Culture and Society

THE HOLOCAUST AS MORAL INSTRUCTION M a r t i n J. Plax ~or decades it appeared that regular reminders of the horrors of the Holocaust made public expressions of anti-Semitism and acts of hatred against Jews impermissible. Believing that this situation w o u l d continue, some Jewish writers r e c e n t l y b e g a n to c r i t i c i z e t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y ' s seeming d e p e n d e n c e on the Holocaust, on the grounds that it provided only negative reasons for Jewish identity.They argued that Judaism has a raison d'Otre g r o u n d e d in the positive and that these should be accentuated. The recent resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe and North America, c o m p o u n d i n g the murders of inn o c e n t Israelis by suicide bombers, h o w e v e r has challenged the belief that civility towards Jews w o u l d last indefinitely. Those hate-driven acts make it imperative to consider if regular public recollections of the Holocaust have not reached a point of diminishing returns. During my nearly twenty-six years of experience as Cleveland director of The American Jewish Committee, I had steady contacts with other religious and n a t i o n a l i t y c o m m u n i t i e s in the Greater Cleveland area. T h r o u g h those experiences I learned that even people sensitive to Nazi atrocities are not made more sympathetic to Jews simply by sharing their stories of atrocities against their p e o p l e . T h e y believe that by insisting that Nazi atrocities were sui generis, the Jewish community is using a double standard w h e n it c o m e s to w h a t constitutes war crimes.The one thing that did p r o m o t e civility and a willingness to support Jewish interests was for us to engage in acts that signaled the feelings of mutual gratitude. I gave public expression of these beliefs when, in late June 2002, Nathan Guttman, a reporter from H a ' a r e t z called me for c o m m e n t s about a story he was working on. "I was told you have been involved with the Demjanjuk case since it began

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in Cleveland," he said. "Did you k n o w that the Polish g o v e r n m e n t was investigating the possibility of seeking to have John Demjanjuk extradited to Poland, to be tried lbr war crimes?" Unlike my friend, Professor Alan Rosenbaum, a philosophy professor at Cleveland State University and the author of the book, Prosecuting N a z i War Criminals, I was not prepared to tell Guttman that"(t)his would be a marvelous climax to years of dealing with Demjanjuk." Nor was I prepared to say that "(t)his is a matter of moral and legal justice (for) ... the victims a r e n ' t here to talk about it." I told him I was aware of the case, but that having been an observer of the Demjanjuk case since 1981, it was no longer of particular c o n c e r n to me. Why did I disclaim any passionate interest in the pursuit of Demjanjuk, by the Polish government, in 2002? W h e n the Office of Special Investigation re-opened the denaturalization case in Cleveland in 2001, based on evidence it had that Demjanjuk had served at other death camps, there was little enthusiasm or interest expressed in the media.With the exception of a few c o m m e n t s in support of the action by survivors or children of survivors, most of the o p i n i o n e x p r e s s e d was negative. Expressing the view that the charge of Demjanjuk being Ivan the Terrible was d r o p p e d by an Israeli court, and that Demjanjuk had been on trial since 1981, those w h o o p p o s e d the OSI action expressed pity for Demjanjuk, for being h o u n d e d by the g o v e r n m e n t and by the Jews. In my mind, this expression of pity for an alleged war criminal should be a signal to the Jewish c o m m u n i t y about what moral lessons are being learned by remembering the Holocaust. It is of particular c o n c e r n to me, especially in light of the fact that e v e n t s in the Middle East have sparked a sizable n u m b e r of violent acts of anti-

