A Caricature of Evil

http://christopherpryor.blogspot.com/p/caricature-of-evil.html ^ | J. Christopher Pryor

[jcpryor]

A Caricature Of Evil What do you envision when you think of the word "Nazi"? Do you imagine the sound of boots marching down the street? Perhaps you hear the shrill speeches of Adolph Hitler. These images that come to mind are based upon the documentation found in books and movies that record the events of the rise of Hitler. These vivid images represent the absolute horror and evil of Hitler to new generations that did not actually witness World War II.

Those who have a living memory of the Holocaust are passing from the earth. As these carriers of history disappear, the memory of what Hitler's antisemitism caused is passing and changing. The memory of Hitler's Third Reich is becoming, in a way, a caricature of antisemitism. New generations automatically think that antisemitism is always draped in the trappings of the Nazis, as if this were only way that antisemitism could exist.

Caricatures are a completely human manner of passing on history from one generation to the next. But society must recognize that the caricature is merely a representation, and not the reality itself. One main problem caused by evil being presented as a caricature can be seen in the newest growth of neo-Nazism and antisemitism. More and more people are openly accusing the Jews of running the banks, Hollywood, and U.S. foreign policy. People are even denying the existence of the Holocaust and whether or not any Jews died in the Twin Towers on 9-11. Since many people connect Nazism and antisemitism with its caricature, they are not recognizing its growth because people are not "goose-stepping" down the street or making stiff-armed salutes.

Rebecca Erbelding, of the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., has often made a point in speeches that the Nazis, who performed some of the worst atrocities known to man, appeared, in fact, to be very normal people. Erbelding will often show photos of the soldiers in Auschwitz in order to make her point. Her photos do not show the Nazis killing, but rather laughing, smiling, and enjoying life just yards away from the gas chambers. Erbelding’s point is that the Nazis were not monsters, but normal people who committed monstrous acts.

The work of Rebecca Erbelding marks an important step towards looking past the caricature of Nazism. It will only be by acknowledging the human elements of the Nazis that we will fully appreciate the danger found in their ideology, an ideology that is becoming common again. By looking past the caricature of evil, we will be able to identify its essence when we run across it in our daily lives. Only then will we be able to fight it.

[FredZarguna]

Erbelding’s point is that the Nazis were not monsters, but normal people who committed monstrous acts.

I have heard this same reasoning applied to gang-bangers whose initiation rituals required murdering a random innocent. "Monstrous yes, but these boys are not monsters."

Frankly, I have never understood it. If monstrous acts are not what defines a monster, then what does? Surely not appearance. We are defined by what we do, not by what we say we will do, or how we are able to appear. The Nazis were monsters. Their evil is, if anything, magnified by the humdrum nonchalance and efficiency with which they often set about doing it.

[bigheadfred]

The problem is most people live in a caricature of themselves.