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Comprehending the HolocaustWednesday 19 Nov 2003
author: ct
summary
To AMR and Kenny Freeman, who in another thread voiced their desire to comprehend the WHY of the Holocaust.
To AMR and KF:
You both voiced your desire to understand the WHY of the Holocaust, how people could commit such a horrific crime. And you seem not to have achieved that comprehension yet, though you, AMR, according to your own statement, already have read 100 books on the topic. But probably you weren't looking at the right place? Probably some anwers just can't be found in books alone?
Understanding the Holocaust is not impossible, not even very diffcult, I'd say. Yet you don't get it for free, it will "cost" you something: you will have to say farewell to the "it's us, the good guys vs. them, the evil ones" paradigma. Are you ready to do that?
As this paradigma is part of all the three big monotheistic religions (and, to my understanding, their basic flaw), is part of politics ("either you are with us or you are against us") and is present in virtually every aspect of daily life, many people adhere to it as the only possible way of regarding the universe.
Yet the universe doesn't know such a distinction. The human mind doesn't know such a distinction. It simply isn't built that way. Every human mind is a complete universe in itself, containing everything from the most noble and light attitudes to the must cruel and dark ones. The difference between people behaving noble and those commiting cruelties only lies in which part of their personality they give control. But everybody contains everything; as far as that is concerned, we are all equal and complete.
Having realized this, it should be clear that there is a little Ghandi within everyone, a little Martin Luther King, a little Mother Theresa, etc. But there is a little Adolf Hitler in everybody's mind, too, a little Goebbels, a little Eichmann, and so on.
Are you ready to admit that?
If yes, take an honest look into the abysses of your own hearts. Be assured, you will find everything necessary to understand the Holocaust there.
If no, well, reading a million books and living a thousand lives may not be enough...
PS: There is an excellent book that might assist you in your quest. It's called "For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence" by Alice Miller, a Swiss therapist.
In this book the author takes a therapeutical look on the childhoods of a young drug addict, a child murderer, and, yes, Adolf Hitler. After having read it you will know, among other things, why his name initially was Schicklgruber, why there is such an oversized military training area in the north of Austria, and, most of all, why Hitler did his very best to hide this part of his life from public, once he was in power.
But be warned: Hitler is portrayed as a human being there; so if you want to preserve your image of a soulless monster, this book is not for you.