| Nobody should be surprised that as an East European guest I started my first visit to Washington from the Holocaust Museum. At its entrance I was checked by an athletic Afro-American security guy who ordered me to empty all my pockets, take off my jacket and belt. Next, I passed through a metal detection gate. Almost the same procedure as at an airport where they are afraid of terrorists. Finally , I could start watching the museum.
The first exposition intends to show birth of anti-Semitism in Germany.
Unfortunately,
no viewer can learn from it what reason caused that general hatred toward
Jews. Was it a kind of self-existent massy psychosis or schizophrenia?
This is an intriguing question, especially that German Jews were always big
players in their “Faterland.”
According to historian Iwo Pogonowski,
Prussia owed a debt of gratitude to Polish Jews bankers who invested their
money there after Cossacks’ insurrection in Poland in the end of XVII
century. During riots against Polish kingdom, more than 100 thousand of
Polish gentry and Jews were slaughtered with cruelty by Ukrainian peasants
and Cossacks. They recognized themselves as “free people” and did not want
to accept serfdom and “arenda”- privileges granted by Polish parliament
(Sejm) and king to gentry and Jews at the cost of peasants, driven to
half-slave status..
Weakened Poland, called by famous French “Encyclopaedia”
paradis Judaeorum (Jewish paradise), was not any more safe place for
Jewish funds.
In XVIII and XIX century Prussia became powerful country in Middle Europe,
partly also at the cost of its neighbors. During partition of Poland in the end
of XVIII century,
Prussia captured Western part of Polish territory.
In XIX century all the
small German countries were united under scepter of Prussian Hohenzollern
dynasty, creating German superpower that started two world wars in XX
century.
During WWI German and Polish Zionists proposed German government creation
of a new country Judeo-Polonia, dependent on Germany, in Polish territories
conquered by German army from Russian occupation. As former Polish Kingdom
was a multinational country, consisting of Poles, Lithuanians, Germans, Jews,
Ukrainians, Belorussians, etc., this project matched traditional German
policy Drang nach Osten to make East European nations, Slavonic
especially, dependent. Polish Jews, speaking German dialect (Yidish),
supposed to play superior role in that new state. Fortunately, Germany lost
the WWI and Poland regained its independence, so that idea had no chance to
be realized.
In the next room of Holocaust museum, I noticed a big picture showing scene of burning books at German universities. Under wall there was a pile of
books Nazis destroyed.Among them, I recognized works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Lev Trotsky. One theorist and two practitioners who created political system responsible
for death of millions of innocent people; several times surpassing number of Nazism victims.
So, there is a question why creators of that museum want to hide analogy between both systems and they do not see common denominator between Himmler and Trotsky?
The next exposition shows beginning of WWII but it says nothing about Ribbentrop-Molotov treaty and Soviet aggression against Poland in September
1939. I can guess why they ignored this historical fact. Because, it would be necessary to disclose involvement of many Jews in persecution of Poles under Soviet occupation. More than million of Polish citizens were murdered
or deported to Gulag concentration camps during 1940-1941 period. Presenting cooperation of many Polish Jews with their communist brethren employed in soviet terror apparatus could explain reluctance of local people
toward Jews. So, it was not an irrational feeling, as many gests can think after visiting Holocaust museum. Now, anybody could ask question why museum authors think that saving Jews should have been a basic duty of local people
in territories occupied by Germans?
It is easy to learn that main task of exposition in Washington Holocaust museum is not, in fact, presenting massacre of Jews during WWII but rather
convicting of American visitors (usually ignorant on European history) that death of millions of Jews during that war was an unique event in history of the world and Jews were innocent victims of a kind of collective madness.
Such concept has a few practical consequences:
The first, Americans believe that any critique concerning Jews or any unwillingness toward them is close to murderous craziness. That’s why, they think that criticizing of policy of Israel, i.e. anti-Zionism is equal
to anti-Semitism.
The second, they treat any criticizing of Jews as anti-Semitism that must be combated to prevent relapse of the crime. The third, this museum strengthens basis of Holocaust religion. In XX century we could observe results of secularization and removing religion from public life. As this phenomenon can be dangerous for almost every
nation, it seems to be especially devastating for Jews who live in Diaspora.
Judaism was a foundation of Jewish identity.
As most Jews are atheists now, they need a new quasi-religion to keep their national identity. Holocaust can play this role if all Jews accept that it was a unique event in history of mankind and what is even more important,
the whole world should recognize Holocaust in the same way.
To reach this goal, a special education or rather training is necessary. Hundreds of Holocaust museums in USA and Europe, as well as, special obligatory courses on Holocaust in schools play that role.
Tłumaczenie opracowane na podstawie artykulu Stanisława Michalkiewicza pt. "W szponach idealistow" .
www.michalkiewicz.pl
Translated by Stan Sas
stanisas@hotmail.com
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