So how do you kill 6 million innocent people and still sleep at night?
Easy. You do it the same way “civilized people” rationalized the enslavement of millions of Africans just a couple of centuries ago. You arbitrarily decide the people you want to destroy are somehow
not.
quite.
human.
That’s right. The same logical gymnastics that helped people rationalize slavery was used to rationalize Hitler’s attempt to exterminate an entire race of people. And how did they convince regular people with families like you and me to go along with it?
That was answered quite dramatically in the classic film “Judgment at Nuremberg”. Burt Lancaster portrayed the character Ernst Janning, a high-ranking judge during the rise of Nazism. When cross-examined as to why he sided with Hitler and allowed rights to be abused and millions to be exterminated, he responded with the odd statement:
“I was content to tend my roses…”
Screenwriter Abby Mann spoke through the character to warn us about how the Nazis were mostly unopposed in exterminating their victims. In the script, Janning admitted to admiring the renewed nationalistic vigor he saw in the German people after Hitler took over on 08/19/34. He thought Hitler was bringing a sense of pride and self-respect back to the country after the devastation of WWI.
So every time he saw his neighbors taken away, he simply focused his gaze on the beauty of his own front yard. As long as the nation was getting stronger, as long as there was a semblance of “peace”, and as long as the soldiers weren’t coming for him, what did it matter if some other voices were silenced? The ends justified the means.
Some would point out that the Nazi’s dehumanizing tactic has been with us in America for years now. In calling an unborn baby just a fetus, you deny the science of their very human DNA. But that’s an argument for another day…
The larger issue is that we no longer can look at the people of 1930s Germany and wonder what in the world they were thinking regarding the Jewish people. That’s because we are watching a repeat performance on our televisions today.
Just as people rationalized the discrimination of the German Jews, people argue that their problem is not with Jews but with Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Their tone is actually a balm compared to the carnage we first witnessed on October 7. Our common humanity and reason makes us want to believe them. Surely this is the issue and not an irrational hatred of a whole race of people. Surely everything is not happening all over again…
As you listen, you might see protesters in the background. They are shouting, “Death to the Jews” and “From the river to the sea” (which is code for overrunning the entire region of Israel and annihilating the Jews).
Take a tip from Ernst Janning. Don’t look at the protester in the background. Keep your eyes fixed on the pretty roses in front of you.
And by all means, don’t look at the 1200+ names of innocent men, women, children, and babies killed on October 7. Mention how Gaza’s people have suffered under the Israelis. Pretend there is a moral equivalence that makes the sudden, merciless attacks on innocent families somehow understandable.
Whatever you do, keep focused on ideology. That’s what the Germans did. If we believe enough in our cause we can ignore the basic humanity of our opponent. If we just make them something less than human in our minds…
We can enslave them.
We can send them to camps.
We can murder the innocents.
All in the name of (insert whatever today’s favorite ideology happens to be). Because as long as our “side” is winning, who cares if there’s a little carnage.
It’ll be fine, really, just as long as you keep quiet. Nothing to see here. Keep moving along…
And what happens if you point out the carnage?
They will shout you down in the public forum.
Your social media account will be flagged and then deleted.
Neighbors will shame you publicly (“cancelling”).
Strangers will expose your home address on social media (“doxing”).
The message is clear: disagree and we will come after you. That statement is not figurative – they mean “come after you” quite literally. If you don’t believe it, just as a Supreme Court judge.
There is nowhere for you to hide from the consequences of holding an opposing view from the mob. You will be destroyed, not for a crime, but merely for believing differently.
So what is the end result of this?
Silence. Nice people who just want to live their own lives learn quickly to keep quiet.
These are the same tactics and atrocities that were born on the streets of Berlin about a century ago. They led the Nazis to political success on 08/19/34. That was when a movement of hate grew to power by intimidating people from speaking out against them. Dissent was met with ridicule at first. Then threats. Then open attacks. People realized speaking up would lose them their jobs, businesses, and eventually their lives.
So like them, we hold our families close and huddle in our homes, hoping no one will notice us. We will tend our own roses and never be diverted toward our neighbors who erred by speaking out…or just being the wrong race.
That was what happened a mere 90 years ago, and now we watch it again on our TV screens. The spirit of 08/19/34 has risen from its grave, but not just in Germany this time. If left unchecked, this gag placed over our mouths will grow larger.
Soon a “pillow of silence” will euthanize us, held firmly over the face of our freedom.
At that moment, no one will be able to hear the muffled cries now emanating from our own gardens.
