Political and Social Reactions to the Holocaust - Term Paper Example

 Political And Social Reactions To The Holocaust Introduction The complexities of the Holocaust and the political affiliations which were associated with this continue to remain a controversy among nations. The agreements which were made as well as the after effects from World War II continue to be discussed among political leaders as well as those that are interested in what is now considered one of the most violent episodes in the history of the world. In Norman Finkelstein’s book, The Holocaust Industry, there is an understanding of some o the complexities which occurred both during and after the war. Finkelstein shows how World War II was not only about the extermination of Jews but also led to several political conflicts and outcomes which still continue to be portrayed among those who were a part of the war. Defining the Holocaust Industry The main theme that Finkelstein approaches is one which challenges the Holocaust as well as the after effects which occurred. The definition of the Holocaust industry is what sets this into place, specifically as Finkelstein questions why the Holocaust is still so popular for historical figures, torture that was considered to the Jews and toward the concept of defining the Jewish war. There is an understanding that the political themes and standards which were a part of the Holocaust were important because of the continuous emergence of the torture of Jews. However, other political outcomes and facts have also led to making the Holocaust an industry which grabs the attention of others, specifically which Finkelstein claims is set in place by the elites. The underlying complexities of the Holocaust then become ignored because of the current stigma around this moment in history. Capitalizing the Holocaust While there are several associations that relate World War II to the war against the Jews, there is also direct evidence that this was not the main component of the war. The war was intertwined with political tensions, desire for power by Hitler, opposition to different organizations in German and political turmoil that was a part of the era. There were several economic, political and social alterations during this time that also led to the war and the outcome which happened. However, the capitalization of World War II has created it as the Jewish war, where Jews have become victims that had to suffer through the Holocaust. Finkelstein points out that those who were exterminated were not only Jews but were also linked to different economic and political ties. More important, the main focus was for assimilation and power in Germany, as opposed to the desire to exterminate the Jews (Finkelstein, 14). In this respect, the Holocaust has been capitalized because of the direct association with Jews, which immediately disregards other points in history which were occurring at the time. The concept which Finkelstein is referring to is one which is now regarded as the Holocaust Consciousness. This has come specifically from the writing of history after it occurred while ignoring some of the major political and cultural affiliations which were negotiated during the time. Instead, the consciousness is based on the memories and imagination of those who were associated with the war. The details that are recounted are now from those who have been through the trauma and which have survived from the different aspects of the war. The Holocaust Consciousness is one which has ignored some of the battles and victories and instead associated this with the victimization that is a part of the war. For instance, when looking at historical turning points, such as the six day war in France, it can be seen that the political tensions and affiliations are often ignored with the ideology of identity and Jewish representation becoming the main debate. While this was a main component with the six day war, the struggle and battle was also over the power of the country and the assimilation which was expected in the country (Wolf, 26). It is this main concept of capitalizing the Holocaust by creating a sense of victimization from the Jewish relation to the war that takes over some of the other complexities that were a part of this time frame. The Writing of History The relationship that Finkelstein makes to the capitalization of the Holocaust then links to the remaking and rewriting of history, specifically around the Jewish experience. The concept of Jewish extermination is what is now known to make the Holocaust unique. In other wars, the killings and differences were based specifically on national defense and the struggles over power and territory. It is pointed out that Hitler’s Final Solution and the framework which is based around the Holocaust is one which is not portrayed in any other aspect of history. Instead of battling for a nation, there is a sense that the government is responsible for killing and murdering victims that are a part of the war. However, this specific approach is one which has been used specifically to create an image of the Jews that plays a type of anti – Semitism. When looking at Hitler’s Final Solution, it doesn’t speak of exterminating Jews only, but focuses on balancing and redefining powers through an imperialist structure (Finkelstein, 51-53). This creates a different approach to the war as well as the perspective taken, specifically to make the war unique, despite the factual information that is not written into history. The importance of the re-writing of history to create the Holocaust as one which is based on Jewish extermination is one which also is known to control and change how many look at the history of World War II. The re-writing of history is done specifically to create a humane and emotional response from individuals in society and to create a sense of control over the facts which occurred. The different pieces of information that are left out of the history of World War II, restraint of facts from those in the population and the use of concepts such as individual recollections that work with psychoanalysis all rewrite history and change the perspective of the war. Instead of providing a clear definition of what was involved with World War II, such as political affiliations, there are different meanings and connotations that are involved with the writing of history. Doing this creates a sense of control over the knowledge which is provided about the Holocaust while creating defined reactions over the information that is given (Ball, 7). Redefining Holocaust Culture Another aspect which Finkelstein points out which are legitimate to the writing of history with the Holocaust is how this has caused political and social reactions. It is these two different types of reactions that continue to rewrite the history not only with teaching basic concepts, but also with creating a stigma around the Holocaust. For instance, there are many Jews that are now deemed as survivors of the Holocaust and which are provided with money by the government because of the trauma which they went through. There is also funding to support Holocaust museums, art work and other memorials which show the suffering of the Holocaust, specifically which is designed to relate to Jewish suffering. However, the propaganda was also known to cover up another scheme by the Swiss – Nazis, which was based on stealing the money that was left in the banks by those who had faced extermination in the camps. The propaganda was then able to hide the different levels of corruption occurring against what had occurred, specifically by using different types of expression to cover other levels of corruption which were occurring (Finkelstein, 97). Conclusion The association which Finkelstein makes toward the Holocaust is one which shows that there are other schemes which have been ignored. Highlighting the extermination of the Jews and the cruelty which reflects the trauma of the time is one which is used as a type of propaganda. This is used specifically to show a basic understanding of political corruption and different moves which took place. However, this ignores the economic, political and social changes which have occurred from World War II as well as how this continues to affect other components in society. The corruption which is not given as general knowledge to society, as well as the cover-ups of different political and economical associations then lead to the Holocaust becoming an industry both in providing the public with one level of history while dispersing other important facts that made a difference in the outcome of the war and in the German society today. Works Cited Ball, Karyn. Disciplining the Holocaust. New York: University of New York Press, 2008. Finkelstein, Norman. The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering. Verso Publishing: London, 2000. Wolf, Joan Beth. Harnessing the Holocaust: The Politics of Memory in France. Stanford University Press: California, 2004. Read More