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Please See 2 Parts of this WUNRN
Release on International
Day of Commemoration in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust - January 27.
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by Kathryn Hadley
I
have vivid memories of a school trip to Sachsenhausen concentration camp in
Oranienburg, 35 kilometres north of
Robert Sommer’s latest book The
Concentration Camp Bordello: Sexual Forced Labor in National Socialistic
Concentration Camps (Das
KZ-Bordell) provides, however, for the first time a comprehensive
study of this dark, hushed-up and largely ignored chapter of the history of
Nazi Germany. Sommer is a cultural studies scholar based in
It is often believed that the Nazi regime forbade and fought prostitution.
Sommer’s research reveals, however, the existence of brothels in Nazi concentration
camps and of a network of state-controlled brothels, which operated across half
of
The first concentration camp brothel was founded in Mauthausen in
There has been considerable debate over the extent to which these women
volunteered. Many women were lured by false promises that they would be
released afterwards. The suggestion that some women volunteered may be one
reason why former brothel inmates continue to be stigmatised and why the
existence of camp brothels has been largely ignored. For some women, however,
working in the brothels was the key to their survival. Lieselotte B. was a
prisoner at the Mittlebau-Dora camp. She was quoted in an article on the
website of Der Spiegel:
‘The main thing was that at least
we had escaped the hell of
Ravensbruck […] The main thing was to survive at all’.
Sommer’s research indeed shows that those employed in the brothels had a
greater chance of escaping death in the camps. Almost all of the women forced
into prostitution survived. Very little is known, however, about what became of
them and most of them never spoke about their experiences.
His research has also inspired a travelling exhibition entitled ‘Camp brothels
– forced sex work in Nazi concentration camps’ which is due to tour several
memorial sites next year.
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Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay,
on the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the
Victims of the Holocaust
27 January 2010
“It is now more than 60 years since the
systematic murder of one third of the Jewish people as well as thousands of
other victims, including Roma, Slavs, disabled people, homosexuals, Jehovah’s
witnesses, communists and political dissidents. But the grotesque nature and
scale of the Holocaust is in no way diminished by the passing of time.”
“Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as a stark reminder of what can happen when
prejudice, hatred, racism are allowed to fester, or are deliberately used as a
political tool. It should also remind us that complacency and indifference in
the face of such trends can easily become a form of complicity.”
“A continued focus on the Holocaust helps us
to remain alert to the dangers presented by contemporary outbreaks of
anti-Semitism and various forms of vilification and discrimination targeting
other specific racial, ethnic or social groups. Remembering the Holocaust, and
how it came about, can – and should – help us to intervene much earlier in the
escalating pattern of prejudice that can lead eventually to genocide. It is
also an essential response to those who claim that the Holocaust never
happened.”
“The 2005 UN resolution which proclaimed 27 January as the International Day of
Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust also condemned all
manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence
against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief,
wherever they occur.”
“Holocaust Remembrance Day provides an
occasion when all States can examine their own record of tackling these
phenomena, and their progress – or lack of progress – in providing human rights
for all, as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The best
memorial for the millions of Holocaust victims would be a world where the
dignity and rights of every person are protected – both in law and practice.”
“As we honour both the victims and the
survivors of the Holocaust, let us pay a special tribute to all those, in many
parts of the world, who not only strive to ensure that future generations are
educated about the horrors of the Shoah, but also work tirelessly to
combat discrimination of all sorts.”
“As we look back at this dark page of history,
and subsequent atrocities and crimes of genocide, let us also urge
policy-makers to show greater commitment to advancing dialogue and respect
among people of all cultures, religions and races.”
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