Auschwitz
Like Praktike, I've never been to Auschwitz, but I did see Dachau. And in that still, flat place the evil seemed as deep as the soil.
One of the most unforgettable scenes I've ever seen on a television was in Jacob Bronowski's BBC series, "The Ascent of Man," filmed in 1972. Technically, it was a show about science. But at one point in the narrative, the elderly scientist and humanist stood behind the crematoria at Auschwitz, where the ashes from the ovens had been flushed. That soil held mortal remains of a million people, including many of Bronowski's family (and certainly some of mine), and the old man in the dark formal suit stooped and clutched a handful of the dark muck, and said, "When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave."
One of the most unforgettable scenes I've ever seen on a television was in Jacob Bronowski's BBC series, "The Ascent of Man," filmed in 1972. Technically, it was a show about science. But at one point in the narrative, the elderly scientist and humanist stood behind the crematoria at Auschwitz, where the ashes from the ovens had been flushed. That soil held mortal remains of a million people, including many of Bronowski's family (and certainly some of mine), and the old man in the dark formal suit stooped and clutched a handful of the dark muck, and said, "When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave."
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Jude.
Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr,
der protestieren konnte.
[Martin Niemöller]
