A dispiriting overreaction at the museum
It was dispiriting to see a group of secondary schoolboys hounded by media as they entered the Auckland War Memorial Museum to apologise for their behaviour at a school outing earlier this year when they paid mock homage to the swastika.
Photos of their antics were posted on the internet and then the hammers of hell descended on them. Media reports described what they called “national outrage” at their behaviour.
Everyone got in on the act from the Race Relations Conciliator, the RSA, the Jewish Council and the museum itself.
There’s no doubt what they did was silly, stupid and insensitive but that’s all it was. They weren’t expressing support for fascism or intentionally mocking the suffering of so many who faced genocide at the hands of the Nazis.
They weren’t intending disrespect to the Jews, gypsies, communists and homosexuals who all faced Nazi extermination efforts. Surely we need to lighten up a bit here.
The same applies to the Lincoln University students who dressed up as Nazis and Nazi victims for a fancy dress party a few weeks back. There were howls of rage and profuse apologies all round and disciplinary action followed.
Was the same action taken against those who dressed up as Osama bin Laden, Idi Amin or George Bush? All of these figures could rightly be condemned for war crimes and genocide.
The difference is understandable to some extent because New Zealanders fought and died in WWII so when it comes to the Nazis there are greater local sensitivities.
There’s another reason too. The Israeli government works hard to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, which is good, but not so much as an example of the tragic endpoint for racist ideology and fascism but as a weapon against those who criticise Israeli policy towards Palestinians.
Some Jewish groups go so far as claiming any criticism of Israel is fuelled by anti-Semitism.
This is a form of emotional blackmail which means Israel gets away with much less criticism than it should because of the huge guilt felt by western European countries who turned a blind eye to systematic killing of millions of Jews in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.
So whenever we have situations where insensitivity towards the victims of the Holocaust is perceived there is always an over-reaction exemplified by the media antics earlier in the week.
Yes the schoolboys should know the truth about the Holocaust and they should know about Belsen and Auschwitz and Anne Frank.
They should also know of the heroic action of the Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto as well as the story of Irgun and Stern Gang who worked to terrorise and dispossess the Palestinian population as the war ended.
And they should also know the astonishing story of Archibald Baxter and why the painter Rita Angus was prosecuted for refusing to do factory work as part of the “war effort”.
They should look at her paintings from the 1940s with fresh eyes for their simple exposition of pacifism. War is not just about those who fought, suffered and died. It is also about those who did their best to stop it.
Yes an apology from the boys is in order but so is a better perspective from the media. In the meantime give these boys a break from hypersensitive overreaction.
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I agree, it was nothing but a harmless joke between friends on a school trip. ok, so it was all in bad taste but whats wrong with boys just being boys? Knowing what had happened back in WWII may possibly have stopped them from paying mock homage to the swastika, but i cant help but feel that these kids, as silly as it was, were just kidding around. damn the media for over-exposure of such a silly joke between friends, are they running out of things to talk about on the 6pm news? maybe next week it will be some poor sod apologising for pulling his tounge at someone.
I agreed with you John....until I read the below extract:
"The Israeli government works hard to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, which is good, but not so much as an example of the tragic endpoint for racist ideology and fascism but as a weapon against those who criticise Israeli policy towards Palestinians"
Just another rant against Israel, and the poor palistinians is it John?
Agree John , a complete over reaction from all those who chose to take offence.
Hell just froze over, I actually agree with something John Minto wrote.
Spot on Mr Minto. Couldn't have put it better myself. Although I agree with you re Isreali exploitation of the Holocaust to justify modern atrocities, for me the prime issue is how bizarre it is to have such a media-driven overreaction. Teenage boys like to push the boundaries and make fun of sacred cows. Good on them. I was no different at that age. It is appropriate to tell them they have stepped over the line, it is daft to make it into a national media circus. Sorry, but I can't see the public interest angle here <yawn>. Wake me up when one of them is hauled over the coals for farting in class.
First up - i agree tha the media went over the top in their coverage of this. It was essentially a case of a few silly and immature kids and a severe lack of judgement - something we were all guilty of once upon a time.
But the rest of the article i completely disagree with. This is typical left-wing rubbish, always taking an opportunity to bag israel and the jewish. Your comment that we need to "lighten up" is incredibly offensive - how can you lighten up over such a tragic period for humanity?
Please stop ruining the reputation of otherwise reasonable and intelligent left-wingers.
Just wanted to say from the Museum's perspective that we never asked for, desired, or even mentioned an apology from the boys or the school. We simply offered to facilitate a meeting between veterans that had taught the boys that day they were in the Museum, and the boys themselves. Museums and War Memorials don’t need or require apologies. All we want to do is be a place of discourse about issues like this, so young people can learn. We hope that a bit of that took place the day the came in.
We're also not asking the boys to "teach other visitors about Naziism," as was reported. We invited them as individuals to spend more time in the Scars on the Heart gallery and maybe gift us with their thoughts or photos after having read the narrative. Again, it's just about trying to find a way for smart young people to get something good from a very unfortunate experience.
Thanks for allowing us to comment back.
Bravo Minto.
Kids and students will do stupid things. Some of those things they will regret as they mature and will hopefully learn from the experience in the long term.
I'm not at all suggesting that what they did was acceptable, but we should not overreact. It seems the nanny state mentality prevents us from being stupid in out youth. Wisdom only comes from making mistakes, so how do we become wise?
It is hard to really say who is most disrespectful of historic victims of racism and holocausts: those kids that act stupidly like this or those that continue to milk the historic situation for their modern gains.
Gotta admit, I agree with this.
Sure what the boys did was really wrong...but first story on the six 0'clock news?!
This was blown WAY out of porpotion.
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Agreed John. Insensitive - yes. Stupid - yes. Worthy of mass hysteria from the press and other interested parties - No. I think it was Irgun who said: 'the death of a British soldier sends a song to my heart' (or something like that). Given the general attempt to stifle any sort of discussion on the holocaust and the actions of the Israeli's in Palenstine with regards to settlements and resticting of Palenstinian activities the Israeli's are becoming what many people died to protect them from.