Scotguy Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and this year is 70 Years since the liberation of the Auschwitz. Does anyone have any personal stories from family or friends that they would like to share as a way to remember the innocent millions of Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Disabled, Ethnic peoples who lost their lives. The atrocities of Nazi Germany, MUST never ever again be allowed to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hard Work Sets You Free... Stupidly a school teacher, wherever being funny or not, said this in my class all the time with a semi stern smirk on his face...I and another student cottoned onto what he was obliquely doing and we laid a complaint to our Deputy Headmaster. He stopped saying it soon after and always had a sour look on his face for the rest of the year I was there. The guy was a prick. That was over 25 years ago, when the memory of what Germany did was still well within fresh recall memories. This must NEVER be forgotten, even with all the atrocities happening now, the Holocaust must always be given mention in the pages of History. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 The liberation of Auschwitz 70 years ago is major topic on the media here in Germany since several weeks! It is not easy to comprehend how such mass murder respectively persecution was possible - for me one lesson is to be very alert, when minorities are blamed or people are dehumanised by 'use of language'... There is a natural threshold to kill somebody - it is easier to kill somebody when you don't esteem the person not as human being like yourself. Another important thing is that genocide can happen everywhere around the world - therefore it is very important that the powers in a state have means to control each other - it is not a coincidence that the NSDAP disempowered the three powers in 1933 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.bernham Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and this year is 70 Years since the liberation of the Auschwitz. Does anyone have any personal stories from family or friends that they would like to share as a way to remember the innocent millions of Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Disabled, Ethnic peoples who lost their lives. The atrocities of Nazi Germany, MUST never ever again be allowed to happen. *Cough* Baron, take note *Cough* As someone who has grown up in a world very removed from the atrocities of the Nazi regime I may not be able to comprehend the true horror and extent of this event, but I am able to comprehend racism and its affect on society not to mention the hostility some have to ideals western society holds so deeply. The holocaust is more than just a senseless murder of innocent and oppressed groups of people, it was a direct assault on the ideals of the enlightenment and western civilization. It was racism, it was oppression, it was wrong, and it should never happen again. We as a society should never give up our ideals of freedom and acceptance because we need someone to blame for mistakes. We should never force others to give up similar rights because we view ourselves as more important. We must never allow evil to take symbols of peace, harmony, and prosperity, and turn them into symbols of war, death, and destruction. This century began with my nation giving up those ideals in order to bring false justice and ignoring where even bigger problems lay, I hope that the events that ended last year and began this year do not bring the Australians and Europeans to the same fate. We have worked and fought our way to get where our civilization is today, and we must not allow hatred to ruin it all. I would also like to remind us all to remember the genocide still happening in Africa, North Korea, The Middle East, and in our own backyards. Love must conquer hate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotguy Posted January 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 This is a horrendous video, but conveys the atrocities at time of liberation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkq1Pa2Aq6I&spfreload=10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 *Cough* Baron, take note *Cough* Ph*CK off!! WHo da hell do you think you are to lecture me on anything, you pipsqueak! Why don't you look at this? Muslims corroborated with the Nazis in WW2 to again hit at the Jews -- and DON'T you DARE lecture me, you micro-prick!! FlashBack: How Bosnian Muslims Reformed Nazi SS Division http://serbianna.com/analysis/archives/669 http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32099 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotguy Posted January 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Mr Bernham This is a thread which is to remember and to commemorate this particular atrocity in history. Any comments, jibes, or rudeness towards other members, whether intended as a joke or not are not welcome here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinXTC Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 We have a Holocaust museum here in Houston that I visited while in grade school for a field trip. One of the unique things about it is that they have a small theater where they screen a video of testimonies of survivors that emigrated to Houston. This man's story, one of