Saturday, November 9, 2013

Marking the 75th Anniversary of Kristallnacht

No, I don't think a Jewish genocide on the scale of the Holocaust is possible in my lifetime or even the next generation to come. But history as an analytic lens shows that as a form of racism, Antisemitism re-configures itself to insidiously emerge with new societal institutions and culturally mores. (All forms of racism do this, as sociology has repeatedly shown). Every time one incarnation is revealed, another takes its place in proceeding generations. So then is another type of Holocaust possible? I believe it is, as long as Antisemitism remains cloaked in political justification.

As Racism is neither my forte nor academic focus I will leave it to others to examine why it lingers so. All I can advocate for is knowing history and not forgetting its lessons since, as many theorists (for example here and here) aptly point out, the past continually informs the present. Therefore those who regulate history (especially the official memory of the state) actively determine how the (nationalist) present is processed. Appreciating what has gone on before can only enable us to cast a more stringent and cleansing light on what is going on around us today.

http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Obama-75th-Kristallnacht-anniversary-a-reminder-of-what-silence-in-face-of-hatred-can-bring-331018

http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/kristallnacht/homepage.asp

http://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-features/special-focus/kristallnacht

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24858670

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/150785/kristallnacht-german-scam

(Please feel free to add additional sites and resources.)

As for those who died that horrible night, the approximate 6 million who would die ("the martyrs of our people who have done but us to say Kaddish for them") and for ALL victims of racism - this.

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