A momentous historical find has provided insight into the manner in which sentiment against a particular ethnicity can grow from the ravings of a deranged individual into a frightening national movement with catastrophic consequences. A letter authored by Adolf Hitler in 1919 speaks of removal of the Jewish people from Germany. While even he surely did not dream at the time that mass extermination was feasible, he spoke openly of cleansing his country of an element that he considered to be polluting the national character.
The enormous significance of this document from the youthful Hitler is aptly described by Steven A. Ludsin, a former member of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust and the original United States Holocaust Memorial Council, in a letter published in yesterday’s NY Times:
It shows that warnings existed that when a powerful speaker advocated that the Jewish people must be removed from Germany as a matter of national policy, his sick ideas should have been taken more seriously. Perhaps in this modern age of instant communication we can anticipate the virus of hatred and act faster and more effectively. Words have power, and anyone who ignores this may allow history to be repeated. The current economic downturn is fertile ground for hatred to spread. Let’s be vigilant.
It may start with the ravings of a lowly army corporal whom some find charismatic. As Mr. Ludsin notes, that’s when civilized society must intervene. If not, the fever might spread, and not only to marginalized sectors of the populace that are still considered by the unwary to be no threat. Without unequivocal condemnation of early manifestations of racism, the notion of forced transfer of an ethnically undesirable population will soon find expression in higher places, including prominent government ministers. Emboldened by silence, even supposedly liberal ministers may jump on the bandwagon, hoping to curry favor with a population that is hurtling toward barbarity. The problem can be especially insidious when it occurs in a country believed to be a culturally advanced liberal democracy, as was Germany.
Other red-flag factors include whether religious or cultural leaders call for anti-miscegenation measures to protect the purity of one race from mixture of blood with the “underclass,” whether there is a long-standing tradition of calling for transfer of the ethnically undesirable, and whether there is a prior record of success at such transfer, which would only feed the ugly conviction that it can be accomplished again. Ninety-two years have now passed since the Hitler letter, and 66 years since the end of his nightmarish regime. While the Holocaust is a historical event that is receding in the past, we can only thank vigilant people and organizations like Mr. Ludsin and the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, and presumably the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Abe Foxman and the Anti-Defamation League, who surely will be the first to call attention to any early warning signs of a recurrence. In the words of Mr. Ludsin, who asks that we all join in this effort, we must “anticipate the virus of hatred and act faster and more effectively. . . Let’s be vigilant.” Amen!
david, did i miss a link to a copy of the letter?
No, marc, I don’t believe a link to the Hitler letter is available online. I just linked to the NY Times article about the letter.
A translation of the text of the letter (maybe the other version) is available here:
link to jewishvirtuallibrary.org
I typed a reply to a nasty anti-semitic comment, but the anti-semitic comment was deleted. So I erased my response. No need to post this.
The text of the letter, known as the Gemlich letter, can be found here.
vielen dank.
“and presumably the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Abe Foxman and the Anti-Defamation League, who surely will be the first to call attention to any early warning signs of a recurrence.”
I doubt it, they seem more concerned with defining anti-Israel sentiments as anti-Semitic and seem to accept that anti-Semites, such as Pastor Hagee, are OK as long as they are pro-Israel. Or were you being ironic?
braciole, the entire article is sarcastic – all the links are about signs of Israeli racism and plans for transfer of Palestinians, which go virtually unnoticed in the US.
Revolting.
“Revolting.”
Yes, the anti-Arab racism, the past ethnic cleansing and the plans being touted for the transfer of the Palestinians are all quite revolting. I am happy to see that you can see that.
Woody, you are misinterpreting Werdine. He was merely letting us all know that his customary voluminous response will be delayed because he is currently leading a revolt against an oppressive regime that he cannot name for fear of endangering our personal security.
No doubt. But I am a incorrigible optimist and think that one day, even Werdine will see the light.
I wouldn’t hold your breath, Woody.
