Visiting the Death Camp Auschwitz (2) - The Nazis and the Treatment of Jews: A Tour of the World by Takahiro Ueda, a Buddhist Priest - Poland (5)
Continuing from my previous article, I will talk about what impressed me in the Auschwitz exhibit in this article.
Now, how the Nazis treated the Jews is a major theme in museum exhibits.
One of the exhibits is this.
These were the clothes Jews were forced to wear in the camps.
As you can see, each has a slightly different color.
This color difference made it possible to identify categories of Jews just by looking at the color of their clothing, such as whether they had been captured as political prisoners or where they came from.
In addition, they will be marked on the chest as shown in this photo.
The red downward-facing triangle in the upper left is political prisoners. Next to them are people called Roma, and further next to them are Soviet prisoners of war.
Auschwitz and other camps housed not only Jews, but also people who were inconvenienced by Nazi policies.
And with this marker, a distinction was made even among the same Jews and the same victims.
Why did the Nazis make this distinction?
This was because there was a clear aim to prevent the inmates from uniting and rebelling against each other.
It is said that this was a really effective strategy based on human psychology.
We humans unconsciously distinguish between ourselves and others.
Furthermore, they subconsciously have feelings of favoritism or a desire to patronize the group to which they belong.
That is what the Nazis took advantage of in this extreme situation.
In other words, the Nazis not only made a distinction between Jewish and Soviet prisoners of war to prevent them from uniting, but also made Jews hate each other by making detailed distinctions among themselves.
The Nazis intentionally created a distinction between "us" and "them" in the camps.
In our peaceful and safe times, we do not immediately attack others for doing so.
But Auschwitz was truly hell.
Neither can be saved.
No, the possibility of both being killed is far greater.
I want to survive. No matter what it takes.
When that happens, humans can hate "them who aren't" with impunity.
It is not the Nazis who are the most hateful, but "they who are not" who are next door.
If we can push them away, maybe we can survive ...
Such was what the Nazis continued to plant in the unconscious of the Jewish people.
Even if the Jews did not hate "them who are not," it would be difficult for them to actively cooperate with each other and oppose the Nazis.
For the Nazis, that alone is more than enough to demonstrate the effect of the distinction.
And the ultimate form of this leads to the tragedy in the gas chamber...
Is this something else for us?
We create "us" and "them" on a daily basis.
Both consciously and unconsciously.
Everyone has groups of people they like and others they just can't seem to like.
It is inevitable. It is a perfectly natural part of the human condition.
But when it becomes overwhelmingly powerful under certain circumstances, one can attack "them who aren't" with impunity.
Do not underestimate the indifference to the other party's circumstances when attacking that "not so they".
It seems to me that the fact that bullying has not stopped and the recent flame wars against celebrities may be another form of "us" and "them" consciousness run amok.
Of course, bullying and flames do not arise from the same background and cannot be lumped together.
However, I felt that the human tendency to distinguish between "us" and "them" should not be taken lightly.
When it escalates to the extreme, a catastrophe is in sight.
Auschwitz is not only Auschwitz.
The Holocaust was a very specific manifestation of human nature."
That's what our guide said at "Yad Vashem" in Jerusalem.
That is why what we have learned here in Auschwitz should not end with the words "something tragic happened here.
With that as a clue, there is much to consider.
That's how I felt.
be unbroken
Next Article.
Click here to read the previous article.
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