By the commemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp #1 Finding a solution to a created problem

In a series of articles we can look back at an industrialized killing machine that took the lives of nearly 6,000 people a day. 75 years ago for those who were still (somewhat) alive on the 27th of January 1945, there was a liberation from the horror camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, but not from the atrocities they had to witness and the horror which would haunt them for the rest of their life.

Of the estimated 1.3 million people — at minimum — who were deported to the concentration, labour and extermination camp Auschwitz, between 1940 and 1945, at least 1.1 million were murdered, through mass exterminations, starvation, infectious diseases, individual executions, and medical experiments.
Gross of the survivors still suffer the effects of the trauma they experienced during the Holocaust.

How the Nazi Killing Machines Developed

In the part of Europe which could not keep up to the agreements mad in Versailles after World War I fertile soil was created for economical and political unrest. Ideal to undermine the government was speaking along ideas the majority of the people had, giving certain people the fault or cause of all the misery.

Creating a scapegoat, the popular political figures had to make sure they could win more votes and as such knew they had to get away with the "problem" they had showed to the people. Best was also to create a pure people, done away with all what did not fit the picture of a good Arian soul.
Speeches creating hatred against one group of people, at first, took care lots of Germans started to believe that those who lived in big houses and had lots of shops, were the bad guys who had to be eliminated and their places given to the real Germanic race.

It took not many years before the lies about the Jews were accepted as a real truth to be handled. So people turned against the Jewish inhabitants and wanted them away. The Nazi government forced the Jews from their homes and herded them into railway cattle cars.

Initially, however, the Germans used killing groups called Einsatzgruppen (task forces) to round up and massacre entire Jewish communities.

Rivka Yosselevska, who testified at the trial of Adolph Eichmann in 1961, was one of a few who survived the Nazi massacre of 500 Zagrodzki ghetto Jews (near Pinsk in Belarus) in August 1942. Yosselevska lost her daughter, mother, father, and sister, as well as other relatives in the slaughter. She said her daughter had asked her when they we were lined up in the ghetto,

 “Mother, why did you make me wear the Shabbat dress; we are being taken to be shot.”

At the mass grave, she asked,

 “Mother, why are we waiting? Let us run!”

Yosselevska said,

 “Some of the young people tried to run, but they were caught immediately, and they were shot right there. It was difficult to hold on to the children. ... The suffering of the children was difficult; we all trudged along to come nearer to the place and to come nearer to the end of the torture of the children.”

Although Yosselevska was shot in the head, she lived. For three days, she lay among the dead. The farmer who found her, hid and fed her. He also helped her to join a group of Jews hiding in the forest where she managed to survive until the Soviet army arrived in 1944.

Eventually, the Nazis decided that shooting as a method of mass killing was too expensive and inefficient. It required killing to be done one bullet at a time. And it demoralized the troops.

The Wannsee Conference Decides the Final Solution

In 1942, Nazi Party officials met near Berlin at the Wannsee Conference to discuss the “Final Solution” for the destruction of European Jewry. There they coordinated the deportation of Europe’s Jews to extermination camps that were already operating or were under construction in German-occupied Poland.

As many as 11 million Jews were to be transported to these killing centres, including residents of countries not then under Nazi control, such as Ireland, Sweden, Turkey, and Great Britain.

They decided that the mass transportation of these populations would be accomplished by train.

The SS and the police coordinated with local auxiliaries or collaborators in occupied territories to round up the victims and transport them to the death centres. In charge of all this was SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann, who was later to meet his demise at the end of a rope in an Israeli prison.

To disguise their intentions, Nazi authorities referred to these deportations as “resettlements” to labour camps in the “East.” In reality, they were killing centres for mass murder.

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Find more about this terrible political and human offence: Endlösung der Judenfrage (Final Solution to the Jewish Question):

1. Black page 70 years Release – commemoration Auschwitz
2. World remembers Auschwitz survivors
3. Polish commemoration of the liberation of the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau
4. Is it really true that Anti-Semitism will never be tolerated? 
5. Auschwitz survivors providing a warning of rising anti-Semitism and exclusion of free thinking

 

Some christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews

Mainly American Christians do show their disgust with Judaism. Doing so they forget that Jeshua, Jesus Christ, the man who they are supposed to follow was a very devout Jew, belonging to the Jewish sect of the Essenes.

