Part 1 The History of the World in a Single Object
Having
discarded any concept of a creator or afterlife, I didn’t think I had a
spiritual side to my character. However, there have been times when I've encountered objects that I found deeply mysterious, disturbing and
shocking all at the same time. One such object was in, of all
places, the German Museum of Technology, Berlin..
Berlin contains
many world class interesting attractions. It makes a
wonderful tourist destination, and because they mainly concern the
Second World War, the comfortable, middle class British tourist can
approach them with the smug arrogance that we fought well and got rid
of “that sort of thing” even though we were born well after the
conflict. The city museums give the full story of the Nazi regime and
hide from nothing, including carting off the disabled, gays, travelers
and work shy to concentration camps, for the only crime of being different.
“That
would have been you” , my partner said laughing as she pointed at the
words “work shy“. I'm not sure you are meant to laugh in the holocaust
memorial museum.
After three days of rushing about getting most
of the guide book ticked off, including (as the book warned) getting conned out of 10 euros
by two young tricksters that pestered us with a petition for the disabled, my partner
wasn’t feeling so well, so I took the opportunity to pop in to the
Technology Museum, that was, by luck, just around the corner from our
hotel.
The museum is superb and far superior to its dumbed
down cousin in South Kensington. It’s packed full of planes, rockets
and automobiles, wonderfully displayed and described at multiple
levels of detail, so all can enjoy and learn . It even has early
computers that predate those of Bletchley park, which us prejudiced Brits assume came first. I wandered happily among the exhibits reveling in the
experience, of Messerschmitt’s, V2’s, Daimlers and all the engineering
marvels that I’ve read about since I was a small boy. However, it was
in the railway shed where my carefree visit was radically changed,
In
this shed, between the steam trains and mighty diesel engines, is a
humble wooden goods wagon that must have once been common the world
over. To be honest, I nearly walked right past it. But it’s simple
shoddy nature made it look out of place and caused me to pause. What was
such an boring railway wagon doing in a national
collection?
Reading the description it soon became clear. This
wagon was used during the second world war in the service of the Nazi
regime. I froze when I realised its significance. This was one of the
many wagons that transported thousands of Jews to the concentration
camps.
Upon my realisation, a sudden, indescribable wave of
dreaded emotion swept through my entire body, emanating from I know not
where. My eyes swelling with water, I was transfixed on the spot, I
wanted to turn and walk away, head bowed, eyes to the floor, hoping no
one had seen me act so foolishly, But I couldn’t.
“Don’t be
stupid, don’t be such a coward“ I said to myself. “It‘s only a goods
wagon, made of wood and metal, there‘s no such thing as bad vibes, or
spirits or ghosts,“.
With trepidation I edged forward, unwilling
to face my fears. Steps led up into the darkness of the interior.
Slowly I took the first step. I had to force myself but I knew I had to
do it. I had to see what was inside. It was the least I could do for
those who had gone before..
At the top of the steps, after my
emotions and heart rate had settled, I found an empty dark space with a
small wooden bench running around the perimeter. Nothing more: Only a
simple wooden bench, but my imagination filled in the rest. Faces,
normal human faces, like those I see every day in the high street,
nobody special, of all ages, dressed in simple clothes, still, silent,
blank, staring back at me.
I shook and I cried. I’m shaking and
crying now, as I write this. I don‘t know why. Perhaps, it’s a profound
sadness, but probably not. It something much deeper, much darker.
“Why didn’t you fight back? You could
have overwhelmed the guards, there where hundreds of you and only a few
of them, They had guns but if you had all acted together, you could have
done it.”
The faces didn’t move, They didn’t say a word, Of
course they didn’t. They were a recollection of a photograph I must
have seen in a book, an image from a culture I don’t understand, and a
time before I was alive. They didn’t know where they were going and
perhaps they had their faith to keep then strong, silent and compliant,
knowing that what ever happened they would survive, as they had done
throughout time.
I remained still. My emotions and imagination .settling from a flood of almost crushing burst of empathy.
Motes
of dust floated on the beams of light streaming in from the cracks in
the wooden walls. Who‘s that outside? Oh hell, it’s a guard! A guard in
boots, trench coat, helmet, with rifle slung over his shoulder, just like those
I’ve seen in hundreds of films. Just like those that always end up faceless in the mud, anonymous, dead, irrelevant, inhuman.
