Anne Frank: The Whole Story

[philip964]

I have no illusions about our species, and it doesn't seem to be getting better over time.

What most people are not aware of was that after the war was over and Germany was defeated, Jews were returned by the allies to their former homes. In a number of occasions the convoys were attacked by the local population and many more Jews were killed in these attacks.

What is also not well known is the distribution of Jews killed. Most Jews who were killed were from Poland. Most of the death camps were also located in Poland.

This may be because most Jews before the war were living in Poland. I am not sure.

Thus, Anne Frank's story was really not the common face of the holocaust, but it has certainly become the face for most people like me, who remember reading her story in 7th grade.

[Oldgringo]

They are at home, eating dinner with their families, completely removed from the horrors they are perpetrating. It doubt the gravity of what they have ordered really even strikes them.

Ever see "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"? Speaks to that very issue. If you haven't, watch it...but not alone.

To quote Stalin, "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic."

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is indeed a shocker.

[UpTheIrons]

Another good one is "Hitler's Children." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2359085/?ref_=nv_sr_3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a documentary of the descendants of Hitler's top men, and explores their lives and them dealing with their past. It is very well done, and heart wrenching in spots. Like when Rudolph Hoess' grandson goes to Auschwitz for the first time. Wow.

Thanks, Rev.
I just added it to our queue.

You're welcome.

There's an element to it of the "how could they do this and go about their lives," too. Hoess' grandson is on a quest to find a garden gate that's in a picture of the compound where his family lived at Auschwitz - what did they see when they looked through it? Could they see the camp? Could they see the inmates? That sort of thing.

It is mind boggling to think that this can happen, but history bears it out - over and over again, unfortunately.

[Dreamer42]

If you research anything about the Nazi belief system and how much of a cult is was, you'll find that much of the concept of euthanasia began in the late 1800s. Anti-Semitism really grabbed hold in Europe, and even in England, by World War One. Enter a dismal economy post-Armistice Germany and a Weimar and a young Nazi political party that simply made hay out of the prevailing emotional and political turmoil. In other words, it didn't start in 1942 with the Wannsee Conference (the final solution to exterminate the Jews). It's seeds were planted way before that.

Dreamer42

[wheelgun1958]

Another equally interesting story is of Etty Hillesum. An Interrupted Life and Letters From Westerbork. Also a must see is the movie I Am David.

[The Annoyed Man]

Baldeagle edited his post, which should clear up some of the confusion:

Everyone should spend some time at RJ Rummel's site. Rummel is a political scientist who studied murder by government. In the 20th century, he put the death total (this is not war dead. This is civilians killed by their own governments.) at 625 million. The 21st century was much, much worse. The Soviets killed more than 61 million. The Chinese over 33 million. The Nazis were pikers by comparison.

It's all laid out, very scientifically, including sources for all the numbers, and he gives a low, medium and high estimate for each one.

Man is evil.

EDIT: Well, I botched that. It's ihe 19th and 20th century. We're currently in the 21st..

[jmra]

Watched "No Place on Earth" the other day. True and powerful story told by those who lived it.