"The banality of evil." When historian Hannah Arendt wrote this she was reflecting on the trial of famous Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichman and how the horrors of the holocaust were not committed by fanatical zealots but rather the genocide perpetrated by the Nazi regime was carried out by everyday people like you and me. They weren't aborations of human existence but rather they serve as reminders to us all to how far everyday people can fall into depravity and evil. Recently a new album has come to light detailing Nazi SS guards on vacation from their daily duties at Auschwitz.
They are seen singing and laughing, playing music and lounging on deck chairs. They look like people on vacation, having fun and relaxing. You can see them running from an unexpected rain shower or lighting a Christmas tree. You can see them take part in a sing-a-long or play with their pet dog or a group of women enjoying some blueberries or men at a dinner party. They don't look like monsters except for their uniforms that have now become symbols of evil and the attrocities that they committed against humanity.
The album was found in Frankfurt German during the war by an American intelligence officer who decided to keep the album for himself. He recently bequeathed it to the Holocaust Museum. While the pictures contained in the album help to hammer home Hannah Arendt's claim, it also helps to shed a light on a great injustice. The album belonged to SS officer Karl Hoecker who worked at Auschwitz as an adjutant to the camp commander. Hoecker was tried for war crimes after the war but was only sentenced to seven years in prison because they could find no witnesses to his crimes. If the authorities had had this album he would have been sentenced to life rather than being allowed to return to his life as a banker who died in 2000 at the age of 88.
The other horrible miscarriage of justice that was perpetrated due to this intelligence officer's desire for a personal memento was that the only known photographs of Josef Mengele are contained within its pages. Mengele, known as the Angel of Death, was never located in Germany after the war. Instead he was able to flee to Argentina and then Brazil where he eventually died of a stroke while playing at the beach. If the authorities had had this album they would have known what Mengele looked like and perhaps could have captured him sooner or later, much like the afore mentioned Eichman.
To see the album click here.
For an article concerning the collection by CBC columnist Heather Mallick click here.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
An ode to pebby pepps
Well he did it. From the outside it always looked like the right, simple, easy and obvious thing to do but I know that on the inside it was never simple or easy. By all accounts my friend left for Korea on Saturday. I say by all accounts because I can't reach him so I have to assume that he left on Saturday as that is when he told me he was scheduled to leave. So by now he should be in Korea, getting situated in his new apartment and wondering what the hell he got himself into. I have to give him credit, it took a lot for him to make the decision to go.
Of all the people that I have worked with over the last several years he is the one that I related with the most. He had a rather wierd and somewhat twisted sense of humour but I can't remember anyone who has made me laugh so much or so consistently. He was the one person with whom I could discuss the absolutely absurd nature of our work place and know that he understood what I was thinking and that he too recognized it as the hell hole that it is. For some reason that made it easier going into work each day. I'll miss the conversations about history, politics, religion, the state of the world and such things as Star Trek and Star Wars.
Its not going to be the same around here without him, but I'm glad that he did what he felt he needed to do and found the strength to move on with his life. Good luck.
Of all the people that I have worked with over the last several years he is the one that I related with the most. He had a rather wierd and somewhat twisted sense of humour but I can't remember anyone who has made me laugh so much or so consistently. He was the one person with whom I could discuss the absolutely absurd nature of our work place and know that he understood what I was thinking and that he too recognized it as the hell hole that it is. For some reason that made it easier going into work each day. I'll miss the conversations about history, politics, religion, the state of the world and such things as Star Trek and Star Wars.
Its not going to be the same around here without him, but I'm glad that he did what he felt he needed to do and found the strength to move on with his life. Good luck.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Election results
Its election day and the results are pointing to a Liberal majority. I guess I can handle that. Its better than a Conservative majority in my opinion. What I'm really upset with though is that the referendum on changing our electoral process to a Mixed Member Proportional was defeated. Apparently resoundingly so. What I don't understand about that is why don't the people of Ontario want to live in a democracy?
The early results point to the Green Party receiving 8+% of the popular vote in Ontario. This will result in their recieving no representation in parliament as they didn't win a single riding. The result of this is 8+% of the people in Ontario will not have a voice in parliament. If the MMP had gone through that 8+% support would have translated into actual seats in parliament ensuring that those people had a real voice in the political process. With a parliament of 129 seats (the parliament would have been expanded to 129 from the present 107) 8% of the vote would equal about 10 seats. That would give them an actual voice in parliament and by extension the people who voted for them would have a voice as well.
That in the end is what a democracy is supposed to be about, but apparently the people in Ontario aren't interested in living in a democracy. How sad.
