Being there

Photo essay: Sachsenhausen concentration camp

by Alireza Ajam
14-Jul-2008
 

Last January I went to Germany and I had a chance to visit one of the biggest concentration camps in Europe: Sachsenhausen.

The camp was operating between 1936 and 1945. It was named after the Sachsenhausen quarter, part of the town of Oranienburg. The camp is sometimes referred to as Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg.

From 1936 to 1945 it was run by the National Socialist regime in Germany as a camp for mainly political prisoners; from 1945 to spring of 1950 it was run by the Stalinist Soviet occupying forces as "Special Camp No. 7" for mainly political prisoners.

On the front entrance gates to Sachsenhausen is the infamous slogan Arbeit Macht Frei (German: "Work makes free"). About 200,000 people passed through Sachsenhausen between 1936 and 1945. Some 100,000 inmates died there from exhaustion, disease, malnutrition or pneumonia from the freezing winter cold. Many were executed or died as the result of brutal medical experimentation.

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Mehdi

Zion supporting Nazism

by Mehdi on

Well, if it makes you happy, Zion displays all the characteristics of a Nazi. One cannot differentiate between Zion and a Nazi. But Zio is NOT a Nazi. Are you happy?


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haven't we gotten enough of holocost

by moni (not verified) on

i live in the u.s. and we get enough of , or better more than enough of jews and their story every where. for gods sake, spare us and this site from it. enough is enough.
it happened. it was in the past. let it go.
thank you.


Rosie T.

Okay Geniuses, I declare myself the expert: So listen to Rosie:

by Rosie T. on

To repeat and add on: Rosie is a non-Zionist who believes in a One State Solution. Rosie is an Ashkenaz Jew. Rosie's grandfather's shtetl  (village) was thoroughly decimated by the Nazis in WWII. Rosie's next-door neighbors had numbers on their arms. Rosie grew up in a 90% Ashkenaz neighborhood in Queens. Her parents were Zionists, her uncle fought in the Irgun.  Almost all her teachers were Zionists, after public school four days a week for eight years she went to Hebrew School.  Rosie still speaks a little Hebrew.

Rosie has been a Palestinian rights activist. Interestingly Rosie may be one of the few people on this forum who actually worked with an organization affiliated with the PLO waaaaaaaaaaay back in the day.

ROSIE MAKES THIS OBSERVATION ABOUT ZION AND NAZIS AND ALL THIS CONVERSATION HERE:

The discussion began when my friend Zion (whose politics I dislike intensely, as is well known), reflecting upon how the tragedy of the Holocaust contributed to the creationof the Jewish "homeland" stated that the Arabs display "elements of the inhumanity" of the Nazis toward the Israelis.

If we examine his statement objectively regardless of our political beliefs the following will become readily apparent:

1) Zion did NOT say the Arabs ARE Nazis. he said they may DO things that are similar to what the Nazis did.

2) Zion did NOT say this in a context (this foruM) where there are likely to be Arabs.

Therefore, upon scrutiny it becomes patently obvious that whatever you think of what Zion said, it does not constitute hate speech.

Promptly a little game ensued.  The game is called "Who Is a Nazi?" The main contenders seem to be: the Zionists and Zion.  To reiterate because YOU PEOPLE PLAYING THIS GAME ARE STILL NOT LISTENING TO ME despite my background and credentials:

Pol Pot was not a Nazi. Atilla the Hun was not a Nazi.  Genghiz Khan was not a Nazi.  Only the Nazis were or are Nazis.

A hamburger is not a Nazi just because it gave you ptomaine poisoning. It is still a hamburger.

Hitler was a Nazi. Goebbels, Eichmann, Speer, Nazis ALL.

You say Zion IS a Nazi. That is worlds apart from saying "displays certain beliefs which contain "elements of inhumanity" that resemble the Nazis'.Therefore your comments about my friend Zion (whose politics as is well known I dislike intensely, are both libelous and constitute hate speech.  As such, they are repugnant.  And you should stop it right now.

I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ ALL MY POSTS ON THIS THREAD FROM THE BOTTOM UP DUE TO MY "CREDENTIALS" AND THINK ABOUT THEM SO I DON'T HAVE TO KEEP ON REPEATING THE OBVIOUS. BECAUSE I'M NOT LEAVING THIS THREAD UNTIL IT IS SO DEAD AND BURIED ITS CARCASS IS CONSUMED BY WORMS.

