Essays on Holocaust and Genocide Editor: Colin Tatz
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The Obedience Alibi Milgram 'S Account of the Holocaust Reconsidered
David R. Mandel The Obedience Alibi Milgram 's Account of the Holocaust Reconsidered "Unable to defy the authority of the experimenter, [participantsj attribute all responsibility to him. It is the old story of 'just doing one's duty', that was heard time and again in the defence statement of the accused at Nuremberg. But it would be wrang to think of it as a thin alibi concocted for the occasion. Rather, it is a fundamental mode of thinking for a great many people once they are locked into a subordinate position in a structure of authority." {Milgram 1967, 6} Abstract: Stanley Milgram's work on obedience to authority is social psychology's most influential contribution to theorizing about Holocaust perpetration. The gist of Milgram's claims is that Holocaust perpetrators were just following orders out of a sense of obligation to their superiors. Milgram, however, never undertook a scholarly analysis of how his obedience experiments related to the Holocaust. The author first discusses the major theoretical limitations of Milgram's position and then examines the implications of Milgram's (oft-ignored) experimental manipula tions for Holocaust theorizing, contrasting a specific case of Holocaust perpetration by Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police. lt is concluded that Milgram's empirical findings, in fact, do not support his position-one that essen tially constitutes an obedience alibi. The article ends with a discussion of some of the social dangers of the obedience alibi. 1. Nazi Germany's Solution to Their J ewish Question Like the pestilence-stricken community of Oran described in Camus's (1948) novel, The Plague, thousands ofEuropean Jewish communities were destroyed by the Nazi regime from 1933-45. -
Smith's Report
SMITH’S REPORT On the Holocaust Controversy No. 157 www.Codoh.com January 2009 See Back Issues at: www.smithsreport.com Challenging the Holocaust Taboo Since 1990 The Growing Self-Accusation Movement In Germany By Kevin Käther Translated by J. M. Damon [Translator’s note.] Truth Is Coming to the In the tradition of Henry Tho- Reich Capitol Day 2 of the of the Self- reau and Mahatma Gandhi, the Accusation Trial of Kevin new activists demand that they be Kevin Käther Käther tried and punished for their crimes. My self-accusation trial con- r. Kevin Käther is a rep- tinued on 18 November 2008, and M resentative of the grow- let me begin by saying that it was ing "Self-Accusation" movement, the best trial day so far! Court re- or citizens’ demanding that they be sumed shortly after 1 pm, at which charged and tried for crimes of time I continued submitting my opinion. evidentiary motions, namely the The following trial report re- body of facts establishing the sci- flects the growing courage, enthu- entific validity of Germar Rudolf’s siasm and freshness of vision analyses of the so-called “gas among patriotic young Germans as chambers” at Auschwitz. they answer the call for a new kind Today I submitted the Rudolf of civil disobedience. They are Kevin Käther Expert Report on the ‘Gas Cham- publicly “confessing” the “crime” bers’ of Auschwitz, making clear to of expressing opinions critical of Growing numbers of judges the Court that Rudolf’s critics have their government’s inquisitorial and public officials are also ex- been unable to disprove it. -
'Owned' Vatican Guilt for the Church's Role in the Holocaust?
Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations Volume 4 (2009): Madigan CP 1-18 CONFERENCE PROCEEDING Has the Papacy ‘Owned’ Vatican Guilt for the Church’s Role in the Holocaust? Kevin Madigan Harvard Divinity School Plenary presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Council of Centers on Christian-Jewish Relations November 1, 2009, Florida State University, Boca Raton, Florida Given my reflections in this presentation, it is perhaps appropriate to begin with a confession. What I have written on the subject of the papacy and the Shoah in the past was marked by a confidence and even self-righteousness that I now find embarrassing and even appalling. (Incidentally, this observation about self-righteousness would apply all the more, I am afraid, to those defenders of the wartime pope.) In any case, I will try and smother those unfortunate qualities in my presentation. Let me hasten to underline that, by and large, I do not wish to retract conclusions I have reached, which, in preparation for this presentation, have not essentially changed. But I have come to perceive much more clearly the need for humility in rendering judgment, even harsh judgment, on the Catholic actors, especially the leading Catholic actors of the period. As José Sanchez, with whose conclusions in his book on understanding the controversy surrounding the wartime pope I otherwise largely disagree, has rightly pointed out, “it is easy to second guess after the events.”1 This somewhat uninflected observation means, I take it, that, in the case of the Holy See and the Holocaust, the calculus of whether to speak or to act was reached in the cauldron of a savage world war, wrought in the matrix of competing interests and complicated by uncertainty as to whether acting or speaking would result in relief for or reprisal. -
" Triumph of the Will": a Limit Case for Effective-Historical Consciousness?
