Extenuating circumstances
Almost 800 years after his death, Leicester city council formally rebuked Simon de Montfort for his blatant anti-Semitism. A defender of the Earl noted that it is always difficult to judge historical figures by contemporary standards. Half a century after the defeat of the Nazis, does the same caveat apply to our judgement of the perpetrators of the Holocaust? Should one look for extenuating circumstances within the past century where the actions of the Nazis were part of a pattern of brutality involving much of Europe?
Before the war began, most countries were reluctant to take in more than a token number of refugees from Germany. Later, the refusal of the Allies to bomb the railroad tracks leading to Auschwitz or the lack of attempts to destroy the extermination camps were questionable decisions which we now view with concern. Our observance of a National Holocaust Day cannot ignore these ancillary issues which suggest a shared responsibility for that dark period of history.
'Holocaust memorials exist for remembrance and are not intended to make us forgive and forget.'
Holocaust memorials are being established all over Europe - Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and other major cities are notable examples of this new architecture of remorse. In London the new Holocaust Memorial within the Imperial War Museum, the dignified Holocaust Grove in Hyde Park, and the impressive Raoul Wallenberg statue near the Marble Arch Synagogue suggest a greater public awareness of the dark past which will now be re-enforced by a national day of remembrance. Complex reasons underlie this surge of remembering in Germany and Austria where remorse has combined with the national desire to shake off guilt and to close that chapter of history. Forgiveness is expected of neighbours. Does any of this apply to Great Britain on National Memorial Day?
Holocaust memorials exist for remembrance and are not intended to make us forgive and forget. Is there an intention here to turn to the victims - the Jews, the Sinti-Roma (gypsies) and other groups sent into the camps - to ask them to stop troubling the conscience of the world? Are we saying: 'Look what we have done for you. We can't be fairer than that. Now, stop opening these doors to the past. Move on; forgive and forget. It's for your own good...'?
Published: 2001-01-01
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