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Day 405 - Poland - Beyond the Worst Thing You Can Imagine

Posted by Dave Rat on

Today for our little journey we are going to head into the depths of horror. A true mind crushing surreal nightmare.that defies comprehension. Why, you wonder? Well, to remember. To remember never to underestimate the ability of humans to embark gung ho in the worst of possible directions. To remember that human perception slides with the times and the environment that we are immersed in. To remember to look around at the world we live today and perhaps spot the seeds of bad ideas taking root and to reject blindly accepting them as an acceptable "normal." There was a time not to long ago where a group of humans thought that to slaughter their brethren as one would kill giant insects, was somehow a good idea. In the world today, that time is still now and may always be but history knows of none that has ever pushed the mass extermination of humans to a more clinical, cold, horrific level.

Today roadies Scott, Sat Hari, Veronica and honorary roadie Emma B, head to Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp and where the home and office of one Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höß was located.

"Rudolf Höß was one of history's greatest mass murderers, the architect and SS Kommandant of the largest killing center ever created, the death camp Auschwitz, whose name has come to symbolize humanity's ultimate descent into evil. Responsible for exterminating 2,5 million people in World War II, he was a mild-mannered, happily married Catholic who enjoyed normal family life with his five children despite his view of the crematoria chimney stacks from his bedroom window." http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2001/11/25/stories/2001112500210400.htm

"Work Makes (one) Free"

"About 700 prisoners attempted to escape from the Auschwitz camps during the years of their operation, with about 300 attempts successful. A common punishment for escape attempts was death by starvation; the families of successful escapees were sometimes arrested and interned in Auschwitz and prominently displayed to deter others. If someone did manage to escape, the SS would kill ten random people from the prisoner's block. This was a quite persuasive method to discourage escape attempts."

"Another improvement we made over Treblinka was that we built our gas chamber to accommodate 2000 people at one time whereas at Treblinka their 10 gas chambers only accommodated 200 people each. The way we selected our victims was as follows: We had two SS doctors on duty at Auschwitz to examine the incoming transports of prisoners. The prisoners would be marched by one of the doctors who would make spot decisions as they walked by. Those who were fit for work were sent into the camp. Others were sent immediately to the extermination plants. Children of tender years were invariably exterminated since by reason of their youth they were unable to work. Still another improvement we made over Treblinka was that at Treblinka the victims almost always knew that they were to be exterminated and at Auschwitz we endeavored to fool the victims into thinking that they were to go through a delousing process. Of course, frequently they realized our true intentions and we sometimes had riots and difficulties due to that fact. Very frequently women would hide their children under the clothes, but of course when we found them we would send the children in to be exterminated. We were required to carry out these exterminations in secrecy but of course the foul and nauseating stench from the continuous burning of bodies permeated the entire area and all of the people living in the surrounding communities knew that exterminations were going on at Auschwitz.

I understand English as it is written above. The above statements are true; this declaration is made by me voluntarily and without compulsion; after reading over the statement I have signed and executed the same at Nuremberg, Germany, on the 4/5/1946. - Rudolf Höß."

And for those whom wish to see photos that are so grim they are hard to process for their true intesity http://www.oskarschindler.com/Albums5/album.htm

A doorway built by humans that existed in an incomprehensible perception realm. I try and grasp a state of mind that could possibly swirl everyday humans into executioners that carry out orders and laugh as children and mothers and doctors and tailors and wanderers and are gassed and shaved while pillaging their belongings and selling their hair for mattresses. The alien concept is so surreal it feels as if it could never occur, not here, not there, not anywhere. But it did and it can again as we humans are not immune from a bad idea spreading amongst us as a mind-virus infecting the masses, crystallizing our fears into manifestions of hatred.

Wary, I am so wary of anything or anyone that utilizes fear to perpetuate their objectives, as thought-structures that are built from fear can not help but be permeated with hatred. It is so pathetic that it proves irresistible for our false leaders to shovel out piles of fear to manipulate us, the idiot masses. "Danger danger, quick give me your money and soul so I can empower my greed and validate my twisted illusions." So transparent yet it fools the fools everytime.

Dave Rat

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Rachelle on :

Thanks for such a well written post again today. Yes it is all so surreal, my mind just can not comprehend. My grandparents were both in concentration camps in Poland. We were brought up to not talk about what had happened (we could ask questions, but they didn't want our lives to revolve around it) - which had it's good and bad sides. My grandma comes from the school of thought - that this has happened to us, so we now need to move on and accept everyone of all religions and races so that it does not happen again - not dwell on hatred (where as many of my friend's grandparents will dis-own them if they marry out of the Jewish relidion .... this to me is also surreal and I cannot comprehend). An example of this is - She has a tattoo on her arm of her identity number during the war. I used to constantly ask her what it meant - I had a feeling it was something bad. She always told me that it was a good thing as it was her phone number just incase she got lost and needed my grandpa to pick her up. She is getting very old now and has started talking more and more about small memories that have recently given her repetitive nightmares as she now has dementure. The saddest to me is a memory of her first child being grabbed from her arms and being about 2 years old, laughing, thinking that the soldiers had come to play with him. We didn't know about this son until a few years ago. Anyway - I am not sure I can face visiting Auschwitz but I am interested in learning more and finding out about my grandparents past as to which seems to have been erased from our lives. I just spent 3 weeks were her in Sydney before coming to London - she is just the coolest woman in the world!

