Photo taken outside the Mauthausen Concentration Camp by Russian soldiers in May, 1945. The REALITY of the Holocaust wasn't evident until scenes like this finally entered the media and public consciousness often not until late 1945.Has the entire world gone stark raving mad? Or is it only rationalists and atheists who perceive an incipient degeneration in human thought and the capacity to process outrage? From the tea partyers and their conflation of Nazi “socialism” with real socialism, to portraying Obama as “Hitler” – and now certain evangelicals claiming on their blogs that the mass slaughter of the Jews in Hitler’s ovens and gas chambers helped to partially fulfill the prophecy that “Armageddon” and the “final battle against evil” will usher in the 2nd Coming of their plagiarized (from Mithraism) god-Man.
Anyway, the Xtian blogger in question actually writes, and evidently without a trace of irony:
“While nothing can justify the actions of Hitler in the Holocaust, we do see at least one good thing which came from World War II: Israel now exists as a nation. The Holocaust was a primary reason the White Paper of 1939 was rescinded, freeing Jews to immigrate to Palestine. The fact that, as of 1948, the Jews have a restored national identity helps to fulfill such biblical prophecies as Ezekiel 37 and Matthew 24. Defeating Nazism and giving the land of Israel back to the Jews is a classic example of God’s thwarting Satan’s plan and bringing about good in spite of the evil .”
Actually, this falls down in a number of places. Long before any “White Paper”, the Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917 and was a a formal statement of policy by the British government stating that:
"His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country”
Much later, in November 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the partitioning of Palestine, proposing the creation of a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a UN-administered Jerusalem. Partition was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by Arab leaders, leading to civil war.
The war was bloody and costly, as if the Jews hadn’t suffered enough already, so it wasn’t merely a case of being given a “GO pass” by the Nazis and being allowed to emigrate! Indeed, by 1939 all Jewish free movement out of German- controlled territory was impossible, as the Reich laws rescinded all travel documents, passes etc. The Jews were essentially prisoners in their own country, and were by now easily identifiable for extermination (Since they were prevented from owning homes or businesses and also had to wear a yellow star of David with “Jude” appended to it)
But this sort of historical revisionism is common among those who would change the past to suit their current agendas.
It is also nonsense to assert “the Holocaust was the primary reason the White Paper of 1939 was rescinded” because in fact the Holocaust hadn’t really begun yet. It was only by late 1940 that the first mass concentration camps were beginning to be set up and not until late 1942 their gas chambers – as at Auschwitz, Mauthausen, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, and Treblinka were simultaneously cranking out thousands of corpses per day (each) for cremation.
While many Germans expressed hush hush gossip that there were camps and mass killings, no one actually knew anything- by which I mean verified facts as opposed to speculations. (Of course, most concentration camps were hidden away from sight away from population centers, and featured high barbed wire or other walls with gas ovens and crematoria in the far distance. Unless one actually went into the suspected place- say by cutting the wire- no one would know for sure.) Yes, intelligence assets from the O.S.S. probably were aware that genocide was underway, but it never got out, never made it to the mainstream media. Roosevelt for his part was probably aware, but he wasn’t about to offer the Jews a place to come to, since the political establishment in the U.S. regarded allowing mass emigration as a perilous move.
In effect, the realization and full knowledge of the Holocaust wasn’t known until U.S. military began liberating the many remaining concentration camps and found the evidence in mid-1945.(See photo). Then, though the Nazi barbarians tried to conceal the evidence by blowing up the ovens, gas chambers – enough remained, as at Auschwitz, to see the extent of what had occurred. But none of this was known in 1939 so it’s absurd to assert a “White Paper” was issued “in response to the Holocaust”. That’s putting the cart before the horse, not to mention committing historical revsionism. What's next: asserting the Jews voted for Hitler to build the concentration camps and their gas chambers in a Referendum?
Indeed, it was only when the evidence of the mass slaughter became available in news reels (see the excellent documentary ‘Liberation’) by late 1945 that the REMAINING survivor Jews were allowed to emigrate. Even then it was dicey and getting into Palestine (Israel didn’t become a state until 1948) and only the boldest attempted it.
The harsh statement that:
“as of 1948, the Jews have a restored national identity helps to fulfill such biblical prophecies as Ezekiel 37 and Matthew 24”
Makes totally light of the mass suffering of the Jews, and the ongoing struggles they had (against the Palestinians, other Arabs) just to survive day to day. And all this for what? To fulfill “prophecies” in an ancient book scribbled by sheep herders and nomads? Thus, he's saying the deaths of over 6 million were worth the price to fulfill his pet prophecies that will enable a “Second coming”. And people claim fundagelical religion isn’t insane!