Semitism against individual Jews and Jewish institutions and r e p e a t e d e x p r e s s i o n s of hostility to Israel and Zionism, even by some college-age Jews. Aside from charging the p e r p e t r a t o r s of these acts w i t h anti-Semitism, is t h e r e not an additional w a y in w h i c h Jews can r e s p o n d ? T h e r e can be little d o u b t that the stigma of b e i n g called a Nazi is real. But the t e r m Nazi, like the w o r d Holocaust, has b e e n a p p r o p r i a t e d by nearly e v e r y g r o u p w i s h i n g to call a t t e n t i o n to its o w n p l i g h t . A n a l o g i e s l}om the language of the H o l o c a u s t are b e i n g made. Israel has b e e n called a Nazi-state and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has b e e n c o m p a r e d to Hitler. In spite of p r o t e s t s from Jews, in reality, no o n e using these e g r e g i o u s comparisons has b e e n d e t e r r e d . T h e c o n t r a r y has taken place. Sensing that the J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y feels v u l n e r a b l e b e c a u s e of those charges, the p e r p e trators a p p e a r to be taking c o m f o r t in the Jewish responses. Some t h o u g h t s h o u l d be given to the way information from the mass media is transformed into p u b l i c o p i n i o n . In P e r s o n a l 111fltte,lce, a w o r k p u b l i s h e d in 1955, t w o sociologists, Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld d i s c o v e r e d that there is a twos t e p p r o c e s s . Most p e o p l e test the truth of ideas t h e y are e x p o s e d to from the media w i t h p e o p l e Katz and Lazarsfeld c a l l e d " o p i n i o n leaders."They discovered, however, that those o p i n i o n l e a d e r s are n o t p u b l i c officials and business leaders, w h o exist for most p e o p l e only in the mass media, but t h o s e p e o p l e a m o n g o n e ' s friends w h o s e opinion o n e trusts. It is this n o t i o n of o p i n i o n l e a d e r s h i p that is at the base of the idea o f " c o m m u n i t y relations" that is a large part of the w o r k of o r g a n i z a t i o n s such as The A m e r i c a n J e w i s h C o m m i t t e e . It is this notion that has s h a p e d the b e l i e f that the most effective kind of c o m m u n i t y relations is w h a t has c o m e to be called retail, or p e r s o n - t o - p e r s o n and face-to-face, c o m m u n i t y relations. It is, in my judgment, a n e c e s s a r y c o m p l e m e n t to the wholesale variety, w h i c h involves the use of mass media and mass e d u c a t i o n to p r o t e s t and to try to affect a change in behavior, largely by s h a m i n g . W h o l e s a l e c o m m u n i t y relations is, to b o r r o w a p h r a s e from physics, a kind of"action-at-a-distance," w h i c h , in the end, d e p e n d s on s e e m i n g l y w e a k e r interact i o n s . T h e goal of retail c o m m u n i t y relations is to t r y to c o n t a i n these hateful a c t i o n s and w o r d s w i t h the c o o p e r a t i o n of l e a d e r s in t h o s e c o m m u nities from w h i c h those e n g a g i n g in the acts are a part. It is b a s e d on a self-evident, b u t generally

u n a r t i c u l a t e d p r i n c i p l e : t h a t p e o p l e are m o r e

afraid o f their f r i e n d s t h a n their e n e m i e s . E x p e r i e n c e in retail c o m m u n i t y relations exposes the f u n d a m e n t a l difficulty, today, in repeating an a c c o u n t of the Holocaust, and p o i n t s to a p o s s i b l e c o r r e c t i v e . The F e b r u a r y 2002 issue of C o m m e n t a t : r i n c l u d e d an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d "The Return of Anti-Semitism," by Hillel Halkin. In it, Halkin a r g u e d that it is an e r r o r to ignore the fact that m u c h anti-Israel r h e t o r i c is g r o u n d e d in antiS e m i t i s m . T h e k e y to distinguishing p r o p e r criticism of Israel from anti-Semitic criticism of Israel, he argued, is that the latter use a d o u b l e standard for judging Israel's behavior.They c o n d e m n Israeli b e h a v i o r but are silent a b o u t analogous or even w o r s e b e h a v i o r by o t h e r armies or states and their rulers. He cited, for e x a m p l e , the silence of Israel's critics of a D e c e m b e r 1995 d e c i s i o n by a Dutch NAT() military c o n t i n g e n t r e s p o n s i b l e for p r o t e c t ing Muslims, to w i t h d r a w from Srebrenica, aware that their w i t h d r a w a l w o u l d result in the massacre of Muslim r e s i d e n t s of the town. In addition, he n o t e d the silence of those critics of the slaughter of civilians in Sudan, Indonesia, C h e c h n y a and the Congo. In s p e a k i n g of a d o u b l e standard, Halkin identified a salient issue, b u t n o t only for Jews. It is one that I have h e a r d from m e m b e r s of nationality c o m m u n i t i e s w h o s e roots are in the Central and Eastern E u r o p e a n states a b o u t Jews using the H o l o c a u s t as a s o u r c e of moral i n s t r u c t i o n . T h e y have r e p e a t e d l y w o n d e r e d w h y J e w i s h s u p p o r t ers of denaturalization p r o c e e d i n g s against alleged Nazi w a r c r i m i n a l s are silent a b o u t w h a t thet' b e l i e v e w e r e w a r c r i m e s c o m m i t t e d against their families and their p e o p l e by C o m m u n i s t rulers, e s p e c i a l l y Stalinists, e s p e c i a l l y w h e n Jews w e r e p e r s e c u t e d in the f o r m e r Soviet Union.To these p e o p l e , the J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y is o p e r a t i n g w i t h a d o u b l e standard of its o w n . T h e y w o n d e r w h y the a u t h o r i z i n g legislation for the Office of Special Investigation is limited only to alleged Nazi war criminals. As e v i d e n c e of this allegation, and my r e s p o n s e to it, I offer four e x a m p l e s from my o w n work. Although anecdotal, they are e x p e r i e n c e s American J e w i s h C o m m i t t e e professionals in o t h e r cities have also had. I. This q u e s t i o n b e c a m e clear to me soon after the Office of Special Investigation b r o u g h t Ukrainian-American J o h n Demjanjuk to c o u r t for allegedly lying a b o u t his w h e r e a b o u t s d u r i n g the Ho-

