Untold Tales of Men of Jewish Descent who Fought for the Third ReichBy Bryan Mark Rigg
Recommended by the New York Times Book Review
Life would be easier if things had clear lines between black and white, the challenge is to struggle in the gray area in between. This is one of my personal favorite places to be. As the author of this book states, "History does not fit into simple black and white categories. We must struggle to understand the gray middle where real life happens." Page 277
This was a challenging book and a great addition to Holocaust history and understanding. It explores the lives and experiences, on the battlefield and beyond, of those who were considered "half-Jewish" or "quarter-Jewish" by the Nazis and yet served in the Wehrmacht military. They are called Mischlinge by that regime. This exploration raises questions of what is identity and who defines it, what being a proud soldier means especially when carrying the memories of your fellow fallen soldiers, and ultimately what being human means even under the darkest conditions. Most of these men were raised in Christian homes and did not think of themselves as Jewish at all. In fact, many did not know they had any Jewish relatives until the racial laws passed in Germany around 1939. Many of them, post-war, did not believe in God at all. A few of them (interestingly, the medics) went on to become pastors. Some became religious Jews after their experience serving in the military.
There are so many interesting points to make highlighted in this fascinating book. One of historical irony is that when Hitler finally determined that Mischlinge should no longer serve in the military, an estimated 150,000, he pulled these soldiers from their stations and sent them back to Germany. This was right before the German army went into the Soviet Union where most of their comrades died in a brutal war. Inadvertently, Hitler saved the lives of these part-Jewish soldiers. Most were then sent off to forced labor camps but not to death camps. Most of them lost family members to the "final solution."
Each of these stories pose a different response to the realization after the war of the horrors that the Nazi's enacted upon the Jewish people and other groups considered undesirable. They each had their own struggle to come to terms with their service to Germany, most of them considered their service proudly despite the evils done under the Nazi regime. They were, as all soldiers are, doing their duty selflessly to their country. They also saw their service as a way to protect their families from the racial policies sweeping through Germany.
This was a great book, well written and challenging. A great read and an excellent book 52 for 2009!
Quoting the Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, "Too many people learn about war with no inconvenience to themselves. They read about Verdun or Stalingrad without comprehension, sitting in a comfortable armchair, with their feet beside the fire, preparing to go about their business the next day, as usual. One should really read such accounts under compulsion, in discomfort, considering oneself fortunate not to be describing the evens in a letter home, writing from a hole in the mud. One should read about war in the worst circumstances, when everything is going badly, remembering that the torments of peace are trivial and not worth any white hairs. Nothing is really serious in the tranquility of peace; only an idiot could be realy disturbed by a question of salary. One should read about war standing up, late at night, when one is tired, as I am writing about it now, at dawn, while my asthma attack wears off. And even now, in my sleepless exhaustion, how gentle and easy peace seem."
"Many soldiers, like Kopp, believe that events in war prove the non-existence of God." Page 31
"Schlesinger believed religion prevents the pursuit of tolerance and that this is one of the most important lessons to come out of the history of Nazism." Page 168
"Fischer also described how war,in a strange way, made him feel alive. It brought him close to the grave and made him appreciate the life and beauty that 'God has given mankind.' Evading the clutches of death so often made him want to live life more fully." Page 238
"Many Nazi's denied the fact that Jesus was a Jew. . . . Regardless of the nonsense the Nazi religious elite preached, the Jew Jesus, the central figure in Christianity, presented Hitler with a dilemma: either exempt him from his racial ideology or face millions of angry Christians who believed the Bible when it said Jesus was Jewish. Hitler therefore dubbed Jesus an Aryan, and Nazi Christianity made images of Jesus look more Nordic and no longer described him as the advocate of love, but as the bearer of the sword for the rebirth of the Volk. Hitler believed Jesus did not practice Judaism, but was the greatest early fighter in the war against the Jews. Nor was he, according to Hitler, the apostle of peace. Hitler believed that Jesus preached against capitalism and this is why the Jews, his archenemies, killed him.What Christ had started, Hitler said he would finish." Page 238
"The Mischlinge lead us beyond the Third Reich into a discussion of identity both as individuals and as members of society. Identity can be fluid and is often forced upon a person. Who we are can be a reflection of how people view and treat us, rather than how we want to be perceived. The dramatic identity crises of the men in this book should remind each of us to ask, 'Why are we the way we are?' The way we understand ourselves directly influences how we interpret history. More importantly, the way we view ourselves affects how we treat others. This lesson should never be lost on students of the Holocaust. In other words, we need to constantly monitor ourselves for how we talk about and treat others. Genocide - including the post-Holocaust genocides in Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan and Iraq - begins with discriminatory and prejudicial thoughts long before anyone dies." Pages 277 - 278
Book 52
