An Excerpt from the Book We Must Never Forget by Milton Meltzer

“Is it Necessary to Remember?”

… an excerpt from the book We Must Never Forget by Milton Meltzer

The Holocaust was one of the innumerable crimes committed by the Nazis. Then why single out the extermination of the Jews? Is it necessary to remember?Is it good? Can it even be understood by those who have come after?

No one would claim that the Nazi extermination of the Jews was greater or more tragic than what has been done to other persecuted peoples. Such comparisons are unfeeling and fruitless. What is historically significant is its uniqueness. There is no precedent for it in Jewish history. Nor in the history of other people.

Civilians in the past have been massacred for what men called “reasonable” goals, utilitarian goals to extend power, to acquire wealth, to increase territory, to stamp out opposition, to force conversion. What some power conceived to be in its self-interest was the reason behind the persecution.

But Hitler and the Nazis wanted to murder all Jews because they were Jews. Not because of their faith, not despite their faith. But because of what Hitler called their ‘race.” He did not believe this “inferior” people had any right to share the earth with their “superiors,” the Germans.

So Jews, religious and unreligious, were exterminated. They were killed even when their deaths proved harmful, militarily or economically, to the Nazis. It was a crime against all humanity, committed upon the body of the Jewish people. That the Jews were the victims this time derives from the long history of anti-Semitism. How could it have happened?

It did not occur in a vacuum. It was the logical outcome of certain conditions of life. Given the antihuman nature of Nazi beliefs, the crime of the Holocaust could be expected. We see that now. That it happened once, unbelievable, as it seems, means it could happen again. Hitler made it a possibility for anyone. Neither the Jews nor any other group on earth can feel safe from that crime in the future.

I do not believe that the world of Hitler was totally alien to the world we know. Still, before we can compare Hitler’s Germany to anything else, we need to find out what it was like and how it came to be. And just as important, we need to expand our knowledge of our own human nature to understand why people were infected by Nazism, how the poison spread, and what its effects were. The question has to do with good and evil, with our inner being, with our power to make moral choices.

“Is it Necessary to Remember?”

… an excerpt from the book We Must Never Forget by Milton Meltzer

The Holocaust was one of the innumerable crimes committed by the Nazis. Then why single out the extermination of the Jews?TOPIC: Is it necessary to remember?Is it good? Can it even be understood by those who have come after?

MAIN IDEA: WHY DID IT HAPPEN/HOW DID IT COME TO BE? Civilians in the past have been massacred for what men called “reasonable” goals, utilitarian goals to extend power, to acquire wealth, to increase territory, to stamp out opposition, to force conversion. What some power conceived to be in its self-interest was the reason behind the persecution.

MAIN IDEA: WHAT WAS IT LIKE? HOW DID THE POSION SPREAD?So Jews, religious and unreligious, were exterminated. They were killed even when their deaths proved harmful, militarily or economically, to the Nazis. It was a crime against all humanity, committed upon the body of the Jewish people. That the Jews were the victims this time derives from the long history of anti-Semitism. How could it have happened?

MAIN IDEA: WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS? WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HUMAN NATURE?It did not occur in a vacuum. It was the logical outcome of certain conditions of life. Given the antihuman nature of Nazi beliefs, the crime of the Holocaust could be expected. We see that now. That it happened once, unbelievable, as it seems, means it could happen again. Hitler made it a possibility for anyone. Neither the Jews nor any other group on earth can feel safe from that crime in the future.

I do not believe that the world of Hitler was totally alien to the world we know. Still, before we can compare Hitler’s Germany to anything else, we need to find out what it was like and how it came to be. And just as important, MAIN IDEAS SUMMARIZED:we need to expand our knowledge of our own human nature to understand why people were infected by Nazism, how the poison spread, and what its effects were. The question has to do with good and evil, with our inner being, with our power to make moral choices.

Is It Necessary to Remember?In a full class discussion, make the following points,

• Some people feel that it is better to bury the bitter past. This article stresses the necessity to remember. What reasons are given for the study of the Holocaust in this article?

• Are some of the reasons more important to you than others? Why?

• Why do events that occurred in the first half of the twentieth century affect us? Today?

• What questions does the Holocaust raise about the human condition?

A HORROR ERASED FROM MEMORY

By Roger Simon, Chicago Sun-Times, April 11, 1976

MILWAUKEE—Some months ago, two members of the Milwaukee chapter of the Nazi party (the National Socialist White People’s Party) smashed the windows of an auto while the owner—a Jew —sat inside.

They were arrested and a short while ago went on trial. Everyone connected with the trial thought that choosing a jury of 12 men and women who were not disgusted by the term Nazi would be very difficult.

Bruce C. O’Neill, the lawyer for the two Nazis, felt that it would be almost impossible to find a jury that wasn’t prejudiced. After all, World War II had ended less than a generation ago.

“I thought that people would associate the word Nazi with concentration camps and the killing ofJews,” O’Neill said on the phone. “I was very surprised. No, I was shocked.”

O’Neill was shocked because after questioning 23 randomly-selected, average citizens, all middle-aged and alive during World War II, this is what he found:

• Virtually none of the prospective jurors knew anything about Nazism.

• They did not associate Nazism with World War II. They did not associate Nazism with racial hatred, concentration camps, or the killing of 6 million Jews.

