The Jews of Ukraine are no more. When the war is over, will we tell the German people, Human consciousness is built in such an unfortunate, ‘You are murderers: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’? though perhaps also fortunate way that when people read Will we avenge the murder of a people by killing another? or hear about a tragedy that has claimed millions of peoples’ No. Democracy’s victory will not only be a victory lives, they are simply incapable of understanding the of weapons. There will be a true victory when the dark horrifying profundity of what took place. This limitation force of racism is finally reduced to ashes. Germans will is a fortunate attribute of human consciousness because understand that the idea of racial exceptionalism is a it protects people from moral suffering and insanity. This criminal and false one, and that their happiness and peace limit of human knowledge is equally terrible because it are not the only sacred things in the world. This victory enables people to be lenient, superficial and morally passive. will endure because of the mighty power of weapons, But in this era, it seems to me, the life of individuals and which will force the Germans to know always that all entire peoples has been devalued, and the value of personal people are equally entitled to life on earth. The raised freedom has been trampled under the boot of German- sword is answered with the language of the sword. This is fascist dogma—and it is precisely now, as never before, that the sacred logic and morality of contemporary war. demands for moral purity and righteousness must be raised But today we are still at war, and Hitler’s obedient to unattainable heights, both with respect to our individual murderous gang, fascist Germany, is spilling innocent lives and to the State. It is not only Europe, but in fact all blood. of humanity that stands on the threshold of extinction. I had the chance to talk to dozens of German POWs. This immense earth has been transformed into a wasteland, Our conversations took place amidst the smoky ruins of thousands of its great cities have been blown up and burned devastated cities and villages. We talked about mass murder, down. The world war has taken millions of people who, like about executions of Ukrainian and Russian populations, animals, live in pits and trenches, and flung them backwards and about the complete destruction of the Jewish people, to prehistoric times. H.G. Wells’ most dismal fantasies about and I did not once detect in them a sense of humiliation, imminent global catastrophe seem like harmless folktales in despair, or desire to disavow the disgraceful crimes comparison to present-day reality. associated with the name of Germany. With extraordinary This seething, amoral force came from National- naiveté, all of them espoused the view that ‘crimes against Socialist Germany. humanity’ are not really crimes because their purpose is It was born from a sense of German racial exclusivity, to benefit Germany. These soldiers could explain every from the deep and heartfelt conviction held by contem- act in terms of its instrumental value, and many of them porary Germans that they are the chosen people; that said that the execution of the Jewish people had in fact their happiness, tranquility and security are the only turned out to be useless, and that mass murder and the sacred things on earth. This is an ideology of exclusivity, burning of hundreds and thousands of villages had not of suspicion and indifference to the suffering of other brought Germany the advantages that had been expected nations, and of sentimental pathos for one’s own people. from these measures. It is from this point of view that they ntisemitism beame the universal weapon of fasism war against ewry is a formula suited to the war that Germany wanted to wage against the world This consciousness is the scourge of present day humanity, judged the massive crimes committed by Germany. and it was aroused in Germany. It has led her down a path Why did National-Socialist Germany become the of bloody crimes, and it shall bring her to the precipice of executioner of the Jewish people? I want to raise this cruel defeat. particular question not only because I myself am a Jew, In our times, the equality of all people constitutes the and not only because those closest to me were victims of highest moral principle of humanity. fascist bloodshed. Racism is the exact opposite of this principle. The treatment of Jews expressed contemporary fascist People will ask me, ‘are the Germans a nation of German ideology and tactics in their crudest and most murderers and criminals, then?’ complete and final form. The Germans did not commit No! For we believe in the great principle of equality such bestial, inhumane violence, lacking all traces of of the world’s peoples. We know that the German people humanity, against any other people on earth. For fascism, have not only produced Hitler, Goebbels, Goering hatred for the Jews became paramount; it was the fuel for its and Rozenberg; not just the Hohenzollern and Krupp fire. Antisemitism became the universal weapon of fascism. dynasties; not only Stennes and Guderian, Ley and The significance of antisemitism lies in the fact that Ribbentrop, Horst Wessel and Nietzsche. This is the same a war against Jewry is a formula suited to the war that people who produced Kant, Goethe, Hegel, Feurbach, Germany wanted to wage against the world. Given Marx, Engels, and the great martyr Liebnekht. It produced present circumstances, Jews do not have their own state, the enlightened wisdom and pure soul of August Bebel, and are scattered across all parts of the world. One finds and has borne thousands of proletarian fighters, hundreds Jews among American capitalists, English social activists, of humane and modest social and scholarly activists, and Russian communists, and French anarcho-syndicalists. many kind women and sincere old workers. This is very convenient for a state and people that have 1™ • Jewish Quarterly