Rumors that this sign may appear over the entrance to the U.S. Capitol are completely and entirely unfounded.
A gang of thieves in Poland has stolen the infamous wrought iron sign announcing that “work sets you free” that spans the main gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Seriously. There’s no real indication at all that the party in power has intimated even a little bit that working in the service of the government could bring you greater fulfillment. None at all.
I find it interesting that the Auschwitz museum is scrambling for funds. Germany should consider funding the museum fully one of its essential expenses. It should have been something upon which the civilized world insisted the same day the museum was founded. However, if Germany can’t find the remaining $60 million, we should do it without a moment of hesitation. Keeping the history of the Holocaust fresh is one of the best ways to make sure it never, ever happens again. And since the UN and most of the rest of the world doesn’t much seem to care if genocide happens or not, it’ll be up to us again to hold that line.
It’d sure be nice, though, if Germany threw in on that, too.
Tags: Anti-Semitism, Progressives
How much do the Germans have to give? They’ve given BILLIONS already.
Why don’t they hit up the World Jewish Congress…they should be able to afford it…they shook down the Swiss Banks for a bundle a few years ago.
PS..
“However, if Germany can’t find the remaining $60 million, we should do it without a moment of hesitation.”
I hope by “we” you mean individuals who choose to do so, and not the US government.
No, I really mean “we” the US government. The Auschwitz Museum is that important to keep running an in very good repair. I think the Germans should have that responsibility for a good, long while, but if they won’t, we should. It is in our national interest to continue to remind the world of the horrors of genocide.
Billions to keep that museum open? I don’t think they have.
That sign is probably quite valuable on the black market.It is one of the few things on the planet constructed entirely by jews.It would be impossible to replace since the only work jews have ever done was when the were forced to by the nazi’s.
“Germany has given BILLIONS already!”???? How is it then that my dad, who is a child survivor who starved under the Nazi regime on the Eastern front, has never gotten so much as a dime from Germany? Oh, I forgot to mention in addition to starving, he was also kidnapped by the Nazis under the infamous Hay-Action (HeuAktion)and was one of only 10% who ever made it back home. Because of the “policies” of Nazi Germany who started WW2, my father especially laments this time of year- asking himself why he had to have it so hard – he doesn’t remember a “Christmas” in the traditional sense as a child because he didn’t have one. Tell me then, what good has the so-called BILLIONS done?
The Germans have paid BILLIONS in war reparations. I think that’s more than enough.
I am shocked to see a Conservative advocate for spending US taxpayer dollars on something that is correctly in the provence of Charity. The US government doesn’t have any money that it does not first have to confiscate from the wages of one of her citizens.
If you think it is so important, you should donate your own money—not mine.
Dear IndenturedServantGirl,
Hmmm…”Charity”. Too bad the BILLIONS you so eagerly mention RARELY made it into the hands of those that suffered. I find it interesting that you comment so much on the money aspect and nothing on the human aspect. For example, my dad is still alive and sharp as a tack. If you were to face him today, would you have the nerve to say the same things you say on this forum? I have grew up with many survivors of all ages. They continue to suffer until today, in large part due to the supposed “charity” of the US and its Allies. To never really acknowledge the unspeakable suffering of these people, in part by helping them with long-term counseling, perhaps some subsidized temporary room and board in the early post-war years, etc. would have been the truly “charitable” thing to do. Instead, the BILLIONS are spent on erecting monuments, building museums, and keeping afloat the very business operations that profited immensely from slave labor (I suggest you google IG Farben and the Bayer company, for example). These are only feel-good measures adopted by big business who feel they still can profit off of WW2.
Just a quick correction to my previous comment: I meant to say that I grew up knowing many survivors… . Please excuse the mistake.
I don’t see the Auschwitz Museum as charity any more than I consider the other war memorials we maintain as charity. There are some things I believe it is in the interest of all Americans to maintain, and that museum is one of them. Like I said, I believe it is the German’s responsibility to do it (much for the same reason) but if they won’t, I think we should. I don’t think that’s a frivolous expense, nor do I consider it a charitable cause. It’s a memorial.
KD—your beef is not with me or Germany it is with the state of Israel and the World Jewish Congress…they were responsible for distributing the funds. I maintain that the 35 billion dollars paid by the German people is more than enough. (That’s not including the money paid by other countries)
Jimmie—is there someplace in the constitution that states what right the government has to confiscate the wages of an American worker and spend on a foreign monument? How does it serve our national interest exactly? We have already spent millions on a memorial in DC. Will we be erecting monuments to the holocaust in Russia? in the Ukraine? in China? Many more millions were murdered by Communists in those places.
Seriously…if you think it’s a great cause then donate…I don’t…and I should not be forced to. Besides…after 8 years of “Big Government Konservatism” we can’t afford it. Our priorities are at home.
Dear Jimmie, I didn’t say that the Auschwitz museum was “charity.” I said that the money collected in the name of reparations is more often spent by building (new)monuments and the like, instead of used for the survivors and victims families. These “feel good” measures work more for the “Holocaust industry” that exists instead of for those directly affected. That is not to say that there is no need for remembrances, but the priority should be first for the survivors & victims families, then for monuments, etc. Again, the reality is that the survivors rarely get a dime of reparation money. I do agree with you, though, that I believe Germany should partake in a large part to donating the money for the upkeep of the Auschwitz museum. It has been kept pretty much in its original condition as the day it was liberated although it is in need of upkeep. The same cannot be said for many of the other camps, i.e. Dachau was completed rebuilt because it was destroyed by Allied bombs (Auschwitz was very rarely bombed); Sobibor and Belzec were closed by the Nazis themselves in 1943, as their policies were successful in exterminating the Jewish populations of the surrounding areas. The Nazis decided to tear down most of the buildings and plant grass and trees in these areas, so when you go there today, there is basically nothing there. Therefore, Auschwitz is very unique and should be upkept. And yes, I have seen these places for myself.
