I've noticed lately that The Frames' album 'For the Birds' is creeping into my player at quite regular intervals. It is a very beautiful album and 'Mighty Sword' just happens to be the soothing sweet song playing as I type. It is the sort of song that I wish I could crawl into. Melancholic and hopeful.
Today is the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. 1.5 million human beings gassed and cremated for being jews, gypsies, homosexuals and communists in an attempt to fulfil Hitler's 'Final Solution'. There is speculation that the allies did not do all that they could to stop what was happening, having known since July 1944 what atrocious acts were being carried out. Apparently the bombing of Auschwitz-Birkenau was ordered numerous times, but the military wouldn't carry out the bombings for practical reasons. They weren't guaranteed, with the limited technology they had, that they would hit the crematoriums and gas chambers. They didn't want to hit the camps and kill innocent people. Mind boggles as to why in this case it mattered that they couldn't guarantee hitting targets. How many other bombs were dropped? Though to me it is more a humane than practical reason. Part of the speculation is that they, the military and the leaders at the time, didn't recognise the moral responsibility and the message that would have been sent if they had attempted the bombing. It sounds awful but during a documentary I saw, survivors of Birkenau said that they would have been willing to die by the allied bombs rather than go through another moment of the torture of mind and body they endured. I could go on forever. I'm sure I'm not the only person who finds the evil inhumanity of it unfathomable and surreal.
I like to believe that this world is full of hope and goodness and compassion and that if all our energies and the leaders energies were focussed on doing what is good for humankind that we could solve a lot of problems easily.
Though, that is probably just me being naive.
1 comment:
hmm...Birkenau...gives me memories of the Rasputina song "Herb Girls of Birkenau" (what a coincidence) but the song is so sad and beautiful at the same time. Tis sad what has happened, unfortunately the past has more sad memories that happy ones (sometimes)
Post a Comment