Hasta man~ana,
Rosie Tozih

Explanation of Tomorrow


mostaghel

Re: Zion supporting Nazism

by mostaghel on

Mehdi 

Thanks for your clear-minded and persuasive logic. People like you and several others on this forum makes one be hopeful and assume that there is still hope in humanity.

 

regards.

A/B


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Pretty basic

by devil inside me (not verified) on

Pretty basic facillites, yet deadly efficient!!
Run by seemingly ordinary people, it just happened that they had the upper hand at the time!!


Mehdi

Zion supporting Nazism

by Mehdi on

I see Nazism as no different than any other attempt at destruction of mankind and mass murder. Nazism, to me, does not mean one has to be blonde and blue eyed, or to taget mainly the Jewish people to be considered a Nazi. Anyone advocating senseless violence and justifying it with falsehood such as "it's God given right of the chosen people" or "God given right of the Superior Race" or such lies is essentially supporting Nazism. Zion said it very clearly in his comment that "The big difference is that now the potential Nazis do not have the upper hand..." He simply sees Israel justified in its application of violence and its lack of ANY real peace activity in 60 years, because he is part of the oppressive group - no different than Nazis - they also felt very justified to "defend" themselves against the onslaught of the "dirty Jews." It was all very nicely explained away, otherwise they couldn't get so much support behind such a falsehood.Now it's the "dirty Arabs" that are sub-humans and must face the Final Solution. What has changed? Only the JUSTIFICATION.

I think I differ with Rosie in my attitude that I harshly stand up to criminals and those who advocate criminality under the name of religion, God or Moses or such sacred things. I am not afraid of losing popularity and I am not trying to gain popularity. I am not trying to appear "moderate" but I am not unfair. I am not afraid to hurt someone when there is just cause. When a gunman lifts his arm and aims at a baby you can't be nice to him and ask him to plese put that away! You must jump and if that breaks his ams, so be it.  I don't see any reason to be nice to an individual who advoctes violence and justifies it based on some brainwashing he received (the "never again" chant they do every morning or whatever).So forgive me if I refuse to be nice with this waste-of-air-to-breath parasite.


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what the hell

by Anonymousdfgdgdfg (not verified) on

how did these haunting photographs spur a conversation about zionism?! please people.


Rosie T.

I know your point Observer but the problem is I'm a

by Rosie T. on

non-Zionist Jew. However I was raised by Zionist parents in a Jewish neighborhood with Jewish teachers and I went to Hebrew school after public school for eight years and so I know the deal and this is the deal so listen good:


THE MORE YOU CRY NAZI THE LESS THE ISRAELIS AND/OR ZIONISTs WILL HEAR YOU AND THIS IS EASY AS PIE TO UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. ALL YOU'RE DONG IS ALIENATING THESE PEOPLE FURTHER. YOU WILL NOT CHANGE ONE SINGLE JEWISH<, ZIONIST OR ISRAELI HEART OR MIND AS LONG AS YOU cONTINUE TO USE THAT WORD WITHOUT EXTREME DIPLOMACY AND CAUTION. YOU DID NOT. DO YOU SAID IN YOUR TITLE THAT ZIOINISTS ARE NAZIS. YOU DID NOT CAREFULLY AND TACTFULLY LEAD UP TO THE POINT THAT SOMETIMES THEY MAY ACT IN WAYS THE NAZIS ACTED.

ZIONISTS RE NOT NAZIS.  THEY ARE ZIONISTS THE JAPANNESES WHO RAPED NANKING WHO WE SPOKE SO MUCH ABOUT ON THIS THREAD BELOW ARE NOT ZIONISTS. THEY WERTHE E JAPANESE MILITARY. A HAMBURGER IS NOT A NAZI IT IS A HAMBURGER EVEN IF IT GIVES YOU PTOMAINE POISONING. ONLYA NAZI IS A NAZI.

