The Memorial and Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau, which maintains the remains of the death camp where a million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, weighed in on the controversy over tearing down monuments to historical figures in the US and Europe.
The tearing down of statues began in the US, mostly targeting Confederate figures, slave-owners, and racists. The calls quickly spread, however, to figures like Christopher Columbus and Thomas Jefferson. In the UK, a statue of Winston Churchill was vandalized.
The Auschwitz museum’s statement came in response to a comment from US pollster and political commentator Frank Luntz who tweeted that, like Auschwitz, statues honoring figures like Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln should remain standing.
“We can see a lot of ‘Auschwitz’ mentions recently,” the museum’s official English language Twitter account stated. “Remember that a preserved historic site does not equal a statue erected to honor a person. The two have entirely different roles, contexts, messages & meanings. Drawing a simple comparison here is incorrect.”
The controversy first erupted on Twitter after Luntz posted a picture of a quote by philosopher George Santayana: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Luntz said, “These words are inscribed on the wall at Auschwitz, where a memorial is maintained so we never forget.”
“Leaving most monuments in place while stating the inhumanities associated with them is a better lesson for future generations than tearing them down indiscriminately in anger,” he added.
Luntz’s tweet was widely criticized, with commenters saying that what has become a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust cannot be compared to monuments honoring slave-owners, racists, or other morally reprehensible figures.
Luntz responded to the criticism, saying, “I’m seeing lots of backlash so I’ll clarify: I said most monuments should stay, not all of them.”
“Confederate statues shouldn’t be in public squares; statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abe Lincoln should,” he added. “But the latter are being targeted too, which is absurd.”
The Algemeiner (c) 2019 . Benjamin Kerstein
{Matzav.com}
This is hard. As a chassid bias, I think that Hashem has to be one to think of first in this situation. What is this world. Who were the people. What happened?
The native outcomes in north america were a full removal to reservations. The negro is now the child of a freed negro slave. The feelings are hard.
In health science, there are deficiencies with the Trump presidency appearance and health of family. There are clear reasons to praise a man like Donald, but the socio-lateral consistency is a change of the humane will and thought process. The movements form and the eyes of the cold heart or hard wealth are to a throw of change.
The statues are clearly in Torah a change in America. We do not know what Hashem offers yet. We must maintain kosher and encourage it among jews. There is a very dangerous world ahead.
uh, what did you just say?
Grab the coat. College is worth the time.
He spoke in a language known as “Gibberish”.
That said, the person representing the Auschwitz museum should have remained silent. As the saying goes: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt”
just as the history of america is being destroyed, so the history of the jews is being threatened, chas v’sholom
Hello, Rampart Way! Are you translating from another language? You’re not making a lot of sense!
What did you say?!
Hello, Rampart Way! Are you translating from another language? You’re not making a lot of sense!
I tend to believe this ignorant indiscriminate attacking of bronze and stone statues, that are artwork as well as at some point the majority of society felt these persons met the criteria to be made historically significant. Who are we especially the idiots out there, the uneducated , the high school drop outs, those who avoided books like poison ivy and a flu epidemic, how are they qualified to decide what should display a countries historical times decades come and decades go. Should the present be bold enough to blot out the few historical reminders of where we have traveled from ..should maurading imbuciles be trusted with the power to cange what the next generations get to decide is important as the past who went through it did? This these uneducated dense mindless action taken by the destroyers reminds me exactly of the actions of ISIS…The murderers of present day inocents who in Jordan and arab controlled peoples middle east monuments stone carvings art and historically significant structures monuments stone carvings ancient written gliphs how dare these temporary idiots destroy thousands upon thousands of years preservation of history. I would like to grab them and shake them into understanding to look in those wisdomless eyes..and then realize im wasting my time. We are spinning out of control into a lost empty future One left to Hahem to sort and separate may the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob have mercy upon their souls.I can do nothing. I wish I could. It must be how Pontius Pilate felt when he washed his hands of the choice to free free the horrible Barabas criminal and criminals all of them today destroying…should we accept their choice just to get along…No!!! No we should not…Do I have to be stupid because this person is or that one is? No. I refuse to be the German citizen. Not a Nazi but just wanting to get along..not be bothered. The German citizen accepting so they dont get picked on like their Jewish. friend and neighbor…are we all now supposed to be like the 1930’s german citizens..I hope pray and think not. Marxists Black Lives Matters is run by marxists see their website read.
Barabas? A criminal?
Are you Jewish?
Do you also feel the Torah promotes (according to you) “an ignorant and indiscriminate attacking of bronze and stone statues, that are supposedly artwork as well at some point the majority” etc etc “idiot and uneducated” etc? I would be curious to know.