Live, From Iran, The New Theresienstadt

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,"
...............................................- George Santayana

More Connecting The Dots

Terezín, (now) in the Czech Republic is more frequently known by its German name, Theresienstadt. Theresienstadt is an old walled fortress constructed between 1780 and 1790. During World War II, Theresienstadt was used as a transfer point for the Nazi's and walled ghetto to act as a front in the extermination of Jews. The Nazi's went to great lengths, including the building of false fronts, theaters, concerts, artistic displays etc. to show how "happy" the Jews were in their incarceration.

In June, 1944 the Nazi's permitted the International Red Cross to visit Theresienstadt and

...erected fake shops and cafés to imply that the Jews lived in relative comfort. The Danes whom the Red Cross visited lived in freshly painted rooms, not more than three in a room. The guests enjoyed the performance of a children's opera, Brundibar, which was written by inmate Hans Krása.

"The hoax against the Red Cross was so successful for the Nazis that they went on to make a propaganda film at Theresienstadt. Production of the film began on February 26, 1944. Directed by Jewish prisoner Kurt Gerron (a director, cabaret performer, and actor who appeared with Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel), it was meant to show how well the Jews lived under the "benevolent" protection of the Third Reich. After the shooting most of the cast, and even the filmmaker himself, were deported to Auschwitz. Gerron and his wife were executed in the gas chambers on October 28, 1944. The film was not released at the time, but was edited into pieces that served their purpose, and only segments of it have remained."
Source

There is, of course, nothing new about "fooling" the public. Does Potemkin Village ring a bell?

So, while "Potemkin village" has come to mean, especially in a political context, any hollow or false construct, physical or figurative, meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation, in fact there appears to have been no such thing.

"Potemkin village" has also frequently been used to describe the attempts of the Soviet government to fool foreign visitors. The government would take such visitors, who were often already sympathetic to socialism or communism, to select villages, factories, schools, stores, or neighborhoods and present them as if they were typical, rather than exceptional. Given the strict limitations on the movement of foreigners in the USSR, it was often impossible for these visitors to see any other examples. [2]

This practice was certainly not confined to the Soviet Union, but rather has been common in "currently socialist countries." "The Big Fish" is a famous story from People's Republic of China which deals with the visit in the early 1970s of foreigners to an urban market Potemkin Village.
Source

So, on one hand we have Theresienstadt a real "Potemkin Village" and the other "Pseudo-Potemkin Villages" some real, some not but all by socialist parties trying to "fool" the public or public agencies. Today, we have in Iran, another Theresinstadt/Potemking Village in Tehran where the ruling (and socialist but called Islamic Republic) has tried to make nice with the world by proclaiming how "happy" the jews are to live in Iran.

In this photograph, taken from Al Jazeera news, Jews are shown happily greeting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. From their dress, fedoras and beards, we can assume that these are Hasidic Jews(which oddly enough sprang up in 12th century Germany) or perhaps Orthodox Jews (Source) and from the smile on the face of Ahmadinejad, we can assume he is happy to see them. Now, that would be strange indeed as he has said in the past that he want's to exterminate the Jews so why would he be embracing them if not for a Theresinstadt moment?

Pam Geller, that oh-so-very astute blogger at Atlas Shrugs said in a recent post:

I love when al jizz is used as a "news" source. Sheer audacity to cite a captive 25,000 Jews living in dhimmitude in Iran. The idea that these subjugated Jews are happy Jews is vile.
[...]
The al Jizz pic is rich - peyas does not a Jew make.

Not being a Jew nor an Israeli, I can't comment on that, but I can, as a rational being, decide for myself what Ahmadinejad is up to.

It should be obvious to anyone with two neurons to rub together, that no one is fooled by the show of this particular mad man. He has threatened to exterminate the Jews/Israel, he has denied that there was a holocaust, he has denegrated any ally of Israel calling them the Little Satan (lucky us, we are still the Great Satan) and he is feverishly working on developing nuclear weapons. Can there be any doubt as to what his intentions are. The show of releasing the Brittish sailor/marines hostiges was one such show. "See how happy these hostages guests are? We even give them parting gifts and release them on EASTER." "See how well we treat our Jews and how Dhimmitudenous happy they are? Why, I even smile as I hug them. How can I be another Hitler?"

To quote Al Jazeera:

If Ahmadinejad really is Hitler, why are some 25,000 Jews living peacefully in Iran?

By Jonathan Cook

Iran is the new Nazi Germany and its President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is the new Hitler. Or so Israeli officials have been declaring for months as they and their American allies try to persuade the doubters in Washington that an attack on Tehran is essential. And if the latest media reports are to be trusted, it looks like they may again be winning the battle for hearts and minds: Vice President Dick Cheney is said to be diverting the White House back on track to launch a military strike."

The answer should be simple Mr. Cook, even to a moron like yourself. To go with the "New Hitler" we need a "New Theresinstadt."

And so, to end this post let me change Santayana's quote a bit:

Beware of those who deliberately repeat the past, for we are sure to be harmed by it."

...............................................- GM Roper

Posted by GM Roper at August 22, 2007 11:52 AM | TrackBack