Communal Guilt & Learning from Past Horrors

In the Austria National Hut at Auschwitz, there’s a sign saying that they are in the process of re-writing their exhibit.  Instead of being a victim of past errors they are saying that they are wanting to acknowledge the part that everyone played in the history. 

This exemplifies the change in history over the last 70 years better than any historical text.  In the years after the war there was a need for individuals to be tried and to take responsibility, as exemplified by the Nuremburg trials.  Today there is a need for us all to show our part as well as for someone, ultimately, to say “sorry”.  And it’s not always possible. 

We visited one of the lesser known concentration camps today in Krakow: Plaszov.  Bleak, eerie and sinister as the snow came down.  At many corners the remaining concrete blocks of huts.  Yet the one remaining building was the Commander’s House.  It is now council flats and behind it a modern estate.  The world has moved on and yet this memorial, this memory continues.  And it must continue.  But rather than searching for new people to condemn for the actions of our forefathers and blaming ourselves, perhaps communal guilt needs to be replaced with communal learning.