The Holocaust, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Traditional Catholicism

JMJ

Nota Bene: This will be a somewhat rambling article as I only heard today about it being the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. So these are some impressions that occurred to me as I drove home from work.

So, across the world there are a variety of opinions about what Germany did in the concentration camps. The same holds true within Traditional Catholicism. There is a spectrum of beliefs, opinions and theories about the Holocaust and the factory efficient murder of Jewish people deported from occupied countries. It is not unique to Traditional Catholicism, but it is the stick that people like to use to 'beat' down the Trads.

Well ... that would be a mistake.

My father was a teenager during the Second World War and hated the comedy "Hogan's Heroes" because it portrayed the German soldiers as buffoons. When describing his impressions of the Germans he would say, they were "very, very effective."

He experienced this first hand as he was walking home from school. Two soldiers challenged two men who happened to be beside my Dad. Their order was simple, "drop your pants". This was a practically surefire way to identified Jewish men.

It also explains my Dad's reluctance when the Doctor's suggested circumcising his baby boys.

Back to the story ... according to my Dad the two men were both Jewish, members of the underground and the underground had a safe-house near the school. They grabbed my Dad and used him as a human shield, whereas my Dad said he wanted to fight with them. In spite of being used as a human shield, my Dad went home that night and the two men were dead. So my Dad witnessed two things at once. First the soldiers weren't mindless killing machines. They killed two members of the resistance who were using a young teenager as a human shield. My Dad's impression of them being 'effective' was from first hand experience.

Then comes the FUD that people spread about Auschwitz. I've heard things from Bishop Williamson and others. I never thought of them critically back them, as I would now ... actually, it was the Terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001 that were the wake up call for me. I heard him give his version of why an Airplane weighing tens of thousands of pounds flying at hundreds of miles per hour couldn't do the damage it did to the Pentagon. His reason, it has a fiberglass nose whereas a missile has a Titanium nose. Well, having worked in the Aerospace industry I knew that was Male Cow Manure (MCM). Then he went on to simply ignore eye witness testimony, more MCM.

Here's the key for me. About 15 years ago I was in Poland for work for a few weeks and one weekend I had a choice - go visit the Salt Mines or Auschwitz. I took the trip to Auschwitz I and II. It was well worth it and I find it intellectually dishonest of Bishop Williamson to refuse to go and see for himself.

From this, I know a few things about Auschwitz:

It is possible that they did kill hundreds of thousands of people in Auschwitz I, II, and III through a combination of work, starvation and executions (shooting, hanging and gas chambers). I know this sounds strange, but I've heard people say it wasn't possible. I did the math and it was possible.
The eye witness account, Polish and others, cannot be dismissed offhand as I've heard done. It is invalid to discount a person's testimony just because it doesn't jive with one's personal beliefs. There is also the fact that there is the testimony in the trials.

I've been to Auschwitz I and II. While the older site was an old military base adapted to the tasks, II was purpose built and huge. After the tour, I asked our driver to go the end of the line of fence posts and watch towers. He did better, he drove to the end of the camp, which took quite a while, and then it changed I asked was that the end, he said "no ... now we are passing the prisoner of war camp for Russian soldiers. Because of the Geneva conventions they had to be kept separate." Then he drove around to the back of the camp and showed us the spot where the farm houses used to do tests with the Zyklon gas. Camp II was enormous and pictures don't do the scale justice.

There was also a III, but it was a factory and was bombed during the war. So given the scale and the capabilities - I am convinced that it was possible. Given the witness testimony, I am convinced that it happened. As far as the numbers, I leave that to the witnesses and historians and say that from my understanding of the capacity it was possible.

It was murder on a factory scale and genocide is an apt description. Of course, I'm not saying that the Germans didn't imprison and execute others. I am saying that murder of people because of their beliefs remains murder. Period. End.Stop.

The view from outside the camp.

Anyway, today is the anniversary of the liberation of the camps and something for us to consider deeply because there is a history of rulers trying to wipe out various 'deplorables' (link). Caesar(s), Hitler, Stalin, and others have done so and I have no doubt that others will rise up and walk in their footsteps.

We just don't know who.

P^3

Auschwitz II (Birkenau) 1944

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0b711n3/the-man-who-volunteered-to-be-imprisoned-in-auschwitz

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/auschwitz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp

https://www.auschwitz.org/en/

https://ground.news/article/auschwitz-anniversary-marked-as-peace-again-shattered-by-war_cdf21e

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

+ JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them. I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest. This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis? When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due. This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too th...

Tradical Commentary on: Restore DC Catholicism: SSPX And Austrilian Bishops - Two Different Errors

+ JMJ An interesting thing has happened on the discussion that prompted my article on whether it is sinful to attend the Novus Ordo Missae . The blog owner of RDCC has shut down discussion by locking the article. That is their prerogative, but I am puzzled as to why? Perhaps it has something to do with some of the latter comments. They didn't believe the teaching on intention with regards to confecting the Sacraments. This is not the first time I've experienced incredulity on this topic ( reference articles ). Really this isn't about what they believe but the truth. They seem to believe that the objections to the Novus Ordo Missae are simply about "overly delicate sensibilities". In response to this I am reblogging a number of articles by the SSPX. Perhaps it was the comment made by Bishop Schneider, a currently well revered hero (who deserved the accolades) but apparently has said something similar to the SSPX. I suspect that it is more...

Australia: Seal of the Confessional Outlawed at the Federal Level

+ JMJ This is simply another step in the attack on the Catholic Church. Interestingly, California's attempt to do the same failed. P^3 Courtesy of FSSPX.news Australia: Seal of the Confessional Outlawed at the Federal Level December 19, 2019 Source: fsspx.news On December 2, 2019, the Australian Conference of Bishops (ACBC) denounced the agreement between the Attorneys General of each state and the Australian federal government, with the aim of standardizing the laws imposing on priests the obligation to denounce any alleged fact of ill-treatment of minors that would be learned in the context of the sacrament of penance. “Counterproductive and unjust” are the terms with which Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Archbishop of Brisbane and President of the ACBC, denounced the new prejudicial legal norms on the sacramental seal of the confessional in Australia. The attorneys gener...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...

Tradicat

Search This Blog