The early results point to the Green Party receiving 8+% of the popular vote in Ontario. This will result in their recieving no representation in parliament as they didn't win a single riding. The result of this is 8+% of the people in Ontario will not have a voice in parliament. If the MMP had gone through that 8+% support would have translated into actual seats in parliament ensuring that those people had a real voice in the political process. With a parliament of 129 seats (the parliament would have been expanded to 129 from the present 107) 8% of the vote would equal about 10 seats. That would give them an actual voice in parliament and by extension the people who voted for them would have a voice as well.
That in the end is what a democracy is supposed to be about, but apparently the people in Ontario aren't interested in living in a democracy. How sad.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
My night with el diablo
As another October comes and goes, so too will another birthday. As I sit and reflect on this I find it hard to believe that I moved here nearly six years ago to attend university. I was such a wide eyed and naive man-child back then. Now I sit and look around and all I can think is 'how the hell do I keep going?' I have to admit that the thing that makes each day a little easier is the fact that the end of teachers college is in sight and with it comes the end to my employment here at Chez Oui, or as it is more appropriately and affectionally referred to by its employees, the ninth circle of hell. As things stand right now, I'm toying with the idea of heading across the pond to teach in England for a year or two. Having studied history in school, I'd love to be able to stand in the places I've only read about and the opportunity to travel Europe and the Mediterranean seems too much to pass up. I really need to just man up, make a decision and go with it. All this talking and himming and hawwing is getting really tiresome.
On a somewhat related note, a friend of mine leaves for Korea in less than a week. I've worked with him now for two and a half years and to be honest he has made coming to work each day somewhat bareable. This place just won't be the same without him and his rather sick sense of humour. I learned a lot through our discussions and had a lot of fun in a place that makes every possible effor to suck every ounce of joy from its employees and the world as a whole. So as he begins a new chapter in his life half way around the world I am left to contemplate a similar life change to come. However, the real reason I mentioned this is because I want to relate the story of my last saturday night.
As I've stated my friend is leaving for Korea and as such his employment in the ninth level of hell has come to an end. As is somewhat customary and awfully arbitrary a goodbye dinner was organized for him by a co-worker. Now before the story begins properly something needs to be made quite clear. The co-worker who organized said dinner hates us. I mean it. He hates us. Of course this is nothing new to us and the fact that we have an intense dislike for him seems to even things out in the end. However that really isn't enough. Of all the people that have worked here in the ninth level of hell, of all the varied educations, backgrounds, ambitions and competecies, the only constant is that everyone thinks that this guy is an absolute ass hole. I know that that is not nice to say, but it's true. In an effort secure power for himself here he has stabbed virtually everyone in the back, trampled over those not smart enough to fight back and has alienated everyone to the point of antipathy ranging from distate to outright hatred. To give you an idea of how reviled this person is people here joke about him anally raping his son. That is how hated this guy is. Now that that is done, on with the story.
So the dinner was to begin at 5:30pm at a local restaurant. I made a point of arriving approximately ten minutes late in an effort to ensure that there would be other people there so that I wouldn't have to interact with said douchebag one on one. Karma is a cruel mistress. Of course I show up and there he sits all alone. So after several minutes of forced small talk the guest of honour arrives along with another co worker. To make things even more awkward, the two new arrivals sit on my side of the table leaving AH all alone on the other side. The dinner is nothing but forced politeness and strained self restraint. However after ninety minutes the bills come and our time in the clutches of el diablo seems to be over. Alas, no. He asks us what we have planned for the evening. We think that this is merely more of the forced politeness that we have endured for the previous hour and a bit and so answer honestly: nothing really. Of course given our relationship we the idea of further socialization wasn't even a blip on the horizon of possible scenarios and therefore didn't fear the situation. Boy were we wrong. While one of us managed to escape pleading plans out of town, my friend and I sat there in stunned silence as our nemesis asked if we would care to join him in going to see a movie later. We were dumbfounded. What the hell had just happened? It is situations like this that trying to be a polite and respectful human being really comes back to bite you in the ass. Instead of laughing in his face and walking out, we both mumbled okay and the night from the Twilight Zone continued.
So we went to a bar next door and had a drink. I managed to escape for a few minutes by offering to walk over to the movie theatre in order to make sure of the show times. It was to be the best ten minutes of the night. My friend however, was left to his own devices with el diablo. I've never seen such a look of relief as the look my friend had when I arrived back at the bar and his fears of my having ditched him were put to rest. So there we sat straining to find something, anything to talk about with the man that we both despise and quickly downing our drinks hoping to at least get a little drunk in hopes that it would make the night go quicker and perhaps a little less painfully. Alas, that too was not to be.
