Comparing contemporary political actions to Holocaust rescue efforts can be unconscionable.
So said philosophy Professor Ted Stolze, speaking at a daylong conference on the Holocaust, held May 16 at Cal State Hayward.
“Acts of Rescue, Lessons of Tolerance,” which focused on some of the heroic efforts in Europe to save Jews from the Nazis, drew about 40 students, professors and interested community members.
Speakers covered wide-ranging issues, but one of the most controversial concerned the ethics of rescue. Stolze posited that in today’s world, sometimes political motives lie behind rescue attempts.
An active participant of the 1980s anti-apartheid movement who now teaches philosophy at Cal State Hayward, Stolze said, “It’s when we start seeing the government make false comparisons to the Holocaust, a red flag should go up in our mind that there may be an ulterior motive at work.”
Receiving numerous challenges from the audience, Stolze admitted his own cynicism, but did not alter his position.
“Seeing the Bush administration compare the Gulf War to the Holocaust is simply a false analogy,” he said. “We have a duty to expose these kinds of situations where politicians are trying to gain public support by referencing the Holocaust inappropriately. It does a disservice to the memory of all those who suffered and died.”
Annette Lantos, a Holocaust survivor and co-founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, delivered the keynote address via videotape, as business in Europe prevented her from attending the conference.
“We all have a duty in trying to stop evil in the world,” said Lantos in a 10-minute talk. “We must accept the responsibility of becoming our brother’s and sister’s keeper.”
Lantos, with the support of her husband, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), helped organize the conference. It was a day filled with presentations, lectures, films and lively discussion.
The event focused on issues explored in Cal State Hayward’s general education cluster program, in which students researched some of the courageous acts of rescue that took place during World War II, especially in Bulgaria and Denmark.
In the numerous presentations by professors and others, topics ranged from the evils of religious intolerance to the challenges that minorities still face today. At the heart of those discussions were the numerous lessons learned from the Holocaust.
Author Martha Loeffler of Modesto, formerly of Berkeley and Oakland, discussed her recent book, “Boats in the Night.” It chronicles the life of Knud Dyby, who arranged for 700 voyages to move Jews from Denmark to Sweden. About 8,000 Jews were living in Denmark at the time of the 1940 occupation: Between October 1943 and May 1945, nearly 1800 were smuggled to freedom.
Dyby, a Danish policeman at the time, often disguised himself as a skipper in his efforts to assist the Underground. Now a resident of Novato, the octogenarian also appeared at the conference.
Students, too, had an opportunity to share. Some gave presentations reflecting their classwork in the general education program, which included such courses as “The Jewish Persona,” “The Holocaust and the Problem of Evil” and “Great Works of Artistic and Religious Inspiration.”
Sally Murphy, a conference chair and coordinator of the general education program, commended the students for their help in making the day a success. “We are here celebrating the courage to rescue,” she said. “We’ve built a community and our students have learned a great deal in putting together all their research for today.”
Emilia Ianeva, a conference organizer and director of the university’s Center for Human Rights, also said the conference achieved its purpose. “We have some extremely bright young students in our program, and it’s nice to see them connecting the lessons of 60 years ago to today.
“I think we were able to bring together some very brilliant people with varied backgrounds and very different experiences. Before the day was over, everyone was able to share a little bit of what the Holocaust means to us today, and remember the extraordinary efforts of the people in Bulgaria and Denmark who saved so many Jews.”