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| 'Woman in Gold' by Gustav Klimt |
Watched
the ‘Woman in Gold’ recently, an evocative true account of
a Jewish woman looking to reclaim the famous Klimt portrait of her aunt, Adele
Bloch-Bauer. This painting, one of many treasures stolen by Nazis in 1930s
Austria, later took pride of place at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna, where trustees were determined it should
stay.
As
the story unfolded, with flashbacks to the awful pre-war events, my blood
boiled at the petty sadism and insatiable greed of Hitler’s regime, at seeing
human beings stripped of their possessions along with their dignity. For heavens' sake - what
were ORDINARY people doing?!
How easy it is to rage against barbaric Nazi practices from the relative comfort of one’s armchair 80 years later! Until a not-so-comfortable thought hit me. What if I’D lived in Germany or Austria during those critical times? Would I have supported Hitler? Would I have been intimidated by his storm troopers, or believed the lying propaganda? Would I have turned a blind eye to the concentration camps and vicious persecution of minorities?
How easy it is to rage against barbaric Nazi practices from the relative comfort of one’s armchair 80 years later! Until a not-so-comfortable thought hit me. What if I’D lived in Germany or Austria during those critical times? Would I have supported Hitler? Would I have been intimidated by his storm troopers, or believed the lying propaganda? Would I have turned a blind eye to the concentration camps and vicious persecution of minorities?
Sadly,
many did; ordinary people who, but for the National Socialist Party, would have
remained decent, peace-loving citizens. Christians with long-held loyalty to
the Catholic Church. On July 20, 1933, a concordat between the Vatican and Nazi
Germany was signed by Cardinal Pacelli (later Pope Pius XI). His co-signee was
former chancellor and Papal Knight Franz von Papen who mustered support for
Hitler from industrial barons.
For
this act of patriotism, Hitler made von Papen vice-chancellor and used him to
rally support from Germany’s Catholics. By the end of 1933 (proclaimed a Holy
Year by Pope Pius XI) Vatican support was a major factor in Hitler’s push for world
domination and swastikas hung from every cathedral.
A
few brave priests and nuns denounced Nazi atrocities and were quickly silenced.
Yet the Catholic Church as a whole gave active or tacit support to the regime,
as did their followers.
Could
such a situation happen again? This is a question that may never be answered
but needs to be asked.
Fortunately,
most of us have an innate sense of justice which fires us up against tyranny,
oppression and cruelty of all kinds. But we must never forget how easily whole
populations can be swayed. Given human fears and weaknesses, each and every one
of us should look to ourselves, examine our hearts, and root out any prejudice
or misplaced loyalty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_Gold_(film)
https://www.amazon.com/Satan-Top-Hat-biography-Franz/dp/B0007DTB82
You hope .... my grandparents believed the same...said that the Germans would see through Hitler and his regime..after all, they were decent people, civilized...maybe they stopped saying this when loaded onto a transport out of Berlin heading for Auschwitz. I see the same 'rhetoric' of subtle signposting taking over the media and the 'leaders' of this country. Then it was the Jews, now it is refugees, immigrants and EU citizens. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. And we have not learned.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Carole. An important message for all.
ReplyDelete