Auschwitz

[Jazzman]

Are you serious? the 70 years anniversary was all over the media/press over here.

Do you really think we would just close our eyes and ignore what happened back then?

As a non-German living in Germany I must agree with you. There is a lot of attention to these things, and probably rightly so. My impression is that generations of Germans are traumatized because of what their ancestors did. For example I cannot persuade my German wife to come with me to Jerusalem. I would love to visit, but she is too ashamed to go there, literally ashamed for what happened a long time before she was born. New generations seem less traumatized, which I suppose is a good thing. It should never be forgotten though.
I can't help thinking that we non-Germans need to be careful when pointing fingers at Germans and Germany. So many genocides have taken place in so many different places. For example think about how the British Empire and the East India company engineered a genocide in India between 1857 and 1867. No precise numbers available, but as much as 10 million dead have been mentioned.
It is impossible to excuse one crime with another I know. But in this world there is seldom any particular reason for anyone to feel better than the rest. In my opinion we must pay respect to what Germany did and still is doing in order to deal with the monstrous crimes of the Nazi's.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

As a non-German living in Germany I must agree with you. There is a lot of attention to these things, and probably rightly so. My impression is that generations of Germans are traumatized because of what their ancestors did. For example I cannot persuade my German wife to come with me to Jerusalem. I would love to visit, but she is too ashamed to go there, literally ashamed for what happened a long time before she was born. New generations seem less traumatized, which I suppose is a good thing. It should never be forgotten though.
I can't help thinking that we non-Germans need to be careful when pointing fingers at Germans and Germany. So many genocides have taken place in so many different places. For example think about how the British Empire and the East India company engineered a genocide in India between 1857 and 1867. No precise numbers available, but as much as 10 million dead have been mentioned.
It is impossible to excuse one crime with another I know. But in this world there is seldom any particular reason for anyone to feel better than the rest. In my opinion we must pay respect to what Germany did and still is doing in order to deal with the monstrous crimes of the Nazi's.

She should go to Jerusalem, which is the most incredible city on earth regardless of any religious affiliation you may or may nor have. And when she's there, go to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum and walk through the Garden of the Righteous. She will see that many Germans (including Oskar Schindler) and others made heroic efforts to save Jews, some at the cost of their own lives. She should be proud of those that did this, not ashamed of those who carried out the atrocities.

 

[snorky]

I have been viewing some of these testimonies of holocaust survivors. This is one of the best, To be honest I read a book on this topic a few months ago and find it hard to get it out of my head. I guess I'm looking for an answer to the question, why, and there never will be one.

Hard to watch.
I haven't the words.

 

[normskih]

I have been viewing some of these testimonies of holocaust survivors. This is one of the best, To be honest I read a book on this topic a few months ago and find it hard to get it out of my head. I guess I'm looking for an answer to the question, why, and there never will be one.

Very moving.
What makes a human being want to act the way they did to another human being is beyond all imagination.
Thanks for posting @PinkFinal

 

[oldius]

Very moving.
What makes a human being want to act the way they did to another human being is beyond all imagination.
Thanks for posting @PinkFinal

True. I was reading earlier about King Leopold of Belgium. He took the Congo as his personal possession and used forced labour to make huge sums of money for himself. He is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 10m and the mutilation of many more, including children, for failing to meet performance in the rubber industry. Unbelievable inhumanity.

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[PinkFinal]

Speaking of genocide there is a film, the Promise, about the Armenian genocide out tomorrow, starring Christian Bale. Hitler actually referred to this in Mein Kampf, saying words to the effect that it was quickly forgotten. (it occurred during the first world war)

 

[East Level 2]

Speaking of genocide there is a film, the Promise, about the Armenian genocide out tomorrow, starring Christian Bale. Hitler actually referred to this in Mein Kampf, saying words to the effect that it was quickly forgotten. (it occurred during the first world war)

I assume this is the one the Turkish government still gets upset about whenever the term "genocide" is used to describe their actions.

 

[PinkFinal]

I assume this is the one the Turkish government still gets upset about whenever the term "genocide" is used to describe their actions.

Yes, I believe they're not happy about this movie and have stopped others about it being made.

 

[The Fat el Hombre]

If you're interested in this stuff the national geographic has a brilliant documentary on Sunday called 'Nazis Death Camp: The Great Escape'. Its about the escape of prisoners from Sobibor concentration camp after they got a note from a nearby camp telling them that their camp was soon to be liquidated so were left in a now or never scenario and despite the minimal odds of making escaping they had to go for it. Be prepared though the documentary and real story isn't quite as uplifting as the title of the documentary might lead you to think

 

[CitizenTID]

Just to counterbalance this. My father served on the Russian convoys for a time during the war and the Russians treatment of the ordinary german POW was as bad as the death camps. Several times the British crews were confined to the ships after fights with the locals over their inhuman treatment

Know it was a completely different regime but apparently Russians treated our POWs very well in the Crimea. Though it could have been incentive that we had a load of their we exchanged with them.