On 23 Apr., 16:44, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote:
> I do remember as a kid studying everything I could find on the
> holocaust...wondering how the heck it could have come about. I've
> learned a lot about this and invite those who haven't done the
> homework to do so. It is a fascinating topic.
>
> One small 'ah-ha!' moment was watching a young, blond blue eyed cherub
> of a hitler youth stand up in an outdoor cafe and begin to sing
> 'Tomorrow Belongs To Me'....and everyone joins in! Such pride!
For those who don't remember or haven't seen it, the scene orn is
referring to is in the film "Cabaret". And yes, I remember the goose-
pimples I got when I saw it for the first time.
The Shoah remains for me the apogee of barbarism arising from western
(Christian) culture. I have a degree in modern history and have lived
in Germany since 1986, both of which facts have led me - like orn - to
look at the subject pretty deeply. My considered view is that
something like it could have happened in almost any western society,
given different circumstances; the German context imbued it with a
particular burocratic thoroughness. Anti-Semitism is a (more or less)
latent part of Christian culture since, at least, the Middle Ages
(more probably going back to the Constantinian institutionalising of
Christianity as the state religion - and indeed, the formative period
of Christianity itself). The first well-documented pogrom took place
in the Rhineland in 1095/96 on the occasion of the preaching of the
First Crusade. The 14th. Century C.E. saw increasing persecution and
massacres in Spain, parallel to the Reconquista, of the large Jewish
minority who had lived (generally) in peace and toleration under
Muslim rule. Eastern Europe, especially the Pale of Settlement in
czarist Ukraine and Russia, saw regular pogroms throughout the 19th
Century. There are other examples too numerous to mention.
The theme remains - rightly - a major defining one in the modern
German consciousness. So many questions arise from it, particularly in
the area of collective responsibility and guilt, which could drive
countless threads here. Yet, it is important (both for Germans and the
rest of western society) to realise that the holocaust was not simply
the work of "the evil Nazis". One of the most dangerous things in
historical contexts is 20/20 hindsight. It is easy for us, for
example, to look back to Germany in 1938 on the eve of the
"Reichskristallnacht" and see the sinister writing on the wall.
Germans in 1938 looked back at almost 6 years of peaceful Nazi rule
and saw a country where things were finally working better than they
had been since 1918. The horror was still (mostly) to come.
So much to learn from it. Sometimes I think we have learned, then
something like Rwanda happens and I doubt it. There is undoubtedly
wisdom in orn's insight concerning transcendence in human
consciousness, yet this transcendence also takes place sporadically,
fragilely, in agonisingly small increments. The practical solutions in
Israel/Palestine are so obvious - a cantonal system, an autonomous
Jerusalem serving as a dual capital, dismantling of most of the recent
West Bank settlements, etc. - but most of those on the ground (and
practically all those in power) can't or don't want to see it. Vested
interests, fear, pain, lack of trust - all so understandable, all so
possible to overcome with good will. As the prophet Bob put it: the
answer is blowing in the wind.
Francis
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