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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Horrors Researchers Discover Thousands More Nazi Ghettos and Camps Than Previously Thought

Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sun, Mar 3, 2013 at 8:54 PM

The headline in today's New York Times Sunday Review section: "The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking." Researchers have now "cataloged some 42,500 Nazi ghettos and camps throughout Europe," whereas previous estimates were as low as 7,000.

The figure is so staggering that even fellow Holocaust scholars had to make sure they had heard it correctly when the lead researchers previewed their findings at an academic forum in late January at the German Historical Institute in Washington.

In unrelated Holocaust news, Jen Graves was on public radio's Studio 360 two days ago discussing Charles Krafft. If you somehow missed the Krafft story the first time around, Jen's original piece is right here.

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So now people like Krafft are going to start saying, "Sure, something happened, but the numbers are completely exaggerated. There were nowhere near 42,500 ghettos and camps...several thousand, seven thousand, tops, here and there around Europe. But it's now where near what history says it was."

I heard Jen on Studio 360, by the way - nice job!

Posted by Jude Fawley on March 3, 2013 at 9:23 PM

On one hand, the news of multitudes of killing sites is horrific. On the other hand, we should be happy for the release of those researcher's amazing data. Does that sound callous? I'm a yin/yang guy, or as much as I can be as a fucked up multi-belief westerner.

Jude, does that worm still host Studio 360? Saw him years ago tape a session at the downtown library. Yawn. On the other hand, we had terrible seats. Lets hear it for the peanut gallery!

Posted by dnt trust me on March 3, 2013 at 9:43 PM

This story was jawdropping - just a staggering correction to the record of human history, an amazing service to us all by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. I really appreciate you linking to it here.

Posted by gloomy gus on March 3, 2013 at 9:58 PM

@2: The release of data is not a yang to a yin.

Posted by raindrop on March 3, 2013 at 10:12 PM

I feel like I should say something, but I just can't. There simply aren't any words. Maybe silence would be more appropriate and respectful of the dead, anyway.

Posted by Tacoma Traveler on March 4, 2013 at 4:40 AM

I hate to be one of those "this is such old news" complainers, but jeez - this has been up on Slate for about a week. Slate!

Posted by catsnbanjos on March 4, 2013 at 5:35 AM

What gus said.

Posted by TVDinner

on March 4, 2013 at 5:38 AM

@ 5, the murdered of the Holocaust do not need silence. Silence serves those who deny the Holocaust and those who would commit another one. They need voices to speak out for them, because humanity is capable of doing this over and over and over. In fact, dozens of genocides and democides have happened around the world since the Holocaust.

I studied the Nazis and Communists in college because I wanted to understand what made the systematic murder of tens of millions possible, and came away only more bewildered about the mentality. My only conclusion was that people everywhere are capable of participating in such a thing, and the system that keeps everything running smoothly is also the thing keeping people in check. So I learned to be less of a political zealot because political chaos can lead to such a thing.

For me, the only thing that was shocking wasn't the sheer number of camps, prisons, ghettos, etc, because wiping out millions of Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, political opponents, etc would take a lot of facilities designed to do so out of the public eye. I'm surprised that they really had not attempted to catalog everything until now. WW2 ended almost 68 years ago.

Posted by Matt from Denver on March 4, 2013 at 5:41 AM

Oh, and murdered gays, too. Must not forget the pink triangle.

Posted by Matt from Denver on March 4, 2013 at 5:44 AM

Excellent linkage of the two stories.
What strikes me is how easy it is to seek refuge from history in the presumption of irony.

Posted by The Accidental Theologist

on March 4, 2013 at 8:31 AM

This kind of horrific treatment of humans by other humans shouldn't be shocking when you consider how it's possible: one set of humans decides that another set or sets of humans are not truly human: they are subhuman and their existence endangers the real humans. Therefore, killing them is not only reasonable but necessary.

If we continue to simply be shocked after the fact, rather than notice the beginnings of this process, it will keep happening, and it has.

Posted by sarah70 on March 4, 2013 at 8:58 AM

This whole Jen Graves vs Charles Krafft thing stinks. I'm an avid reader of the stranger and I'm usually on the level, but I find this witch hunt very off-putting. I wish the non-Jen Graves graves staff would distance themselves from this situation and not keep bringing it up. It is gross.

Posted by Tovirus on March 4, 2013 at 10:24 AM

@12, Oh no, the white nationalist Holocaust denier has been firmly rebuked in a few corners of the art world (what, The Stranger, Hyperallergic, HuffPo, Studio 360, where else?). What a tragedy.

Posted by samktg on March 4, 2013 at 10:56 AM

I wonder what Charles Kkkraft has to say about this?

Posted by scratchmaster joe on March 4, 2013 at 12:57 PM