The Holocaust was such an enormous, almost incomprehensible, evil, that comparisons to other events are impossible. To do so devalues the lives of the 6 million souls who died during the Holocaust.
To make a reasonable comparison, the other event would have to involve the deaths of millions of people. Perhaps the Khmer Rouge (2 million dead) could be compared to the Nazi regime. The Soviet regime under Stalin might have equal standing, as he oversaw the deaths of somewhere between 10 million and 50 million Soviets during collectivization, “purges”, and forced labor.
So let’s talk about George Bush. By what stretch of anybody’s imagination could he be compared to Hitler? EVEN IF (big if) you thought we were trading blood for oil in the Iraq war, how could Bush be similar to the evil dictator who tried to eradicate a whole race of people? It devalues the lives of the 6 million souls whom Hitler killed to compare George Bush to Hitler.
Let’s talk about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. This was a very sad event, and many people lost their rights, their livelihoods, and their property. But I’m not aware of any systematic killings, forced labor, cruel medical experiments, starvation, etc. In a travel article in the most recent Westways (a California Auto Club publication), the author compares visiting a decrepit Japanese internment camp in California to visiting Dachau. How can this be? Are there crematories at this internment camp? I’ve been to Dachau and can attest that just standing on the grounds was a stomach-turning experience. It devalues the lives of the 6 million souls who died in concentration camps to compare internment camps in America to Dachau.
The latest comparison is from our own president. Here’s a quote from Obama’s speech at Buchenwald today: “It’s also important for us, I think, to remember that the perpetrators of such evil were human, as well, and that we have to guard against cruelty in ourselves.”
Really? Do we really need our president to tell all the citizens of the world, “Nazis were people just like me and you. Watch out that you don’t commit genocide!”
Psalm 53:3 says “there is no one who does good, not even one.” (NIV). So from a theological standpoint, Obama is correct. But the club of Dictators-who-killed-millions is a very exclusive one, with few members. To compare each of the billions of people living on this planet with the Nazi regime is, again, to devalue the lives of the 6 million souls whom the Nazis killed.
These comparisons sadden me. I don’t think people who make them, in general, are trying to minimize the murder of millions of Jews. It’s laziness. “I think Bush is evil. Hitler was evil. I’ll say Bush is like Hitler!” Or, “This old internment camp gives me the creeps. Dachau gave me the creeps. I’ll say this camp is like Dachau!” Or, “‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ The Nazis sinned. I’ll say the Nazis were people just like you and me!”
I wish Obama would spend more time talking about combating evil in the world than minimizing it.
Ya I think Obama is all talk and no action. He said he was going to kick the lobby groups out of Washington and then like they all do stepped back from it when he came to power. I also wonder why he isn’t stopping the shipment of arms to third world countries. The list goes on and on.
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Good article it got me thinking!
wow Allison, bravo! The speech in Germany deeply disturbed me. Disturbed me more that people loved it and didn’t see the devaluing of evil so smoothly swallowed down with each “on the other hand…” that he uttered.
Well thought, well said!