World Holocaust Memorial Day

[richardfinegold]

No! That’s exactly HOW the Holocaust happened! Because people turned their heads and did nothing. Doesn’t it concern you that we’re watching history repeat itself in real time under our very noses?!

Sorry, I think it does a tremendous dishonor to Holocaust Victims to link their fate to current political events. While I realize that the intentions here are it malignant, as a Jew I find this deeply disturbing. Every social injustice does not equate to the unique evil of the Holocaust. The only two events in relatively recent history that do so are the Turkish massacres against Armenians and Rwanda. In all cases the resources of the State were employed to facilitate the murder of entire peoples due to their belonging to a certain religion or tribe

[kernelbogey]

Sorry, I think it does a tremendous dishonor to Holocaust Victims to link their fate to current political events. While I realize that the intentions here are it malignant, as a Jew I find this deeply disturbing. Every social injustice does not equate to the unique evil of the Holocaust. The only two events in relatively recent history that do so are the Turkish massacres against Armenians and Rwanda. In all cases the resources of the State were employed to facilitate the murder of entire peoples due to their belonging to a certain religion or tribe

I agree with Richard - and disagree with the three previous posts which appear to be ok with the thread diverting to the ghastliness of the Trump second term. I think it dishonours, as Richard imples, the sacrifices of the approximately six million Jews, as well as other groups, murdered in Auschwitz, in the other camps, and by the Einsatzgruppen following the Wehrmacht advancing towards Russia, murdering civilians in their wake.

If anyone wants to start a thread on the slippery slope that the US population has apparently voted to occupy I will gladly - and voluminously! - contribute. But I am respectfully requesting that this thread be reserved to honour those who died under the cosh of the so-called Third Reich.

Thank you.

[kernelbogey]

No! That’s exactly HOW the Holocaust happened! Because people turned their heads and did nothing. Doesn’t it concern you that we’re watching history repeat itself in real time under our very noses?!

Yes of course it does.

And btw, I am neither turning my head nor doing nothing: I am contributing actively to this debate. (And see upthread my flagging of Holocaust Memorial Day tv programmes.)

[kernelbogey]

The Holocaust isn’t in the past is it ? It hangs like much of the twentieth century over us as a reminder of the depths to which humanity can sink....

Agreed.

Very very soon there will be no one alive who experienced the Holocaust - e.g. by being in one of the extermination camps - to educate the the young about these dangers and speak out against the obscenity of the 'Holocaust deniers' spreading poison on, for example, Social Media.

[pastoralguy]

Sorry, I think it does a tremendous dishonor to Holocaust Victims to link their fate to current political events. While I realize that the intentions here are it malignant, as a Jew I find this deeply disturbing. Every social injustice does not equate to the unique evil of the Holocaust. The only two events in relatively recent history that do so are the Turkish massacres against Armenians and Rwanda. In all cases the resources of the State were employed to facilitate the murder of entire peoples due to their belonging to a certain religion or tribe

Surely because you are a Jew you should have some empathy to ensure it doesn’t happen again? I notice you didn’t quote from my other post when I highlighted that in fact the USA was responsible for genocide on a massive scale with regard to the native Americans, incidentally another group that Trump wants to send back to where they came from!

[french frank]

I'm closing this thread just for the moment while we decide what direction it should take - in the interests of all forumites who have strong and differing feelings. We all know how important these questions are.