I don’t know what reminded me of this. Perhaps it was the recent commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the start of World War Two. (How many Americans were surprised to learn that WWII began in September of 1939 and not December of 1941?)
Some years ago, descendants of Jews whose artworks and other valuables had been stolen by the Nazis were in court trying to get the goods back. Back from a government that claimed it owned those items because they had been willed to it by the Nazis who had stolen it or because the items had been signed over to the state by the Jewish owners. Any civilized person would surely agree that thieves have no right to will their stolen booty to anyone and that if the original owners had signed their goods over to the Nazi state, it was under duress and those agreements are invalid.
Consider, too, that the thieves involved were the same people who, in their insane lust for Jewish gold, cut the fingers off concentration camp victims to get their rings, tore earrings from the ears of living prisoners and gold fillings from their teeth.
While the court case brought by descendants of those Jews was in the news, I heard a man-in-the-street interview on the radio with people in Germany. What did they think of this lawsuit? Should those descendants be awarded possession of the goods stolen from their forebears by evil, amoral, blood-and-gold-lusting barbarians? (Obviously, that wasn’t quite the question the interviewer asked.)
I can’t forget the answer of one young German woman, possibly the granddaughter of one of those beasts who cut off fingers to get gold rings, who tore earlobes and yanked out teeth to get Jewish gold. “The Jews,” she said, with a sneer you could hear. “All they care about is money.”
4 comments:
With stories like these, it's hard to be optimistic about humankind's future (but I try, because I have children).
I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know precisely when (date-wise) WWII started. I knew it was before the US entered in '41, and I know it was when Germany invaded Poland, but for some reason I thought that was '38.
Anyway, it's sad that these attitudes never seem to die. If "the Jews" really were the money-grubbing bastards their critics claim, they'd all be libertarians.
Hatred of the other never seems to go away. It's just the identity of the other that changes.
I managed to choose as my parents the kind of Jews who aren't money grubbing and aren't rich. It's probably the same skill that leads me to choose the slow checkout line in the supermarket.
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