Conference taveng::bagels

616.0. "Philosophical Question about Holocuast" by VAXWRK::ZAITCHIK (VAXworkers of the World Unite!) Mon Jan 09 1989 21:57

My brother-in-law the philosopher (ok, ok, all together now in unison:
"kum aher du filosof...") asked me a question I found interesting, so 
I will share it with all Bagelites:

	Who if anyone has a special moral duty as a result of the
	Holocaust, and what, and to whom?

(Clearly perpetrators and accomplices (whether active or passive) 
bear a heavy moral burden, but the question is not meant to 
relate to them. We are talking about NOW, 1989, when most of the 
guilty are gone or going. The question should rather be under-
stood in reference to the average American "[wo]man-on-the-street",
also the average Jewish American "[wo]man-on-the-street". Do they have
any special moral duty to Holocaust survivors, Holocaust victims, etc.
Is there a "duty" to avenge the atrocities? A "duty" not to forget?
A "duty" to consider the feelings of Holcocaust surviviors, e.g. a duty
to spare them the suffering that a neo-Nazi march through Skokie would
inflict (despite the freedom of speech of the neo-Nazis)? And so on...

Any "yes" answer to any of the above should be accompanied by an
explanation of what that duty rests on. Not so simple for
moral theories that base all duties upon "contractual" or "voluntary"
self-obligations. 

Anyway, I thought this might make for some interesting thinking...

Zaitch

    My gut response to this is that Jewish communal organizations should
    bear a certain responsibility towards any educational activity
    connected with the Holoccaust.  Why?  Because of their well-documented
    lack of activity during the war in relation to awareness and rescue.
    
    David

    I can't speak for others, but as far as I am concerned:
    
    "I must not forget!"
    
    This, for me, embeds the obligation to fight anti-semitism and
    anti-racism where I recognise it.
    
    Rememberingly yours,
    
    Chris

re .2:
>    I can't speak for others, but as far as I am concerned:
>    "I must not forget!"
>    This, for me, embeds the obligation to fight anti-semitism and
>    anti-racism where I recognise it.

I agree that one ought not to forget and that one ought to oppose
racism and anti-semitism. But I am not sure that that is an
obligation or a duty we have in respect of the victims of racism in
the past, e.g. Holocaust survivors. Unless you are saying that
we owe it to Holocaust survivors that we fight racism elsehere in
the world, which strikes me as odd. Rather I would think that the
obligation to fight racism in general comes from a duty we have towards the
current and future victims of current and future racism.

Is there any duty or obligation we (not leaders who did not do enough at
the time, as mentioned by .1) have in respect of Holocaust survivors?

-Zaitch