David B. Offer, a reporter for the Milwaukee newspaper, quoted the following comments by some of the prospective jurors:One woman said she knew that Nazism was a dictatorship, but that she “really couldn’t say more about it.” “Nazi means communist,” another said.

“I have heard of Nazis but I don’t listen to the news that much,” said another.

O’Neill and the judge, Patrick J. Madden, were stunned. “It just didn’t mean anything to them,” Judge

Madden told me. “The word Nazi and what Nazism stood for was virtually unknown to them.”

Oddly enough, a Nazi had just run a primary election for mayor of Milwaukee. The newspapers were full of stories about him. He lost the primary, but he got nearly 5,000 votes.

The man who brought the charges against the two Nazis, Milton Kleinberg, was not all surprised that the jury knew nothing about Nazis.

“A Jewish organization had a booth at the state fair last year,” he said. “They had a questionnaire about Nazism. Among young people, 95 percent had never heard of it. Among older people, many of whom were veterans of World War II, 60 percent did not associate Nazism with concentration camps or the killing of Jews.”

Even though O’Neill was defending the two Nazis, he does not defend or support Nazism. “I was so amazed at the answers by the jurors that I finally just asked a woman if she had ever heard of Adolf Hitler,” O’Neill said. “She said that the name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t say for sure who he was.”

The prospective jurors were not lying in order to sneak on the jury and let the two Nazis go. After a two day trial, the Nazis were found guilty.

“I consider the ignorance about Nazism to be very serious,” O’Neill said. “All I can say is God help us all. God help us all.” “It was very frightening to hear those replies,” Judge Madden said. “Very frightening. I don’t know who said it, but if you don’t know history, you are doomed to repeat it.”

It was a little more than 30 years ago that World War II ended. In it, 6 million Jews were incinerated by the Nazis. Nearly, 300,000 Americans of all religions, of all races, from all states died in battle.

A HORROR ERASED FROM MEMORY

By Roger Simon

Chicago Sun-Times, April 11, 1976

Bruce C. O’Neill, the lawyer for the two Nazis, felt that it would be almost impossible to find a jury that wasn’t prejudiced. After all, World War II had ended less than a generation ago.

“I thought that people would associate the word Nazi with concentration camps and the killing of Jews,” O’Neill said on the phone. “I was very surprised. No, I was shocked.”TOPIC: Ignorance of Nazism and the Holocaust

MAIN IDA: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE IN HISTORY OF NAZISM, WORLD WAR II, AND THE HOLOCAUASTO’Neill was shocked because after questioning 23 randomly-selected, average citizens, all middle-aged and alive during World War II, this is what he found:

• Virtually none of the prospective jurors knew anything about Nazism.

• They did not associate Nazism with World War II. They did not associate Nazism with racial hatred, concentration camps, or the killing of 6 million Jews.

David B. Offer, a reporter for the Milwaukee newspaper, quoted the following comments by some of the prospective jurors: One woman said she knew that Nazism was a dictatorship, but that she “really couldn’t say more about it.” “Nazi means communist,” another said.

“I have heard of Nazis but I don’t listen to the news that much,” said another.

O’Neill and the judge, Patrick J. Madden, were stunned. “It just didn’t mean anything to them,” Judge

Madden told me. “The word Nazi and what Nazism stood for was virtually unknown to them.”

MAIN IDEA: NAZIS ARE STILL IN OUR WORLD TODAY.Oddly enough, a Nazi had just run a primary election for mayor of Milwaukee. The newspapers were full of stories about him. He lost the primary, but he got nearly 5,000 votes.

The man who brought the charges against the two Nazis, Milton Kleinberg, was not all surprised that the jury knew nothing about Nazis.

MAIN IDEA: NOT A JOKE, REALLY THAT IGNORANTEven though O’Neill was defending the two Nazis, he does not defend or support Nazism. “I was so amazed at the answers by the jurors that I finally just asked a woman if she had ever heard of Adolf Hitler,” O’Neill said. “She said that the name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t say for sure who he was.”

The prospective jurors were not lying in order to sneak on the jury and let the two Nazis go. After a two day trial, the Nazis were found guilty.

SUMMARY: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE IN MAJOR HISTORICAL EVENTS. IGNORANCE IS RAMPANT, NEED TO REMEMBER“I consider the ignorance about Nazism to be very serious,” O’Neill said. “All I can say is God help us all. God help us all.” “It was very frightening to hear those replies,” Judge Madden said. “Very frightening. I don’t know who said it, but if you don’t know history, you are doomed to repeat it.”

A Horror Erased from Memory

This newspaper article, about the selection of a jury panel in Milwaukee in 1976, shows that 30 years later many adults were unaware of the events and ideology of the Nazi era.

Before asking students to study this article, have them respond to the same kind of questions posted by the judge:

• Who were the Nazis? What did they stand for?

• When did they take control in Germany?

• Who was Adolf Hitler?

• Who was responsible for the destruction of millions of Jews, Poles, Gypsies and other groups during World War II?

Have small groups of students compare their responses to those made by people interviewed in the article. Ask them to speculate on how people in their community or neighborhood might respond to these questions. Students might design a questionnaire for use in the school to determine student and teacher awareness of the Nazi Holocaust. Ask students to tell why it is important that people not forget this tragic event.