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AUSCHWITZ 50 YEARS AFTER
The 50'th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz has
been marked by numerous celebrations and manifestations,
whose main purpose was to learn from Auschwitz experience
in order to make its repetition impossible. Therefore I
am asking myself: what have I learnt?
With respect to all I have seen, heard and red, the answer
seems clear: nothing.
I heard people cry and I have cried with them; I saw people
mourn and I have mourned with them; I have been faced with
unspeakable atrocities and I was shocked and distressed.
But I have learnt nothing.
Knowledge, indeed, does not consist of emotions, nor of
particular events failing to fall into a logical structure.
I still ignore, under which conditions new Auschwitz's may
be set up, or avoided. More, I do not know at all, what
should be understood under the "Auschwitz-to-be-avoided".
Surely not the specific KZ-Auschwitz, in whose place there
is no new Nazi KZ to fear.
When I wish to say something reasonable about birds, I start
with the zoological definition, with the "birds-principle".
I am not obliged to accept this definition and I may call it
into question. One thing I cannot do: say anything reasonable
about an undefined concept. When zoology still lacked the
definition of birds, somebody proposing to talk about them had
to supply his own definition.
As there exists no "Auschwitz-logy" nor a general "Auschwitz-
Principle", I would like to suggest one:
AUSCHWITZ IS FOUNDED UPON ABSOLUTE PROPOSITIONS IN HUMAN DOMAIN,
indeed upon their absurdity, which admits any arbitrary
interpretation and discrimination.
Physics admits exclusively relative propositions. When we say
that a stone is heavy, we imply a relation to the earth:
we know that it would be quite light on the moon, that in the
cosmic space its weight would totally disappear.
In the human/social domain absolute propositions are equally
absurd, but we lack an authority, a humanistic Galileo, or
Einstein, to reinforce this truth. Somebody proposing a physical
theory based upon absolute propositions would simply make himself
ridiculous. Doing it in the human/social he would have all
chances to found an Ideology, a Religion, an Empire. An Ideology,
a Religion, un Empire which would be based upon the Auschwitz-
Principle, whose laws, principles and virtues would necessarily
point towards an Auschwitz.
I realize that I imply with these words a whole philosophic system,
a "Humanistic Relativism" without being able to justify here its
principles. An interested reader may find their discussion in the
site:
RELATIVISTIC DIALECTIC
I shall present here an example which shows the nonsense of the
absolute classification criterion "Jew" and of the absolute
proposition: "This man is a Jew".
From the race point of view it is an obvious nonsense, as nobody
has ever observed a "Jewish" gene.
One may certainly have a Jewish culture, speak jiddish, hebrew or
ladino and tell Jewish jokes. However, culture is clearly a
relativistic concept. Nazis may have used it as an indicator, but
never as an essential, absolute criterion of discrimination.
A large part of Jews murdered in Auschwitz had little or nothing
to do with the Jewish culture. Some were catholic priests, some
have heard for the first time from the Nazis or from the
blackmailers that they were Jews.
The criterion of Jewish religion is equally absurd. According to
the Jewish law is Jew who has a Jewish mother, or who has been
converted by a Jewish rabbin. However, in order to be sure that my
mother is Jewish, I have to ascertain that she had herself a Jewish
mother, or had been converted by a Jewish rabbin. The same holds of
course for the converting rabbin. A clear case of a vicious circle.
Consequently, the absolute concept "Jew" is empty and, as such, may
get any arbitrary meaning. Heidrich understood it perfectly when he
declared: "Wer Jude ist, entscheide ich" - "It's me who decides who
is a Jew".
If we want to avoid Auschwitz in the future, we must abolish
situations in which a human being may classify and discriminate
other ones upon absolute, arbitrary criteria. In other words, we
must extend the Relativistic Reason over the human/social domain
and may admit only relative, factually verifiable propositions
in this domain as well. This calls, of course, into question
nearly all established ideological and political structures,
which are based upon absolute principles.
We live in an Auschwitz-friendly world and if we want to avoid
Auschwitz in the future, we have to call into question its
essential principles.
But do we want it really?