IndenturedServantGirl: I understand your point about the distribution of the money, however, I DO have a HUGE BEEF with (Nazi) Germany. They started an unprovoked world war. They ripped my family apart(my grandfather was shipped to Siberia, the rest were left on the Eastern front of Nazi and then Soviet occupied Poland), starved them, beat them with rubber truncheons, burnt their houses and business down, experimented on them and killed not only their bodies but their spirits and psyche. So yes, until every one of these lives (not only my family but millions of others)is made whole (which will never happen), I do think Germany owes alot more. Keep in mind, that Germany in many cases still has not learned to give up Nazi ideology and law – I urge you to look up the German Jugendamt and the 1938 laws with which they still work under in 2009.
KD…seriously…take a deep breath.
I meant, it is not Germany’s fault that the money has not been distributed the way you would like.
And, sorry, but $35 billion is more than enough. And that’s not even all they paid, that’s just the amount from the treaty.
It is unjust to expect Germans today, most of whom were not even born yet, pay for crimes of the past, not to mention, completely unprecedented.
IndenturedServantGirl: Thanks, my breathing is just fine. My point is that while there are still survivors living, I do believe that Germany (as well as the former Soviet Union, but we won’t get into that now) does owe them something. You say it is unjust to expect Germans today, most of whom were not even born yet, to pay for crimes of the past. Well, I wasn’t born during the war, but my parents and grandparents were in it. As long as they are alive, they continue to live with the war’s trauma. Whether you like to believe it or not, this trauma does have some affect on families lives. As their progeny, we hold a responsibility to their health and welfare. Because of the survivors horrific experiences, it is left up to individual families to deal with. Why should we have to deal with it alone? I feel strongly that the responsibility should be shared by the (former) aggressors, including the now elderly who may or may not have been directly involved and for the time being, their progeny. Now, I am not suggesting financial reparations on survivors progeny. But as long as these survivors are still alive, I feel they are owed much more from the aggressors.
I don’t buy the “our priorities are at home” stuff, and I think you know that. It’s a weak argument when the left uses and it doesn’t suit a conservative purpose well either.
I happen to believe the Holocaust is an event that it is in our best interest to help the world remember. You only have to look around to see how easily it has been forgotten, even by our own leaders. “Never Again” is a principle worth spending our tax dollars on (mine included). I get that you don’t agree. However, you know as well as I do that something need not be written explicitly in the Constitution to be a proper and reasonable use of our Government’s power. Perhaps our spending a relative pittance now will help prevent us from spending far more, and thousands of American lives in another war to end a genocide. Small investment with large dividends.
KD—is there a dollar amount that you think might be enough? Or is the German treasury expected to be a bottomless pit favoring one group of victims?
Jimmie—I think conservatives who advocate for such spending programs aren’t really conservative at all…in principle the only difference between them and lefties is who is dividing the spoils. It is so easy to be generous with other peoples money.
I ask you—where does it end? It is not conservative to give away borrowed money. Our country is bankrupt because of such misguided largesse. And I have to disagree that money spent on a museum in Poland is in our national interest at all.
I don’t recall ever hearing the left use the argument that our priorities are at home…if anything, no one loves nation building and foreign aid more than a lefty. They are the original guns & butter party.
PS…I think the founders intended our government to stay within constitutional limits and anything not explicitly mentioned was left to the states…so no…I don’t know of any reasonable uses of government power that aren’t in the constitution. On the contrary, I find our government’s abandonment of limited government completely unreasonable.
Indeed, but I believe there is a compelling national interest in making sure the principle of “never again” is given its full due and I don’t think that $60 million is too dear a price. Considering what we will spend when it is ignored again, it’s a bargain.
But your premise is false.
It has not been demonstrated that this museum is the only way to ensure “never again”…that claim is dubious at best.
And Your assertion that $60 million is cheap compared to what we’d pay if “never again” is ignored is a false dichotomy and is a typical tactic of the left–like “if we don’t spend XXX on sex education and free birth control we’ll pay for it later with teen pregnancies and welfare!”
In any case, if people think it is a worthy endeavor, they will endorse it with their dollars. That which does not attract funds, clearly does not have popular support. If that is the case–why should tax dollars be sent towards something that does not have popular support?
I highly recommend you read “Not Yours To Give”
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/ellis1.html
I never said it was the only way, merely an incredibly economic way.
However, I’m not out to make a utilitarian argument, though I believe I made a darned good one to refute yours.
I’m not going to take a lecture from a Lew Rockwell site article on the principle of taxation and spending. I grok the subject plenty well enough, thank you.
You can’t possibly quantify the value of keeping open a museum of the Holocaust on the dead heart of that horror and more than you can quantify the value of having a memorial fo the Pearl Harbor attack on the remains of the USS Arizona. The memorial there delivers the “never again” message more powerfully than it would anywhere else in the universe. For that reason, and only for that reason, we should do what we must to ensure it remains.
Some things transcend Rockwellian practicality. Symbolism matters. The Founders understood that as well, by the way.
That wasn’t a “Rockwellian” article…it was Davy Crocket hosted on LRC. And the view expressed in that article on the nature of our Constitutional government expresses precisely what the founders had in mind.
It’s not yours to give. It’s as simple as that. If you can make an argument for redistributing our wealth to a museum in Poland, then why are you and other conservatives getting upset about anything that Obama does? You aren’t against tax and spend in principle…just the who is dividing the spoils and to whom.