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The Herald, UK
Jan 12 2005
Hatred, murder and denial are all horrors of the `final solution'
IAN BELL
Auschwitz: The Nazis and the "Final Solution"BBC2, 9.00pm
Shameless Channel 4, 10.00pm
The old Nazi was having difficulties with the concept of guilt, far
less the idea of repentance. He was evasive about his actions, all
those years ago, stricken by the convenient amnesia that afflicted so
many who shared his creed. But, yes, he had been a part of it: he had
murdered.
So what had been his thoughts? What had he felt? "Nothing. I only
thought, aim carefully so that you hit properly." Then he slipped,
revealingly, into the present tense. Emotion had deserted him,
"because my hatred towards the Jews is too great".
The hatred that had enabled him to shoot innocent people in the back
and watch their bodies tumble into pits had been based on nothing
more substantial, it turned out, than the belief that certain Jewish
traders had once cheated his farming family. A Holocaust in exchange
for a few pfennigs: his "unshakeable conviction" concerning Judaism
remained, nevertheless.
Sadly, a court of law had clearly failed to arrive at a more
appropriate conviction. Hans Friedrich, formerly of the SS, looked
very like someone's favourite grandfather. The world's abhorrence
troubled him; the idea that barbarism had once been a duty caused his
eyes to fill. But the old man left you with the clear impression
that, given the order, he might just do it again.
Such was one of the justifications for Auschwitz: The Nazis and the
"Final Solution". The disease is never eradicated. Sixty years after
the liberation of the death factory, a place where 1.1 million people
were eradicated, genocide remains the distinguishing feature of the
species. No other animal does it. Other creatures kill to survive. We
do it because of the lies we choose to believe.
Laurence Rees has produced a series that will comfort few, none of
them sane. With a wealth of new documentation from eastern Europe, he
has set out to demonstrate how the fascist project mutated from a
quest for conquest into purest nihilism. These were people who set
out, with bureaucratic precision, to starve millions of Russians to
death simply to equip the Wehrmacht. These were men who settled on
Zyklon B, crystallised prussic acid, as an exterminating gas because
mass murder, face-to-face, had begun to trouble even the SS.
These were atrocities committed by little people. Hitler, Himmler and
the rest provided the impetus, but the practical business of
slaughter was placed in the hands of thousands of ordinary Germans,
citizens of a country that prided itself on its "civilisation". The
first task of Auschwitz was the processing of 23,000 Polish political
prisoners: half of them were dead within 20 months. When Germany
invaded Russia, three million Soviet prisoners were taken: two
million were dead within nine months. "One becomes indifferent in the
midst of all that," said one Polish survivor. "Today it's your turn,
tomorrow it will be mine." Rudolf Huss, camp commandant, discomfited
by the sight of blood, acquired another sort of indifference. "I must
admit," he recorded, "that this gassing had a calming effect on me."
It was a long time ago. Is there still a need to remember? During the
First World war, Turkey did away with 1.5 million Armenians and still
refuses to confront the fact. Plotting his "Final Solution", Hitler
inquired of a crony: "Who remembers the Armenians?"
An easy elision from such thoughts to Shameless is impossible. Let's
just say that Kev and Veronica's first attempt at foster parenting -
"the fish aren't swimming" - was funny, farcical and, finally,
poignant. Having little Eric pass out after snacking on the "Hashy
Birthday" cake wasn't a good start, but as Veronica put it: "We can
do this, Kev. We can be good parents. From now on we've just got to
try really hard not to kill him." They just about managed it.
Frank (David Threfall), the world's worst father, was more
philosophical. Parenthood is all about passing something on to the
next generation, he said at the bar. "Mind you, they only end up
hating us, so what's the f****** point?"
Very true.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Jan 12 2005
Hatred, murder and denial are all horrors of the `final solution'
IAN BELL
Auschwitz: The Nazis and the "Final Solution"BBC2, 9.00pm
Shameless Channel 4, 10.00pm
The old Nazi was having difficulties with the concept of guilt, far
less the idea of repentance. He was evasive about his actions, all
those years ago, stricken by the convenient amnesia that afflicted so
many who shared his creed. But, yes, he had been a part of it: he had
murdered.
So what had been his thoughts? What had he felt? "Nothing. I only
thought, aim carefully so that you hit properly." Then he slipped,
revealingly, into the present tense. Emotion had deserted him,
"because my hatred towards the Jews is too great".
The hatred that had enabled him to shoot innocent people in the back
and watch their bodies tumble into pits had been based on nothing
more substantial, it turned out, than the belief that certain Jewish
traders had once cheated his farming family. A Holocaust in exchange
for a few pfennigs: his "unshakeable conviction" concerning Judaism
remained, nevertheless.
Sadly, a court of law had clearly failed to arrive at a more
appropriate conviction. Hans Friedrich, formerly of the SS, looked
very like someone's favourite grandfather. The world's abhorrence
troubled him; the idea that barbarism had once been a duty caused his
eyes to fill. But the old man left you with the clear impression
that, given the order, he might just do it again.
Such was one of the justifications for Auschwitz: The Nazis and the
"Final Solution". The disease is never eradicated. Sixty years after
the liberation of the death factory, a place where 1.1 million people
were eradicated, genocide remains the distinguishing feature of the
species. No other animal does it. Other creatures kill to survive. We
do it because of the lies we choose to believe.
Laurence Rees has produced a series that will comfort few, none of
them sane. With a wealth of new documentation from eastern Europe, he
has set out to demonstrate how the fascist project mutated from a
quest for conquest into purest nihilism. These were people who set
out, with bureaucratic precision, to starve millions of Russians to
death simply to equip the Wehrmacht. These were men who settled on
Zyklon B, crystallised prussic acid, as an exterminating gas because
mass murder, face-to-face, had begun to trouble even the SS.
These were atrocities committed by little people. Hitler, Himmler and
the rest provided the impetus, but the practical business of
slaughter was placed in the hands of thousands of ordinary Germans,
citizens of a country that prided itself on its "civilisation". The
first task of Auschwitz was the processing of 23,000 Polish political
prisoners: half of them were dead within 20 months. When Germany
invaded Russia, three million Soviet prisoners were taken: two
million were dead within nine months. "One becomes indifferent in the
midst of all that," said one Polish survivor. "Today it's your turn,
tomorrow it will be mine." Rudolf Huss, camp commandant, discomfited
by the sight of blood, acquired another sort of indifference. "I must
admit," he recorded, "that this gassing had a calming effect on me."
It was a long time ago. Is there still a need to remember? During the
First World war, Turkey did away with 1.5 million Armenians and still
refuses to confront the fact. Plotting his "Final Solution", Hitler
inquired of a crony: "Who remembers the Armenians?"
An easy elision from such thoughts to Shameless is impossible. Let's
just say that Kev and Veronica's first attempt at foster parenting -
"the fish aren't swimming" - was funny, farcical and, finally,
poignant. Having little Eric pass out after snacking on the "Hashy
Birthday" cake wasn't a good start, but as Veronica put it: "We can
do this, Kev. We can be good parents. From now on we've just got to
try really hard not to kill him." They just about managed it.
Frank (David Threfall), the world's worst father, was more
philosophical. Parenthood is all about passing something on to the
next generation, he said at the bar. "Mind you, they only end up
hating us, so what's the f****** point?"
Very true.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress