Auschwitz: to preserve, or not to preserve?

Two points of view, as presented by the BBC.

I find that despite some initial sympathy, I cannot agree with Robert Jan Van Pelt's argument that once the last witnesses are gone, the camp should be sealed and allowed to return to nature. Erasure of evil is one thing; erasure of the memory of evil is another. Nor do I feel entirely comfortable when an historian maintains that the only memories that truly count are those of the victims -- and that since those of us who weren't there cannot fully comprehend what it was like, we should not even try.

As is, the BBC very much gives the last word to respondent Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, whose call for the preservation of memory would ring out loud and true even if he himself had not been at Auschwitz. The advocates of forgetfulness are not going away, though, and as the years go by, I fear that more may follow them in burying their heads in the sand.

Posted by David on January 26, 2009 8:58 AM