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locaust w h e n he applied to come to the United States. It was then that I first met with leaders of the Ukrainian c o m m u n i t y in Cleveland. For several months prior to our meetings there had been a steady stream of vituperation and self-justification from both communities in all the local media.Was there something to be done? Were those leaders of the Ukrainian c o m m u n i t y defending Demjanjuk because they were anti-Semitic? Many people in the Jewish c o m m u n i t y thought so and actually expressed that view both publicly and privately. Much to my surprise, on meeting the leaders of the Ukrainian community, I learned that they did not k n o w J o h n Demjanjuk personally. For one thing, he was not active in c o m m u n i t y activities. For another, he w o r s h i p p e d in an O r t h o d o x Christian church, while nearly all of the leaders were Roman Catholics. They told me that they were defending him because they were convinced that the Soviet g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d use trial to claim that Ukrainians were, and still are, Nazi sympathizers, and w o u l d use that claim to justify even more harsh tactics to suppress Ukrainian aspirations for i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e y acknowledged that some Ukrainians had worked for the Nazis but also told me that many Ukrainians died at the hands of the Nazis. The issue for them was the dream of Ukrainians i n d e p e n d e n c e from the Soviet Union.Their dream of i n d e p e n d e n c e had its o w n history. I learned from them that in 1932-33 the Stalinist g o v e r n m e n t had i m p o s e d a famine on Ukraine during w h i c h millions died. Ukrainians w a n t e d that story to be told to Americans just like the Holocaust was being told to Americans.When we agreed to help in that effort, the Ukrainian leadership seemed surprised, but clearly pleased. But there was a wrinkle to the story of The Famine. Some of the leaders in their c o m m u n i t y told us, in tones of anger, that in the view of their c o m m u n i t y the "The Famine" was designed and i m p l e m e n t e d by, Lazar K a g a n o v i c h , a t r u s t e d friend of Stalin, w h o was a Jew w h o hated Ukrainians and wanted them dead. It didn't matter to those making the charge that Kaganovich was not solely responsible for the deaths of Ukrainians, nor that there were only a very small n u m b e r of Jews w h o were Communists, that is, Stalinists. Neither did it matter to them that these same Stalinists w h o were responsible for the death of Ukrainian Christians, also starved large n u m b e r s of Ukrainian Jews.They w a n t e d to

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k n o w w h y w a r c r i m e s against Ukrainians by Stalinists, including Jewish Stalinists, were not included in the legislation authorizing the work of the Office of Special Investigation. II. A similar situation arose in the midst of my working with the local Lithuanian community. In 1989, an active m e m b e r of Cleveland's Lithuanian c o m m u n i t y helped me bring Emanuel Zingeris, the only Jew on the Executive Committee of the then budding democratic movement, Sajudis, to Cleveland. In an address to a large g r o u p o f Lithuanians and Jews about the emerging democracy in Lithuania, Zingeris called for Jews and Lithuanians in America to support the effort to r e p u d i a t e t h e Hitler-Stalin p a c t t h a t e n d e d Lithuanian i n d e p e n d e n c e before World War II. He also, m o r e indirectly, s p o k e o f the n e e d for Lithuanians to come to grips with the fact that, during the Nazi o c c u p a t i o n , some Lithuanians collaborated and some took initiatives to m u r d e r Jews without Nazi provocation. During the question period, one Lithuanian man challenged Zingeris, claiming that it was not only the Nazis w h o caused suffering in Lithuania. He referred to the Communist control of the country after the Nazis evacuated the country, and made pointed references to the Jews w h o were "Commissars" and w h o were responsible for the torture of Lithuanians (by w h i c h he meant Christians, as t h o u g h the Jews in Lithuania were not Lithuanians). In effect, he was claiming that Jews were responsible for the Communist takeover of his c o u n t r y and for the tortures he himself had suffered under the Communists, having been sent to Siberia, w h e r e many died. III. In May 2001, Rabbi Michael Schudrich came to Cleveland as keynote speaker at the AJC Annual Dinner. Rabbi Schudrich spends half of his time in Warsaw, w h e r e he tends to the religious and cultural needs of Polish Jews and Christians w h o are discovering they have Jewish ancestors. In a meeting the next day with a majority of the Polish leadership in Cleveland, Rabbi Schudrich discussed a hotly debated issue in Poland today. He spoke about the growing evidence that in 1941 the Jews of J e d w a b n e were murdered during Holocaust, not by the Nazis, but by some Polish residents of the same town. Most of the Poles at our meeting were embarrassed by this information and expressed h o p e we w o u l d not let that historical fact destroy that

