possible. The level of racial hatred is demonstrated in the film. The film ends when a group of 600 prisoners plan and execute an escape attempt from the camp. Although everything did not go as planned, about 300 prisoners were able to escape from the camp. The escapees have been instrumental in explaining the horror at the camp.
Evaluation of the Source
Escape from Sobibor is one of the many movies that focus on the mass murder of Jews in German concentration camps. The camp at Sobibor was a perfect example of the system that had been put in place by the Nazi regime specifically for the extermination of Jews and other minority groups within the country. People were taken to this camp in trains from various parts of the German territory with the primary goal of killing them. According to Dyck, the concentration camps were specially designed for the extermination of Jews and other prisoners of war. The Sobibor concentration camp was built by Richard Thomalla and the gas chambers were designed and constructed by Erwin Lambert (Giorgos et al. 22). It was finally commissioned in 1942 to facilitate the extermination of Jews, especially those from Poland. It had 6 gas chambers and it could accommodate over 600 inmates every single time. It is so sad that these deaths were premeditated. Franz Stangl and Franz Reichleitner, who were the commandants at the camp, were under the clear directive to ensure that bodies were burnt. The burning of bodies was meant to ease the pressure of burying the dead. It also helped in concealing the evidence about mass murders at this camp. It is estimated that about 250,000 inmates were killed at this camp alone (Dyck). It was by sheer luck that about 300 of the inmates escaped from the camp.
The use of films as a means of exposing historical injustices, as Kahn observes, is very effective (17). Films bring to life the actual events that happened, how people suffered, the inhuman way in which many were murdered, and the lucky escape made by a few. The concept of anti-Semitism is best depicted in this film. The camp commanders and soldiers were radicalized to the core. They executed Jews and other inmates without any concern. To them, it was a ritual meant to cleanse society. The film is a strong reminder to the modern society of the possible consequences of extremism and radicalization that is focused on against the community. Burden (5) argues that most of the soldiers were individuals who had gone through indoctrination and viewed Jews and other minority groups as people who deserve elimination. The film depicts the attitude.
Soldiers would execute these prisoners at the slightest provocation. It was hurting that in many cases prisoners would be forced to witness the execution of their loved ones. They knew that they would also be executed in the same way or even in worse manners. It is such stressful events that have caused these victims life-long trauma, as explained in the source Holocaust Exposure Induced Intergenerational Effects on FKBP5 Methylation by Yehuda et al. (375). Events were so traumatizing that they affected the genetics of the victims. Watching the film helps in explaining the trauma. Yehuda et al. say that a significant number of those who escaped from the concentration camps had genetic alterations caused by trauma and other events within the camp (375). The film shows how some Jews were tasked with the responsibility of creating their loved ones or conducting mass burial after their murder. A few of them survived, but events left lasting pain in their minds.
Relationship to Other Sources
The source emphasizes the information found in many other sources used in this article. In this film, the producer and director help modern society to understand events that took place in some of the major concentration camps in Nazi Germany. It reaffirms the events explained by Dyck in the source Situating the Herero Genocide and the Holocaust among European Colonial Genocides.
Possible Use of the Source
This film will be important in the argumentative essay. Given that it was based on accounts of some of the survivors of the Holocaust who escaped from the concentration camps, it gives a very clear picture of the pain and suffering that these people went through. The torture and the inhumane manner in which Jews handled in the concentration camps are depicted in this film. Although one may want to dismiss it as a fictitious piece of documentary, it powerfully presents the events inside the concentration camps to the global society.
Works Cited
Burden, Thomas. Rivers of Blood and Money: The Herero Genocide in German Southwest Africa. The Student Researcher, vol. 2, no. 2, 2017, pp. 2-25.
Giorgos, Antoniou, et al. Collective Victimhood and Social Prejudice: A Post-Holocaust Theory of anti-Semitism. Working Paper, vol. 10, no. 1, 2015, pp. 1-36.
Kahn, Rob. The Overlapping of Fools: Drawing the Line between Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism in the Wake of the 2014 Gaza Protests. Legal Studies Research Paper, vol. 15. no. 11, 2015, pp. 1-29.
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