As I get more into this seminar and learn additional details, I still wonder how people stand aside when these things happen. People in Occupied France willingly participated in the Vichy government and persecution of Jews/undesirables. Some resisted violently! Most sat by and watched in silence, indifferent. I was engaged in a great deal of thought about the last group because no matter what the situation, the "silent majority" often sits by and does not act either way. Personally, I believe that these people are just as culpable as those who perpetrated atrocities. To sit idly by and watch as the world passes and do nothing, ca c'est insupportable!
mercredi 1 juillet 2009
Seminar Reflection
Today, we had a pretty amazing speaker. Olivier Rubenstein, editor in chief of Denoel Publishing company came to speak to us today. He spoke for about an hour on Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. This book is amazing and I previously read it before coming to this seminar. It is an autobiographical piece that Nemirovsky wrote in experiencing the French round up and deportation of Jews and any other undesirables. Nemirovsky ended up being killed in a concentration camp but her manuscript lived on because her daughter was instructed to carry a suitcase of her mother's belongings with her until the end of the war. The child knew very little about what was in the suitcase and anticipated giving it back to her mother at the end of the war. When the end of the war came, her daughters survived but Irene perished. It was not however until 2006 that the book was published because Rubenstein came into contact with the daughter who was living in the south of France. He was responsible for its publication and we were able to hear first hand how this story came about and was published. It is pretty amazing. They have subsequently translated the book into English and many other languages and is very much worth the read.
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I agree tremendously. These are the people most difficult to tolerate. The Nazis and active collaborators acted--albeit horribly--on their own beliefs and to improve their state of life.
RépondreSupprimerI try, however, to understand why women and men sit idly by. For some reason, these people rationalize that for their self-interest and self-preservation they can do nothing. It's safer. No one wants to die, and helping meant they would be on the quick road to death, non?
Is it just that some people are more evolved than others? Those who actively resisted were more evolved morally.
Sometimes, it's not life and death directly. Sometimes, it's an issue like health insurance. Or the right for all to marry the one they love.