Polish police are searching for one of history’s most recognized and most infamous relics: the sign above the entrance gate of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp reading “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Sets You Free”). Thieves stole the sign this week before dawn.
The site itself has long been neglected due to lack of funds, which is astonishing given its importance to humanity to show the evils of racism and genocide. The fact that such a site lacks sufficient security is a shocking indictment of the government. Germany has pledged additional funds for the site.
For the full story, click here.
Whenever I give much thought to the Holocaust, my thoughts eventually turn to the “others” who were killed. The core of the Holocaust was, of course, the goal of genocide of all Jewish people, and overwhelmingly, it’s victims were millions of Jewish people. But along side them were many thousands of homosexuals, Muslims, labor union organizers and political/religious liberals/progressives.
Why does that list echo today in American politics?
The sign has been found, no word on who the thieves are and what their motive was though.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Police_recover_stolen_Auschwitz_sig_12202009.html
“We have arrested five men aged from 20 to 39 in the north of Poland. The recovered sign has been cut up into three pieces,” Dariusz Nowak, spokesman for the police in southern Krakow,
The U. S. has its own home grown crop of bigots to be watchful of:
“Anti-Semitic acts decline in U.S.”
“The New York group’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, issued Tuesday, counted a total of 1,352 incidents of vandalism, harassment and racially motivated physical assaults against Jewish individuals, property and community institutions in 2008, a 7 percent decline from the 1,460 incidents reported in 2007, the ADL said in a release.”
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/02/Anti-Semitic-acts-decline-in-US/UPI-99971243968883/
Maroons, dangerous maroons.
This kind of behaviour is nothing new for Eastern Europe or Germany:
“Berlin, Germany: First Three Months of 2009: 315 antisemitic incidents
May 14, 2009.
In a response to an official request by the parliamentarian Petra Pau, the German government reported 315 antisemitic incidents during the first three months of 2009. Two of these incidents were violent. Moreover, there were more than 5500 antisemtic acts committed by right wing extremists, 110 of them being violent. Additionally, they reported 14 neo-nazi rallies and more than 40 right wing skinhead concerts.
Source: http://www.tagesspiegel, 24-05-2009″
***
Here’s a list from just 2009 encompassing all of Europe but it’s pretty apparent that Germany and Eastern Europe have a thriving business in bigotry:
http://www.european-forum-on-antisemitism.org/incidents-and-controversies/?fontsize=0
That sign always reminds me of the Donald Baker poem, Formal Application.
http://supak.blogspot.com/2009/12/auschwitz-arbeit-macht-frie-sign-stolen.html
Talk about stealing:
There was a man who worked for the Post Office whose job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses.
One day, a letter came addressed in a shaky handwriting to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about..
The letter read:
Dear God,
I am an 83 year old widow, living on a very small pension.
Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had $100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension payment.
Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with, have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope.. Can you please help me?
Sincerely, Edna
The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few dollars.
By the time he made the rounds, he had collected $96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman.
The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.
Christmas came and went.
A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God.
All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened.
It read:
Dear God,
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me?
Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day and I told my friends of your wonderful gift.
By the way, there was $4 missing.
I think it might have been those bastards at the post office.
Sincerely, Edna
A surge of theft?
The AP is reporting that Iran stole or seized an Iraqi oil well (#4) …
The thief of Baghdad and the thief of Auschwitz …
I bet it at Crawford.
Is there an echo in here?
maybe Henry Paulson or Ben Bernanke took it, or even Barney Frank or Chris Dodd.
We are a screwed up species.