Many Americans say the Jews killed Jesus, but it would be the same as Europeans saying the Americans killed our compatriots in World War II or they killed the Afghanistan and the Iraqis and the Iranians and the Vietnamese and the Koreans and so on. It were some Jews and other people present in Jerusalem at that time who were agitated by the Pharisees and certain Jewish leaders, but not by all the Jews, who also saw in Jesus one of their own.

Also the new Pope is aware it would be better if more Christians started to investigate the Jewish roots of Christianity and the Christian flowering of Judaism.
Francis said.

 “I understand it is a challenge, a hot potato, but it is possible to live as brothers.”

Francis’ statement seems to go further than his predecessor, St. John Paul II, who made headlines in 1986 as the first pope to visit Rome’s main synagogue and declared Jews to be the “elder brothers” of the Christian faith.

“Every day, I pray with the Psalms of David. My prayer is Jewish, then I have the Eucharist, which is Christian,”

the Argentine pontiff added.

Too many Christians do not use the Old Testament, but it was the main part of Jesus his teaching. At that time there was only the Old Testament which was brought to the beleivers in the One God, which was the Divine Creator, God of Adam, God of Abraham and the God of Israel, God His people.

Those Jews are still God His people, we may never forget that.

Certain  right-wing Christians in their denial of the Jewish connection even go so far to deny the Christians would not have killed many of those people of God. A denial of the Holocaust the pope criticizes as “madness.”

Deutsch: Pius XII., Glückwunschschreiben zum 100. Jubiläum des Pilger in Speyer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Francis I also defended the record of Pope Pius XII, who led the Roman Catholic Church during World War II. Francis will soon have to decide whether to advance the sainthood cause for the controversial wartime pope, who is accused of failing to speak out publicly against the mass murder of Jews. For years, Jewish leaders and Nazi hunters have demanded the Vatican open up its secret wartime files.


Some Jews have accused Pius, who ruled from 1939 to 1958, of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The controversy has put a strain on Catholic-Jewish relations for decades.


Francis said he was concerned about

 “everything which has been thrown at poor Pius XII,”

while stressing that he sheltered Jews in the convents of Rome and other Italian cities, as well as the popes’ summer residence in Castel Gadolfo. Strange though that the Catholic Church did not come sooner with proof of such actions. We do know about nuns and priests who took all possibilities to bring Jews in safety. Many also told lies to the German soldiers to protect others. Their concious may have got very harsh times. but how was the concious of pope Pius XII?

The Vatican says Pius worked behind the scenes to save thousands of Jews and did not speak out more forcefully for fear that his words could have led to more deaths of both Jews and Christians at the hands of the Nazis


Pope Francis warns us to be careful, all being able to make mistakes.

"I don't want to say that Pius XII did not make any mistakes - I myself make many - but he has to be seen in the context of that era. For example, was it better for him not to speak out so that more Jews were not killed, or that he speak out?"

he said and added that Pius XII ordered the Church to hide many Jews in the convents of Rome and other Italian cities, that he sheltered Jews in the papal summer residence south of Rome and that 42 children of Jews and other refugees were born in his apartments there.



Francis added that he breaks out in an “existential rash” when he hears people speak against Pius and the church’s wartime record while ignoring inaction by the Allies fighting against Nazi Germany or forgetting the responsibility of the great wartime powers.

“Did you know that they knew perfectly well the rail network used by the Nazis to take the Jews to the concentration camps? They had photographs,”

 “But they did not bomb these rail lines. Why? It would be nice if we spoke a little bit about everything.”

Already in the 1930ies English and Americans did know about certain plans of the Germans, but they did not find it appropriate to react then, when there was still time to prtect further escalation.


