.
Auschwitz did not fall from the sky but was the destination reached after a thousand smaller steps, each one stripping a single minority of its dignity and humanity. After the Shoah, the 11th commandment is: Thou shalt not be indifferent.
Do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against; democracy hinges on the rights of minorities being protected. . . . Do not be indifferent when you see . . . historical lies . . . when you see that the past is stretched to fit the current political needs. . . . Do not be indifferent, otherwise you should not be surprised when another Auschwitz crashes down on us.
– Marian Turski
Quoted in Jonathan Freedland's article,
“'Thou Shalt Not Be Indifferent': From Auschwitz's
Gate of Hell, a Last, Desperate Warning”
The Guardian
January 27, 2020
Quoted in Jonathan Freedland's article,
“'Thou Shalt Not Be Indifferent': From Auschwitz's
Gate of Hell, a Last, Desperate Warning”
The Guardian
January 27, 2020
Related Off-site Links:
“Don't Be Indifferent”: Auschwitz Survivor Sounds Alarm 75 Years On – SBS News (January 27, 2020).
Survivors Call for End to World Indifference at Auschwitz Memorial – Kate Connolly (The Guardian, January 27, 2020).
Holocaust Survivors Return to Auschwitz 75 Years After Liberation – Markus Schreiber and Kirsten Grieshaber (PBS Newshour, January 21, 2020).
“Humiliation Was the Worst”; Holocaust Survivor at UN, Asks World to Act with “Empathy and Compassion” – UN News (January 28, 2019).
Auschwitz Survivors Share Their Stories on 75th Anniversary of Camp Liberation – Tim Nelson (MPR News, January 27, 2020).
Remembering the Long Road to Auschwitz – Steven Luckert (US Holocaust Museum, January 26, 2020).
Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020: Anti-Semitism Is Still Poisoning Our Nation – Stephanie Beach (Teen Vogue, January 21, 2020).
The Near-forgotten History of the Holocaust’s Gay Victims – Stefanie Gerdes (Gay Star News, January 26, 2016).
Why the Heinous Crimes Committed by the Nazis Against Thousands of Queer People Must Never, Ever Be Forgotten – Patrick Kelleher (Pink News, January 27, 2020).
The Untold Gay Stories of Auschwitz – Hugh Kaye (Attitude, January 27, 2019).
Nazis Murdered a Quarter of Europe’s Roma, But History Still Overlooks This Genocide – Barbara Warnock (The Conversation, January 24, 2020).
European Roma (“Gypsies”) in the Holocaust: The Story of Some of the Forgotten Victims of the Nazis – Patrick Kelleher (Pink News, January 27, 2020).
The Forgotten Stories of Muslims Who Saved Jewish People During the Holocaust – Melissa Chan (TIME, January 27, 2017).
The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camps – Masha Gessen (The New Yorker, June 21, 2019).
His Rise to Power: Drawing Parallels Between the Rise of Trump and Hitler – Jacob Weisberg (Slate, November 22, 2016).
How Hitler’s Rise to Power Explains Why Republicans Accept Donald Trump – Jonathan Chait (New York Magazine, July 7, 2016).
Are Hitler-Trump Comparisons Fair? A Holocaust Survivor Tells His Son – Itay Hod (The Wrap, March 20, 2016).
Yes, Trump Represents Fascism – It's Going Down (December 16, 2016).
Trump Is an Eerily Perfect Match With a Famous 14-Point Guide to Identify Fascist Leaders – Kali Holloway (AlterNet, December 6, 2016).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• On Holocaust Remembrance Day, James Martin Labels as “Appalling” President Trump's Plan to Demonize Immigrants
• Trump's Playbook
• Trump's America: Normalized White Supremacy and a Rising Tide of Racist Violence
• In Charlottesville, the Face of Terrorism In the U.S.
• Marianne Williamson: “We’re Living at a Critical Moment in Our Democracy”
• On International Human Rights Day, Saying “No” to Donald Trump and His Fascist Agenda
• Global Condemnation for Trump's Latest Ignorant and Racist Comments
• “Can the Klan!”
• Quote of the Day – December 14, 2019
• Something to Think About (and Embody!) – September 25, 2019
• Quote of the Day – July 12, 2019
• Quote of the Day – June 20, 2018
• Something to Think About – January 29, 2017
• Something to Think About – July 18, 2016
• 2000+ Take to the Streets of Minneapolis to Express Solidarity with Immigrants and Refugees
• Rallying in Solidarity with the Refugees of Syria and the World
• Opposing the Trump Administration's Inhumane Treatment of Immigrant Families
• “What We're Seeing Here Is a Tipping Point”
• Demanding Justice and Embodying Compassion for Separated Families
• Pan’s Labyrinth: Critiquing the Cult of Unquestioning Obedience
Image: Marian Turski: “Do not be indifferent, otherwise you should not be surprised when another Auschwitz crashes down on us.” The 94-year-old Turski spoke at a special January 27 ceremony at the gates of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz to mark the 75th anniversary of its liberation by the Soviet army. (Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP)
How easily, how covertly, life can change.
ReplyDeleteOver those "thousand steps" the highness of the changes hides as we go along our daily routine complacent and self-esteem absorbed ".
Oh, there may be a few, those who " don't work ", " use government money to live" who scream and shout- but they are " just liberals", those uneducated minorities ", "those who would take your tax dollars" or they are even "socialists or communists"
The point is, they are not me. This won't happen here! Can't happen here!
Think. How many times have we already said this?
Powerfully said, Kay! . . . Thank you.
ReplyDelete