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Post by gumby on Oct 20, 2012 11:24:18 GMT -5
This is a little off topic, not being about reincarnation, but this is an issue that has been bothering me for a long time. I have always thought, from the perspective of my former self as Katie, living during the Nazi period, that most ordinary citizens of Germany did not know about the holocaust. I have found that this is debatable, but I plan to do more research on this topic and add this information here. I googled this interesting article and it clearly indicates that most German people were not aware of the atrocities. I am still of the conviction that most German people did not know of the holocaust, and only a few actuallly participated in the actual mass slayings. Read the article at this link, it is interesting and sheds some light on this question: source: deeptruths.com/letters/holocaust.html
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Post by msmir on Oct 20, 2012 12:22:49 GMT -5
I think so. Even Eva Braun apparently had no idea what was really going on. Even Hitler's secretery swore she had no idea and wrote a book about her experiences working with him too after she apparently found out. So I do think that most really had no clue what was truly going on.
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Post by gumby on Oct 21, 2012 12:08:46 GMT -5
Yes I came across this article msmir that seems to support this i.e. that even many people in the Nazi government and the army did not know, but may have suspected it from deeptruths.com/letters/holocaust.html I think that this indicates that only a few Germans actually knew about the extent of the mass killings. It was in the best interest of the Reich to supress this information, fearing that if the genocide were discovered their image would be tarnished and their popularity would falter.
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Post by Storm on Oct 22, 2012 6:24:12 GMT -5
Hello Gumby Just as you sadly get revisionist arguments about the existence of the camps and the terrible death toll you also get revisions about how much the ordinary Germans knew. In the case of how much did ordinary Germans know and therefore how complicit were they it is a very interesting subject. Those not living nearby or working at camps may well have not known about the methods of killing, (gas chambers etc), but they may not have been quite so ignorant of the killings of Jews and of others. And many were extremely active in denouncing people. www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/feb/17/johnezardThe above link is to a very reputable British newspaper. And the book is by a recognised academic, not just a blogger or an amateur historian.
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maxie
New Member
Posts: 9
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Post by maxie on Oct 22, 2012 14:11:01 GMT -5
I think it all depends on where. If they were near a camp, they must have known, I mean the smell alone traveled for miles. I remember going on leave several times and could smell it towns away, but then again, I was aware of what the smell really was. My wife often asked about what went on at the camps. She knew the camps existed and about the prisoners, but not what really went on, and if she did, she never hinted that she knew at all. I guess if they were far from the camps, I'm sure they knew the jews were being deported, but I don't think they would have known with certainty what our operations were, or again they did a good job hiding it.
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Post by Demi on Oct 23, 2012 15:34:25 GMT -5
They had 'fancy' names for it, such as resettlement, work camp, or 'projects'. Never saying things straight. My friend Hermann went on to lead a 'project' in the East and I never knew what that was about. Our ways parted then. Until the day me and others arrived at the huge camp . First impression was just surreal and shocking. 'OMG! What the hell is this!'
So much more unfamiliar for ordinary Germans I believe.
Recently I watched the movie 'Escape From Auschwitz'. When Rudolf Vrba reached Hungary to attempt to warn the Jews and prevent them from boarding the trains, the Jewish elders did not believe him. Keeping it secret was one of the greatest weapons of the Nazis.
All the best Demi
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