Last month, Francis visited the Yad Vashem memorial to Holocaust victims in Jerusalem. The Yad Vashem's website, addressing the issue of the allies' activity during the war, says:

 "In practice, no military initiatives were taken to prevent or delay the extermination."

While some historians have argued those train lines should have been bombed, other historians note the allies were losing planes and airmen at such a high rate, and the lasting effects of the bombing of those train lines would have been so slight, that bombing them made no military or humanitarian sense.


Jewish groups have asked Francis and his predecessors to freeze the process that could lead to sainthood for Pius until the all the World War Two era archives are opened to historians, saying Catholic-Jewish relations could be harmed if the process moved ahead.

Speaking to reporters on the plane returning from Jerusalem last month, Francis said the sainthood cause for Pius was stalled because he had not been credited with performing a miracle, which Church rules require, suggesting it was not stalled because of any outside pressure.

Francis also used that interview to condemn anti-Semitism. He reportedly said it is a continuing problem that was primarily seen in right-wing European political parties which still continue to try to bring a screen in front of the people by ignoring the facts of history like the holocaust.

Francis confirmed that he intends to open the Vatican archives wartime collection.

"They will shed a lot of light,"

 the Pope said.


During Friday’s interview with the Barcelona daily, Francis was also asked about his own security, saying he refused to travel in a bulletproof “sardine can” vehicle because he wants to mingle with ordinary people.

“It is true that anything can happen, but let’s face it, at my age I have nothing to lose,”

the 77-year-old pontiff said. The way he can  now be in contact with young and old is much more important. Such a personal contact can do the Catholic Church some good to reboost it again.

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• Pope To Open Vatican WW2 Archives, Insists Wartime Pope Did Not Ignore Plight Of Jews (failedmessiah.typepad.com)
  "was it better for him not to speak out so that more Jews were not killed, or that he speak out?" Francis reportedly said, adding that the wartime pope’s critics "have dumped all kinds of things on poor Pius XII.”
  +The current Pope needs to read John Cornwell's book "Hitler's Pope." The book was written as part of an exercise to determine WHETHER Pius ignored the plight of the Jews. In conclusion the Pope was not so much an anti-Semite as "a deeply flawed man" who ignored the plight of Jews and Catholics. Professor Cornwell studied at Jesus College (not YU, BMG or Gush). Later, with the pressure on him, the author retracted.
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  Pius XI (according to David Kertzer's new book) spent most of his papacy collaborating with Mussolini, who agreed to restore much Papal power that had been stripped by the democratization of Italy (including antisemitic laws... up to what Church law had permitted before.) Both, though for very different reasons, loathed Communism and both had contempt for democracy. Only towards the end of his papacy did Pius XI realize his error in getting in bed with Mussolini; he tried to reverse course but faced opposition in the Vatican, which was heavily penetrated by Mussolini's agents and sympathizers.
  So Pius XII, by inclination and training, a diplomat, had about four years in office (in a divided and antisemitic Vatican) before the Nazis took over Northern Italy and installed their own racial laws.
  The "Hitler's Pope" meme may have originated, and at any rate was spread, as part of a Communist disinformation campaign.
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  What he did not do was to acknowledge his special responsibilities as the leader of the Catholic Church. He was not there—could not be there– as an individual righteous pilgrim offering comfort and good will to both sides in a tragic dispute. He was visiting in his capacity as the leader of an institution with a complicated and troubled history to precisely the events mourned at that memorial.
  
