I did not expect to have to get so serious so soon. But last night was the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, when the world could no longer pretend to ignore what was happening to the Jews in Nazi Germany. Many people have written solemn remembrances, which seem particularly poignant in our present times. We remember, and we vow not to let it happen again.
A few facts. The Nazi party did not, of course, appear overnight. Hitler rose to power in the 1920’s. They were fully in control by 1933, when they began passing laws restricting the rights of Jews. Most German citizens disapproved of the events of November 9-10, 1938. But by then they had accepted and gotten used to the idea that Jews were not to be trusted. Jews were potential lawbreakers. And, hey, we all have to follow the law, right?
We all see the parallels to what is happening today. Famine and lawlessness in other countries? Those governments ought to do something about that. Incarcerating children of illegal immigrants? Terrible. But, hey, we all have to follow the law, right? And then we all gradually become immune to the damage that kind of thinking does to our sense of humanity. Meanwhile, leaders continue to scream lies about the danger we all live in. The pyre is set; the kindling is in place. All that is needed is a match.
At Kristallnacht, the match was a young man who went to the German embassy in Paris and shot an Embassy official. There is evidence the young man knew his target; that the shooting was the result of a spurned love affair. None of that really matters. The young man was a Jew. That was excuse enough.
The great majority of us are upset by stories of individuals mistreated. But are we blinded by unfair and immoral laws, and tempted to hide behind our fear of those different from us, such that we don’t see the pyre being built again?
LHOSAWORLD 