We all know that the Jews suffered immensely during the Holocaust and thereafter. These hardships started out because they are labeled Jewish as a race, meaning the label is based on religious beliefs. Therefore, the logical order is that the conflict arises from different values, god, faith. But when we take a closer look at the details, where did religion play a factor in any one sides decisions during the Holocaust? When we hear about it now, I do not hear of a religious war, but a large group of people with one strong, persistent leader who just did not care for people different than themselves.
In class, we have been looking at a view different literary pieces and films revolving around the Holocaust, Auschwitz, survivors and their stories. I still have failed to see or hear anything based on the differences between Judaism and Nazism. It was political religion against the Jews. It most likely would not have even mattered what religious background the minority was. It is apparent that Jews from this era and even those who were affected indirectly through relatives’ involvement, have lost touch with their own faith too.
In Maus by Art Spiegelman, a graphic novel about Art’s father, an Auschwitz survivor, I rarely saw anything of actual worship or faith. The reason Art’s father, Vladek, was persecuted was because he was Jewish and yet the story rarely mentions it. It seems what happened was that Vladek, along with others with him in the camps, became numb to everything and anything to do with any of their own thinking. They could not change or convert their views. It was already too late; once a Jew, always a Jew in the German mind. Because religion is so infrequently brought up, it is memorable where it is. However, it is not the image we would normally correspond with faithful practitioner. Vladek almost seems to mock the idea of ‘God.’ The following is from the second volume, page 29:
Mandelbaum: Can I use your spoon, Vladek? Vladek: Of course, but where’s yours? Mandelbaum: I dropped it, and by the time I bent down, someone stole it. Vladek: For a spoon you could get a half day’s bread. Mandelbaum: I spilled most of my soup, too. When I asked for more, they beat me! I hold onto my bowl and my show falls down. I pick up my shoe and my pants fall down…But what can I do? I only have two hands! My God! Please God…Help me find a piece of string and a show that fits! Valdek: But here God didn’t come. We were all on our own.
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October 28, 2009 at 7:25 PM
wesnile5200
It seems to me that this type of event has occured many times throughout history. The prosecution of jews in biblical times, the prosecution of the blacks in the United States, and the less know prosecution of the Japanese Americans during WWII right here in America. I agree that this genocide revolves around the killing of others with different beliefs then the Nazi, but I think it is important to state that this genocide was not designed to be limited to just the extinction of the Jewish people. It was meant to create a master Arian race, blond hair, blue eyes, everything that the Nazi valued as being perfect features of the human body. Although it does focus on outward religous differences, the Holocaust had a much larger scope, and the sad thing is that these types of events can still be seen in our world today. Like you stated prosecution and prejudice are present and thriving, and it is depressing knowing that the people that where treated poorly are now the ones using power against others that are different. Unfortunatly this is part of human nature and I fear that because of this design flaw in our minds, events like this will continue to occur, over and over again.
October 29, 2009 at 4:20 AM
seaandrhythm
In a way I think the question of what role religion played in the holocaust is a confusing one. There was certainly a large amount hatred towards Jews which was based in both the Christian and the Catholic Church at the time, and Hitler certainly took advantage of the fact. At the same time, Hitler seemed to identify the Jewish population as a race not a religion, which in itself I would say is problematic at best.
Additionally many memoirs and stories that came out of the holocaust deal with the idea that in a world where something like this can happen: how can god (God) exist (i.e. the book Night)? This further complicates the idea that the Jews still view the world through this traditional religious worldview, but of course I’m generalizing there were probable many Jews that continued being religious after the holocaust, perhaps because it was the only thing they had left to lean on, but many left the idea of religion behind after the tragedy
I think it is difficult to make connections between the holocaust and the current Israeli-Palestinian debate. Personally I think it again not a religious conflict, but one of perceived rights, many Israelis point to the fact that the land has been their for years now–since 1948 or 1967 depending on which parcel of land your talking about–forgetting that for 2 thousands years or so it was Palestine, and again before that Israel. I would actually like to see more focus on religion in the conflict, because I think the commonalities in the Judea-Christian between Islam and Judaism are too strong to ignore. Often the focus is on the difference between the two, but if more focus was given maybe things likes visitation rights to Jerusalem for Palestinians would be easier to settle; however maybe that is to simple an answer for a conflict that has gone on far to long.
November 7, 2009 at 3:37 AM
Family Matters
I think that this is an issue we will have all over the world until the day we die. Racism, whether it be based on religion, the color of your skin or the color of your hair will always be prevalent no matter what awful situations one race may be forced to experience. Even in America, although it hasn’t been as long since WWII that integration really started happening, their are still plenty of white supremacists and Ku Klux Klan members living in the United States today. I recently finished a year long tour with the broadway musical Hairspray, and when we were in Kansas, a Reverand Phelps, came to every show and picketed outside of the theater on racist issues. If you’re not familiar with the musical Hairspray, it’s a show about race equality and accepting everyone for who you are. It’s so sad to me that even today, in 2009, everyone is still faced with the issue of racism after so many years of being taught how wrong it is. But in many ways, there is just no avoiding it. I don’t know if it will ever go away, no matter how many wars are fought on the basis of it.