> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- > Van: Gautam Mukunda [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Verzonden: woensdag 24 april 2002 6:53 > Aan: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Onderwerp: RE: Scouted: Commentary: Why Europe Sides Against the Jews / > time.com
> Your English is also good enough to know that I didn't do that - I said > "European bigots" <> "All European[s] are bigots." However, you make such sweeping generalisations about Europeans that the distinction is easily lost. > > France was almost as enthusiastic about killing its Jews as Germany > > was. Every country in Europe was, save Britain, of course. That is oversimplifying the matter. Europe was under German occupation, which means the Germans were in charge. Was the Dutch government "enthusiastic about killing Jews"? No, because their was no real Dutch government present. When Germany invaded The Netherlands, the government went into exile in Great Britain. What subsequently passed for government in the country was nothing but a Nazi collaborator put in place by the Nazis. Your argument that every country in Europe was enthusiastic about killing Jews is therefore false and nothing but yet another sweeping generalisation. Alberto: > Also, even if there were individuals in each country that liked the > killing, there were also individuals who opposed the killing, even in > Germany or Poland or France. Gautam: > And yes, no one is denying that there were individuals who opposed the > killing. Oskar Schindler was a Nazi party member in good standing, for > goodness sake. The point is that the vast mass of the population of > these countries not only did nothing - they participated with some > eagerness. The Vichy France government, for example, _helped_ the > Germans round up France's Jews and shipped them off to death camps. The help from the French government was inexusable, but it is not evidence that the *vast mass* of the European population helped the Germans. As in any war, there were a number of citizens who collaborated with the Nazis, but most people were not. (If the vast majority had been collaborators, Europe would probably still be ruled by the Germans.) If the US were occupied by Canada to rid the Northern American continent from, say, the Asian population, would the vast majority of American civilians actively fight against the Canadians? I doubt it. Some of them would join the resistance movement and some would collaborate with Canada, but most people would simply try to stay alive. Maybe you would gladly try to get near whoever the Canadians put in charge and then blow yourself (and him/her) up, but most people would not. For someone who calls himself a political scientist, your views lack a lot of nuance. Jeroen _________________________________________________________________________ Wonderful World of Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com Tom's Photo Gallery: http://tom.vanbaardwijk.com
