Schindler's List was on t.v. last night and as I watched it, a slew of questions started running through my head much like the ones I had in my high school history classes. It seems like after studying the Holocaust all those years, none of my personal questions really got answered.
Like, what did Hitler have against the Jews... really? How can such a large group of people like the Jews get bullied around so much to the point of so many of them getting killed? Why didn't more people fight back? Since Jesus was a Jew, would he have been killed if he lived during the time of Hitler's reign?
Of course, as with anything, there are opposing viewpoints of answers to every question. The sad thing is, the more time passes, the more information is lost in written records of history and word-of-mouth as the people who were actually there die off. Some people believe that the Holocaust never really happened. I can't say that for sure, but it sure seems skewed the way it is presented in the public school system. The typical History lesson plans always consisted of the same points and material:
-Hitler was evil and wanted to create a perfect race by ridding the earth of all the Jews.
-Many countries were in opposition to Nazi Germany's treatment of the Jews.
-People were afraid of the rise in communism, which would have created a classless society. This fear is what lead to the requirement of people to wear the infamous arm bands to identify themselves as Jewish, gay, Jehovah Witness, etc.
-Videos shown depicting images of emaciated Jewish people with commentary describing the horrible conditions they were forced to live in. Then images of, presumably the same people, dead in massive piles who had just been gassed by the Nazis.
-Assigned reading: "the Diary of Anne Frank"
While this information isn't necessarily false, it is definitely one-sided and, to me, never has seemed to paint the whole picture. I mean, was Hitler really evil? Was his original intent to create the results recorded in the history books? If one goes off the information presented in high school History classes, the assumption is that Hitler was definitely evil. What about all the different sects of Nazi-ism?
Which brings me to the German-American Bund (pronounced: "boondt"). We never learned about this group in class, but I know it exists because my great-grandfather was a member of the Seattle chapter and I've heard some word-of-mouth history through family. Most publications I've found, talk about the Bund much like the Nazis and how "evil" they were. On the contrary, my family has always told me that the Bund my great-grandpa was a part of consisted of German-American activists interested in peace who happened to use the swastika as their symbol.
It actually makes sense that they could be a peace group. The answer lies in the meaning behind the swastika. You see, the swastika didn't originate with the Nazis. It seems to have originated with Hinduism and spread amongst other Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Jainism as a symbol that literally means "that which is associated with well-being." Since the swastika has four points, it also represents the importance of the four directions - north, south, east, and west. It also represents the four-headed Lord Brahma - the creator of the universe.
Even before my knowledge of my great-grandpa's involvement with the Bund... before my understanding of the connection of that group with the peaceful ways of Hinduism, I've always been drawn to Hinduism. I've never been able to completely explain why. Just a psychic connection of some sort. I feel at home when I look at pictures of all the gods, goddesses, and avatars of Hinduism. My dad's side of the family was raised Catholic, my mom's was Southern Baptist and Lutheran. I know in this lifetime that each of these religions has something to offer, but it is my personal assertion that the roots of their goodness for me lies in my connection with Hinduism.
So the big parallel here is that my family history and its affiliation with the swastika conflicts with what I've been taught in school about the Nazis who also used the swastika. This is much like my beliefs in Hinduism and the perpetual cycle of the universe in the hands of many gods and goddesses versus the Christian belief that there is only one god. Who is right? The public school system and their text books or oral history and psychic attraction? Hinduism or Christianity?
I don't think this is a question that can ever be answered. The truth is, I don't even believe everything about Hinduism. Its just what I can most personally identify with. The only thing that can be done is to learn from the goodness each has to offer and personally asses each issue as it comes. Much like my belief that there can't be just one god, there are many gods AND goddesses, the same goes for spiritual beliefs. There can't be just one, there are many.
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