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THE AFTERMatH subject OF THE HOLOCAUST Context9. Historians of the Second World War, par- The painful truth was nevertheless re- ticularly the Holocaust, have not to date vealed, despite German attempts to hide been able to determine the exact number the scale of their crimes and destruction of Jews murdered at that time. Shortly af- of their evidence. Still during the war, gov- ter the war, the number was generally es- ernments of Allied countries fighting the timated to be approximately six million. It was Germans announced a court trial for those re- recognised that approximately four million died sponsible for crimes committed in occupied ter- in camps and the remaining two million in oth- ritories. This includes a declaration of 13 January er locations, primarily ghettos, and as a result of 1942 signed in London at a meeting headed by mass executions by Einsatzgruppen in the East. the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-ex- These numbers were cited by the International ile Władysław Sikorski. Representatives of nine al- Military Tribunal in Nuremberg and were based on lied countries issued a written document on the German statistics. These statistics are nevertheless post-war prosecution of crime perpetrators. The inexact, because not all documentation on all Ger- exposed extent of genocide that took place dur- man crimes against Jews has been found. Addi- ing the war meant that public opinion in the free tionally, the Germans documented the Holocaust world demanded that all those guilty be swiftly with varying precision. Some aspects were scru- punished immediately after the war. Even before pulously recorded while others quite generally. As its end, it was possible to draft a legal basis upon the war neared its end, the Germans deliberate- which future indictments would be handed down. ly destroyed evidence of their crimes. Moreover, The following types of crimes were distinguished: post-war shifts of borders and migration rendered 1. Crimes against peace (preparation and declara- estimates of the number of survivors difficult. tion of war); 2. War crimes (breach of treaties and Also significant was the attitude of rescued Jews war conventions by the Germans), and 3. Crimes themselves, who for various reasons did not wish against humanity (murder, slave labour, theft of to divulge their Jewish identities after the war and property, persecution for racial and political rea- continued to live under the false identity adopted sons). Nuremberg was selected as the location to during the occupation. Attempts in subsequent try the key German war criminals. Ten years be- decades to further specify estimates of Jewish vic- fore, laws discriminating against Jews had been tims have produced different effects. Currently, it announced in this ancient German city (as the Na- is accepted that from 5.1 million to six million Jews zis perceived it). The International Military Tribunal died during the Holocaust, i.e. approximately two- prepared the trial and raised charges against 22 thirds of the European Jewish population and one- German political, military and business leaders. third of all Jews in the world. 1 The prosecution of German criminals proved to often required financial aid and healthcare. They be very complicated in the realities of post-war did not always feel well in the newly formed Jew- Europe and with little effect, as only a small number ish state, which from the start of its existence had of perpetrators were duly penalised. Essentially, to fight for independence and only began building the punishment of all German criminals and its own infrastructure. Although those very ill re- accessories to their crimes during the occupation ceived good care, there were generally no condi- has not been successful. Many chief decision- tions for their rehabilitation. Later, many of them making political figures of the Third Reich did decided to leave Israel. not live to see the end of the Second World War, whereas others effectively hid after it ended. The It is worth noting that for many Holocaust survivors passage of time has diminished the chances of the year 1945 did not mean the end of problems. bringing people responsible for the Holocaust Their adaptation to new conditions was often to justice. Outstanding remains the matter of slow. Trauma associated with the loss of family, material and moral satisfaction of those harmed destruction of a local community and irreversible by the Third Reich, for example, through payment losses from pre-war life, frequently portrayed as of compensation. Also, not all matters surrounding idyllic, led to various reactions. Some individuals assets of murdered Jews have been addressed felt compelled to describe German crimes and and property restitution is not smooth in many traumatic experiences of the occupation. Others, countries. This is due to many factors, including in turn, remained silent by hiding their difficult political, social and cultural ones. emotions within. For decades, Holocaust survivors