“Never Again Is Now”

August 20th 2022 marked 75 years since the codification of the Nuremberg Code in 1947, an invaluable and internationally recognised document outlining the core tenets of medical ethics (enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Canada is a signatory). To commemorate the event, Action Alliance, a German activist group, organised a line-up of speakers from across the world to discuss the importance of the Code.

The whole event was live streamed by Children’s Health Defence TV. Unsurprisingly, it was not covered by the legacy media.

One of the speakers was Holocaust survivor and founder of the Alliance for Human Research Protection (AHRP), Vera Sharav. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to her speak before, and her speech at this event was as moving and inspiring as you might imagine it to be.

What struck me most was her unwavering commitment to drawing parallels between what has been happening in the world over the last two years, and what happened in 1930s Germany. Many would – and do – hesitate to state any similarities between then and now, perhaps out of fear of reprisal, or for fear of comparing anything to what is rightly understood to be one of humanity’s darkest moments.

But not Vera. And shouldn’t she know? Who else but one who has lived through it?

As Vera states, the Holocaust didn’t start with the camps and the gas chambers. It didn’t happen overnight. It was preceded by 8 years of totalitarian tiptoe, of emergency measures and sweeping government powers that, bit by bit, removed the rights and freedoms of an identifiable group of citizens. Discrimination was written into policy, and a two-tier society engulfed most of Europe, with visible markers handed out to identify the in-group and the out-group. They lost their jobs, their businesses, their homes; and when there was nowhere else for them to go they were sent to camps. Sound familiar?

It seems, however, that most people have the idea that the Holocaust was the sudden massacre of 6 million Jews – and only Jews. They forget the German infants who suffered at the hands of Nazi doctors. And the mentally handicapped. And the Romani. And the elderly. And countless others. “Lest we Forget” has become an empty platitude for a large portion of the population.

Vera notes that people who are quick to dismiss the parallels of then and now are actually doing a disservice to those who died during the holocaust, as well as those who fought and died so that such an atrocity should never happen again. She states that in so doing they “[betray] the victims of the Holocaust by denying the relevance of the Holocaust”.

I’m inclined to agree. The Holocaust is always relevant, and should always be a reminder that we should never allow ourselves even the risk of following the same path that was followed then. Once a stone starts rolling downhill, it’s not likely to stop on its own. And that’s the point that I believe Vera was making: today’s events are not comparable to the tragic climax of the Holocaust, but to its initial stages. She sees the stone starting to roll.

Perhaps I feel this way because I’ve been to Auschwitz I and II (Birkenau). I’ve walked the halls. I’ve seen the mountains of shoes and suitcases. I’ve stood against the firing squad walls. I’ve been inside the gas chambers and the furnaces. These are experiences not easily forgotten.

When I’ve mentioned Vera Sharav to others, and repeated her comments about the similarities of 1930s Europe and current world events, I’m usually met with derision. People take offence at comparisons of the Holocaust and the hardships that people lived through with the events of today that are, in their words, “minor inconveniences”.

I’m always shocked that people are almost wilfully deaf to the words of someone who has survived the Holocaust, words that I merely echo. For if they won’t take her word for it, then whose?

– Aldous M. Cluverius

Related Articles

How have I been? Well…

How have I been? Well…
I suppose it starts with the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. It was an emotional few weeks, and it culminated in a violent quelling of a peaceful protest, which was perfectly in line with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 2(c) (the fundamental freedom of peaceful assembly). It was legal to participate in, and fund, such a gathering until the government decided to pass orders and measures which made it illegal.

War is Good for Nothing

They say that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Yet sadly, while this weekend marks the 104th observation of Remembrance Day, the world is once again at war.
Many of us grew up attending often large ceremonies at memorials or cenotaphs where elderly veterans were the center of a deeply emotional and reverential experience. Perhaps the waning of such services is a sign only that WWI and WWII are now moving beyond living memory, but there are plenty of other wars and veterans of them deserving of our recognition. A fact which tells me that we don’t remember very well.

Judicial Review update: April

All motions were granted by the court; a much desired outcome for CANS and its members: “The Applicant, Citizens’ Alliance of Nova Scotia (CANS), comes before this court seeking to engage the Judiciary to perform a vital and rigorous ‘check’ among the ‘checks and balances’ integral to Canada’s constitutional democracy. The Applicant is asking the Judicial branch of government to take a critical look at decisions and actions taken by the Executive branch of government to determine if they are reasonable and lawful”

Save the Planet, Kill Your Patient

The most obvious implication of this plan would be a new generation of physicians and surgeons who are less competent and more “woke” than their predecessors, which is terrifying enough in and of itself: If I’m about to have my gallbladder removed, I want my surgeon to be excellent at removing gallbladders and I don’t care one iota whether he or she can quote Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi. And let’s face it, there are only so many hours in a week. Every hour a medical resident spends learning about “anti-racism” and “analyzing the world through the lens of power” is one hour not spent practicing gallbladder surgery.

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *