I find some debates about concentration camps very unpleasant for me. My grand grand father was murdered in one of such places.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp
“In early 1940, a large number of Poles were transferred to the Mauthausen-Gusen complex. The first groups were mostly composed of artists, scientists, Boy Scouts, teachers, and university professors,[4][27] who were arrested during the course of the AB Action.”
In any criterion he wasn’t Jewish (religious, ethnic (...) ) He was Pole which Germans recognized as dangerous for their rule on Polish soil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB_Action
“The mass murder of Polish leaders, politicians, artists, aristocrats, the intelligentsia, and people suspected of potential anti-Nazi activity was seen as a pre-emptive measure to keep the Polish resistance scattered and to prevent the Poles from revolting during the planned German invasion of France.[4] The anti-Polish campaign was prepared by Hans Frank, the commander of the General Government, and was also discussed with Soviet officials during a series of secretive Gestapo-NKVD Conferences.
The first elimination of Polish intelligentsia took place soon after the German invasion of Poland, lasting from autumn 1939 until spring 1940. Operation Intelligenzaktion was a plan to eliminate the Polish intelligentsia, Poland's leadership class, realized by Einsatzgruppen and Selbstschutz. As the result of this operation 60,000 Polish nobles, teachers, polish entrepreneurs, social workers, priests, judges and political activists were killed in 10 regional actions. [5] [6] The Intelligenzaktion was continued by the German AB-Aktion operation in Poland.”
In many other actions of Nazi Germans many non-Jewish Poles were murdered. I find it strange that all debates about WWII, especially about concentration camps ends up as debate about Jewish history, Jewish heritage. I am far from looking on world from victims point of view but I know history of Poland and I know history of my family. Sometimes it hurts me when I have to read about WWII where some people seem to think that it was only about the Jews. Even concentration camps weren’t only for Jews.
The truth is that most of countries entered the war not because of anti-Semitism or to save the Jews. There were many other victims of Nazi Germany in many different countries.
The same goes to my opinion about Majdanek as the place important only for Jews.
I’ve picked up first “Jewish” thread on PF to say what I think about some debates.
BTW. Welcome back :)
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