cooperative activities we had already developed in C l e v e l a n d . H o w e v e r , o n e Polish l e a d e r d e n i e d t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e p r o v e d it w a s Poles, w h i l e ano t h e r a s s e r t e d t h a t J e w s c o n t i n u e to h a v e p r o b l e m s b e c a u s e t h e y "act l i k e J e w s a n d n o t l i k e A m e r i c a n s 2 P l e a d i n g o n b e h a l f o f c h a r i t y a n d forg i v e n e s s o f P o l e s b y J e w s , t h e plea, h o w e v e r , t o o k t h e f o r m o f an a t t a c k o n J e w s for raising this issue, w h i c h for h i m w a s l o n g p a s t a n d w o r t h y o f b e i n g f o r g o t t e n . His a p p e a l for f o r g i v e n e s s w a s b e t r a y e d b y his o w n a n g e r a n d hostile e x p r e s s i o n s . But n o m a t t e r w h a t w a s said b y R a b b i S c h u d r i c h , t h e s e c o n d s p e a k e r w a s n o t p a c i f i e d . A n y o n e casting a s p e r s i o n s o n Poles w o u l d b e v i e w e d as T h e Enemy. In t h e c a s e o f t h e G e r m a n c o m m u n i t y in Cleveland, w e h a d a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t issue. G e r m a n A m e r i c a n s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e b o r n after 1945, k e e p w o n d e r i n g w h e n t h e sins o f t h e f a t h e r s w i l l s t o p b e i n g v i s i t e d o n t h e sons, a n d e v e n g r a n d s o n s . L e a d e r s in t h e G e r m a n c o m m u n i t y are v e r y sensitive to t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n G e r m a n s a n d Nazis a n d w o u l d like to c o n v i n c e t h o s e w h o insist o n r e m e m b e r i n g t h e H o l o c a u s t t h a t t h e y s h o u l d too. It is t r u e t h a t t h e r e s e a r c h b y D a n i e l Goldhagen suggests that the murder of Jews was n o t l i m i t e d to e l i t e c o r p s , like t h e SS. But G e r m a n A m e r i c a n s p o k e s p e r s o n s p l e a d w i t h us n o t to c o n t i n u e to c o n d e m n all G e r m a n s , a n d e v e n Germ a n s o f today, o f b e i n g s y m p a t h e t i c to N a z i s m and of supporting the murder of Jews. In 1993 it w a s b r o u g h t to m y a t t e n t i o n t h a t a l o c a l m o n t h l y p a p e r for t h e G e r m a n A m e r i c a n community, Germania, was publishing articles c h a l l e n g i n g m a n y o f t h e c l a i m s a b o u t t h e Nazi H o l o c a u s t . We m e t w i t h l e a d e r s o f t h e G e r m a n A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y a n d a p p e a l e d to t h e m to p r e s s u r e t h e e d i t o r to s t o p p u b l i s h i n g s u c h articles.The leadership of the community, however, w a s c o n c e r n e d a b o u t c r e a t i n g a split in t h e i r c o m m u n i t y if t h e y w e r e to try to f o r c e t h e e d i t o r to make any such changcs.Thc reason thcrc might b e a b a c k l a s h w a s t h a t m o s t m e m b e r s o f t h e German community resented what they judged was t h e insensitivity, o n t h e p a r t o f J e w s r c m c m b e r i n g t h e H o l o c a u s t , to t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n G e r m a n s a n d Nazis. While the more sophisticated members of each o f t h e s e c o m m u n i t i e s d i d n o t say it p u b l i c l y , in private, some of them have made critical comm e n t s a b o u t h o w t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y has d e a l t with the Holocaust. Every time the death of Jews at t h e h a n d s o f t h e Nazis is r e c a l l e d , t h e g h o s t o f

a C h r i s t i a n is r e c a l l e d . T h e r e is n o q u e s t i o n t h a t t h e n u m b e r s o f p e o p l e m u r d e r e d are n o t equivalent. But this a b s e n c e o f s y m m e t r y has y e t to p r o vide those making the case against the Jews with an i n c e n t i v e to s t o p b e l i e v i n g o r s a y i n g w h a t t h e y are saying a b o u t w h a t a p p e a r s to t h e m as a d o u b l e standard. At a t i m e w h e n a n t i - S e m i t i s m is b e i n g exp r e s s e d p u b l i c l y , b o t h in w o r d a n d d e e d , a n d t h e l a n g u a g e o f t h e H o l o c a u s t is b e i n g t u r n e d a g a i n s t Israel a n d t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y , o n e h a s to w o n d e r if s o m e t h i n g s h o u l d b e d o n e a b o u t t h e w a y t h e H o l o c a u s t is r e m e m b e r e d . T h e i d e a t h a t t h e H o l o c a u s t w o u l d s e r v e as t h e grounds of moral instruction rests on the premise t h a t m o r a l i t y c a n b e c o n t i n u o u s l y t a u g h t b y enc o u r a g i n g h u m a n s to e x p e r i e n c e t h e p a i n s u f f e r e d by other humans.The experience would induce a s e n s e o f pity, b e c a u s e it gave rise to c o m p a s s i o n , w h i c h R o u s s e a u (in his " S e c o n d D i s c o u r s e " ) h a d t a u g h t , w a s t h e g r o u n d for t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f civil society. If p e o p l e will r e a l i z e t h e p a i n suff e r e d b y J e w s at t h e h a n d s o f Nazis a n d t h e i r Jewh a t i n g civilian s y m p a t h i z e r s , t h e y w i l l c o n t a i n , if n o t t o t a l l y set a s i d e w h a t e v e r a n t i - J e w i s h p r e j u d i c e s t h e y h a v e a n d n o t just t o l e r a t e J e w s b u t live w i t h J e w s in m u t u a l f r e e d o m . P e r h a p s t h e r e is s o m e t h i n g a b o u t p i t y t h a t has b e e n f o r g o t t e n a n d w h i c h n e e d s to b e r e m e m b e r e d t o o . I w a s u n e x p e c t e d l y r e m i n d e d o f it w h e n , d u r i n g t h e L e n t e n s e a s o n o f 1987, I att e n d e d a p e r f o r m a n c e o f Tetelestai, a m u s i c a l vers i o n o f t h e P a s s i o n Play, at t h e r e q u e s t o f t h e director of the Interfaith Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. S o o n a f t e r t h e d r a m a b e g a n , I w a s d i s s o l v e d in t h e c h a r a c t e r s a n d t h e i r d i a l o g u e , e s p e c i a l l y in t h e c h a r a c t e r o f Jesus, w h o w a s p o r t r a y e d as a m a n w i t h i n h u m a n r e a c h . His w o r d s w e r e familiar to me because of my reading of the New Testament b u t e v e n m o r e b e c a u s e h e t a u g h t his f o l l o w e r s "to l o v e t h e Lord w i t h all y o u r s o u l a n d all y o u r might." T h e s e a r e t h e w o r d s I r e p e a t e v e r y d a y as p a r t o f m y J e w i s h o b l i g a t i o n to r e p e a t , w i t h sincerity, t h e w o r d s o f t h e Sh'ma (Hear, O Israel! T h e Lord is G o d , t h e L o r d is O n e " ) . So e n t h r a l l e d w a s I in t h e p l a y t h a t I d i d n ' t e x p e c t w h a t h a p p e n e d to m e e m o t i o n a l l y w h e n I w i t n e s s e d t h e c r u c i f i x i o n . As t h e c r o s s w a s o n t h e g r o u n d a n d t h e nails w e r e b e i n g h a m m e r e d i n t o f l e s h a n d t i m b e r , m y p u l s e s t a r t e d racing. I was growing uncomfortable and squirmed several t i m e s . No p o s i t i o n g a v e m e relief. T h e n , as t h e

