60 years since Auschwitz

[Gelion]

Schroeder deplores Auschwitz evil

The Nazis murdered six million Jews and many others
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has called for vigilance to counter anti-Semitism as the world remembers the Nazi crimes committed at Auschwitz.
"The overwhelming majority of Germans living today do not bear guilt for the Holocaust. But they do bear a special responsibility," he said.

Germans have a duty "to be vigilant, not to look away," he told a gathering in Berlin, among them camp survivors.

Thursday is the 60th anniversary of the Auschwitz death camp liberation.

Six million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. Millions of others - mostly Poles, Roma (Gypsies), Soviet prisoners and homosexuals - were used as slave labour in appalling conditions and many of them died.


The UN General Assembly held a session on Monday to mark the liberation anniversary.

Nazi popularity


The overwhelming majority of Germans living today do not bear guilt for the Holocaust. But they do bear a special responsibility

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder


A survivor's story

Mr Schroeder said the evil of the Holocaust could not simply be blamed on the "demon Hitler" and reminded Germans that ordinary people had supported the Nazis.

"The evil of Nazi ideology did not come from nowhere. There was definitely a process that led up to the brutalisation of thought and the loss of moral inhibitions.

"But above all, Nazi ideology was wanted by humans and made by humans."

He expressed his shame for the suffering at Auschwitz and elsewhere inflicted by the Nazis.

"It is the common duty of all democrats to confront the offensive agitation of the neo-Nazis and their continuing attempts to minimise Nazi crimes," he told the gathering at Berlin's German Theatre, organised by the International Auschwitz Committee.

"No strong democracy should tolerate the enemies of democracy and tolerance."

Remembering victims

Germany's national Holocaust memorial, next to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, is due to open in May, and Mr Schroeder said it would be "a signal against forgetting".

"That there is still anti-Semitism cannot be denied. It is the duty of all society to fight against it."

On Monday UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the United Nations - founded shortly after the end of World War II - must do everything in its power to prevent a repeat of the slaughter undertaken by Nazi Germany.

"We rightly say, 'Never again'. But action is much harder," he told the UN.

"The world has, to its shame, failed more than once to prevent or halt genocide - for instance in Cambodia, in Rwanda, and in the former Yugoslavia," he said.

What do you think about Holocost? Has our opinion changed within 60 years?

 

[Longasc]

I want to point out that this is for the first time I am in agreement with the Chancellor. Except the thing that beer is a good thing indeed.

My favorite part:

"The evil of Nazi ideology did not come from nowhere. There was definitely a process that led up to the brutalisation of thought and the loss of moral inhibitions.

"But above all, Nazi ideology was wanted by humans and made by humans."

 

[boogaboo]

As a remnant of Polish jews, I think the same about the holocaust -
It was hedious.
My grandmom was worst affected - lost 7 brothers and sisters, a mother and father, and was left with 1 brother after.
I still can't understand why those people decided to make more people...

There are two new important developments since :
1. Germany is very self-aware on racism as a state and in education of the masses, which is excellent, and has turned 180 degrees in this sense.
Other EU nations learnt nothing (probably since they don't see themself as guilty in the holocaust), but this will finally crash on their faces. Noone likes racists. of any kind.

2. The world keeps on genociding, but even with open media noone cares (African nations, chechnia, etc..).
Economic power is all that today world sees as a value - not human life.
I don't believe in the human race in large numbers. We/They are hypocrits.
I can still believe a person. Sometimes.

 

[Zardnaar]

And yet some people deny it happened.

 

[King Alexander]

Noone likes racists. of any kind.

Of course; we're all human beings and should work together and be friends instead of making attrocities to each other.

2. The world keeps on genociding, but even with open media noone cares (African nations, chechnia, etc..).

Very true -- we have not yet talked/"recognized" many other genocides that have already happened/happening, so we have 'work-to-do'

 

[The Person]

Why do people need such things to happen in their own country to take them seriously?

 

[boogaboo]

Why do people need such things to happen in their own country to take them seriously?

Because mankind is egocentric and cares only about himself ( or his "fatherland", which is "himself" in the macro )

 

[The Person]

Because mankind is egocentric and cares only about himself ( or his "fatherland", which is "himself" in the macro )

Strange as it sounds, this is probably true! I have to stop asking questions I already know the answer to. We humans are some damn egoists, and thinking otherwise just proves me right.

In case you want to know why: By thinking that you are not an egoist, you think that's a good trait. By thinking so, you put yourself above everybody else, just improving your ego. So by thinking that you're not an egoistic (at the core, at least) you not only delude yourself, you're also being hypocritical.

 

[Mescalhead]

Because mankind is egocentric and cares only about himself ( or his "fatherland", which is "himself" in the macro )

True, and because of this humanity has survived over the mellenia.