While any comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany is bound to be a crowd-pleaser here, it is doubtful that I will be “seeing the light” of any such dubious analogies anytime soon.
So that’s what you found revolting, Robert, my comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany. Actually, I made no such comparison. It is Ludsin who anticipates some modern day event that will mirror Nazi Germany and says we must be vigilant about early signs of ethnic cleansing. I only pointed out that such signs are plainly present and currently ignored by the likes of him, and you for that matter. I tend to stay away from Nazi comparisons, though you don’t, as you use Nazi-like imagery when describing Hamas and Hezbollah. As for the open discussion of transfer of Palestinians, you of course have no problem with it because hey, it’s not as bad as Nazi Germany, so no problem. Still, I appreciate the pretense of outrage at my article.
The dubious analogy most often falling from the mouths of the US congress folks and mainstream press is the one conflating American values with Israeli values, America with Israel, the one equating a real democratic state with an ethnoreligious state.
Parallel in 1948? I don’t think so.
Parallel in 2011? More plausibly.
If Germany had just moved the Jews out of Germany, and did not undertake any military effort to take over flank exposed states, then all of Europe, it probably would have occurred, note as another of a sequence of horrible (but not genocidal) treatment of Jews.
It is only because Germany devolved to military imperialism and to actual, planned and implemented genocide, that the holocaust is the holocaust, that naziism is a demonic ideology (rather than merely a repugnant reactionary one), and the migration of Jews to Israel and the formation of Israel as Israel was necessary (rather than a utopian movement).
The world is different. The displacement of Palestinians is not going unnoticed, and there is no possibility of genocidal efforts on the part of Israel, even with Israel Beitanhu.
Richard Witty said, ‘Lucas Koerner? Who’s that? I’ve been hiding until that storm blew over.’
Shorter Richard Witty, no they should be called “Half-Wittys”:
‘If Zionism doesn’t go quite as far as the Nazis, everything is fine with me.’
“there is no possibility of genocidal efforts on the part of Israel,”
Yes, Richard, we know “ethnic cleasing is not currently necessary”. You said that already.
Mooser June 14, 2011 at 11:59 am
” Shorter Richard Witty, no they should be called “Half-Wittys”:
‘If Zionism doesn’t go quite as far as the Nazis, everything is fine with me.’ ”
- Yes, let us celebrate the Nazi victory of forever setting the bar and the standard for atrocities, below which anything is totally acceptable. Hallowed be thy name, and let us never invoke it unless with great mystery and reverence – and thank you for setting yourselves up as an example to be referred to in order to justify lesser atrocities, you have done the world a great service…
link to salon.com
The world is different. The displacement of Palestinians is not going unnoticed, and there is no possibility of genocidal efforts on the part of Israel, even with Israel Beitanhu.
I’m sure the Palestinians are comforted by your reassurances.
Btw, whose definition of “genocide” are we using?
“If Germany had just moved the Jews out of Germany, and did not undertake any military effort to take over flank exposed states, then all of Europe, it probably would have occurred, note as another of a sequence of horrible (but not genocidal) treatment of Jews.”
Little know fact: After Witty posted this word stew, the moral remains of William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White burst into flames at the utter negation of their life’s work…
as well as the work of any half-witted historian of inter-war Europe. Witty seems to think the Jewish question was the main issue for Hitler, and no other country was expelling Jews at the time, or that anti-semitism was imported by the Nazis into the occupied Eastern European states. The mind boggles.
If the migration of Jews to Israel ‘was necessary’ why aren’t you living in Israel witty?
Several of us keep asking you that and you never answer.
>> If the migration of Jews to Israel ‘was necessary’ why aren’t you living in Israel witty?
Perhaps, like ethnic cleansing, it’s “currently not necessary”! :-D
Many people would have said as late as 1939 that genocide by a country as civilized as Germany was unimaginable. War made it possible. Of course it was a war that Hitler wanted and brought about, among other reasons because it would make radical measures possible.
Who knows what a regional war (a war provoked by an attack on Iran?) might make it possible for a radical government in Israel to do?
