tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19109033.post5649293804851769929..comments2024-03-24T08:26:00.732+00:00Comments on photopol: DachauPólóhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08661092894104384856noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19109033.post-51440133207874694962018-07-12T18:21:19.031+01:002018-07-12T18:21:19.031+01:00Dachau was, I believe, mainly intended for politic...Dachau was, I believe, mainly intended for political or social undesirables - Communists, outspoken Social Democrates, Catholic priests etc. or others, who criticised the régime and social undesirables such as prostitutes, homosexuals, etc.<br /><br />It was never intended as an extermination camp, but some Jews were incarcerated there from early on long before extermination was adopted as policy. <br /><br />In the early days, it was quite common to release people after a while, when they had been taught a lesson and seen the error of their ways. Indeed, releasing people (including Jews) was a deliberate tactic of intimidation as the Nazis knew that, in spite of orders to the contrary, they would talk to family and trusted friends about their experiences. <br /><br />The notatiion "R.E." - Rückkehr unerwünscht - on prisoners' committal documents came later. This meant "return undesirable" - i.e. the incarceration was indefinite and would end only one way, with the prisoner's death from undernourishment and overwork, if not by execution for a trivial offence or as part of a reprisal for escapes etc.<br /><br />This is the sort of gradual, extra-judicial erosion of liberties and intimidation that Trump and his faithful would try given half a chance.Roger O'Keeffenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19109033.post-75603720076979351262012-08-11T19:47:42.157+01:002012-08-11T19:47:42.157+01:00@blackwatertown
Just rereading this and wondered ...@blackwatertown<br /><br />Just rereading this and wondered if you thought the FT correspondent in Germany was a German guy. It was actually Rupert Cornwell who went on to the Independent and seems to be still with them.<br /><br />,Pólóhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08661092894104384856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19109033.post-5041180093978261072012-06-18T00:16:46.855+01:002012-06-18T00:16:46.855+01:00Interesting view of things from the German reporte...Interesting view of things from the German reporter.<br /><br />I worked for a while in a Polish town that had a pogrom after the Germans left - i.e. a homegrown pogrom. One of the victims - all Jews - had survived Auschwitz, only to be killed when he was nearly home. I encountered an odd guilt and eagerness by individuals to assure me that they, personally, had had nothing to do with the killings. They were far too young and strangely defensive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19109033.post-27975667344212381082012-06-07T23:29:50.114+01:002012-06-07T23:29:50.114+01:00Germans of my generation had to carry the burden o...Germans of my generation had to carry the burden of a lot of guilt which, strictly speaking, wasn't theirs.<br /><br />They grew up in a divided country with a constitution written for them by the Allies with the specific purpose of keeping them in check.<br /><br />I remember, on the Bonn part of the above trip, the FT reporter in Bonn, gave us an "outside" view of how W.Germany worked. His view was that, on paper it couldn't work, too much fragmentation and consultation built into it, but that in practice it did work because the Germans were determined to make it so. He said that when they went into a room, regardless of the rules, they just didn't come out until they had made a decision.<br /><br />He also made the point that if they ever lost the will to make it work the whole thing would just fall apart.<br /><br />It was an interesting trip all round.<br /><br />.Pólóhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08661092894104384856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19109033.post-32072334733572541852012-06-07T23:07:16.896+01:002012-06-07T23:07:16.896+01:00I went to Dachau too many years ago. And much more...I went to Dachau too many years ago. And much more recently to Sachsenhausen with my son. Among the many things they had in common was the feeling of being a very uncomfortable truth tucked away out of sight. Understandable I suppose, when many of the locals presumably have strong family links to those who staffed the concentration camps and killing grounds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com