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c r o s s w a s s l o w l y r a i s e d for all to see, I c o u l d feel a n g e r r a g i n g i n s i d e o f me. The experience of anger made me wonder about the passion of pity.The more I thought of m y o w n e x p e r i e n c e , t h e m o r e it b e c a m e c l e a r t h a t w e p i t y o n l y t h o s e p e o p l e w h o s e p a i n is, for us, unjustified.Who are they? People we believe are g o o d o r i n n o c e n t . Pity, t h e n , is a p a s s i o n t h a t is a r o u s e d b e c a u s e t h e h a r m d o n e w a s unjust. It is t h e i n j u s t i c e t h a t , w h e n it a r o u s e s p i t y , a l s o a r o u s e s anger. Pity, w h e n a r o u s e d , m a y e v e n a r o u s e a suspic i o n t h a t b e i n g "good" d o e s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y p r o t e c t o n e f r o m u n d e s e r v e d harm. If w h i l e his s u s p i c i o n is a r o u s e d , s o m e o n e i d e n t i f i e s t h e c a u s e o f t h e i n j u s t i c e to t h e i n n o c e n t p e r s o n w h o m a p e r s o n pities, t h e a n g e r o v e r t h e injustice e v o k e s a n o t h e r passion: a d e s i r e for r e v e n g e . A m o n g the m e m o r i e s o f s o m e E u r o p e a n J e w s is t h a t in s o m e p l a c e s , G o o d Friday was a day when pogroms occurred. W h a t is r e q u i r e d to t r a n s f o r m an initial r u s h o f a n g e r b a s e d o n pity, f r o m a d e s i r e for r e v e n g e i n t o an e m o t i o n a l s t a t e t h a t i n s p i r e s self-sacrifice a n d public-spiritedness or altruism? An answer can be f o u n d in t h e e m o t i o n s e v o k e d for C h r i s t i a n s at Easter a n d o f J e w s at Y o m K i p p u r , ( a n d I s u s p e c t among Muslims during Ramadan)--a sense of g r a t i t u d e . It is a m e r c i f u l G o d w h o saves us, p h y s i cally a n d spiritually. Mercy, ironically, is a f o r m o f injustice, since the recipients of mercy get more t h a n t h e y d e s e r v e . W h e n a p e r s o n w h o is n o t m o r a l l y d e p r a v e d r e c o g n i z e s h e o r s h e has b e e n t h e r e c i p i e n t o f an act o f mercy, o r in h u m a n t e r m s , charity, t h e y are m o s t l i k e l y to feel a s e n s e o f gratitude. I m e n t i o n t h e p h r a s e " m o r a l l y d e p r a v e d " as a w a y o f r e t u r n i n g to t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e H o l o c a u s t and of today's expressions of hatred.The continuo u s f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h t h e H o l o c a u s t , in s p i t e o f t h e many historical studies of events that occurred d u r i n g t h a t p e r i o d , s e e m s to b e d r i v e n b y o u r ina b i l i t y to c o m p r e h e n d h o w s u c h a m u r d e r o u s regime could have could have conceived of and c a r r i e d o u t its g e n o c i d a l p r a c t i c e s . It is n o t accidental that the language used about the Holocaust s p e a k s o f evil a n d m o r a l d e p r a v i t y , t h a t is, t h e lang u a g e o f r e l i g i o n . It is a l m o s t as u n c a n n y as t h e experience of religious revelation. T h e H o l o c a u s t is a r e m i n d e r t h a t civil s o c i e t y r e s t s o n u n s t a b l e p a s s i o n s . Its s t a b i l i t y c a n b e acc o u n t e d for b y t h e fact t h a t , w h e n T h o m a s H o b b e s articulated the image of the state of Nature and the contract establishing government, he rede-