“Of course it was a war that Hitler wanted and brought about, among other reasons because it would make radical measures possible.”
Of course? It’s just one of several historical narratives, and not even the most plausible one.
Yeah, In the name of Jewish sensitivity, it’s important that any civil society doesn’t intervene or call the brutal occupation for what it is. Doing this, would spoil all of AIPAC and their affiliated agencies talking points, which have taken decades to construct.
If the religious aspects of Judaism are such a moral force, then shouldn’t the tenets of the religion ultimately triumph over leaders like Netanyahu? It seems the opposite is taking place, as Netanyahu is polling well in his country.
Often when I speak with someone about Israel they direct the conversation about Israelis being hated in the Arab world and how they could be destroyed. But wouldn’t coming to a peace agreement and returning to the 1967 lines ensure a good faith effort on behalf of the state, as a member state of the region?
“If the religious aspects of Judaism are such a moral force, then shouldn’t the tenets of the religion ultimately triumph over leaders like Netanyahu? It seems the opposite is taking place, as Netanyahu is polling well in his country.”
Chu (is that a Chuish name?), they said Israel was a “Jewish State” but they sorta left out exactly what that Jewishness obligates them to, besides their own advantage (as they perceive it in their Ziocaine-addled minds).
You make very, very strong point Mooser.
Chu. It’s actually oriental Druish.
“Chu. It’s actually oriental Druish.”
I see. Well I know how it is, people are always telling me “But you don’t look Moose-ish!”
Very enjoyable belly laughs from this tangent. Reminds me a bit of that notion, “I’m not a Jew, I’m Jew-ish.”
Surely this article is a spoof.
Just change Hitler to Netanyahu and this is about Jews , Palestines and Israel.
Yea…..it’s all so obviously, glaringly, hypocritical.
yes, the article is a spoof. click on the links I provided. It is all about Lieberman and Livni and openly discussed plans for transfer.
RE: 1919 Hitler letter reveals seeds of ethnic cleansing, by David Samel
MY COMMENT: That’s some mighty sublime tongue-in-cheek!
BUT SERIOUSLY, SEE THIS SUPERB DOCUMENTARY: The Architecture of Doom (Undergångens Arkitektur) 1991, NR, 118 minutes (on YouTube in 12 segments & available for streaming at Netflix)
This chilling documentary explores how artistic, cultural and historical trends forged the National Socialist aesthetic, which in turn contributed to the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust. Swedish-born filmmaker Peter Cohen, whose parents escaped the Nazis, examines Hitler’s failed career as an artist, his fascination with Wagner, the Nazi obsession with cleanliness, the paradoxical link between “beauty” and evil in the Third Reich, and more.
NETFLIX LISTING – link to netflix.com
YouTube, Architecture of Doom (12 segments) – link to youtube.com
P.S. ANOTHER EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY: Hiding and Seeking, 2004, NR, 84 minutes
In this compelling documentary from the directors of the just-as-riveting A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, a father [from the U.S.] takes his grown-up [Israeli] Orthodox Jewish sons to Poland to teach them about the perils of putting up walls to keep those they deem dangerous outside. After he introduces them to the Polish family who helped their grandfather during the Holocaust, they discover the value in building bridges. [Or do they? - J.L.D.]
Directors: Menachem Daum, Oren Rudavsky
Availability: Streaming and DVD
NETFLIX LISTING – link to movies.netflix.com
Hiding & Seeking Trailer (05:50) – link to youtube.com
The Gemlich letter has been known for a long time. I recently read about it in Anton Joachimsthaler’s Hitlers Weg Begann in München 1913 – 1923 [Hitler's Path Began in Munich, 1913-1923], which even has a facsimile of the letter. That book was published in 2000.
genocide?
step one, ethnic cleansing!
and to bring an end to all such terror and suffering?
in the spirit of those eighteen magical days in tahrir square
each and everyone standing up for justice in palestine
whereupon?
retaking the dawn