After our brief drink at the bar he suggested we go shoot some pool to pass the time. Sure, anything to give us something else to focus on. So the three of us went and played a few games of pool, wasting time till the movie started and quickly downing beers. Every few minutes my friend and I would share a look that silently asked one another what we had done to deserve such a night and when would it end. So after an hour or so of 'nice shot' and 'good break' type conversation the alloted time came and off we trotted to the movie.
Once there, I purposefully walked at the rear of our little line and managed to sit as far away from el diablo as was politely possible in the movie theatre. My friend wasn't so lucky. I could see el diablo leaning over every so often during the movie to talk with him. I could almost see my friend's flesh crawl in the darkness. Thankfully we could get engrossed in the movie and for the most part it was as if el diablo wasn't there. Unfortunately this wasn't Munich or some other three hour long movie, but rather a typical ninety minute affair that went by too quickly and before we knew it the credits were rolling. So we exited the theatre and waited for el diablo to appear figuring that we had gone this far that it would be rude to simply ditch him at this point. To add insult to injury, as we waited for el diablo, his junior apprentice appeared and tried starting up a friendly converstation with us. At this point I had had enough and didn't say anything and at the earliest possible moment found an excuse and removed myself from the situation. Sometimes a large iced tea comes in real handy. So el diablo finally appears and we exit the theatre. All the way out to the street I'm dreading the fake friendly goodbye that I'm confident will follow. Fortunately and unfortunately this was not to be as once outside el diablo beat a hasty retreat shouting a quick goodbye over his shoulder as he disappeared into the night, leaving my friend and I to wonder about what had just happened.
After thinking on it for a few seconds I got the horrible impression that he had used us like some skanky bitch that he had just fucked and chucked. My friend came to the seemingly same conclusion and we were equally revolted by the very idea. As we wondered through the downtown we kept trying to make sense of the night. I mean, we both know that he hates us. He has made it abundantly clear to other co workers who have told us and to us, whom he treats like crap while at work. So why would he want to spend a night out with us of all people? The conclusion we came up with and after having passed it by a few others who know el diablo, the one that makes the most sense is this: he has no friends. He finally got a night out of the house, away from the wife and kid but had no one with whom to enjoy his fleeting night of freedom. So rather than look like a complete tool by hanging out at a bar by himself for three hours in the early evening he decided that it would be better to tag up with us, knowing that we would be too polite to turn him away. It even fits with the way the night ended, him fleeing into the night once the movie was over. We had gotten him to where he wanted to be and once that was done, we served him no more useful purpose. Much like a hooker who is quickly kicked out of the car once her client has climaxed.
It was a night from hell and one that my friend desperately did not want to have as his final memory of having worked in the ninth circle of hell. Well that is my story, as painful and as humiliating as it is to recount. I'm way too nice and it finally came back to bite me in the ass big time.
On a somewhat related note, a friend of mine leaves for Korea in less than a week. I've worked with him now for two and a half years and to be honest he has made coming to work each day somewhat bareable. This place just won't be the same without him and his rather sick sense of humour. I learned a lot through our discussions and had a lot of fun in a place that makes every possible effor to suck every ounce of joy from its employees and the world as a whole. So as he begins a new chapter in his life half way around the world I am left to contemplate a similar life change to come. However, the real reason I mentioned this is because I want to relate the story of my last saturday night.
As I've stated my friend is leaving for Korea and as such his employment in the ninth level of hell has come to an end. As is somewhat customary and awfully arbitrary a goodbye dinner was organized for him by a co-worker. Now before the story begins properly something needs to be made quite clear. The co-worker who organized said dinner hates us. I mean it. He hates us. Of course this is nothing new to us and the fact that we have an intense dislike for him seems to even things out in the end. However that really isn't enough. Of all the people that have worked here in the ninth level of hell, of all the varied educations, backgrounds, ambitions and competecies, the only constant is that everyone thinks that this guy is an absolute ass hole. I know that that is not nice to say, but it's true. In an effort secure power for himself here he has stabbed virtually everyone in the back, trampled over those not smart enough to fight back and has alienated everyone to the point of antipathy ranging from distate to outright hatred. To give you an idea of how reviled this person is people here joke about him anally raping his son. That is how hated this guy is. Now that that is done, on with the story.