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f i n e d t h e h u m a n p a s s i o n s in s u c h a w a y as to d e n y a f u n d a m e n t a l p r e m i s e o f r e l i g i o n . In effect, h e r e d e f i n e d h u m a n s s u c h t h a t m o r a l d e p r a v i t y as a r e a l i t y in t h e h u m a n s o u l w a s n o n - e x i s t e n t . Acc o r d i n g to H o b b e s ' d e f i n i t i o n o f h u m a n n a t u r e , i n h a b i t a n t s in t h e s t a t e o f N a t u r e e n g a g e d in viol e n c e in t h e s a m e w a y t h a t a n i m a l s e n g a g e d in v i o l e n c e . If it w e r e p o s s i b l e to f e e d m e n a n d p r o v i d e t h e m w i t h security, t h e y can b e d o m e s t i c a t e d . But in d o i n g so, h e b l i n d e d all o f us m o d e r n s , inc l u d i n g t h e c r e a t o r s a n d p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f t h e varie t y o f s o c i a l s c i e n c e s ( i n c l u d i n g h i s t o r y ) to t h e c o n t i n u e d p o s s i b i l i t y o f m o r a l d e p r a v i t y . Today, w h e n a n y o n e w h o s p e a k s in s u c h t e r m s c a n exp e c t to b e c h a l l e n g e d o n t h e g r o u n d s o f a cult u r a l r e l a t i v i s m t h a t h a d its o r i g i n s in H o b b e s ' r e v o l u t i o n a r y a n t i - r e l i g i o u s r e d e f i n i n g o f t h e human passions. In l i g h t o f this i r r e s o l v a b l e c o n f l i c t , w h a t c a n b e d o n e ? T h e r e is a risk o f " r e m e m b e r i n g t h e past." But also, t h e r e is n o w a y o f a v o i d i n g it. I h a v e alw a y s b e e n m i n d f u l o f a f o o t n o t e in an e s s a y I r e a d m a n y y e a r s ago o n t h e H o l o c a u s t . It q u o t e d t h e H e i n r i c h H i m m l e r , w h o , at a Nazi P a r t y m e e t i n g in 1942 said t h a t t h e g o a l o f t h e Nazis w a s to c o n vince the entire German population that there w a s n o s u c h t h i n g as a " d e c e n t Jew." If t h e p r o g r a m o f e x t e r m i n a t i o n w e r e e v e r to b e a t o t a l success, it w o u l d r e q u i r e an a t t a c k o n t h e v e r y i d e a o f d e c e n c y . It w a s also an a t t a c k o n a n y c l a i m o f individuality, t h a t "this p e r s o n is d i f f e r e n t b e c a u s e h e is d e c e n t . " " D e c e n c y " g e t s in t h e w a y o f p r e j u d i c e s o n an i n d i v i d u a l level. O n e g e t s a s e n s e t h a t t h e r e is a n o t h e r e l e m e n t in d e f i n i n g m o r a l d e p r a v ity: it is t h e p u r p o s e f u l d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e i d e a o f decency. Nowhere have I experienced the difference b e t w e e n p e o p l e c a p a b l e o f a c c e p t i n g m e as a decent Jew than when I have heard the phrase, " y o u ' r e different." W h a t d o p e o p l e m e a n w h e n t h e y say to a m e m b e r o f any d i s l i k e d g r o u p , " y o u ' r e different"? G i v e n t o d a y ' s s e n s i t i v i t i e s , it is interp r e t e d as an i n s u l t . But is it? T h e s t a t e m e n t is m e a n t as a c o m p l i m e n t . It is a s t a t e m e n t b y a p e r son who acknowledges having a prejudice but not being so blinded by that prejudice that he or she c a n ' t tell t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n d e c e n t a n d ind e c e n t c h a r a c t e r in p e o p l e , e s p e c i a l l y a m o n g t h o s e w h o b e l o n g to a g r o u p a b o u t w h o m h e o r she holds the prejudice. To m a k e a c a s e for an i n d i v i d u a l o n t h e g r o u n d s t h a t h e is d e c e n t is t h e h e a r t o f t o k e n i s m . But in the world of retail community relations, token-