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 355 611 CS 508 146 AUTHOR Schwartzman, Roy TITLE "Triumph of the Will": A Limit Case for Effective-Historical Consciousness? PUB DATE Jan 93 NOTE 27p.; Paper presented at the Annual Florida State University Conference on Literature and Film (18th, Tallahassee, FL, January 1993). PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) Reports Evaluative /Feasibility (142) Guid'ts Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MFOI/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Audience Awareness; *Critical Viewing; Documentaries; Film Criticism; *Film Study; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; *Mass Media Role; *Mass Media Use; Media Research; Nazism; *Persuasive Discourse; Propaganda IDENTIFIERS Film Genres; Film History; Film Viewing; Gadamer (Hans Georg); Germany; *Triumph of the Will ABSTRACT A film presented as factual may permit critical responses that question its purported factual objectivity and political neutrality. In class, Hans-Georg Gadamer's concept 3f effective-historical consciousness can be used to evaluate the allegedly propagandistic messages in Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will." Analysis of this 1934 film reveals how it reinforced racial doctrines propagated by the Nazis and by scientists who sympathized with these racial views. Somewhat paradoxically, Riefenstahl's film may be considered a harbinger of twogenres in film whose essences seem contradictory: documentary and propaganda. "Triumph of the Will" contains no narration whatsoever after brief introductory remarks. Nat verbalized, these remarks are printedon successive screens in short phrases. This lack of narration reduces the critical distance between viewer and event. The opening scene features Adolf Hitler emerging from a plane to grace Nuremberg with his presence, and to rescue and transform Germany. -
And Other Targeted Minorities in the Third Reich Week 2 Unit Learning Ou
WEEK 2 Prewar Persecution of “Enemies of the State” and Other Targeted Minorities in the Third Reich Prepared by Tony Joel and Mathew Turner Week 2 Unit Learning Outcomes ULO 1. evaluate in a reflective and critical manner the consequences of racism and prejudice ULO 3. synthesise core historiographical debates on how and why the Holocaust occurred Introduction This learning module is divided into a series of seven mostly short sections all of which are linked by the common theme of German victim groups who were ostracised and persecuted by their own government when living under Nazism. We start this week by examining the Nazi concept of supposed “Aryan” superiority and the creation of a national socialist “people’s community” or what the Nazis termed their ideal Volksgemeinschaft. Section 2 explores theories of Nazi “racial hygiene” and eugenics, which provided a pseudoscientific framework for Nazi racial theories including the identification of “undesirables” (Jews and others) who were classified as not belonging to the Volksgemeinschaft. Section 3 (the lengthiest this week) investigates the persecution of Jews living in the Third Reich, particularly in the prewar period 1933-39 but also up to 1941. Section 4 considers how German Jews responded to this persecution, both “officially” and privately. Section 5 outlines the Nazi system of concentration camps, used to intimidate and imprison political opponents and other individuals considered to be “enemies of the state.” The section reinforces the important point that, although they were included among the targets, Jews were by no means the main priority during the prewar period. Section 6 looks at the Nazi program of forced sterilisation introduced as early as July 1933, which provided Nazi doctors with the legal means to carry out the sterilisation of individuals who, according to racial “science,” threatened the purity of the “Aryan race.” Sterilisation victims included Germans with hereditary illnesses, mental illnesses, or perceived physical and intellectual disabilities. -
Holocaust Glossary
Holocaust Glossary A ● Allies: 26 nations led by Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union that opposed Germany, Italy, and Japan (known as the Axis powers) in World War II. ● Antisemitism: Hostility toward or hatred of Jews as a religious or ethnic group, often accompanied by social, economic, or political discrimination. (USHMM) ● Appellplatz: German word for the roll call square where prisoners were forced to assemble. (USHMM) ● Arbeit Macht Frei: “Work makes you free” is emblazoned on the gates at Auschwitz and was intended to deceive prisoners about the camp’s function (Holocaust Museum Houston) ● Aryan: Term used in Nazi Germany to refer to non-Jewish and non-Gypsy Caucasians. Northern Europeans with especially “Nordic” features such as blonde hair and blue eyes were considered by so-called race scientists to be the most superior of Aryans, members of a “master race.” (USHMM) ● Auschwitz: The largest Nazi concentration camp/death camp complex, located 37 miles west of Krakow, Poland. The Auschwitz main camp (Auschwitz I) was established in 1940. In 1942, a killing center was established at Auschwitz-Birkenau (Auschwitz II). In 1941, Auschwitz-Monowitz (Auschwitz III) was established as a forced-labor camp. More than 100 subcamps and labor detachments were administratively connected to Auschwitz III. (USHMM) Pictured right: Auschwitz I. B ● Babi Yar: A ravine near Kiev where almost 34,000 Jews were killed by German soldiers in two days in September 1941 (Holocaust Museum Houston) ● Barrack: The building in which camp prisoners lived. The material, size, and conditions of the structures varied from camp to camp. -