the testimonies featured, I have remembered since first seeing it, and that was probably 18 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony E Loves Architecture Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 See what I mean. I actually improved a lot, then Mr.Bernham in another thread a few days ago tried winding me up. The only mistake I made was to reply and be wound up. Now his causing trouble with other people. This is ridiculous. Anyway, this is to remember and never forget this crimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.bernham Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Ph*CK off!! WHo da hell do you think you are to lecture me on anything, you pipsqueak! Why don't you look at this? Muslims corroborated with the Nazis in WW2 to again hit at the Jews -- and DON'T you DARE lecture me, you micro-prick!! http://serbianna.com/analysis/archives/669 http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32099 Baron, I apologize it was a poor joke and one not fit for this thread. I know you would never advocate for the murder of 1 billion people and I should not have made the joke, I am sorry. Mr Bernham This is a thread which is to remember and to commemorate this particular atrocity in history. Any comments, jibes, or rudeness towards other members, whether intended as a joke or not are not welcome here. I apologize. I understand the seriousness of this event, and in retrospect my joke was not fit for a thread like this. See what I mean. I actually improved a lot, then Mr.Bernham in another thread a few days ago tried winding me up. The only mistake I made was to reply and be wound up. Now his causing trouble with other people. This is ridiculous. Anyway, this is to remember and never forget this crimes. Seriously Tony? Right after Scotguy asked us not to make jibes or be rude to other members? And I did not try to wind you up a few days ago, I was making a joke. You know, I'm sure this forum would be more fun for you if you did not take everything so literally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plusbrilliantsexploits Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Coming from a generation of young Germans who are both immigrants and well-removed from the atrocity that we denote as "Auschwitz" today, what matters the most to me (as a German, European and citizen of the world, really) are the conclusions we draw from the terror perpetrated, carried out and supported by German citizens (and by collaborators across Europe) in generations past. Auschwitz was only the most horrific in a terrifying system of extermination and concentration camps built by Hitler's genocidal regime. The mass murder perpetrated by Nazi cronies was a singular crime, in that it created genocide on an industrial scale - unmatched in its malign intent, cold-blooded execution and deadly precision. When Allied soldiers liberated the camps, their horror at what they witnessed was so emphatic that they forced the German population (which had been living in self-denial for year after year) to go to the camps and see for themselves. But did we, as a world, learn from this mass murder? Being a citizen of a multicultural, modern and united Germany, I feel that we drew the wrong conclusions: for a long time, we retreated into a shell of "No more war". Never has it occurred to many Germans that as the former perpetrators of horrific genocide, maybe it'd be our duty, our responsibility towards the world to hunt down future genocidaires, assemble coalitions against genocidal dictators and, if necessary, go to war against those who would butcher, maim and suppress tens and hundreds of thousands of people. It's not enough to give rhetorically polished speeches full of good intent if we are not willing to back up said intent to stand up for democracy, freedom and human rights everywhere - including in situations in which our citizens just don't get it. We refuse to call out Turkey (Armenian Genocide) and Japan (World War II; its revisionism in history books, whether on the topic of comfort women or the occupation of Manchukuo) for their governments' failure to accept responsibility for their respective genocides and whitewashing of history. We waited and watched as Hutus implemented a plan of systemic genocide against the Tutsi population in Rwanda - caring more about UN rules than the spirit of UN values. We remained indecisive in the face of Bosnian Serb aggression against the Muslims in Bosnia, even when confronted with the horror of them building concentration camps. We tolerated Pol Pot as Cambodia slipped into the genocidal killing fields. We watched as Pakistan slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis prior to the 1971 War. We are watching and sitting on our hands, as ISIS is perpetrating yet another religious purge of all those that don't subscribe to its clerical-fascist ideology. Remembering the genocide and teaching schoolchildren about Hitler's crimes is all well and good (and trust me, I went through years of education about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust), but it's worth little if we don't instill the drive to root out genocidal ambitions, wherever they exist - and the willingness to battle those who would harm others for being different. Yes, Germany and Japan have elected parliaments, are modern Western