Holocaust. Whilst many meanings are now given to this word its original meaning was…” a sacrifice in which the offering was burned completely on an altar”
The theme running through the Holocaust Memorial Service at Exeter Cathedral was the fact that it was ordinary people that were slaughtered, it was ordinary people that carried out the killings and it was ordinary people that were aware of what was going on but did nothing. How can ordinary people that one minute are friends with , went to school with, their sons and daughters may have married can suddenly become so irrational that the next minute they are murdering on mass those very people.
It was explained that life in Germany, Austria, and the rest of Europe in the 1920’s and 1930’s was perhaps no different to the period from 2000 to date in the UK yet in the decade that followed 6 million were murdered the vast majority of them because they were Jewish.
Ethnic cleansing is nothing new and has certainly been seen on several occasion to raise its ugly head since the Second World War.
Could you see yourself turning with sufficient hatred on another and kill them and there kind , or can you imagine who may hate you enough and what you stand for to slaughter not only you but your closest and dearest?
Nationalism can be extreme or moderate but where lies the tipping point? Most would agree that there is nothing wrong with being proud of your town, County or country as long as it does not develop past that point. Friendly rivalry forexample between football fans should not be an issue but we have all seen how easily it can become toxic.
As much as it was ordinary people that were the victims, the perpetrators, and those that just stood by and did nothing so it is ordinary people, like you and me, that can make sure that it does not happen again. One thing we can easily do is make sure that the generation that are following know exactly what happened and not just the sanitised version.
In the holocaust museum in Jerusalem there is a very large area that appears to be thousands upon thousands of calendars, the lights are to represent the million plus children that were put to death during the holocaust.
Anyone who has visited any of the camps such as Belsen etc. then perhaps I can entice you to write up your thoughts on the blog.
Paignton Probus Club 