“Why didn’t
you do something? I ask him “Why didn’t you say to your comrades that
this was wrong,? Why didn’t you resign? Why didn’t you……. . ? But the
guard didn’t reply, he just stamped his feet against the cold, and waved
his hand sideways to encourage more on to the wagon. He just wanted to
get back to his warm barracks, smoke, have a game of cards with his
mates, dream of his next meeting with his girlfriend or children.
Well, who am I to judge? If he had protested, would he
have been sent to the Russian front, lost his pension and chance of
promotion? If he had resigned, would he have had to go on the run, in
full knowledge that, because of his actions, his loved ones may be put on the wagon too? What do
I know of war, I’m lucky, I’ve no experience of these things.
But
still I have to peer deeper in to the dark corners of the wagon. What
would I have done if I was in his position? He was a human, I’m a human,
we come from similar cultures Perhaps that’s why I cry and shake when I
think of those people in the wagon. I don’t like the probable answer.
It’s horrific. I‘m tortured inside by all of it. The suffering, the compliance, the self revulsion.
I
stumble out of the wagon, weak kneed, firmly grasping both hand rails
of the steps, and rush back to the safety of my hotel, hoping no one
has seen me.
“Pull yourself together“. I say to myself. “Your lucky,
you will never have to deal with a situation like that. It was all a
long time ago. There are no Holocausts now“
Are there?
Part 2 The future of the World in a Single Object
Firstly, Thank you for reading part 1. I found it extremely difficult to write and hopefully you found it easier to read.
Why
did I find it so difficult? Well I’m ashamed. I’m ashamed of myself
and I’m ashamed of being part of the human race that does such things
to other human beings. From what I’ve read of history it’s been one
long Holocaust after another. One tribe fighting another, nations at war
with each other for centuries, raiding, slavery, murder, killings,
bombings, torture, rape, destruction. Across all cultures and at all
times. It’s appalling, disgusting even, but the reality is It’s what
humans do. You and I have with in us the capacity to do or permit evil..
Especially when its done to "others" and it’s the easiest path for us to take.
“What’s
he talking about, explain yourself” I hear you demand. Well, It’s like
those young tricksters that conned me out of ten euros in Berlin , I
didn’t really believe they were collecting on behalf of the disabled,
especially when they demanded double what I offered. I just wanted them
to go away, I didn’t want to appear mean in front of my partner, I
didn’t want any trouble, so I took the easiest path and gave them the
money to get rid of them. However, were my actions right?. Emboldened
by their success with me, did they try even bigger scams, so others were
conned as well?. Did they go on to become drug dealers, people
smugglers, organised crime bosses?. I hope not, but isn’t it a
“reasonable worst case scenario”? Bad behaviours have to start somewhere
and all because I didn’t tell them to clear off, or make a scene and
attract the attention of a police man. It would have been personally
more risky, but better for every one in the long run.
So is that
how horrific events happen? Small crimes are permitted, which lead to
larger ones and then to massive outrages and all because the
perpetrators gain by their actions and others stand by with out taking
action against them? Do leaders bark out their orders from their
isolated palaces or parliaments, not seeing or understanding the harm it
does or the misery it creates and no one stands up to them and tells
them its wrong?. Once this process starts, I suspect nobody can change
course as it’s easier to continue, rather than change.. Leaders don’t
want to lose face or power by doing a U-turn, and advisers find it
increasing more difficult to challenge authority. Does it bring any one
happiness? I suspect not. The elites and civil servants carry out the
orders without question as they take the easiest path to protect their
privileged position. Again the foot soldiers don’t take responsibility
for their actions, they just execute the orders, because its the
easiest path for them to rise in the ranks and gain wealth. . And the
victims, the people who suffer, that are powerless to prevent their
suffering, all they can do is take it with as much dignity and strength
as they can muster and hope, hope that something will change. But
usually nothing changes because everyone just takes the easiest path for
themselves, as ultimately we all just want a quiet, comfortable, hassle
free life by the easiest means. And so, unchallenged, the tragedy
continues, as it is in parts of the world now and will continue into the
future, forever, for as long as there are human beings, unless we face
up to the reality of who we really are, what we’ve been doing and
why this despicable behavior has been continually happening.
