Who is responsible for the great mistakes of the past, and who should compensate for them?
For example, in the Holocaust, who was responsible for the mass genocides? Was it Hitler or his loyal Nazis? Or was it those who simply stood by and did nothing? Hitler himself didn't kill the Jews, he simply placed the order for the deed to be done. The Nazis followed the orders they were given and the civilians watched on. So who is truly responsible for what happened? And how do we prevent this from happening again?
Think of it this way, there are campers camping out in the snowy mountains, minding their own business. Hitler is a mountain climber that serves as a tour guide on the mountains. He doesn't like the Jews on the mountainside for whatever reason and tells the tourists that there's a game that the natives play on the mountain, one where the people at the top create avalanches on the mountains to see if the campers can get out of the way fast enough. The tourists play the game without thinking of the consequences of the avalanches to the campers and continue to play the "game" because Hitler assures them that it's okay.
Soon, Hitler runs out of his first set of campers for his games so he turns to the surrounding area of the mountains and lures in more campers to camp on his mountains. And starts his games again. The people that don't camp are safe from Hitler for the most part, so they don't bother trying to help the campers even when they hear the stories of the "games." Many campers try to avoid the "game" by posing as non-campers by burning their camping equipment and any other evidence of their camping, but often are caught and brought to the "game" anyway.
The tourists don't see any real consequences of their "game" and the non-campers lie low to avoid the "game" themselves. So who is responsible for the consequences of the games, Hitler, the tourists, the non-campers, or the campers themselves? How do we "say the unsayable" without forgetting the effect of the "game" on all campers till the end of time?
I love the analogy you created to compare the effects of an avalanche to the events of history. It was really interesting to see how you incorporated so much truth into this portrayal of the Holocaust while still making the subject more comprehensible. Blame is difficult with tragedies as horrible as this because everyone wants to find someone to blame, and while there are many individuals and groups that were guilty, one person cannot be accountable for the amount of destruction that was created.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you compared everything we've been talking about in class to something completely different. I think the question you brought up about who started the genocide was very interesting. I feel like in the end Hitler started it, but since no one stopped him they were all at fault.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting read! I really like the analogy you came up with because it really shows the true meaning of what Hitler was like, and how people blindly followed him. It really makes me think of who's really responsible.
ReplyDeleteAnkita, I love your post! The analogy you created between the outcomes of an avalanche to the events of history was really cool! You did such a great job discussing the Holocaust, which is such a complex topic, in an understandable way. I agree with you that even though there are many people, each person feels guilty.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the comparisons in this post, I thought that made it compelling to read. The way you interpreted the Holocaust was an interesting perspective and it got me thinking. Hitler was blamed for most of it but in the end everyone that helped him is also at fault, but we tend to focus on him alone.
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