countries with precisely the fundamental rights protections and love of freedom their pre-democratic counterparts lacked. But have we, as a world, learnt anything? I'm very uncertain about that. May instead of saying: "Never forget", the international community should be saying: "Never keep watching". The flag that flies across my country is that of a new republic, assembled by men and women who resolved to never let a dictator like Hitler take power again. What we Germans have achieved since our country's liberation by the Allied forces has been nothing short of a democratic miracle. We are a mature, modern democracy and have preserved the peace for the past 70 years. That said, I feel we have become too pacifist, too unwilling to stand up for what is right and too comfortable in our unwillingness to draw the logical conclusion from Auschwitz: That to protect human freedom, we have to defend it. And in order to defend it, we frequently will be forced to take up arms against extremists who won't be open for negotiation, debate or discussion. Freedom from fear is not negotiable. Until genocidal dictators know that they will face judgment day not just in ecclesiastical terms, but on this earth and at the hands of a determined international community, it will keep happening. That would be the greatest tragedy of them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BR2028 Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Coming from a generation of young Germans who are both immigrants and well-removed from the atrocity that we denote as "Auschwitz" today, what matters the most to me (as a German, European and citizen of the world, really) are the conclusions we draw from the terror perpetrated, carried out and supported by German citizens (and by collaborators across Europe) in generations past. Auschwitz was only the most horrific in a terrifying system of extermination and concentration camps built by Hitler's genocidal regime. The mass murder perpetrated by Nazi cronies was a singular crime, in that it created genocide on an industrial scale - unmatched in its malign intent, cold-blooded execution and deadly precision. When Allied soldiers liberated the camps, their horror at what they witnessed was so emphatic that they forced the German population (which had been living in self-denial for year after year) to go to the camps and see for themselves. But did we, as a world, learn from this mass murder? Being a citizen of a multicultural, modern and united Germany, I feel that we drew the wrong conclusions: for a long time, we retreated into a shell of "No more war". Never has it occurred to many Germans that as the former perpetrators of horrific genocide, maybe it'd be our duty, our responsibility towards the world to hunt down future genocidaires, assemble coalitions against genocidal dictators and, if necessary, go to war against those who would butcher, maim and suppress tens and hundreds of thousands of people. It's not enough to give rhetorically polished speeches full of good intent if we are not willing to back up said intent to stand up for democracy, freedom and human rights everywhere - including in situations in which our citizens just don't get it. We refuse to call out Turkey (Armenian Genocide) and Japan (World War II; its revisionism in history books, whether on the topic of comfort women or the occupation of Manchukuo) for their governments' failure to accept responsibility for their respective genocides and whitewashing of history. We waited and watched as Hutus implemented a plan of systemic genocide against the Tutsi population in Rwanda - caring more about UN rules than the spirit of UN values. We remained indecisive in the face of Bosnian Serb aggression against the Muslims in Bosnia, even when confronted with the horror of them building concentration camps. We tolerated Pol Pot as Cambodia slipped into the genocidal killing fields. We watched as Pakistan slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis prior to the 1971 War. We are watching and sitting on our hands, as ISIS is perpetrating yet another religious purge of all those that don't subscribe to its clerical-fascist ideology. Remembering the genocide and teaching schoolchildren about Hitler's crimes is all well and good (and trust me, I went through years of education about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust), but it's worth little if we don't instill the drive to root out genocidal ambitions, wherever they exist - and the willingness to battle those who would harm others for being different. Yes, Germany and Japan have elected parliaments, are modern Western countries with precisely the fundamental rights protections and love of freedom their pre-democratic counterparts lacked. But have we, as a world, learnt anything? I'm very uncertain about that. May instead of saying: "Never forget", the international community should be saying: "Never keep watching". The flag that flies across my country is that of a new republic, assembled by men and women who resolved to never let a dictator like Hitler take power again. What we Germans have achieved since our country's liberation by the Allied forces has been nothing short of a democratic miracle. We are a mature, modern democracy and have preserved the peace for the past 70 years. That said, I feel we have become