80 years ago, today, Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by the Allies. The camp, one of six death camps created specifically to end all Jewish and Romani life in Europe, was the site of unspeakable horrors and over one million deaths.
It is probably the most infamous and recognizable portion of the tragic and evil story of the Shoah, the Holocaust. The date of its liberation was designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
But by now, I think, it is quite clear that too few gentiles actually remember.
Like many Jews, the Shoah is not some history lesson I read in a textbook with black and white pictures in middle or high school. It’s personal. It profoundly impacted my family in every conceivable way.
None of my relatives were at Auschwitz-Birkenau, that we know of. No, they died in Ravensbrück, at SS Polizei stations, and in pits in Lithuania. Five survived. Two are with us still. And we’ve all watched as the world has forgotten.
We’ve watched as, regardless of politics, a murderous regime that destroyed two-thirds of European Jewry - over six million people, one and half million of them five years old or younger - has been used as nothing more than a rhetorical weapon. We’ve watched as phrases used to justify our deaths 80 years ago, in living memory, are casually used again today.
We’ve watched as, once again, we are blamed for the harms others inflict on us. We weren’t loud enough, we were too loud, we didn’t say the right things, we didn’t say anything at all, we didn’t look how we should, we looked too much like ourselves. And so violence against us is not only understandable, but acceptable.
I remember the Holocaust. I have no choice. It is deep in my bones. It’s in my DNA. I can never forget what happened. No Jew can.
And it disturbs me, profoundly, that so much of the rest of the world has.
May the memories of the victims of the Holocaust be for a blessing. And please, remember them.
"There are no [insert hated nationality or ethnicity here] cilvilians/noncombatants" is standard genocidal rhetoric, by the way. If you are saying this, you are giving a standard justification for genocide. It's right up there with the related tactic of insisting that all members of [insert hated nationality or ethnicity here] are guilty of some collective crime. I want to be clear here. These are both always very wrong, very bad, and very dangerous. It does not matter if you think you are right this time, and the people you are fighting are really evil and deserve it. Everyone who has ever said these things has believed that too.
went to wikipedia to fact check somethings about a guy from ww2 era history and it had been edited beyond belief to erase this person's connections with nazi germany. the second google result is the holocaust encyclopedia page all about his horrible crimes in the nazi regime. but on wikipeida, his description is vague and mild and barely mentions it. it's so worrying. I hate it. what happens when gen z only reads wikipedia pages and denounces any sources that are "too zionist" like a holocaust museum's encyclopedia? thank g-d for jewish historians, what would we do without them, but i'm so so scared that our history is going to be rewritten because no one will listen to us on our own history.
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Image ID:
A flowchart.
Is it antisemitic? [proceed to next step]
Does it mention Jews? If yes: go to step 5 If no: go to step 3
Does it mention dogwhistles for Jews? (Zionist, elite, triple parentheses). If yes: go to step 4 If no: Probably not antisemitic
Do they seem aware they're using antisemitic dogwhistles? If yes: go to step 6 If no: probably not antisemitic
When it mentions Jews, is it in a good way? If yes: Probably not antisemitic If no: Go to step 6
Does it hold Jews/dogwhistles to a higher standard than others? If yes: Probably antisemitic If no: Go to step 7
Repeat antisemitic stereotypes? If yes: Go to step 8 If no: Maybe antisemitic
Is it a joke about antisemitism by and for Jews? If yes: probably not antisemitic If no: Go to step 9
Are you Jewish? If yes: Probably antisemitic If no: Go to step 10
Are Jews saying it's antisemitic? If yes: Probably antisemitic If not: probably not antisemitic
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Disclaimer, abbreviated and with one addition: Not recommended for children under 12. Flowchart current at time of creation. Read at your own risk. Parental guidance advised. Sanitized for your protection. Actual mileage may vary. No animals were harmed in the making of this flowchart. Batteries not included. Not a toy. At participating locations only. Do not ingest. No purchase necessary. Slippery when wet. Flammable. This flowchart may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Warranty does not cover meteorite strike, nearby supernova and other Acts of God, typographical errors, or electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts.
This is the flag that once used to hang above the Azovstal metallurgy plant in Mariupol. Both the city and the plant were completely destroyed, the flag was damaged by the constant shelling, and yet, it’s still here.
Слава Україні. Героям слава.
(Local Conflicts Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine)
everyone is becoming way too comfortable about being horrible people
Jewish queer people deserve to be safe in queer spaces.
I found this and I love this picture so much.
It hurt so many butts.
But like...