And Observer you're usually GOOD but this time you're way off base. Trust me, Even I stopped reading your post after the title, what do you think they'll do.  You're turning them into RAGING BULLS and it's YOUR FAULT..  AS LONG AS YOU USE THAT WORD IN THIS WAY TO ZIONISTS ALIENTATING THEM FURTHER YOU ARE PART OF THE PALESTINIAN PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION.

AND I AM RIGHT AND I KNOW IT AND THAT IS THAT.


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Re: These pictures needs to be shown

by ./. (not verified) on

Abarmand

You say:
"We shall not do this again, ever...hopefully"

We say:
But it is being done (and worse) in Gaza as we speak.
What gives?

regards.


Abarmard

These pictures needs to be shown

by Abarmard on

Over and over so the human realize and remember sufferings. We shall not do this again, ever...hopefully


Shiny Head

To: Rosie T (Re: THIS THREAD IS STARTING TO BE POLITICIZED IN A

by Shiny Head on

I don't know this for sure, but my guess is that you are a favorite to "Iranian neocons". But don't forget that they are a tiny tiny tiny minority in the iranian political landscape. Their number is probably less than the count of hair on my head!

 

regards.


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Metamorphosis of Zionist jews to Nazis

by observer (not verified) on

What Nazis did to their opponents and jews was criminal and anti-human. I greived for the victims of the Nazi atrocities since I was a child. But now when I see what has happened to Palestinians by the zionist jews I cry for them too.

What zionist jews do to Palestinians is criminal and anti-human. The majority of jews living in Israel have forgotten the lesson of history and have turned this tragedy into an indrustry to manipulate the political process in USA and Europe. Zionist jews are using every method that Nazis used against their opponents.

Zionism is a racist idealogy just like the Nazi idealogy that beleived in a superior race. Zionists beleive they are "the chosen people" and explain their actions through this beleif. That's all.


Rosie T.

THIS THREAD IS STARTING TO BE POLITICIZED IN A

by Rosie T. on

REVOLTING WAY.  Now I understand and share the conccern that the Hollocaust is exploited by Zionists for their own political agenda. But what are you doing right here on this thread but exploiting the Holocaust for your own politcal agenda?  Helloooo?  Stop talking for five minutes and look at the photos again.  Then have a mirror. It's on me.

Rosie


Rosie T.

NEHDI!!! Zion spoke about Nazi madness and / Malekeh

by Rosie T. on

inhumanity. To characterize him as pro-Nazi expecially in a subject line is is defamatory and libelousbecause patently untrue. .  How can yyou do such a thing? Do you not realize that to say such a thing to a Jew is the worst thing you can possibly say in the world? It is painful. What kind of reaction do you expect to illicit? What are you trying to accomplish? If you called me that, I'd turn into a raging bull. And that is something I very rarely do.

Is that what you want? What's the gain? Do you consider yourself an advocate of peace/ Do you think peace is brought down from on high by politicians? Or do you think it might possibly begin HERE?Mehdi, I'm sure you love George Bush about as much as I do. How would you feel if I titled this post "Mehdi is pro-Bush" and then said it's because you're a war monger? And trust me, that's a proposal of MARRIAGe in comparison to what you just said

Strongly suggest you re-phrase your post and if you truly believe Zion has any Nazi-like traits, thatsay this very diplomatically. If you don't,[ will write a post titled "Mehdi is pro-Bush" and then I hdi I will flag BOTH OF OUR POSTS.

Rosie

PS Mehdi, you also sound silly, it's just so patently untrue you're undermining your own credibility. Now do the right thing.

PS MALEKEH, I'm drafting a reply to you I'll re-post it later.


Alireza Ajam

no genocide!

by Alireza Ajam on

I think it is not important who did that to whom! the important thing is, it's so sad to see such a genocide in any kind to any race! there was a lot in the history and worth than that is we can still see such genocide in
21st century!


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to Mehdi and Co.

by Free Thinker (not verified) on

Mehdi says:

"When you see "leaders" of nations joke about ways of killing Iranians or "obliterating" Iran, and there is no real objection, you know that the time for mass murder is near."

Just replace "Iran" and "iranians" by "Israel" and "Israelis" in this grand statement by his holiness Mahdi an you hear Ahmadi Nejad talking of wiping Israel off the map of the world.

So ironical Mahdi isn't it?!