found it difficult to speak about their own tragic Holocaust remembrance and a commemoration experiences. Opening up was not helped by the policy related to it have evolved over decades fact that the social environment in which they since the end of the war. Immediately after these lived after the war frequently did not comprehend tragic events, however, countries focused on the problems they had faced. This applied to reconstruction, economic recovery and social European, American and Israeli societies of the stabilisation rather than promoting Holocaust time. Such an approach toward the Holocaust memory. was particularly painful in Israel, which became a shelter for most survivors. The modern state One of the consequences of the Second World focused on development and strengthening of War was the emigration of Jews from Europe. This independence while propagating the image of particularly affected East-Central European coun- the Jew as a strong kibbutz member working for tries, including Poland, associated with locations Israel did not understand their pain and did not where the Germans carried out the Holocaust. Em- even want to listen to them because weakness or igration also reflected an increasingly articulated victimhood was not part of this ethos. European need for Jews to have their own homeland where Jews were perceived as cowardly and incapable they could live safely. When analysing the Holo- of armed resistance to their oppressors. It was caust aftermath, the impact of these events on the commonly feared that stories about the Holocaust birth of the independent state of Israel cannot be could weaken the combative spirit among Israeli overlooked. In 1948–1953, more than 300,000 Eu- youth. Therefore, this subject was hardly addressed. ropean Jews reached this country, although many If it was, for example, in history textbooks, the Jews also emigrated to the United States, Australia focus was always on the heroism of resistance and Western European countries such as Sweden. movement members. Some change came with Among those leaving for Israel were activists and the establishment of the Yad Vashem National fighters from the resistance movement, who were Memory Institute in Jerusalem in 1953. In the years perceived as heroes. They created their own asso- to come, Holocaust survivors initiated a debate ciations and institutions and the most important on German war and occupation reparations. Also kibbutz and Ghetto Heroes Museum (Lohamei raised was the problem of collaboration of certain HaGeta’ot) whose co-founders were Warsaw ghet- Jews with the occupier, as well as the responsibility to survivors Cywia Lubetkin and Icchak Cukierman. of Judenrat members and the Jewish police for the Many other surviving Jews also reached Israel. tragic fate of their fellow countrymen. As regards Their physical and mental condition varied and af- their perception by the rest of Israeli society, the ter their wartime and occupation experiences they turning point was the trial of Adolf Eichmann Subject 9. 2 CONTEXT in Jerusalem in 1960–1961 which ended with of the Second World War also saw the promotion Eichmann sentenced to death by hanging. It of Holocaust memory as their objective. One of became an opportunity for a public debate and the them is the European Network of Remembrance processing of certain issues from past years. The and Solidarity at the initiative of which, inter alia, Holocaust gradually became a vital element of the this educational package has been made possible. historical narrative. Another event that received media coverage was the ‘second Auschwitz trial’ Despite numerous forms Holocaust commem- that began in Frankfurt on Main on 20 December oration, study of documents, recorded witness 1963. The defendants were 22 SS members at the accounts, and its coverage in mass culture and ed- KL Auschwitz camp. Ultimately, 18 were sentenced ucation, attempts to negate the Holocaust have (six to a life term) and four acquitted. persisted in many parts of the world over the years. This takes place despite overwhelming evi- More wars and a serious threat to national security dence of the genocide launched against Jews by reminded Israelis of what happened to the Jewish the Germans. Almost immediately after the war, nation in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Witnesses efforts were made to demonstrate no such geno- to those events and survivors (not only fighters) cide, or at least none on such a large scale. Articles became a part of this narrative. Their testimonies and books were published in West European coun- were recorded, archived and made public. tries (France, Germany) and the US attempting to They began to visit schools where they shared reduce the number of the victims. Some authors their experiences. As a consequence, the Israeli argued that the Holocaust was an invention of parliament included the Holocaust as a mandatory Zionists seeking to legitimise the existence of Isra- subject in the middle-school history curriculum in el.

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