by Felix Quigley
20 January, 2010
It is 68 years since the Wannsee Conference. This was the decisive event in the killing of 6 millions of Jewish people in the Holocaust. It happened on January 20, 1942. It was basically a meeting of Nazi bureaucrats who met to take decisions on the transport of Jews to the death camps in Poland and to their killing there.
It was held in strict secrecy. This aspect of the Nazis death programme must be emphasized. The killing of the Jews was carried out in great secrecy.
And yet do not let this secrecy give a wrong impression. The great film on the Holocaust simply called “Shoah” is very important in understanding the Holocaust. It lasts for 9 hours and in a patient way it explores the thinking of the Nazis. Many of these old Nazis were interviewed in great depth. What was outstanding was that nothing at all after all of 50 years had changed their Jew Hatred, another name for which is anti-Semitism, which we on this site talk about a lot, and fight continually as Trotskyists.
Now there is much talk about the destruction of the Jewish Homeland, the “smashing” of the state of Israel, why there should not be a “Jewish” state, and many such thoughts are voiced especially now within Islam, within the Fascist Left supporters of Islam. When we say “Fascist Left” let it be understood that we should always say “so called Left” because movements such as this are not left at all.
We on 4international are convinced that Obama, now President of the US, with his association with the Hamas loving Khalidi, is intent on the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel.
With the destruction of the Jewish state must come another great killing of the Jews, another Shoah, or Holocaust.
But back to those German Nazis of the Thirties and Forties. The Holocaust was carried out in great secrecy but the ocean on which it sailed was an ocean of anti-Semitism, and we have the very same thing today
This was showed best of all in the Gaza war of just a year ago. Israel had been hit by missiles from Arabs in Gaza for 8 years. During these 8 years Israel simply more or less absorbed these missiles. This was really a callous act also on the part of the Israeli elite because the poor Jews of places like Sderot were suffering greatly, having to sleep underground, and make great preparations to save their lives from these Arab antisemites.
The Israeli Government should have on the very first rocket that came from Gaza simply went in, take over Gaza, defeat and drive out Hamas, and never allow a situation where a Jew is fired at in Israel.
That is the essence of our Trotskyist position in relation to the defence of the Jews. We are opposed to all forms of pacifism when it is a matter of defence of the right to live of Jews. (That is what Wannsee on this day means to us)
Yet when after 8 years Israel did attack Hamas in order to defend Jews we see and remember what happened. There was a huge outcry against Israel and there was a major defence mounted to defend Hamas. Hence the Goldstone report etc. (We will return to these issues again)
Yes the Gaza war is the great lesson for all of us who are fighting against anti-Semitism. It is an issue we will return to again and again because in truth it links us to the Wannsee Conference of January 20, 1942.
We warn our enemies, we will on this site fight the antisemites to the end.
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