Interpreting Race and Difference in the Operas of Richard Strauss By
Interpreting Race and Difference in the Operas of Richard Strauss by Patricia Josette Prokert A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music: Musicology) in the University of Michigan 2020 Doctoral Committee: Professor Jane F. Fulcher, Co-Chair Professor Jason D. Geary, Co-Chair, University of Maryland School of Music Professor Charles H. Garrett Professor Patricia Hall Assistant Professor Kira Thurman Patricia Josette Prokert [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4891-5459 © Patricia Josette Prokert 2020 Dedication For my family, three down and done. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family― my mother, Dev Jeet Kaur Moss, my aunt, Josette Collins, my sister, Lura Feeney, and the kiddos, Aria, Kendrick, Elijah, and Wyatt―for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout my educational journey. Without their love and assistance, I would not have come so far. I am equally indebted to my husband, Martin Prokert, for his emotional and technical support, advice, and his invaluable help with translations. I would also like to thank my doctorial committee, especially Drs. Jane Fulcher and Jason Geary, for their guidance throughout this project. Beyond my committee, I have received guidance and support from many of my colleagues at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance. Without assistance from Sarah Suhadolnik, Elizabeth Scruggs, and Joy Johnson, I would not be here to complete this dissertation. In the course of completing this degree and finishing this dissertation, I have benefitted from the advice and valuable perspective of several colleagues including Sarah Suhadolnik, Anne Heminger, Meredith Juergens, and Andrew Kohler. -
Visiting Exhibit Puts Nazi Racial Theories Under Microscope
Tulane University Visiting exhibit puts Nazi racial theories under microscope July 19, 2012 9:45 AM Arthur Nead [email protected] The Tulane University School of Medicine is partnering with The National World War II Museum to bring “Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race,” an exhibition on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., to New Orleans. Students at the Berlin School for the Blind examine racial head models circa 1935. Students were taught Gregor Mendel's principles of inheritance and the purported application of those laws to human heredity and principles of race. During the Third Reich, Germans born deaf or blind, like those born with mental illnesses or disabilities, were urged to submit to compulsory sterilization as a civic duty. (Blinden-Museum an der Johann-August-Zeune-Schule fur Blinde, Berlin) The exhibition, which examines the alliance between physicians, scientists and the Nazis that led to the murder of millions, opens July 25 and remains on display through October 15. The exhibition traces history from the early 20th-century international eugenics movement to the development of the Nazi regime's “science of race.” It challenges viewers to reflect on the present- day interest in genetic manipulation that promotes the possibility of human perfection. “These issues and how they influenced fields like bioethics are topics of import,” says Dr. Benjamin P. Sachs, dean of the medical school. “We hope both our medical community and the general public will walk away from 'Deadly Medicine' with a better understanding that respect for all human beings has to be the essence of the medical profession. -
G L O S S a R Y O F T E R
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ● anti-Judaism: hostility toward the Jewish religion, usually based on Christian theological principles. ● antisemitism: term created in 1879 by Wilhelm Marr in Germany. Jews were defined as a distinct “race”; a contemporary name for “Jew-hatred” or “Judeophobia.” ● Black Nobility: the papal aristocracy who remained loyal to the Holy See after the abolition of the papal states in 1870. ● congregation: a Vatican department supervising a specific part of church government: for example, Congregation for the Sacraments supervised the liturgical life of the church. ● Curia: the governing body of the Catholic Church. ● deicide: literally “the murder of God”; a charge levelled against the Jews by many of the Church Fathers. Officially rejected by the Catholic Church in 1965. ● dicastery: subsection of a congregation. ● Diocese: geographical region governed by a bishop. ● diplomatic note: a less formal communication between governments. ● encyclical: formal papal letter addressed to the whole church or, in special cases, addressed to a particular country, specifying an area of Catholic faith and morals. ● Endlösung: The “Final Solution”; Nazi euphemism for the murder of the Jews. It was the “Final Solution” of the Judenfrage (the Jewish question). ● Holy See: the seat of the bishop of Rome, the symbol of unity within the Catholic Church. Often used interchangeably with Vatican. ● Holy Week: most sacred week in the Christian calendar stretching from Palm Sunday through to the Easter Triduum (Holy or Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday). It recalls the last days of Christ and is marked with liturgies of special solemnity. ● legate: papal representative in a country without formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See. -