I’m
not trying to excuse my self or people who oppress or commit crimes, by
dismissing it as human nature. I just think that to solve a problem you
have to face up to the reality, recognise it for what it is, guilt
free, admit the error and then work as hard as you can to solve it. For a
start you shouldn’t call it history, the past, or the “troubles”, as
if its kids fighting at the end of the street. This is a whitewash, a
cover up, Call it what it is - it’s a tragedy, it’s disgraceful, it’s
absurd, but it’s our record, that can no longer be changed. But we all
have the power to choose how we behave and we can change the future if
we choose to do so.
It’s not as if there is nothing humans can
be proud of. We are a miracle. We are the result of 13 billion years
of precisely tuned cosmological processes,of 3 billion years
of evolution that has generated increasing complex forms of life as it
was battered by geological events and astronomical accidents. We have
bodies containing trillions of cells that all work together and enable
us to reproduce, self repair, do science, create music and art, love
and enjoy this beautiful planet and each other. For all we know, we
could be the only (or first) complex life in the universe, let
alone on this planet. Its fantastic, I can’t find a word that expresses
my amazement at the story, so I‘m making one up Amazalogical.
(Help, please come up with better one!)
Rubbish you shout, who is
his guy? what does he know? He’s making it all up, is he mad? And quite
rightly so. I’m reassured by that response. We shouldn’t accept all
that we are told But the question as to who I am is irrelevant. It
doesn’t matter who I am, it’s the words and the ideas they convey that
matter. So, sincerely I ask you, from the bottom of my heart, to slow
down, as lock down has forced me to do and consider these thoughts and
not simply dismiss them. Is there a grain of truth within them? Go to a
quiet place, think, be brave, look inside the wagon! I hope you will
realise that if you understand how and why holocaust and wars happen, we have a
chance to stop them once and for all.
But only if we stop
hoping for a better world and all choose to act together against the
madness in the world. We can choose to do nothing, or we can choose to
act. And by using the internet, I believe we can all connect and shout
across the Globe in one single voice “Enough is Enough, this is absurd,
The tragedy has to stop. Now” When the printing press was invented, the
revolution of the enlightenment commenced. Radical ideas were recorded
and spread, the world changed and generally for the better. Today we all
have a printing press in our possession, unedited we can communicate
what we think, and what we want the world to be like. So with this power
at our finger tips don’t wait until an election so you can vote for
promises that are never kept. I say send an email or letter or tweet or
act however you wish to communicate, each day, now and again and again
to every one and anyone. Tell Embassies, Government’s, MP’s or officials, or who ever is in power
and can do some thing to bring about change. Deluge them , over whelm
them with your shout of protest. Make them listen. Make them act
differently. If the people demand it, they will have to take action.
.
I believe that it is our obligation to act
and if we do all act together, and demand our leaders stop violence
against others it will work. Displays of
power that are not accepted by the vast majority, soon leads to a climb down. If dictators suppress with violence, the way to defeat them is not by conflict but by everyone standing together in defiance and strength to face down their barbaric and selfish policies, and then their own violence will turn on themselves.
Shutting down or controlling basic freedoms is what they do. but with a peaceful Global protest and resistance, they will end up destroying themselves. That’s what
oppressors fear the most, their own people on the streets, backed up by a
Global protest. They can’t harm or ignore the one’s they pretend to be
protecting, because they are really just protecting their own interests by the use of violence.
So
I say its up to all of us, we the people, who share the same genes, the
same planet and now the same cyber space. We the people can make this a
better world. One with out war, oppression, massive arms budgets, better
for every one including future generations and other living things. It
won’t be the easiest path to take but it will be the right one in the
long run. Then and only then, will the suffering of those people in the
wagons, and those like them through the ages, not have been in vain. Even
they in the long run, through their suffering and our betrayal, will
have made the world a better place..
It worked against Apartheid. It will work again. The power is the People.
Stop the Russian holocaust against Ukraine
Stop the Chinese holocaust against the Uyghurs and Taiwan.
Stop the worldwide holocaust against human rights in places such as Belarus, Russia, China etc etc
Stop the Climate holocaust against the planet and life on earth.