Mehdi

Zion is pro Nazi

by Mehdi on

He says what Nazis did was right! They had the upper hand and now they don't - that's the only thing that has changed. Thanks Zion for clarifying your approval of the Halocaust. But I don't approve of it.He also conveniently forgets that "The violence that has been imposed on them..." started WHEN Israel forced and tricked its way into the area. So, I am afraid that does not justify "certain amount" of bombing by the F-16s, or stockpiling nuclear weapons for "self defense." All violene in the whole history has been similarly explained away by criminals. The IRI is saying the SAME EXACT thing - that they must protect themselves against aggression! So, seems that Zion also approves of the methods of IRI! Great revelation!


Rosie T.

oh zion zion zion let us assume that you are correct and there

by Rosie T. on

is an element of Nazi tendencies againt the Israelis, could we not at least agree to agree that this tendency is reciprocal? would it be SOOO terrible to make that one small concession?

because otherwise Zion we'll never move FORWARD and I KNOW you have a secret agenda for remaining on this site...which is....to make friends...shhhhhhhhhh

:oP
Rosie


Zion

Thanks for posting

by Zion on

It is important never to forget such tragedies.
The victims of the Nazi madness and their descendants set up the most humane and moral state in the world. The violence that has been imposed on them necessitates measures be taken to survive, but even here no other nation in human history has ever shown so much tolerance and so much self-restraint against clear genocidal agenda waged against them. There is an element of Nazi inhumanity in Gaza and elsewhere, it is amidst the systematic brainwashing of Arabs and the agenda of murdering Jews that has come from it. The big difference is that now the potential Nazis do not have the upper hand and the children of Israel won`t let them get to i ever again.


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Israel treatment of Palestinians is wrong

by Mosheh (not verified) on

With all due respect to all Jews, I have always had this question: If Germans wanted to kill Jews, why they did not just shoot them. Why they had to go to so much trouble for that? Am I missing something? I also believe that keeping millions of Palestinians in concentration camps for 5 generations is wrong, whatever the reasoning!


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Oppressed are oppressors now!

by ali reza (not verified) on

One life be it Jew, Muslim, Christian or any other religions is precious. But shouldn't the Jews who have suffered so much during the Nazi reign have more sympathy for other humans since they have been through so much? But we do not see that happening instead we see that they are doing the same thing to Palestinian as if what happened to them was their fault.Peace on Earth


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I disagree with you

by Mehran-001 (not verified) on

This is the pattern that we constantly see on this web log. Everybody talks about the Israeli's and condemned them but at the same time no one talks about what happens in Sudan, Chechnya and what happened in Kosovo, East of Teymor and Iran. Why do you think it is more important to talk about Israel than Iran. What makes it okay for us to criticize other countries while our own leaders are far worst than Hitler in many aspects.


Malekeh_

to: Mehran-001

by Malekeh_ on

Mehran

Why not worry about millions of human beings whom are treated like animals or worse in their own homeland? The concentration camps were set up by hitler to treat humans the way  history claims they were treated -- horrible -- and that is why everyone is now up in arms saying "never again"? Then what happened that those same souls to whom injustice was done are doing the same or even worse to other humans? If you cannot comprehend the relation, I am sorry for you.

As for Iran, that was not the subject of this thread.  Unless you have other information, there are no concentration camps in Iran. If you have evidence/information to the contrary I am sure many would be interested to hear you.

(enough chaploosi -- there is brown color around your lips!)


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To Malekh_

by Mehran-001 (not verified) on

Why are you worrying about Israeli's when the Mullah's committing atrocities far worst every day. Why in the world we care what Israel is doing what to whom when our home is in shamble. get real folks.


Rosie T.

No, Ebi, I know. I was just tryng to say that I consider the

by Rosie T. on

attrocities such as the Rape of Nanking etc etc (whose individual tortures at times exceeded those of the Reicch--not tomentionl CIA) as part of WWII, not separate. Got it?

The Japanese were...bone-chilling, simply bone-chilling. They were NOT the Italians.


