The day after deportations commenced in Chicago was the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
European countries pay greater attention to the anniversary than does the United States. Americans should reflect upon the Holocaust and learn from history rather than offer opinions on subjects upon which they have no knowledge, much less expertise.
The contemporary variation on a theme of Huey Long’s “Every Man a King” allows fools to fantasize that they know more than experts while knowing nothing about which they talk: Americans believe that it is acceptable to have no facts but that it is unacceptable to have no opinion.
We know where the misguided mindset leads. We deny reality deluding ourselves otherwise.
The New York Times website had two outstanding articles about the anniversary. The first “At Auschwitz, a Solemn Ceremony at a Time of Rising Nationalism” notes that,
“‘In a place where the technique of mass and industrial murder was introduced, I feel great sorrow and regret very much that in many European countries, including our country, people in uniforms similar to Nazis and proclaiming Nazi slogans march with impunity,” Leon Weintraub, a 99-year-old Polish Auschwitz survivor, told a gathering of presidents, royalty and other dignitaries….“‘Let us avoid the mistake of the 1930s, when the German Nazis were not believed, their intentions to create a state free of Jews, Roma, people with different views and the sick considered unworthy of life were disregarded.’”
“Speakers at the main ceremony, mostly survivors, warned of a dangerous rise in antisemitism and extremism, expressing alarm that the message of ‘never again’ was being forgotten, particularly by young people hooked on social media.
“Tova Friedman, a Polish-born American who was sent to Auschwitz as a young girl and held in a section of the camp reserved for children, recalled arriving by train and seeing ‘a terrible smoke hanging in the air.’ She added: ‘I knew what this meant. We all knew.’
“Lamenting the ‘shocking’ spread of ‘rampant antisemitism,’ Ms. Friedman said: ‘Eighty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the world is again in crisis. Our Jewish Christian values have been overshadowed worldwide by prejudice, fear, suspicion and extremism.’
“Across Europe and in the United States, there is concern about a resurgence of anti-Semitism. Toxic political rhetoric and attacks directed at groups of peoples — using language to dehumanize them — that were once considered taboo have become common across the world’s democracies.
“And as the living memory of World War II and the Holocaust fades, the institutions created to guard against a repeat of such bloody conflicts, and such barbarism, are under increasing strain.”
The article allows that,
“‘The language and system of values of the new Europe that emerged after the Second World War are being forgotten,’ he said. ‘People don’t want to listen to it. I would say they are even tired of it.’
“That makes for a public more susceptible to false and distorted narratives. Which is why Auschwitz itself remains so important.”
I have visited Auschwitz. Confronting humankind’s inhumanity to one’s fellow human beings — turning a blind eye to our common humanity — made for the most horrific day of my life.
Please pause. Admirable methods of achieving goals exist. America must take the high road.
Jay Wiener is a Northsider.