ism matters. The c h a l l e n g e of providing "enlightenment" of fundamental moral principles through recalling a dreadful past takes more than recalling those events as a matter of"I feel y o u r pain7 It also takes m o r e than e n g a g i n g in moral e x h o r t a t i o n . My e x p e r i e n c e s suggest that a m o r e c o n s t r u c tive n o t i o n of moral i n s t r u c t i o n is to e n c o u r a g e r e m e m b e r i n g w i t h others, but with the goal of leading to s o m e p u b l i c a c t i o n that d e m o n s t r a t e s that e a c h c o m m u n i t y truly a p p r e c i a t e s the meaning that those m e m o r i e s have for the o t h e r community. Such activities can p r o v i d e e v e r y o n e w i t h an i n c e n t i v e to m a k e efforts to c o n t a i n the harmful effects of the morally d e p r a v e d that reside in e v e r y c o m m u n i t y . T o d e m o n s t r a t e w h a t I have in mind concretely, I shall r e t u r n to the c o m m u n i ties w i t h w h i c h I w o r k e d . For over six m o n t h s w e w o r k e d w i t h Ukrainian l e a d e r s an a g r e e m e n t a b o u t h o w w e w o u l d res p o n d to the D e m j a n j u k case. We a g r e e d to disagree about the legal issues. But m o r e importantly, we agreed to c o n d e m n any g r o u p s t e r e o t y p e coming from e i t h e r community. We also p l e d g e d to w o r k w i t h i n e a c h of o u r c o m m u n i t i e s to discourage any e x p r e s s i o n s of s t e r e o t y p e s . W h e n , in 1989, the d e m o c r a t i c m o v e m e n t s in Ukraine sent p e o p l e to the United States to raise m o n e y for Ukrainian i n d e p e n d e n c e and democracy, Ukrainian leadership invited me to m e e t w i t h many of them. I told t h e m that w e w e r e s u p p o r t i v e of Ukrainian indep e n d e n c e and h o p e d that w i t h i n an i n d e p e n d e n t Ukraine,Jews would be treated equally with all others.To the person, each of the Ukrainian Democratic activists promised to w o r k for equality in an indep e n d e n t Ukraine. W h e n Ukraine finally achieved i n d e p e n d e n c e my wife and I w e r e invited to Indep e n d e n c e Day c e l e b r a t i o n s by the Ukrainian community. Five years later, RabbiYaacov Bleich, chief rabbi of Ukraine, visited Cleveland. He r e p o r t e d that the Ukrainian g o v e r n m e n t was m o r e supportive in r e b u i l d i n g J e w i s h c o m m u n i t i e s than any o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t in Eastern Europe. W h e n D e m j a n j u k was b r o u g h t b a c k to c o u r t by the Justice D e p a r t m e n t , in 1999, I called the p r e s i d e n t of the Ukrainian c o m m u n i t y to alert him.We a g r e e d that this case w o u l d not spark any c o n f l i c t s b e t w e e n our t w o c o m m u n i t i e s and that the case involved the U.S.Justice D e p a r t m e n t and Demjanjuk. O n e TV r e p o r t e r said that the case w o u l d likely spark a n o t h e r r o u n d of charges and c o u n t e r c h a r g e s . It d i d n ' t h a p p e n . Ironically, w i t h r e s p e c t to Israel, l e a d e r s of the Ukrainian community met with leaders of

Cleveland's J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y to figure out h o w to be m o r e effective w h e n t h e y w e r e t r y i n g to p e r s u a d e politicians in Ukraine.The Jews laughed, having e x p e r i e n c e d the same f r u s t r a t i o n w h e n trying to c o n v i n c e Israeli p o l i t i c i a n s to see issues t h e i r way. With r e s p e c t to the p r o b l e m w e had w i t h the G e r m a n - A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y paper, G e r m a n i a , after s e n d i n g c o p i e s of offensive articles to AJC's E u r o p e a n d i r e c t o r in Washington, he s h o w e d the article to the G e r m a n a m b a s s a d o r to the United States.The a m b a s s a d o r w r o t e a l e t t e r to the presid e n t of T h e A m e r i c a n J e w i s h C o m m i t t e e cond e m n i n g the articles and G e r m a n i a for publishing t h e m . W e s h o w e d the l e t t e r to the l e a d e r s of the G e r m a n - A m e r i c a n community, w h o b e l i e v e d that with this d o c u m e n t , t h e y c o u l d m a k e a stronger case to the e d i t o r of G e r m a n i a and dissuade h e r from p u b l i s h i n g such articles. Their efforts failed. Embarrassed by the fact that the G e r m a n g o v e r n m e n t had taken n o t i c e of their local p a p e r and had r e s p o n d e d so negatively, the l e a d e r s h i p of the G e r m a n - A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y c o n t a c t e d the nationalities w r i t e r for the Cleveland P l a i n D e a l e r and w e n t on r e c o r d as c o n d e m n i n g their o w n c o m m u n i t y paper. Weeks later, an article by Daniel G o l d h a g e n , s u m m a r i z i n g his book, a p p e a r e d in the op-ed section of the P l a i n D e a l e r . The h e a d l i n e to the article read "Any G e r m a n Could Kill a Jew."We t o o k this o p p o r t u n i t y to w r i t e a Letter to the Editor a p p e a l i n g to the p a p e r to desist from using such negative s t e r e o t y p e s a b o u t Germans. O n c e published, the o b j e c t i o n a b l e articles in G e r m a n i a c e a s e d to be p u b l i s h e d . We have r e m a i n e d in close c o n t a c t w i t h the G e r m a n - A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y since then. W h e n the G e r m a n c o m m u n i t y w i s h e d to n o m i n a t e William Miller, the nationalities r e p o r t e r for the Cleveland P l a i n D e a l e r for an award from the Federal Republic of Germany, leaders of the c o m m u n i t y asked me to w r i t e a letter of r e c o m m e n d a t i o n . A year later the award was given. At the ceremony, the G e r m a n C o n s u l G e n e r a l ' s p r e s e n t a t i o n inc l u d e d a r e m a r k that Mr. Miller was the only nomin e e given s u p p o r t by a J e w i s h o r g a n i z a t i o n and that this was an i m p o r t a n t factor in the decision. "My g o v e r n m e n t believes that g o o d relations bet w e e n G e r m a n s and Jews is of great significance and we a p p l a u d the local G e r m a n c o m m u n i t y for having such relations." In the case of the Lithuanian c o m m u n i t y , in D e c e m b e r 2001 I w a s i n v i t e d by U.S. S e n a t o r