Rosie Tozih

Explanation of Torture

PS Happy Birthday


Malekeh_

WHAT IS REALLY REALLY SAD .....

by Malekeh_ on

WHat hitler and germany did to jews prior and leading to WWII was indeed horrible. However, as many others have already pointed out the number of victims seem greatly exagerated. Regadless, even one victim is too many  no matter what the correct number of victims may be . What is even mode sad is that today Israelis with the history of this kind of atrocity against them, are doing worst human atoricity against palestinans that they have forcefully occupied in Gaza and other parts of the former palestine since 1940s. It is in fact really really really sad and unforgivable!


ebi amirhosseini

Rosie Khaanom Aziz !

by ebi amirhosseini on

Hello???

Did you look at the links I posted!?If yes!? you cannot put my name next to the SH.He talks about civilian Japanese in USA,not me!! The links show the massacre of hundred of thousands innocent poeple by Japanese in WWII.

please check before judging!!!

LOL

Best wishes


Rosie T.

Shiny Head, Kaleh, Ebi This is IMPORTANT so let me be lengthy

by Rosie T. on

SH: I am an Ashkenaz Ieastern European() American Jew.  My grandfather's shtetl (village) was thorughly exterminated during World War II.  I am a non-practicing Jew, a non-Zionist Jew, a "soft" leftist and peace activist. I want to say a few things to you without any agenda except fairness. 

An internment camp is not a German concentration camp. But before I go there allow me to put things in a braoder context:

The Twentieth Century was the century of the most heinous attrocities perpetrated by humankind upon itself ever, due to the availabitly of technologies to do so and the madness of the modern world.  Among these attrocities it simply CANNOT be argued that the worst were World War I, Stalin's purges World War II (Ebi, Japanese attrocities included/the Holocaust, perhaps the gross neglect of those suffering from AIDS due to the running of the medical industry as a for-profit venture. and a couple of others that I may have unintentionally left out.  And this is due to sher numbers: how much suffering, how much death.  the Cultural Revolution in China, sundry wars and so on,

I do NOT agree whatsover with the Kaleh who justifies these iJapanese nterments because we were at war.  This is well-known to be a specious argument.  The hyphenated Japanese were interned for years and many lost their livelihood and property upon release and I believe NONE were aided or compensated by the US governmetn, whereas the Germans, Austrians and Italians were not.  It was a PURELY RACIAL issue.

(AND BTW F YOU CANNOT ACcEPT THIS THEN YOU CANNOT REALLY COMPLAINN ABOUT RACIAL PROFILING OF MUSLIMS AFTER THE  TOWERS FELL, regardless of whether or not there was a declared war, IMHO)

However, an internment camp cannot in any way, shape or form be compared as a Konzentraizionslager. The Japanese were not starved, tortured, gassed, left to die of cholera, used as scientific experiment cases fully conscious, forcefully prostitued, and so on.  Even the horrendous situation of the Palestinians cannot be compared to the Holocuast (OR Stalin's purges) in level of attrocity.  It iis depredation but it is not an attempt at extermination.

Now I suspect that  your assertion here implies some recognition of the Zionist propaganda campaign/Holocaust Industry.  If I am right, you are correct that these things exist and they are wrong; however the exploitation of the HOlocaust or any atrocity for something ELSE, ANYTHING else, in no way undermines the fact that the Holocaust--extending to homosexuals, Gypsies, dissidents. Slavs and more-- as AMONG the greatest attrocities of that attrocious century.

ANd I am certain that I am right. Let me put it another way: in comparison with the Hanoi Hilton, those Japanese internment camps were the Hilton Hotel.

So let's do something constructive here.   Write an article on those internment camps.  Get some photos for jj to upload. Educate people. Spread the word.

But be reasonable And be fair.


Mehdi

Mass attrocities start by demonizing a people

by Mehdi on

Once the public minds have been prepared and people in general have a negative view of an ethnicity or group of people or a nation, then the massacre can start without any objection. This is what Israel and the neocons, etc are doing about Iran now. When you see "leaders" of nations joke about ways of killing Iranians or "obliterating" Iran, and there is no real objection, you know that the time for mass murder is near. This time the previous victims have changed positions with their Nazi murderers and are ready to implement their Final Solution.The same minds that orchestrated the Holocaust are working on their next project. To them it doesn't matter the victims are Jewish or Muslim.


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Let's not forget that...

by A (not verified) on

this is as ugly as the largets concentration camp today: Gaza.