Another great book about the actual process of the holocaust is IBM and the Holocaust. Lots of detail about how the victims were targetted and then how IT really made a lot of the horrors possible

Recommended read for anyone curious about the logistics.

It's also very worth noting that disabled people (many also Jewish, of course) were the first group systematically exterminated en masse by the Nazis. Disabled people were legally required to be sterilized starting already in 1933 when the Nazis came into power, and mass euthanasia started in 1939 (called Aktion T4). Mass killings of other victims in concentration camps began in 1941.

The people who were considered disabled was subject to interpretation. Alcoholism, epilepsy, paralysis, blindness, and "work shyness" were all conditions considered unworthy of life.

Autistic people, then believed to have a form of schizophrenia, were also a main target. In fact, the term Asperger's syndrome was coined by Hans Asperger as a means of determining which autistics were bound for work camps versus death camps. This is part of the reason why Asperger's is no longer considered its own syndrome but is considered part of the larger autism spectrum. The delineations between the former autistic subtypes were too vague and subjective to be accurate.

Unfortunately, disabled victims of the Holocaust receive little recognition to this day, but it's not surprising when disabled people still have reduced status under the law in most countries.

Few countries offer enough welfare benefits to ensure a decent standard of living. Even then, you lose access to those benefits if you manage to build assets worth more than a few thousand dollars/euros. We cannot get married without reduced benefits in many countries. Few countries have sufficient accessibility laws. Things like obtaining a driver's licence can cost much more with certain disabilities. Many countries prohibit immigration with certain disabilities.

Disabled activists have been sounding the alarm on all this for decades, because we are historically first on the chopping block when shit gets real. Keep that in mind when RFK Jr. starts talking about an autism registry or work camps for psychiatric patients.

One of the most well know and influential anti Nazi songs of the era The Peat Bog Soldiers was composed in 1933 as well.

Even years before the outbreak of war in Europe these camps had already had a storied history.

Very interesting indeed.

The beginnings are also obvious in germany and the EU, AGAIN.

We've already built concentration camps inside germany and on the eu borders. Immigrants are being hunted by the regular police and also militias. One was executed by german police recently. 4 shots in the back, one to the head.

But people are drowning in propaganda media that tells them its all fine and we must go to war with russia now and immigrants are evil.

The most telling thing is how they try to frame palestine solidarity as "imported antisemitism" which is so racist it baffles me.

Its insane. Even the worker party (spd) and the former climate party (the greens) are pushing war propaganda and xenophobia. Its historically so close to what happened back then, bar the focus on jews, fortunately.

Edit: Downvotes are pouring in and misinformation spreaders are jumping on this post. Really interesting how bad lemmy has gotten in terms of propaganda.

One method was locking them in an idling truck and suffocating them with exhaust.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_van

Very few people understand what fascism is in the concrete day to day sense. Fascist politics are very normalized in the modern world. They obfuscate everything they do. The more they can confuse and entangle antifascists the better. While we try and deconstruct their empty statements and lies they spend the whole time making confusing and conflicting statements, trying to garner as much support from bigoted people as possible. Its a union of bigotry, greed, and manipulation.

Fascists are themselves parasitic to democracy. Their existence within democracy whatsoever steadily nurtures them. The more tolerable their ideas are the faster they will grow. Tolerating Nazis at all is the same thing as promoting them. Their ideology spreads like a virus, it doesnt try to convince you merely overwhelms you. It harkens out to the priviledged masses fear of the other, and then surrounds them in a fog of conflicting information and symbolism. It says "believe in me and I will keep you safe" before outputting a barrage of rage, hatred, disgust, fear and dread. It uses language like symbolism itself. It preoccupies itself with definitions, centralizing itself as authority over reality itself. Once someone has become a fascist it is statistically impossible to change their views. Once someone has become a fascist they are overwhelmingly likely to never change. There is no scientifically proven way to deradicalize them. That's how powerful a hold it creates. True believers in fascism exist in this perpetual state of anger and confusion. The rest see utility in fascism, to advance their bigotry or to profit off of corruption.

I was watching the PBS American Experience episode on Nazi City, USA.

Hearing literally the same words that came out of the American Nazi party in 1930s that have been spewed by Republicans in the last 10 years was frankly TERRIFYING.

... isn't the functionalist (?) version more what the west/victors wrote about WWII? Not even as propaganda per se, just bcs it can be summed up in one line & afterwards easier to append propaganda for various purposes.

Clearly if Hitler planned everything that happened he would have needed to hold power for a lot longer to solidify his sole influence or have overwhelming public support (and then do all the rest).

Interesting debate, and certainly has some truth to it. Because individuals seek personal gain, they fulfill someone else's ideology they don't really care about but it helps them to get promoted or get rich. But Hitler definitely planned the holocaust as a "final solution to the Jewish question" in Mein Kampf.

In that sense Trump is very different from Hitler - he doesn't really believe in anything but being the strong man. He has no ideology. He's not really a racist. But he adopts ideology that enchants and beguile the masses, so it works similar to the functionalist view.

I believe that MAGA functionaries actually look for things that would shock and pain liberals, and then make that real, simply because it would be "fun" for the MAGA crowd and enrage the libs, and keep them constantly in a confused and shocked state. Just to keep it all going.

What is wild is that MOST people had no idea about the Holocaust as it was happening. That when we learn of WWII and all that was around it and you hear about the camps you think "no shit we went to help with that." But then find out that wasn't really a motivation for the masses is crazy.