During
a book discussion of The Buddha in the
Attic an interesting question was raised. Why did Americans “feel outrage” that the Germans did not protest when their Jewish neighbors where taken away? Yet they themselves looked quietly
the other way when their own Japanese neighbors were locked up in prison camps, right here in America.
It is a normal human reaction to feel outrage when we see others harmed; it is inherent in our race,
especially if a person is unjustly harmed. Yet it happens every day, especially
during wartimes when we kill people in huge numbers, and often to the sound of trumpets.
The
key may be the word unjust. During
World War II, the attitude of Americans had been molded into believing that the
Japanese in this country posed a serious threat. Therefore, government action against Americans of Japanese origin appeared to be justified.
The human mind is easily swayed, particularly by a leader with a lust for power like Hitler to persuade and brainwash us by creating fear and
justification.
Two
nights ago I saw the musical, Les Miserables,
beautifully performed by the Oakland
School for the Arts, and again felt outrage that Jean Valjean, a starving
youngster, got 19 years of hard labor for steeling one loaf
of bread! Obviously, the lawgivers at the time had never gone hungry.
I know what hunger is like. I grew up during the war when we were hungry every day for six years, and then eight more years after the war. I remember my first good meal thanks to a scholarship that brought me to this great country, when food in Germany was still severely rationed, especially for thousands of us refugees who had to flee from the Communists.
I know what hunger is like. I grew up during the war when we were hungry every day for six years, and then eight more years after the war. I remember my first good meal thanks to a scholarship that brought me to this great country, when food in Germany was still severely rationed, especially for thousands of us refugees who had to flee from the Communists.
Let
me get back to my first question, why did so many Germans not protest the
fate of the Jews? Because it would have meant concentration camp and death.
Hitler was absolutely ruthless in eradicating any dissention.
After the Krystallnacht, when Hitler’s chief of police Göring in a flurry of power ordered his men to burn Berlin’s synagogues and smash the windows of Jewish stores, Germans protested so loudly that Hitler demoted Göring by sending him to the Air Force. From then on everything was done in total secrecy. Any protest was squashed immediately. Hitler himself never mentioned the word Jews again.
After the Krystallnacht, when Hitler’s chief of police Göring in a flurry of power ordered his men to burn Berlin’s synagogues and smash the windows of Jewish stores, Germans protested so loudly that Hitler demoted Göring by sending him to the Air Force. From then on everything was done in total secrecy. Any protest was squashed immediately. Hitler himself never mentioned the word Jews again.
In
spite of it, many, many Germans did help their Jewish neighbors whenever they
could. Take Max Schmeling, the famed heavyweight, who hid two Jewish boys in
his hotel room and helped them escape from Germany.
During our summer vacation at Grandmother’s summer home, we children were not allowed near her guest cottage, where secret meetings were held. When items of our clothing disappeared, Grandma told us sternly: Others need them more than you! Long after the war I learned that grandmother Ahlswede had been deeply involved helping to finance and outfit The White Ship that in 1940 brought close to a thousand Jews to safety (pgs 99-101, The Madman and His Mistress).
Unless we actually experience hunger, or life under a dictatorship, we cannot imagine its actual impact on the people involved, and for an outsider to feel outrage is normal. Five years after the war my parents sent me to England as an au pair; it was a good way to learn English, but oh how painful! My host family treated me as the never-to-be-forgiven German Enemy and kept me scrubbing, polishing and cleaning all day long. When I came to this country, I'd mumble about my Swedish ancestors, but be silent about my German place of birth because I was too ashamed to admit that I was German, no matter that I was just a child back during the Hitler years.
These were some of my reasons for writing The Madman and His Mistress—to take the reader back to the Hitler years and how they came about. Once in power he ruled with brutal ruthlessness and persuasive propaganda. the book portrays the story of three generations of my family and my father’s college friends, who valiantly coped and yet remained compassionate human beings.
Demise to all tyranny!
Those years under Hitler’s yoke were strong reasons for me to stay here in this country, the great Land of the Free.
During our summer vacation at Grandmother’s summer home, we children were not allowed near her guest cottage, where secret meetings were held. When items of our clothing disappeared, Grandma told us sternly: Others need them more than you! Long after the war I learned that grandmother Ahlswede had been deeply involved helping to finance and outfit The White Ship that in 1940 brought close to a thousand Jews to safety (pgs 99-101, The Madman and His Mistress).
Unless we actually experience hunger, or life under a dictatorship, we cannot imagine its actual impact on the people involved, and for an outsider to feel outrage is normal. Five years after the war my parents sent me to England as an au pair; it was a good way to learn English, but oh how painful! My host family treated me as the never-to-be-forgiven German Enemy and kept me scrubbing, polishing and cleaning all day long. When I came to this country, I'd mumble about my Swedish ancestors, but be silent about my German place of birth because I was too ashamed to admit that I was German, no matter that I was just a child back during the Hitler years.
These were some of my reasons for writing The Madman and His Mistress—to take the reader back to the Hitler years and how they came about. Once in power he ruled with brutal ruthlessness and persuasive propaganda. the book portrays the story of three generations of my family and my father’s college friends, who valiantly coped and yet remained compassionate human beings.
Demise to all tyranny!
Those years under Hitler’s yoke were strong reasons for me to stay here in this country, the great Land of the Free.
Too often we forget how fortunate we are.
Rosi
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