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  Pope Francis stood up against false historians who continuously slander Pope Pius XII, and showed how Pius XII saved Jews from Nazi persecution.
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  I have written several articles critical of Francis, but I do not do so out of hatred, but discernment and love. In this case Francis is doing very well in pointing out the historical inaccuracies that commonly are used to libel and tarnish the reputation of one of the greatest heroes for God and His people in history.
  We have written an article documenting what feats of heroism Pope Pius XII did to save hundreds of thousands of Jews. Click here to read it
  Just as Pope Pius XII saved Jews during the Holocaust, so must we save Christians who are currently being persecuted by the Muslims.
• Sainthood may be the only way to end Pius XII controversy; also, an interview with Vatican's "sexy bombshell" (bostonglobe.com)
  From a purely political point of view, however, there’s a strong case for a highly counterintuitive conclusion: the best thing for Catholic-Jewish ties would be to canonize Pius XII tomorrow.
  Perhaps no Catholic figure of the 20th century has been the object of more heated debate than Eugenio Pacelli, the given name of the pontiff who reigned from 1939 to 1958. The vast literature makes up what wags call the “Pius Wars,” referring to polemical exchanges between the pope’s critics and his defenders.
  The former argue that Pius stayed silent because he preferred to protect the Church’s institutional interests. Defenders say the pope was discreet in public in order not to make things worse, but behind the scenes he saved scores of Jewish lives.
  A sainthood cause for Pius began shortly after his death. In the meantime, three pontiffs who came later have leapfrogged past him: John XXIII and John Paul II are now saints, and Paul VI will be beatified in October.
  
• Pope slams Allies over WWII actions (warhistoryonline.com)
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• Should the Pope push through the canonisation of Pius XII? (catholicherald.co.uk)
  Fr Rutler’s book is keenly relevant on this subject – not least because of an article written on June 14 by the veteran Vatican-watcher and journalist, John L Allen, of the Boston Globe. In it he suggests that “the best thing for Catholic Jewish ties right now might be to canonise Pius XII tomorrow and get it over with.” As is well known, the cause for Pius’s canonisation has been bogged down for years over the controversy surrounding his wartime record: could he or could he not have done more to help the plight of the Jews in Europe who were being at first persecuted and finally exterminated by the Nazis?
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  If Pius XII had spoken more frankly and showed less “self-restraint” it might have helped his later legacy – but it would certainly have also occasioned more savage reprisals by the Nazis. Rutler’s book brings together some additional proofs, if they are needed, and from Jewish sources, of the very real “charitable, financial and moral assistance” of the wartime pope. Perhaps, as John Allen suggests, there is now a case for simply getting on with the process of his canonisation.
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• Pope Francis leads Catholic Church in pro-Jewish direction (theuglytruth.wordpress.com)
  
  
  

  

  I strongly disagree with Caroline Glick’s conclusion in her May 27 article that Pope Francis “is leading the Catholic Church in a distressingly anti-Jewish direction.” I can understand Caroline’s distress at some of the pope’s actions and words but it is important to have balance and not draw wrong conclusions.

  Pope Francis is totally committed to reconciliation between the Church and Israel. I would like to demonstrate this under five headings: 1. State of Israel Pope Francis in his first Encyclical in November 2013 affirmed God’s everlasting covenant with the Jews: “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for ‘the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Rom 11:29).”

Three women were rescued by sibling of Leon Degrelle

Hanna Nadel, now 86, said she, her mother and her niece were rescued by M. Cornet, the sister of Leon Degrelle, who, as leader of the Belgian Nazi Rexen movement, was responsible for deporting Jews to their deaths during the German occupation of Belgium.

Cornet  lived in Sint-Genesius Rode, by Brussels, and could use a good cook. She did not ask ask many questions to Hanna Nadel when she and her mother and her niece answered a help-wanted sign on Cornet’s door. The mother was taken on as cook and Nadel and her niece to work as chambermaids.

Being the sister of Leon Degrelle M. Cornet knew about the situation of Jews, but assured them they would not have to worry. when she had her brother or visitors associated with the Flemish Nazi movement  to routinely dine at the house, the three Jewish women hid in the basement.

Nadel’s mother would sometimes cook gefiltefish, which the lady of the house advertised to her guests as “oriental fish”, Nadel recalled.

Nadel immigrated to Israel after the war. Leon Degrelle left for Spain, where he died of old age in 1994, escaping the death sentences that his Nazi associates received back home.

Nadel’s mother would sometimes cook gefiltefish, which the lady of the house advertised to her guests as “oriental fish”, Nadel recalled.

Nadel immigrated to Israel after the war. Leon Degrelle left for Spain, where he died of old age in 1994, escaping the death sentences that his Nazi associates received back home.