"Arbeit macht frei"... I am seeing pictures posted by a friend returning from a Europe vacation. Of all the beautiful palaces and plazas and cathedrals, the sign posted outside the Auschwitz concentration camp makes the biggest impression; strikes very hard and very deep. "Work sets you free", was a cruel joke played on the Jews taken to Auschwitz, Dachau and other camps. They were falsely led to believe that if they work hard in the 'factories', they may get out alive... and free.
Neither was true.
I have read about this slogan, its genesis and its blatant propagandist use during the Nazi years. But, watching the picture of this sign at the Auschwitz gate, still tears something inside me.
Sitting comfortably in my house in a free country, almost 75 years later, it is impossible to imagine the depths of betrayal felt by those prisoners. Among all the dark rumors flying around, I suspect there must be some, who believed that lie... Because they wanted to believe it. Because it was far better to believe that, than to contemplate what they perhaps knew was true. Inside of the most pessimistic of the humans, under the most trying of the conditions, burns a flimsy slim flame of hope - of overcoming this, of better days ahead. That flame made them work harder, pretend to be someone they were not, perhaps betray each other, look for ways to save their children, make the Faustian "Sophie's choice"!
No, it is not possible for us to comprehend how betrayed they felt. But, I see a similar betrayal - far less horrifying - in a very different way. Even taking the original connotation, used to drive the criminals to the path of honorable living through work; it seems twisted today. "Work sets you free" is the promise that millions, albeit grudgingly, toil under. "Free" here means different things to different people - freedom from hunger, from bad living conditions, from lack of opportunities, to seek better life for the children.. the list goes on. But herein lies the rub, work hard so you won't have to work hard! Dreams abound, plans stack up... in the shadows of uncertainty. Not knowing when the road may suddenly end, we keep plodding, walking, riding or driving to get to that dreamland... of not having to walk, sitting around if we want to, finally doing exactly what we like to do.
But, what if the road suddenly ends... before we reach the dreamland. That, my friend, we do not think about... because it is too grim to think about. Instead, we make up these stories along the way, keep telling them to each other so we can collectively believe in them.
... and we call it life.
I marvel at this gullibility of human nature!
Neither was true.
I have read about this slogan, its genesis and its blatant propagandist use during the Nazi years. But, watching the picture of this sign at the Auschwitz gate, still tears something inside me.
Sitting comfortably in my house in a free country, almost 75 years later, it is impossible to imagine the depths of betrayal felt by those prisoners. Among all the dark rumors flying around, I suspect there must be some, who believed that lie... Because they wanted to believe it. Because it was far better to believe that, than to contemplate what they perhaps knew was true. Inside of the most pessimistic of the humans, under the most trying of the conditions, burns a flimsy slim flame of hope - of overcoming this, of better days ahead. That flame made them work harder, pretend to be someone they were not, perhaps betray each other, look for ways to save their children, make the Faustian "Sophie's choice"!
No, it is not possible for us to comprehend how betrayed they felt. But, I see a similar betrayal - far less horrifying - in a very different way. Even taking the original connotation, used to drive the criminals to the path of honorable living through work; it seems twisted today. "Work sets you free" is the promise that millions, albeit grudgingly, toil under. "Free" here means different things to different people - freedom from hunger, from bad living conditions, from lack of opportunities, to seek better life for the children.. the list goes on. But herein lies the rub, work hard so you won't have to work hard! Dreams abound, plans stack up... in the shadows of uncertainty. Not knowing when the road may suddenly end, we keep plodding, walking, riding or driving to get to that dreamland... of not having to walk, sitting around if we want to, finally doing exactly what we like to do.
But, what if the road suddenly ends... before we reach the dreamland. That, my friend, we do not think about... because it is too grim to think about. Instead, we make up these stories along the way, keep telling them to each other so we can collectively believe in them.
... and we call it life.
I marvel at this gullibility of human nature!
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