One can also lodge complaint against the claim that:
“Defeating Nazism and giving the land of Israel back to the Jews is a classic example of God’s thwarting Satan’s plan and bringing about good in spite of the evil”
But in many ways, Nazism wasn’t “defeated” it just went underground! For example, the CIA in cooperation with the Vatican helped thousands of Nazis escape to South America along the infamous “ratlines” set up just before the end of World War II. This is all thoroughly documented in a number of books, most recently, Aarons and Loftus’: Unholy Trinity: The Vatican, The Nazis, and the Swiss Banks, 1998, St. Martins Press)
In addition, then O.S.S. head Allan Dulles (later to become head of the CIA) officially implemented the policy via Operation Bloodstone to import former Nazi spies to help the U.S. set up its own intelligence service to spy on the Soviet Union (Never forget – despite the lunatic tea party portrayals – the Nazis were the mortal enemies of the Marxist –Socialists in the Soviet Union!)
Readers can learn more here:
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Fascism/Bloodstone_B_CS.html
It is also nonsense to claim “God thwarted Satan’s plan”. No, Satan’s “plan” (alleged) is ongoing since vast evil continues in the world unabated. We have already seen the mass genocides in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, not to mention the million or so butchered in the Sudan.
The fact is, the bible god hasn’t done anything to stop any evil befalling innocents, and to claim some distant prophecy (partially fulfilled by the extermination of Jews) is evidence for that is to commit the fallacy of begging the question (since we can’t know if the statement is valid until the final “plan” ….errr..prophecy…comes to fruition).
But, of course, the fundie apologists always have ready pseudo answers, and that makes it convenient for them to let their little fake god off. For example, as I already pointed out above, NO one knew the extent of the Holocaust or that it WAS a Holocaust, until the death camps were liberated in 1945. Hence, it is absurd to assert that people could have simply stopped it. No, not on the scale needed, and not without hard core knowledge. Instead, fallible and frail people with fallible suspicions only, did what they could, to the extent they could - without placing their own in jeopardy.
Those more directly privy to what was going on, for example Oskar Schindler (who actually got inside the camps under the pretext of looking for labor for his munitions works), did manage to save thousands of Jews, but they had the resources, opportunity and MEANS to do so. For example, Schindler owned companies that manufactured munitions (bombs, artillery, bullets) for the Wehrmacht, so he could find excuses to hire Jewish labor directly out of the camps. Thus, he could get them into munitions factories where at least they were relatively safe.
Average Germans didn’t have such resources, or the political connections of a Schindler, yet many average Germans did try to hide a fraction of Jewish neighbors for a time, but at great risk. (If ever found out, they and their families would be sent to the camps and gassed), so that writing bilge like:
“The question is not so much "Why did God allow the Holocaust ?" but "Why did WE ?" Now , what part of that don't you moronic atheists understand ?”
Doesn’t cut it, and shows the inquisitor is the moron, both moral and intellectual.
Average people didn’t have the INFINITE (claimed) power of the alleged "all powerful" deity to act. (And as I said, He didn't even have to intervene directly, just get some of the gas chambers and ovens to stop working!) Yet many did act, but the scale of ongoing "Final Solution" atrocity was so vast, the few private interventions barely made a dent. Even the total forces of an Allied invasion couldn't just barge in and effect rescues – given the massive Nazi manpower arrayed against them. They didn’t have the numbers or materiel until June, 1944, and by then more than 5 million Jews had already been gassed! Even when they managed to breach the German defenses at Normandy's beaches it would take them nearly a YEAR longer to fight their way to the locations of the main concentration camps. It was no cakewalk as the historically clueless fundie makes out!
True, Jewish emigration (say permitted by Roosevelt and other nations) could have been allowed earlier and estimates are that maybe 120,000 Jews would have been saved. Why so low? Because the majority of German Jews never really believed the situation would reach the dire straits it did. Even so, those that did leave were later caught up in the Nazi death trap when the other European nations were seized: Holland, France, Austria, and so on. These Jews would have had to have totally escaped the continent and this was possible only for the wealthiest with the most connections.
So THIS is the part the moronic fundies don’t understand. That their god is worthless, because rather than expecting this “infinite, all powerful” being to do something to help, they expect humans with only partial knowledge of what was transpiring and partial means – assets to halt it.
But we have come to expect such. The fundies are in full press court denial that their deity is impotent but will rationalize any nonsense to defend its inaction. At the same time, they vigorously defend its bloodthirsty actions in many other events in their “good Book”, e.g. see:
http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2010/02/morality-without-god-by-thinking.html
Which leads one to suspect that maybe the fundies defend their demigod’s bloodthirstiness, and minimize its inactions to spare Jews during the Holocaust, because their god is a Nazi at heart. So why not make excuses for not helping the Jews? Indeed, the slaughter of the Jews has (according to these pea brains) made the world safe for another mass slaughter at “Armageddon” where more innocents will bite it. Moreso, after Armageddon and the "sheep" are separated from the "goats" (atheists, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Mormons, Muslims, Catholics etc.) the fundies will be elated that BILLIONS of "goats" will be marched to "Hell" to burn forever. They await with lickspittle drool from their lips the grandest Holocaust of all - to burn all their enemies forever, and get a chance to watch it while sitting in their tyrant Nazi god's heaven!
So the fundies are Nazi-god worshippers. Well, this explains a lot! And it takes a Nazi (who also put all atheists into camps) to worship one!
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