too pacifist, too unwilling to stand up for what is right and too comfortable in our unwillingness to draw the logical conclusion from Auschwitz: That to protect human freedom, we have to defend it. And in order to defend it, we frequently will be forced to take up arms against extremists who won't be open for negotiation, debate or discussion. Freedom from fear is not negotiable. Until genocidal dictators know that they will face judgment day not just in ecclesiastical terms, but on this earth and at the hands of a determined international community, it will keep happening. That would be the greatest tragedy of them all. I'm going to retweet this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woohooitsme83 Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 I don't think that's under 140 characters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Let's just keep using this horrific example of human cruelty as the ultimate lesson. Germany IS forgiven but it's past NOT forgotten, at least Germany has and always will front up to it's past...Less can be said for Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woohooitsme83 Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. Charles R. Swindoll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Oh Jesuz, platitudes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexjc Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Oh Jesuz, platitudes. Hey Baron, re: Yugoslavia and all that in WWII...look up a place called Jasenovic - makes Auschwitz look like a holiday camp...Even Heinrich Himmler puked when he saw pictures of it...(I'm forever in the pro-Serbia camp) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woohooitsme83 Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Oh Jesuz, platitudes. Well I'm sorry for not being original. I wanted to leave something on here other that "I don't think that's under 140 characters," so pardon me for trying to not sound like a total a-hole. I don't want to start a quarrel on this thread so please just shhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikarus360 Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hey Baron, re: Yugoslavia and all that in WWII...look up a place called Jasenovic - makes Auschwitz look like a holiday camp...Even Heinrich Himmler puked when he saw pictures of it...(I'm forever in the pro-Serbia camp) Ustashe. This is what you get when you mix nazies with the Westboro Baptist Church. To this day serbs are still resentful of croatians specially since they pretty much refuse to apologize for what happened. What's more laughable is that Stepinac (a croat priest who allegedly supported the killings) was canonized years later. I've read stories. While the nazies did the killings in a more discrete and silent way, Ustashe wasn't ashamed of doing it in public and killing both orthodox and muslims on the most barbaric way (including stuff like collecting their blood in jars) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 You cannot paint an entire society or people as responsible for any one act. Collective guilt is absurd, as is continuing to assign guilt to future generations because of the past mistakes. Yugoslavia was a ridiculous idea from the beginning. At a conference when national self-determination was a pre-emanate idea that resulted in the creation of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Czechoslovakia to mash together 8 regions that shared only loose cultural and religious connections was beyond stupidity. It ended up destroying Vojvodina's unique cultural mix and took away the independence of Montenegro, while also putting hundreds of thousands of Albanians at risk. It was only natural that when Yugoslavia was attacked and occupied that the various ethnic groups would take action in ways that would suit their own self-interests. Catholic Croats and Slovenes would look to and emulate Catholic Italy and Germany to get away from Serbian dominance, while Orthodox Serbia would look to Russia and Communism for support. Finland is another interesting example of self-interest being the driver for its decisions that lead it to be an ally of Nazi Germany. Very few, if any countries in Europe do not share some responsibility for the Holocaust. Pretty much every occupied country cooperated with the dehumanization and rounding up of Jews and other undesirables. Sweden provided raw materials to Germany even in the later stages of the War, Britain, Canada and the USA refused to offer refuge for the hundreds of thousands of Jews that tried to escape Europe. Britain refused to allow them to emigrate to Palestine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikarus360 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 ^^ I knew about Sweden, which is why that country was the only nordic one to have never been invaded by the germans. Finland allied with Germany not because of support of their idelogy but because they didn't wanted to lose to Russia at the Winter War, which was decided to "reconquer" them. In fact, a lot of countries allied with Germany at first because they thought that anything was better than living under Stalin, not suspecting Hitler turned out to be much worse (I'm looking at you, baltic countries) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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