Sus on :

Oh I'm still reading your blogs Mr Rat..... This genocide should not be forgotten either. My ancestors come from East Prussia, a defunkt state nowadays, wiped off the earth just like that after WWII...... My mother was born in *Königsberg* which is called Kaliningrad in these days. If you want to learn more read this book: A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans, Second Edition, Fully Revised and Updated (Paperback) by Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (Author) Review Praise for the first edition: "De Zayas has uncovered testimony in German and American archives detailing these atrocities, adding a new chapter to the annals of human cruelty. His carefully documented book serves as a reminder that many different peoples have been subjected to ethnic cleansing."--Publishers Weekly "DeZayas's moving plea is that one's home should be a human right. As frontiers once more shift in Eastern Europe, he could hardly have chosen a better moment to deliver it."--The Times (London) http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Revenge-Cleansing-European-Germans/dp/1403973083/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1650707-0370224?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185236812&sr=8-1 Book Description The genocidal barbarism of the Nazi forces has been well documented. What is little known is the fate of fifteen million German civilians who found themselves on the wrong side of new postwar borders. All over Eastern Europe, the inhabitants of communities that had been established for many centuries were either expelled or killed. Over two million Germans did not survive. Some of these people had supported Hitler, but the great majority did not. In A Terrible Revenge, de Zayas describes their horrible fate. This new edition includes an updated foreword, epilogue, and additional information from recent interviews with the children of the displaced. This is my people: The older I get, the more I realize that I'm East Prussian descendant. http://home.alphalink.com.au/~wolf/prussia/main.htm

Jonathan on :

I visited Auschwitz last month. I went with my school on a trip after the teacher who had organised the trip visited Auschwitz and was very affected by the experience and decided to organise a trip for lower sixth students (16-17 year olds) and we stayed in krakow. (i saw a few posters about advertising the RHCP show) The second day we spent in Poland, we visited Auschwitz 1 and 2 and it is an experience i will never forget. The huge scale of the place and the fact that millions of people we're exterminated there. The cruel, inhumane conditions they had to live in. I do not understand how people can possibly try to deny that the holocaust ever happened with all the overwhelming evidence at Auschwitz. Jonny P.S. I love your blog and wish to become a live sound engineer myself

Sus on :

I don't know what happened last night: I posted the following but it had to be approved? Censorship Mr Rat? Oh well I'm still reading your blogs- just so you know it. The following should not be forgotten either. Another genocide after WWII. My ancestors come from East Prussia- a defunkt state nowadays. It was wiped off the map just like that after WWII. My mother was born in *Köngisberg* which is called Kaliningrad these days and is Russian territory now. The older I get the more I realize I'm East Prussian descendant. These are my people: http://home.alphalink.com.au/~wolf/prussia/main.htm You find them all over the world these days. For the ones who want to learn more: A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans, Second Edition, Fully Revised and Updated (Paperback) by Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (Author) Praise for the first edition: "De Zayas has uncovered testimony in German and American archives detailing these atrocities, adding a new chapter to the annals of human cruelty. His carefully documented book serves as a reminder that many different peoples have been subjected to ethnic cleansing."--Publishers Weekly "DeZayas's moving plea is that one's home should be a human right. As frontiers once more shift in Eastern Europe, he could hardly have chosen a better moment to deliver it."--The Times (London) Book Description The genocidal barbarism of the Nazi forces has been well documented. What is little known is the fate of fifteen million German civilians who found themselves on the wrong side of new postwar borders. All over Eastern Europe, the inhabitants of communities that had been established for many centuries were either expelled or killed. Over two million Germans did not survive. Some of these people had supported Hitler, but the great majority did not. In A Terrible Revenge, de Zayas describes their horrible fate. This new edition includes an updated foreword, epilogue, and additional information from recent interviews with the children of the displaced. http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Revenge-Cleansing-European-Germans/dp/1403973083/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1650707-0370224?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185291672&sr=8-1

Sus on :

Are links not allowed? No I'm not posting it again. Thank you. Arrgghhhhhhhhhhhhhh lol

Sus on :

Awww.........:)

Thomas on :

Dear Dave, the Holocaust is still the biggest crime ever commited in modern times. The mixture of cold thought, bureaucratism and human bestiality doesn't compare to anything. What adds to the depressive character is, that in germany the facts all were known for a really long time, but the first historians to write about it, where all american scholars. And did you know that at the end of the war there were about 700-1000 small concentration camps all over germany, a lot of them still unknown even to nowadays neighbours? When the camps in the east, like Auschwitz were broken down, because the Red Army was approaching, all the inmates who weren't killed instantly, were send on an endless journey through Germany. Imagine, you just got away from a gas chamber in Auschwitz and then you were send to work 14 hours a day to build an underground factory, punished by SS-people as well as by german co-workers. Some really good book on that is Anus Mundi by Wieslaw Kielar who was an inmate in Auschwitz and was send through some other concentration camps afterwards. Regards, Thomas PS: And don't you wonder about people writing about "ethnical cleaning" of former east germany or the "bombing holocaust" (Dresden). There's a new line of right-wing historians who try to put the histories of their fathers and grandfathers into the context of the holocaust.