So the dinner was to begin at 5:30pm at a local restaurant. I made a point of arriving approximately ten minutes late in an effort to ensure that there would be other people there so that I wouldn't have to interact with said douchebag one on one. Karma is a cruel mistress. Of course I show up and there he sits all alone. So after several minutes of forced small talk the guest of honour arrives along with another co worker. To make things even more awkward, the two new arrivals sit on my side of the table leaving AH all alone on the other side. The dinner is nothing but forced politeness and strained self restraint. However after ninety minutes the bills come and our time in the clutches of el diablo seems to be over. Alas, no. He asks us what we have planned for the evening. We think that this is merely more of the forced politeness that we have endured for the previous hour and a bit and so answer honestly: nothing really. Of course given our relationship we the idea of further socialization wasn't even a blip on the horizon of possible scenarios and therefore didn't fear the situation. Boy were we wrong. While one of us managed to escape pleading plans out of town, my friend and I sat there in stunned silence as our nemesis asked if we would care to join him in going to see a movie later. We were dumbfounded. What the hell had just happened? It is situations like this that trying to be a polite and respectful human being really comes back to bite you in the ass. Instead of laughing in his face and walking out, we both mumbled okay and the night from the Twilight Zone continued.
So we went to a bar next door and had a drink. I managed to escape for a few minutes by offering to walk over to the movie theatre in order to make sure of the show times. It was to be the best ten minutes of the night. My friend however, was left to his own devices with el diablo. I've never seen such a look of relief as the look my friend had when I arrived back at the bar and his fears of my having ditched him were put to rest. So there we sat straining to find something, anything to talk about with the man that we both despise and quickly downing our drinks hoping to at least get a little drunk in hopes that it would make the night go quicker and perhaps a little less painfully. Alas, that too was not to be.
After our brief drink at the bar he suggested we go shoot some pool to pass the time. Sure, anything to give us something else to focus on. So the three of us went and played a few games of pool, wasting time till the movie started and quickly downing beers. Every few minutes my friend and I would share a look that silently asked one another what we had done to deserve such a night and when would it end. So after an hour or so of 'nice shot' and 'good break' type conversation the alloted time came and off we trotted to the movie.
Once there, I purposefully walked at the rear of our little line and managed to sit as far away from el diablo as was politely possible in the movie theatre. My friend wasn't so lucky. I could see el diablo leaning over every so often during the movie to talk with him. I could almost see my friend's flesh crawl in the darkness. Thankfully we could get engrossed in the movie and for the most part it was as if el diablo wasn't there. Unfortunately this wasn't Munich or some other three hour long movie, but rather a typical ninety minute affair that went by too quickly and before we knew it the credits were rolling. So we exited the theatre and waited for el diablo to appear figuring that we had gone this far that it would be rude to simply ditch him at this point. To add insult to injury, as we waited for el diablo, his junior apprentice appeared and tried starting up a friendly converstation with us. At this point I had had enough and didn't say anything and at the earliest possible moment found an excuse and removed myself from the situation. Sometimes a large iced tea comes in real handy. So el diablo finally appears and we exit the theatre. All the way out to the street I'm dreading the fake friendly goodbye that I'm confident will follow. Fortunately and unfortunately this was not to be as once outside el diablo beat a hasty retreat shouting a quick goodbye over his shoulder as he disappeared into the night, leaving my friend and I to wonder about what had just happened.
After thinking on it for a few seconds I got the horrible impression that he had used us like some skanky bitch that he had just fucked and chucked. My friend came to the seemingly same conclusion and we were equally revolted by the very idea. As we wondered through the downtown we kept trying to make sense of the night. I mean, we both know that he hates us. He has made it abundantly clear to other co workers who have told us and to us, whom he treats like crap while at work. So why would he want to spend a night out with us of all people? The conclusion we came up with and after having passed it by a few others who know el diablo, the one that makes the most sense is this: he has no friends. He finally got a night out of the house, away from the wife and kid but had no one with whom to enjoy his fleeting night of freedom. So rather than look like a complete tool by hanging out at a bar by himself for three hours in the early evening he decided that it would be better to tag up with us, knowing that we would be too polite to turn him away. It even fits with the way the night ended, him fleeing into the night once the movie was over. We had gotten him to where he wanted to be and once that was done, we served him no more useful purpose. Much like a hooker who is quickly kicked out of the car once her client has climaxed.
It was a night from hell and one that my friend desperately did not want to have as his final memory of having worked in the ninth circle of hell. Well that is my story, as painful and as humiliating as it is to recount. I'm way too nice and it finally came back to bite me in the ass big time.
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