 

[Jawz II]

Strange as it sounds, this is probably true! I have to stop asking questions I already know the answer to. We humans are some damn egoists, and thinking otherwise just proves me right.

In case you want to know why: By thinking that you are not an egoist, you think that's a good trait. By thinking so, you put yourself above everybody else, just improving your ego. So by thinking that you're not an egoistic (at the core, at least) you not only delude yourself, you're also being hypocritical.

thats true, but theres nothing wrong with that, no one is saying you should give away your only piece of bread to someone hungry and be hungry yourself

what the socialists are saying is, after youre fed and your family and friends are fed, maybe instead of putting your money on sneakers with blinking lights in them and gold plated toilets (very rich people) maybe you should spend your money on feeding the hungry?

as far as the holocaust goes, what can i say about it? horrible
its a disgrace, worst part of it is there are still nazis around all over the world, i keep wondering why a bunch of minorities dont form a mob and just lynch them

 

[Gladi]

Bright day
It was terrible thing, lot of my grandmother's acquantainces died in Oswietim.
Anyway our school is organizing trip there, unfortunately the week after the ceremony as we have half-year holiday then.

Oh, and there is not enough atention spent on non-Jewish victims of Hitler. Lot of Gypsies, homosexuals, or political opponents have been killed too.

 

[Damnyankee]

::Silence for the 60th anniversary of auschwitz::

.

 

[Steph]

Other EU nations learnt nothing (probably since they don't see themself as guilty in the holocaust), but this will finally crash on their faces. Noone likes racists. of any kind.

Care to elaborate about this statement? How France didn't learn anything?

 

[nonconformist]

I lost distant family in the holocaust, and it touches me immensely. I can't understand why some people don't see it as terrible, and why prejudice lives on.

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

What many people in the world don't realize about the Holocaust is that the Jews were persecuted, killed, murdered and whatnot throughout history and also, while the Germans were doing strange experiments on the Jews, the Japs were doing the same thing to all their POW's.

 

[Steve Thompson]

The Holocaust was terrible. Personally, I am more revolted by the Einsatzgruppen's brutal, personal murders than by the gas chambers. I remember reading about one story where a woman and baby were walking in a village where the SS knew Jews were hiding, and they asked her where the Jews were. She didn't say anything, and one of the men grabbed her baby by both feet and smashed its head against a door. Then she told them and the Jews were killed too. But, I *don't* think the Holocaust is the worst thing that ever happened, I'm more disgusted by some of the things the Soviets and Japanese did in WWII. And I don't like the way the Jews, well at least some that I know, talk about the Holocaust like they're the only people who've ever suffered.

 

[Goonie]

Rwanda .

 

[boogaboo]

Care to elaborate about this statement? How France didn't learn anything?

By failing to even respond to racial violence, extremists and prejudice from within - they ignore the radicals by dismissing them as "radicals".
France has a large muslim population which is not liked over there, but instead of helping their integration via education and putting out rules that ALL should abide to, they are kept isolated in some neighbourhoods in a "let them do what they want with themselves" fashion.

@Gladi - I agree there is not enough attention to other ethnical/other groups that were targeted and killed.

@Steve Thompson - On the contrary. You are missing a point.
Jews who care only about their relatives are subjective and quite wrong to do so.
There were many more Russians/xxx/yyy killed in WW2 than jews, for example, but:
1. The relation between the Russian people size and the Russians killed doesn't come close to 10%.
The Jewish people lost more than a third of it's population worldwide.
2. Most of the WW2 dead were killed in war, and consisted of age 20+ men.
The Jews (and yes, homosexuals, Gypsys, and disabled people) were hunted down throughout Europe to be exterminated based only on their ethnicity.

@Goonie - Rwanda is a perfect example of genocide where the world stays numb and uncaring, even when there is no full-size world war going on.
Human nature doesn't learn.
In a few years, perhaps some leader will be hypocritical enough to say "sorry we weren't there".

----------
I think the "lesson" should be to reduce racial hatered between all ethnic groups, invest in basic education, and limit immigration to some extent to make it possible to integrate foreigners into scociety.

 

[Steph]

By failing to even respond to racial violence, extremists and prejudice from within - they ignore the radicals by dismissing them as "radicals".
France has a large muslim population which is not liked over there, but instead of helping their integration via education and putting out rules that ALL should abide to, they are kept isolated in some neighbourhoods in a "let them do what they want with themselves" fashion.

You mean, like the law forbidding children to wear religious sign, whatever their religion perhaps?

 

[Goonie]

That law is ridiculous and serves only to point out those who are different and normally do wear head scarves.

Christian and Jewish faith doesn't require public demonstration like Islam and the french government only stirs the pot of intolerance by not allowing people to express themselves any way they choose.