Author: Lawrence Reese
Translator: Liu Shuang
Publisher: Guangxi Normal University Press
Publication time: September 2016
preface
This book contains a lot of heart wrenching content, but I still believe we need such a work: on the one hand, because surveys show that most people still have a vague understanding of the true history of Auschwitz; On the other hand, I hope this book can provide some unique insights. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
I have been writing and creating television programs around Nazi themes for fifteen years. This book aims to build on these years of accumulation and use a specific location as a starting point to provide the most thorough interpretation of the most heinous crime in human history, which is Auschwitz. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Unlike anti Semitism, Auschwitz had a definite start date (the first batch of Polish prisoners arrived on June 14, 1940); Unlike genocide, Auschwitz had a definite end date (January 27, 1945, when the concentration camp was liberated). Between these two dates, the complex history of Auschwitz reflects in many ways the complexity of Nazi racial and ethnic policies. What do you think about this?
Auschwitz was not a extermination camp specifically designed to kill Jews, nor was it solely related to the 'Final Solution' - although it later became a theme of Auschwitz. The structure and facilities of Auschwitz camp have been changing all the time, and these changes are often closely related to the German war situation on various battlefields. Auschwitz, through its destructive dynamic development, became a tangible manifestation of the core values of the Nazi state. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The study of Auschwitz not only allows us to gain a deeper insight into the Nazis, but also enables us to understand what humanity would do in the most extreme situations of history. There are many stories involved here that can help us better understand ourselves. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
The writing of this book cannot be separated from some special research, namely interviews with nearly a hundred survivors of concentration camps and Nazi perpetrators. In addition, I also referred to hundreds of interviews conducted for several other programs about the Third Reich, many of which were former Nazi Party members. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The meetings and conversations with survivors and perpetrators have provided us with valuable insights that are difficult to obtain solely from written materials. Although I have been interested in the history of this period since my student days, the real in-depth research came from a conversation with a former Nazi party member in 1990. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
At that time, in order to write and produce a film about Dr. Joseph Goebbels, I interviewed Wilfred von Oven, who was Goebbels' exclusive secretary and a trusted assistant to the notorious Nazi propaganda minister. Don't forget to share your experience!
After the formal interview, we had tea and I asked the smart and charismatic person, 'If you could summarize your experience in the Third Reich in one word, which word would you choose?' Mr. von Offen pondered the answer to the question, thinking that he would mention the terror committed by this regime - which he confessed to - and the harm that Nazism caused to the world. Well, "he said finally," if I had to summarize my experience in the Third Empire in one word, I would say - heaven Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
heaven In any history book I have read, there is no one that describes the Nazi era in this way. This word doesn't seem to come from the mouth of this elegant and reasonable man sitting in front of me. Speaking of which, his speech and behavior do not resemble that of a Nazi Party member at all. How could such a person choose such a word? How could any intelligent person evaluate the Third Empire in such a way? Why did Germans in the 20th century commit such crimes? After all, they are the core of European culture and a well-educated nation. Years ago on that afternoon, these questions lingered in my mind and still linger to this day. Don't forget to share your experience!
During my search for answers, two accidental events in history were of great help.
Firstly, those interviewees who were once members of the Nazis happened to be at a stage in their lives where they would not suffer any losses even if they were to express themselves publicly when I asked them questions. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!Fifteen years in the morning, as the backbone of society, they will not reveal anything. And today, including the charming Mr. von Offen, the vast majority of them have passed away. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
We usually spend several months or even years persuading them to accept interviews and agree to video recording.We can never know for sure what the decisive factors ultimately led them to reveal everything. But in many cases, respondents clearly feel that their lives have come to an end, so they want to record their experiences in those significant historical moments without reservation. Furthermore, they believe that the BBC will not distort their views. I would say that only the BBC can provide the necessary support to help us accomplish this cause. These investigations have been ongoing for a long time, and only a public broadcasting station can make such a commitment. Don't forget to share your experience!
The second opportunity was that this study happened to coincide with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe. Suddenly, we not only had access to the files needed for research, but also to people. Don't forget to share your experience!
I once filmed in the Soviet Union during the communist era in 1989. When it came to national history, people could only shout political slogans. In the 1990s, long suppressed memories and viewpoints poured out like a flood of water. What do you think about this?
In the Baltic states, I heard people recall how they welcomed the Nazis as liberators and lined the streets; On the vast grasslands of the Kalmyk people, I obtained first-hand information about Stalin's retaliatory expulsion of the entire nation; In Siberia, I met veterans who were imprisoned twice - once by Hitler and once by the Soviet Union; In a small village near Minsk, I met a lady who had participated in the most brutal guerrilla warfare in modern history. Looking back, she believed that the Red Army was even more terrifying. If it weren't for the collapse of communism, all these deeply buried pasts would have been erased from this world with the death of the parties involved. Don't forget to share your experience!
Even more terrifying is anti Semitism.
When I wandered around these newly independent countries - from Lithuania to Ukraine, from Serbia to Belarus - I thought people would tell me how much they hated Soviet communism - that's the emotion they should have. And hate Jews? It's ridiculous, especially since few Jews still live there. What do you think about this?It seems that Hitler and the Nazis were quite successful in their work.
However, an old man from the Baltic Sea helped the Nazis shoot Jews in 1941, and sixty years later he still believes that what he did back then was correct. Even some people who once opposed the Nazis hold fanatical anti Semitic views. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
I still remember a Ukrainian veteran asking me a question during lunch. He once fought bloody battles against the Nazis and Soviet Union as a Ukrainian nationalist and was persecuted as a result. He asked me, 'I heard that there is a secret group of Jewish financiers from various countries in New York who plan to take down all non Jewish governments. What do you think?' I was stunned. Whenever there is unexpected and unabashed anti Semitism, I, as a non Jewish person, am always shocked. What do In my experience? "I finally replied," In my experience that's pure nonsense. "The veteran took a sip of vodka. Really, "he said," that's what you think. Interesting Have you tried this before? Share your story!
What shocked me the most was that holding such anti Semitic views is not limited to the older generation.I still remember the lady at the Lithuanian Airlines counter. After learning about the theme of the film we were filming, she said, "Are you interested in Jews? Just remember one thing: Marx was a Jew." Also in Lithuania, a young officer in his twenties took me to visit a military fortress located in Kaunas, where a large number of Jews were brutally slaughtered in 1941. He said to me, "You know, you missed something more important. It's not what we did to the Jews, but what the Jews did to us Don't forget to share your experience!
I'm not saying that everyone in the Eastern European countries I've been to holds this attitude, and not even a majority of people agree with these views. However, this blatant discrimination is really unsettling. Anyone who believes that the history covered in this book is irrelevant to the present should remember everything written earlier. All those who believe that only Nazis or even Hitler hold extremely vicious anti Semitic views should also reflect seriously. One of the most dangerous ideas is to believe that Europeans committed the crime of exterminating Jews unwillingly under the coercion of a few lunatics. Before the Nazis came to power, there was no such thing as a "unique extermination tendency" in German society. Otherwise, in the 1920s, how could a large number of Jews have fled from anti Semitic Eastern Europe to seek asylum in Germany? Don't forget to share your experience!