Holy Land and Holy See
1 HOLY LAND AND HOLY SEE PAPAL POLICY ON PALESTINE DURING THE PONTIFICATES OF POPES PIUS X, BENEDICT XV AND PIUS XI FROM 1903 TO 1939 PhD Thesis Gareth Simon Graham Grainger University of Divinity Student ID: 200712888 26 July 2017 2 CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction – Question, Hypothesis and Methodology Chapter 2: A Saint for Jerusalem – Pope Pius X and Palestine Chapter 3: The Balfour Bombshell – Pope Benedict XV and Palestine Chapter 4: Uneasy Mandate – Pope Pius XI and Palestine Chapter 5: Aftermath and Conclusions Appendix 1.The Roads to the Holy Sepulchre – Papal Policy on Palestine from the Crusades to the Twentieth Century Appendix 2.The Origins and Evolution of Zionism and the Zionist Project Appendix 3.The Policies of the Principal Towards Palestine from 1903 to 1939 Appendix 4. Glossary Appendix 5. Dramatis Personae Bibliography 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION – QUESTION, HYPOTHESIS AND METHODOLOGY 1.1. THE INTRIGUING QUESTION Invitation to Dr Theodor Herzl to attend Audience with Pope Pius X On 25 January 1904, the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, the recently-elected Pope Pius X granted an Audience in the Vatican Palace to Dr Theodor Herzl, leader of the Zionist movement, and heard his plea for papal approval for the Zionist project for a Jewish national home in Palestine. Dr Herzl outlined to the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church the full details of the Zionist project, providing assurances that the various Holy Places in Palestine would be “ex-territorialised” to ensure their security and protection, and sought the Pope’s endorsement and support, preferably through the issuing of a pro-Zionist encyclical. -
Ecaj Annual Report 5766 / 2006
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY 2006/5766 Copyright 2006 Executive Council of Australian Jewry This report is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher. The publisher warrants that all due care and diligence has been taken in the research and presentation of material in this report. However readers must rely upon their own enquiries relating to any matter contained herein. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Committee of Management and Councillors – 2005/2006 5 Presidents of the ECAJ: 1945-2006 7 A Tribute to Leslie Caplan 8 President’s Overview 10 ECAJ Photo Gallery 16 Executive Director’s Statement 22 Reports of Constituent Organisations 25 • Jewish Community Council of Victoria 25 • Jewish Community Council of Western Australian Inc 33 • Australian Capital Territory Jewish Community Inc 36 • Hobart Hebrew Congregation 40 • Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies 42 • New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies 46 Reports of Affiliated and Observer Organisations 56 • Australian Federation of WIZO 56 • B'nai B'rith Australia/New Zealand 60 • Australasian Union of Jewish Students 64 • Union for Progressive Judaism 76 • National Council of Jewish Women of Australia 81 • Zionist Federation of Australia 86 • Maccabi Australia Inc 91 Reports of Consultants 93 • Report on Antisemitism in Australia – Jeremy Jones AM 93 • Australian Defence Force Report – Rabbi Raymond Apple AO 95 • Community Relations Report – Josie Lacey OAM 96 • Education Report – Peta Jones Pellach 101 • Masking our Differences: Purim in Cebu – Peta Jones Pellach 105 • & Jeremy Jones AM • World Jewish Congress Report – Grahame J. -
The Nazi Hunter.Pdf
NEWS Friday, October 12, 2012 The Australian Jewish New s – jewishnews.net.au 15 THE NAZI HUNTER In your time at the Simon Wiesenthal of Mauthausen doctor Aribert Heim, Centre (SWC), you have uncovered the Dr Efraim Zuroff is the story of which also appears in the postwar escape of hundreds of Nazi war determined to book. In both cases, the children criminals to Western countries. These bring Nazi war found it very difficult to deal with efforts have influenced the creation of criminals to special laws in Canada (1987), justice. their parents’ alleged past. Zentai’s Australia (1989) and Great Britain children clung to their father’s denial (1991). How instrumental was the SWC of his participation in the murder of in prompting these countries to pursue Peter Balazs, although they had no such legislative measures? concrete proof, other than their The SWC was one of several father’s account. In the Heim case, the groups in each country that fought to daughter claimed never to have even convince these governments to take seen her father. legal action against the Nazi war criminals living in Canada, Australia Why did you decide to write the book? and the UK. The local Jewish com - Writing the book was in certain munity organisations, such as the respects a labour of love for the mem - Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai ory of the victims of the Shoah and to B’rith in Canada, and the Executive explain my mission. It took me about Council of Australian Jewry and nine months. So far I have had many Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs wonderful moments, but my share of Council in Australia, usually played a frustrations as well.