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02-19-2006, 12:04 AM

You're welcome. I am actually sitting here debating you to night because the web site I am trying to build in regard to my own pet peeve is down, and I feel quite frustrated at the moment.

I am well aware that many German Jews were assimilated into German society and considered themselves good German citizens, maybe even before they thought of themselves as Jews.

When I was in college one of my botany professors was Jewish. I really liked this man - he was one of my favorite teachers. I took a summer field course from him that involved much time spent out in the mountains, gathering botanical specimens. One night me and him and the rest of the class (there were ten of us) were sitting on a hillside after a long day collecting and just looking up at the stars. Someone brought up the subject of the holocaust (it wasn't the prof), and I remarked that it seemed to me that the average German was trapped into silence about the entire thing. After all, I argued, they had their families there in that country, their jobs, their friends and their lives. They were living under a dictatorship and they knew the price they'd pay for speaking out. They were only human. Surely, one might at least understand if not completely forgive them for not protesting.

My professor became quite angry at my words. He said to me that there was absolutely no excuse for the silence of the German people in regard to what was happening to the Jews and other groups at the time. He said that the lives of 6 million people could have been spared, since to hear everyone talk after Germany lost the war, that everyone had been a "good" German and was horrified at what went on. He said if all those "good" Germans had acted to opposed such a terrible evil carried out by a minority then Auschwitz and the rest of the camps would never have been built. He said there is never an excuse for remaining silent in the face of such atrocities being done to one's fellow human beings.

We were all humbled by his words and sat silently for a while, staring up at the heavens.

02-19-2006, 12:04 AM	#107
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	You're welcome. I am actually sitting here debating you to night because the web site I am trying to build in regard to my own pet peeve is down, and I feel quite frustrated at the moment. I am well aware that many German Jews were assimilated into German society and considered themselves good German citizens, maybe even before they thought of themselves as Jews. When I was in college one of my botany professors was Jewish. I really liked this man - he was one of my favorite teachers. I took a summer field course from him that involved much time spent out in the mountains, gathering botanical specimens. One night me and him and the rest of the class (there were ten of us) were sitting on a hillside after a long day collecting and just looking up at the stars. Someone brought up the subject of the holocaust (it wasn't the prof), and I remarked that it seemed to me that the average German was trapped into silence about the entire thing. After all, I argued, they had their families there in that country, their jobs, their friends and their lives. They were living under a dictatorship and they knew the price they'd pay for speaking out. They were only human. Surely, one might at least understand if not completely forgive them for not protesting. My professor became quite angry at my words. He said to me that there was absolutely no excuse for the silence of the German people in regard to what was happening to the Jews and other groups at the time. He said that the lives of 6 million people could have been spared, since to hear everyone talk after Germany lost the war, that everyone had been a "good" German and was horrified at what went on. He said if all those "good" Germans had acted to opposed such a terrible evil carried out by a minority then Auschwitz and the rest of the camps would never have been built. He said there is never an excuse for remaining silent in the face of such atrocities being done to one's fellow human beings. We were all humbled by his words and sat silently for a while, staring up at the heavens.