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G e o r g e V o i n o v i c h to a t t e n d a m e e t i n g h e w a s calling for l e a d e r s o f c o m m u n i t i e s w h o s e h o m e l a n d s w e r e n o t y e t in NATO. T h e s e n a t o r a r g u e d t h a t these communities should mobilize their nationality o r g a n i z a t i o n s in o t h e r s t a t e s to e n c o u r a g e s e n a t o r s t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y to t a k e a s t a n d o n t h e e x p a n s i o n o f NATO t h a t w o u l d i n c l u d e their home country. One active member of the Lithuanian community suggested that the groups a t t e n d i n g w o r k w i t h T h e A m e r i c a n J e w i s h Comm i t t e e to d e v e l o p c o o p e r a t i v e s t r a t e g i e s in o t h e r c i t i e s as w e l l as C l e v e l a n d . Together, w e w r o t e a l e t t e r to O h i o ' s o t h e r s e n a t o r , Mike D e W i n e , to e n c o u r a g e his s u p p o r t . He, in t u r n , p u b l i s h e d art i c l e s a b o u t o u r c o o p e r a t i v e e f f o r t in t w o m a j o r national Lithuanian newspapers. H a r o l d T i c k t i n , a v o l u n t e e r w i t h AJC, w r i t i n g a b o u t his p a r t i c i p a t i o n in s o m e o f t h e Cleveland activities, wrote:"As stressful as such e n c o u n t e r s m a y be, I, for one, wile surely a c c e p t t h e n e x t invitation: It's H i l l e l e a n - - w e c a n n o t finish the task b u t n e i t h e r c a n w e desist f r o m it" C O f T h e Jewish-Lithuanian Time Warp," Midstream, May, 1991, p p . 27-28). J e w s in A m e r i c a w i l l l i k e l y c o n t i n u e to insist o n r e m e m b e r i n g t h e H o l o c a u s t as a sui generis e v e n t in t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e 2Oth c e n t u r y a n d c o n t i n u e to t r y to m o r a l l y i n s t r u c t t h e r e s t o f t h e w o r l d in m e m o r y o f t h o s e w h o w e r e m u r d e r e d in t h e H o l o c a u s t . But w e r u n t h e risk t h a t t h o s e w e w i s h to i n s t r u c t w i l l c o n t i n u e to b e l i e v e Jewish j u s t i c e is u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f r o m v e n g e a n c e . I b e l i e v e t h a t it is n e c e s s a r y to m o d i f y t h a t p u r s u i t b y e n g a g i n g in a c t i o n s t h a t d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t Jud a i s m , like Christianity, n o t o n l y t e a c h e s c h a r i t y a n d g r a t i t u d e , b u t also c o m p e l s us to p r o m o t e both. Doing the latter, the Jewish community w o u l d b e t a k e n m o r e s e r i o u s l y w h e n t h e y say o f t h e H o l o c a u s t , " f o r g i v e , b u t d o n ' t forget." Remembering the Holocaust and encouraging o t h e r s to r e m e m b e r it t o o has s e r v e d a v e r y positive e n d . But s i m p l y r e p e a t i n g t h o s e m e m o r i e s m a y not, a n y longer, i n s u r e t h a t a n y o n e w i l l c o n t i n u e to l e a r n f r o m t h e m a b o u t h o w to m a x i m i z e the chances that the rules comprising the N o a h i d i c c o d e w i l l c o n t i n u e to b e f o l l o w e d .

Martin J. Plax is the president o f Mediations Success, Inc. a n d an a d j u n c t associate professor o f political science at Cleveland State University He is currently writing a book detailing retail comm u n i t y relations based on his tenure as Cleveland area director f o r The A m e r i c a n Jewish Committee f r o m 1976 to 2002.

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Farce J e s s i c a M i l n e r Davis With a new introduction by the author 0-7658-0887-0(paper)2002191 pp. $19.95/s

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