Sus on :

@Thomas WHAT?? What a load of crap you have written there. Get your facts STRAIGHT before you even post shit like that. What adds to the depressive character is, that in germany the facts all were known for a really long time, but the first historians to write about it, where all american scholars. And did you know that at the end of the war there were about 700-1000 small concentration camps all over germany, a lot of them still unknown even to nowadays neighbours? When the camps in the east, like Auschwitz were broken down, because the Red Army was approaching, all the inmates who weren't killed instantly, were send on an endless journey through Germany. PS: And don't you wonder about people writing about "ethnical cleaning" of former east germany or the "bombing holocaust" (Dresden). There's a new line of right-wing historians who try to put the histories of their fathers and grandfathers into the context of the holocaust

Dave Rat on :

Hmmm, how puzzling is it that shared stances againt mistreatment of humans can somehow contort into adversarial stances. To accept that a group was mistreated is not to deny another was as well. To argue about whom got more screwed and why seems frivolous when agreeing on learning awareness from the past is within grasp. Is not the ignorant human pattern of cementing ourselves in stances of strong personal points of view while disregarding other's perspectives exactly what causes the miseries we disdain?

Thomas on :

I'm sorry, I didn't want to weigh up the holocaust against any other mistreatment of any other group, cause that cannot be done. The Holocaust is still beyond compare to all other crime commited under WWII-circumstances. For understanding, my grandparents came from upper Silesia, they were mistreated, they lost all their belongings, they moved out of poland at the first possible moment. Still I think, from the viewpoint of the historian, these are two different pair of shoes, made possible both by war. If I attacked you personally Sus, I'm sorry, that was not my intention. What I wanted to point out, is that there is (I could name a few recently published german books) a strong movement towards the historisation of the Holocaust. With that kind of thought you make the Holocaust comparable and reduce it down to numbers. When you say, the Holocaust was just another war crime, then it has already lost two thirds of its horrors.

Sus on :

@Thomas No, you did not attack me personally. I was not even born then and my family never had anything to do with the Hitler regime. They just got the hell out of there. I have lived abroad also for years in different countries and being a born & raised German I can tell you it STILL can haunt us what happened in the Holocaust although we had NEVER anything to do with it- at least many of us. It sometimes felt as if I had to explain myself for being a German.....huh? The reason I posted what I did was that ANYONE can post whatever they like regarding WWII and the Holocaust and sometimes it is wrong. Saying no-one stood up against FACTS only American scholars is not true as well as saying there were small concentration camps all over Germany AFTER WWII? Hello? The inmates had been freed by the allies i.e. USA /GB /FR who took over Germany after WWII. And yes there are right wing people in the Eastern parts of Germany who spout off crap like they used to do in the past before Hitler came into power. All these people are dangerous and make me sick. But you find them all over the world. Mankind will never learn. If you want to read more about HOW Hitler came into power read about Prescott Bush. (the grandfather of George Bush) @Dave I certainly seem to get reactions out of you Mr Rat. It doesn't matter what I write.

Sus on :

Here is an English link about Prescott Bush: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1312540,00.html

Sus on :

@Thomas Maybe I need to apologize to you I don’t know. When you were talking about the concentration camps still kept in Germany after WWII. Did you mean the Eastern block? Did you mean the Russian zone? This is what happens when I only read with one eye and keep an eye on the kids running through the house…..I totally forgot about the Eastern block after the WWII. Forgive me. You can probably tell I was born & raised WEST-German. I was born into FREEDOM and grew up with freedom but I do know what was going on in the Eastern block but nevertheless I have never heard about concentration camps still kept in Germany. i.e. (the Eastern block?) I remember my grandmother (an East-Prussian refugee) telling to me when I was a kid that she and her kids (i.e. including my mother) had lived in the Eastern zone for a while after WWII and when the soldiers of the Red Army approached the farmers where they had stayed and who had given them shelter had hidden them from the Russian soldiers because they basically went around raping young women and killing people. I grew up during the iron curtain/ the cold war between the West & the Eastern block. I also remember going to West-Berlin as a kid taking the bus through the Russian zone i.e. East-Germany and what I had seen & learnt there was not a pleasant site to see. It was like I was on another planet until I had reached West-Berlin. I still think West and East Germans are a totally different brand of people. They grew up in total different environments and had a different history after WWII and this shows even until this day and it shows in the younger people of today also. It is still a very long way to go after the reunification. I firmly believe if I had lived during war times or even in the Eastern block they would have put me in detention. I would be dead already.

Sus on :

Please read http://www.tarpley.net/bush2.htm

Sus on :

Another one: http://ecosyn.us/Bush-Hitler/

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