Remembering Auschwitz Part 1
The war against the Soviet Union, begun in June that year (1941), precipitated the most radical solution yet seen to the Nazi’s self-created ‘Jewish Problem’: the destruction of Soviet Jewry by the shooting of men, women and children. (Rees, Lawrence. “Auschwitz: A New History” 2005, pg 92)
I have finished reading “Auschwitz: A New Beginning”. It is the most thorough recollection of the evil that Auschwitz-Birkenau was. It is an all encompassing look at what led Germany, and most of Eastern Europe, to vilify the Jewish population to brainwash millions of people who enabled the horrific mass murder of many more Jews. It is an honest look at the hell of humanity.
I am going to be sharing a lot of what truly stood out to me while reading this work. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, good. We should all feel uncomfortable, ashamed, angry, and afraid. Uncomfortable to read statements like the sentence above, where Nazi soldiers murdered men, women and CHILDREN by leading them to pits and putting bullet holes in the back of their heads. Ashamed that “Christian” countries allowed their fellow Jewish neighbors be led away to a slaughter. Angry for the disgusting, disturbing brutality of Auschwitz. And finally, afraid that history may one day repeat itself. I do not think the Jewish faith will ever face a persecution again like they did under Hitler’s reign. But when you allow powerful madmen that like to vilify a certain section of the population to become leaders of a nation, there is no telling who they will target to turn the masses against and seek a “final solution” to whatever fictitious problem they create.
I will try to share as much as I can from now until Palm Sunday. But I wanted to start today because I read an article that shook me to the core today when I heard eerily similar language spoken by a Russian political figure. Vladimir Solovyoy, a prominent political pundit, who made an argument for striking three NATO countries in a preemptive Nuclear attack. According to the NEWSWEEK article, Solovyoy stated that “The goal of France is not just getting free resources from the territory of Russia, but the destruction of Russia. The final solution of the Russian question.”
When Adolf Hitler launched to power, he did so by blaming Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I and concocting a MAGA worthy conspiracy theory that Jews had a secret society ready to control the world. As silly as blaming the Jews for all of Germany’s problem seems now, we see it unfolding today as Donal Trump continues to vilify immigrants, mock his political opponents, and praise dictators like Putin. And while it is easy to compare Donald Trump’s inflammatory language to that of Hitler, what is more concerning is the language coming out of Russia media. “The final solution to the Russian question” is a direct twist of the Nazi’s language as they sought a Final Solution to the Jewish Question. What Solovyoy is attempting to do is paint another European country as being neo-Nazis, as Russia did to justify their invasion of Ukraine. This time it is against France, a member of NATO. Just like Hitler created his own fictitious problem, Solovyoy is doing the same by claiming that France is after Russia’s natural resources and the countries eventual destruction.
Reading “Auschwitz” is a shocking wake-up call because I fear we are quickly racing to a point-of-no-return in allowing history repeat itself. Whether it is allowing the most divisive man to ever hold the Oval Office return to that position, or allowing Russia to continue to impose their will on a sovereign nation, the near future of all humanity will be held in the balance of whether we can return to common sense and see evil and hatred in its true form, and stop it from growing in strength. Or are we going to let the devil win and watch the world burn? If you want to know how bad it can get, stay tuned as I share more of the depth of hell that was Auschwitz.
Common Sense Reborn 