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Holocaust Memorial Day

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
Is being marked today in the uk I thought it would be nice to just post a thread so we can remember it as a community too.

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    Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    I've got nothing to "remember", I wasn't even alive at the time.

    However I hope people who think it one of the worst events in human history, whether they remember it or not, take this opportunity to understand the root causes of it and not simply one (admittedly horrifying) result of them.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i visited the auschwitz site when i was 17. it was one of those things where as you are looking at it you know that it will stay in your mind forever. the main camp buildings are still there and what is most alarming is the scale of it all, it was absolutely huge and you can't explain that in words without seeing it and really appreciating just how much of a massive operation it was. i stood inside an old gas chamber and looked upwards through the chimney and felt filled with grief for the people who died there. most people have probably heard about the mountains of shoes and cases and glasses and things like that. they are all conserved in glass cases in the museum. again what is most shocking is the amount, there is so much of it, it's just dreadful and you can still read the individual names on the suitcases. i remember clinging to my friend's arm and almost falling over in shock when we walked into the room with all of the hair. i won't forget that. and when you see the different triangles the prisoners wore to show their reason for being there i realised that if i had been there, i would have been executed too. the tourguide we had was a polish lady who had lost family in the holocaust. when we were leaving i promised her that i would never forget.

    i don't know if it's because i've been there, or if it's because i studied a lot of european history when i was younger, or just because of the person that i am, but i know i will always remember. and of course it wasn't just auschwitz, but the other camps too. sometimes people say that we need to forget about the war and everything associated with it, or that it is pointless to be upset about the holocaust when terrible things are still going on in the world today, but i don't agree. i think that each of the people who lost their lives, and in such a prolonged, painful way, deserves to be remembered for the suffering and indignity they endured. and all for no good reason, just because they were not someone's idea of perfect.

    the auschwitz memorial museum in poland
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I went to Auschwitz once, it was haunting, I can't describe the feeling but I felt strangely overwhelmed by the experience.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it's also important to remember that these events aren't confined to the depths of history either. The Rwandan genocide, for example, took place while many of us were alive.
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    Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    yellowseahorse wrote: »
    I think it's also important to remember that these events aren't confined to the depths of history either. The Rwandan genocide, for example, took place while many of us were alive.
    That's true, and was partly my point (although I wasn't thinking of any specific other incident). I think it's more important to remember why these things happened and work against it, than the specific people who died (or had other things happen to them) as a result.

    EDIT: To avoid misunderstandings, I'm not trying to "belittle" this day or anything like it, I'm just saying we shouldn't be focusing on the results, in case anyone does that.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I get what you're saying Indrid. It's important to learn the lessons of history. Unfortunately, we haven't yet, as a race.

    But for now, I'd hoped we could just take a minute to think about how it shouldn't have happened, how we can stand for each other to make sure it doesn't again.
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    AuroraAurora Posts: 11,722 An Original Mixlorian
    Me and College are going their, is a History and Psychology trip combined, in Poland, right? We saw the picture and it was daunting, they kept glasses, and the hair of people, as well as shoes, the thought of going excites me, but seems daunting! As in Psychology we are learning about Obedience, and they someone said, the Nazi's had an Authoritarian personality.

    At the end of the world war, people were horrified to discover some of the behaviours carried out by the Nazi regime. They didn't understand how 'Ordinary Germans' obeyed orders and killed 6 million people during the holocaust. Many researchers believed the obedience required perpetuate the Holocaust was due to the fact that the 'Germans were different people' they believed the Germans had a particular 'Type' or personality, as mentioned above, the Authoritarian personality.

    This concept was developed by Adorno Et Al, describing individuals who were typical, hostile to people or a inferior status while being 'Servile' to those they think to be of a higher status than themselves. Such as individuals tend to uphold the norms of the society in which they live and are intolerant of alternative ways of life.

    But Milgrim conducted, that the 'Germans are different' hypothesis to be wrong and the majority of people irrespective of their nationality will obey authority figures, in a particular situation, even if the command requires destructive behaviours.

    Watch this YouTube video :)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdb20gcc_Ns
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