"How Do You Kill 11 Million People?"

[kiddiedoc]

Those who have read it: thoughts?

 

[AshG]

It's good, but one has to be very, very careful with how they read it. Andy goes to great lengths to distance himself from partisan politics, but people on both the right and the left looking for a blessing to rise up and stop what they see as madness will find license to do so in these pages.

It makes me very glad I had the US history teacher I did in High School, who made us consider just how dangerous apathy and "not my problem" are.

 

[AM64]

I haven't read it, but I did look it up to see what you were talking about. Goodreads went both ways on the book. I'll probably get it in an ebook format and check it out sometime. In many ways I've had a similar question about the Holocaust - like if death is staring you in the face, why not fight ... what do you have to lose?

It made me check out something else, too. The Chinese lab rats at Wuhan have managed right at 5M worldwide deaths - I'd bet a lot of countries under counted where the argument has been we over count. Anyway in less than two years they have managed about half of what it took several more years for the Nazis to accomplish. If it were 1940 and without what we've been able to do against disease; I'd bet the Chinese lab rats would have made the Nazis look like pikers.

 

[kiddiedoc]

I've especially enjoyed the letters and documents from the Founding Fathers.

It really is an insightful essay. Easily worth a couple hours of time to read or listen.

 

[kiddiedoc]

It's good, but one has to be very, very careful with how they read it. Andy goes to great lengths to distance himself from partisan politics, but people on both the right and the left looking for a blessing to rise up and stop what they see as madness will find license to do so in these pages.

It makes me very glad I had the US history teacher I did in High School, who made us consider just how dangerous apathy and "not my problem" are.

Very well said.

What comes after apathy?

 

[AM64]

Very well said.

What comes after apathy?

I definitely will have to read the book - I didn't really pick up on the "how could it be allowed" rather than "how did it happen" aspect. I've read several books about the various resistance movements in Germany during those years. People in the resistance movement didn't have very bright futures, and many met Roland Freisler in a court where there was only one sentence.

Perhaps Martin Niemöller said it best, and it's something stronger than just apathy - more like if I don't see or acknowledge this, it can't be real, and it can't happen to me. Many people were seduced early on by the fact that with the Nazis they had someone to fight the crippling effects of the WW1 surrender which created nationalistic pride. Things looked much brighter for a time, and almost all of Europe at one time or another viewed Jews as the people who took from them - always easier to blame someone else for your own shortcomings. Something like "We won't ask questions if they just disappear."

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Very well said.

What comes after apathy?

Don't know... don't care.