Elon Musk: Always A Douche

[Sheilbh]

I do feel like ww2 has already exited the communal psyche at least it's not nearly the major thing it used to be. It must matter a great deal that for my generation it was still part of everyday life as a living memory through the generation of my grandparents but also parents because their childhood was very heavily influenced by the aftermath.

You don't have that anymore. When I was 10 years old world war ONE ended 72 years previous. Ww2 ended almost 80 years ago.

I think the loss of living testimony is going to have a huge effect on how it's remembered - and, I think, denialism. In part because it is so huge.

I think moving from a world with witnesses and survivors to one of facts and written testimony will be significant.

While proximity in time helps, people have to be taught to care. For a variety of reasons the Jewish holocaust is taught, and taught well. In high school we went to the university to watch a lecture by a holocaust survivor and it was quite moving. At the same time the concurrent genocide of the Roma isn't covered nearly as much and doesn't have the same cultural resonance. Similarly if it was only the timeline it doesn't explain why other modern genocides such and the Rwandan or Cambodian genocides don't seem to illicit the same reaction. You can blame geography, but then you have the Armenian genocide (not that older than the holocaust) or the Ukrainian genocide.

I agree. I think it is what you experience but you don't necessarily need to have it through education. The Killing Fields is an incredibly moving film.

I absolutely ended up crying visiting the genocide museum in Phnom Penh and the killing fields site there. As with Auschwitz I'd defy anyone to visit and not have a strong emotional reaction. It's the site and the information it gives you. I think anyone who is able to go can experience that.

[HVC]

But you know about it because you know history. Ask the average person who the Khmer were and you'll get a quizzical look.

[Sheilbh]

Sure but also I know about it because I went. I think if you're interested enough to go (and probably get a guide) then you'd have that sort of experience - I think it's pretty universal.

[Maladict]

I'm not sure if you've been to one of the death camps. When I went to see one I thought I'd be perfectly cool about it. But by the time I was nearing the end of viewing the site I couldn't stop the tears.  I just cannot imagine somebody being on that site standing beside the son of somebody who died and have no emotion whatsoever.

Yeah, you think you're prepared because you've seen all the photos and documentaries and movies. And then not even halfway through the tour everyone already looks utterly distraught. By the time you get to Birkenau, you can't even comprehend what you're seeing anymore.

[crazy canuck]

I'm not sure if you've been to one of the death camps. When I went to see one I thought I'd be perfectly cool about it. But by the time I was nearing the end of viewing the site I couldn't stop the tears.  I just cannot imagine somebody being on that site standing beside the son of somebody who died and have no emotion whatsoever.

Yeah, you think you're prepared because you've seen all the photos and documentaries and movies. And then not even halfway through the tour everyone already looks utterly distraught. By the time you get to Birkenau, you can't even comprehend what you're seeing anymore.

Yes. That is the importance of those keeping those sites - so that future generations can remember what took place there at a visceral level.

[Barrister]

While proximity in time helps, people have to be taught to care. For a variety of reasons the Jewish holocaust is taught, and taught well. In high school we went to the university to watch a lecture by a holocaust survivor and it was quite moving. At the same time the concurrent genocide of the Roma isn't covered nearly as much and doesn't have the same cultural resonance. Similarly if it was only the timeline it doesn't explain why other modern genocides such and the Rwandan or Cambodian genocides don't seem to illicit the same reaction. You can blame geography, but then you have the Armenian genocide (not that older than the holocaust) or the Ukrainian genocide.

That being said, even with teaching in place time will eventually diminish the impact of the stories.

I feel like the Holodomor is reasonably well known.  And it's practically simultaneous with the holocaust (I keep meaning to pick up the book Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder which makes this very point).

Roma get the short end of the stick because they don't have a state to speak for them.

Rwanda - It's so much newer I think lots of people are aware of it.  There've been popular movies about it.

Cambodia?  There's the Killing Fields.  I think moderately well known as well.

Armenia gets forgotten because there was no Armenian state for awhile, plus when it did exist was largely a Russian vassal state so nobody wanted to listen to them anyways.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

While proximity in time helps, people have to be taught to care. For a variety of reasons the Jewish holocaust is taught, and taught well. In high school we went to the university to watch a lecture by a holocaust survivor and it was quite moving.

Getting this taught in schools is increasinly becoming a problem though. Usually in classes that have been demographically and religiously enriched. The same problem exists for teaching biology (evolution) and sex-ed.
Add to that the absolutely dismal way history as part of the curriculum has been treated...
So few people seem to have an at least average awareness of the historical context they're existing in (even the 90s are already this long lost mythical era for many)

[Razgovory]

Well at least some people are remembering that antisemitism is bad.