A MAN OF GOD IN AUSCHWITZ
Maximilian Kolbe sacrificed his life in Auschwitz to spare the life of another. His story, movingly told by Joe Dolce, ought to inform the likes of Holocaust-Manus Island equivalence-making attention gimp Rod Bower.
Maximilian Kolbe sacrificed his life in Auschwitz to spare the life of another. His story, movingly told by Joe Dolce, ought to inform the likes of Holocaust-Manus Island equivalence-making attention gimp Rod Bower:
In the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1941, 600 men of Block 14 stood at attention in the boiling sun. A prisoner had escaped earlier and the Nazis were preparing retaliation …
Finally, as the sun went down, Deputy-Commander Fritsch, second-in-command to Commandant Hess, appeared freshly bathed and dressed in the finest and cleanest uniform and boots. He had come to announce what measures would be taken against the block.
The men were lined up in ten rows of sixty men each …
Fritsch announced that as the escapee had not been found, ten men would be chosen to die by starvation. He then warned that the next time it would be twenty.
One prisoner selected to die, Francis Gajowniczek, pleaded to be spared for the sake of his wife and children:
The Nazis ignored him. Suddenly someone from the back ranks, someone who had not been selected, began pushing his way towards the front.
The guards watched him. The men in the towers pointed their rifles. It was Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar.
Kolbe appeared relaxed and stepped up to Fritsch, removing his cap. “Herr Commandant, I wish to make a request, please.” He looked straight into Fritsch’s face.
“What do you want?”
Without hesitation Kolbe replied, “I want to die in place of this prisoner,” gesturing to Gajowniczek.
Please read on. One hopes Bower does the same, and then realises the full obscenity of his comparison of Manus Island with the Holocaust:
But Bower will never recant, because his pride won’t allow it.
UPDATE. Subsequent thoughts from Bower:
Several days ago, I attempted to explore something of the sociological phenomenon of ‘otherising’ and dehumanisation that I have observed in the way Australia has dealt with asylum seekers.
Actually, you put up a dumb sign that said “Manus is how the Holocaust started”.
In so doing I mentioned the Holocaust and some sections of the Jewish Community found this deeply offensive. I acknowledge that my attempt to explore this issue was clumsy and I am sorry for the offense caused.
You didn’t just mention the Holocaust.
The last few days have highlighted and affirmed for me the importance of respectful dialogue in ensuring that diverse groups of people can live together in harmony.
Prove it by not vilifying Australians as racists and Nazis.
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