University of Central Oklahoma
THURSDAY April 25, 1996
The Student Voice Since 1903
Memories of the Holocaust •
D
uring World War II, an estimated 14 to 16 million people died in death camps run by the Nazi SS. April 28 is Holocaust Remembrance Day, an opportunity to look back and evaluate where our society is now and where it's headed. One class of humanities students is already a step ahead on that. "The Age of Anguish and Crisis" taught by Dr. Siegfried Heit, associate professor of humanities and philosophy, focuses on 19th and 20th centuries humanities. One of the required readings is Schindler's List by Thomas Kenally, which received numerous awards when produced as a motion picture in 1994. The class discussed how technology is usually perceived as a positive with medical advances and improved living conditions. But technology can also have a darker side. "There's more efficiency in destroying people," Heit said. Heit points out that "holocausts" are not a uniquely German thing. Membership in the Nazi party was open to non-Germans and the SS was composed of Dutch, Belgium, French, Poles, Romanians and Bosnian Muslims. "Anti-semitism was ripe and rampant in all of Europe," Heit said. Reasons for that stemmed from misinterpretation of the Bible, pointing to Jews as the ones responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus and the traditional vocations of Jews. In Europe until the 19th century, Jews were not allowed to own land, serve in the military, study at universities or enter a trade guild. The areas left open to them were commerce and business. "If you owe someone money and you can't pay them," Heit said, "then you want to get rid of them." But the genocide was not supported by everyone. After the war, some Germans were shocked when they found out how inhumane the Nazis had been. Initial occupants of the concentration camp at Dachau were members of the clergy, military and writers who opposed Hitler's ideals, Heit said. A message forged in iron on the gates of Dachau reads "Work will set you free." Originally, the Nazis called camps like Dachau re-education camps and if occupants worked at changing their beliefs, they would be set free, Heit said. Later in the war, Dachau became a death camp like Auschwitz, where freedom from the camp was linked to freedom from life. It was not only Jews who were sent to the death camps, but also Jehovah's Witnesses, Free Masons, pastors and priests who spoke out against Hitler, as well as Gypsies and homosexuals, Heit said. After the war, Germany accepted responsibility in the name of the German people for the atrocities that took place during the war and began atonement for those acts. "Man's inhumanity to man is continuing...we need to be aware of the Holocaust. We need to read about it and study about it. Then maybe we'll think twice before we commit another inhumanity," said Heit. fitio. 1 6.• •
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OLYMPICS UCO softball team gets the opportunity to play the U.S. Olympic Team.
HERITAGE WEEK Week long events commemorate the rich culture of Native Americans.
INDIA NITE Satya Murty makes all the right classical moves as he dances the Bharat Natyam.
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