Holocaust Lives: High Holy Days & Hitler's Pre-War Foreign Policy

Jewish High Holy Days: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

The Hebrew Calendar and Day Commencement

• In the Hebrew calendar, a new day begins at sundown, not at midnight. This means that a holiday starting on a specific date will commence the evening before that date on the secular calendar.

Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish New Year

• Meaning: The name "Rosh Hashanah" breaks down into: "Rosh" (head) and "Shanah" (year), signifying the "Head of the Year" or the Jewish New Year.

• Nature: It is a spiritual new year, not a secular one, focusing on spiritual renewal and reflection.

• Duration: A two-day holiday.

• University Observance: While life continues as usual at public institutions like UGA, many Jewish students may take the day off to observe the holiday, attend synagogue, or go home. Practices vary among universities; some in New York State accommodate students, but even institutions with large Jewish populations (like NYU) might not officially close or cancel classes.

• Rituals and Customs:

  • Shofar Blowing: A ram's horn (shofar) is blown loudly in the synagogue, serving as a spiritual reawakening, symbolizing a call to move beyond a year-long spiritual lull.

  • Significance of the Ram's Horn: It connects to the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac (Isaac being Abraham's son). God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. At the last moment, God intervened, and Abraham found a ram in a thicket, sacrificing it instead of his son ($Genesis$).

  • Apples and Honey: A custom to eat apples dipped in honey, symbolizing the hope for a "sweet year."

  • Tashlich: Taking bread (symbolizing sins, usually old or crumbly bread) to a stream and throwing it in. This ritual symbolizes casting away one's sins.

• Spiritual Focus: During Rosh Hashanah, individuals begin to reflect on forgiveness, atonement, returning to God, and remembering covenants made with God (e.g., at Mount Sinai). It's a time to get back into a spiritual rhythm.

• Festive Meals: Typically involves festive meals, often including meat (brisket or chicken) or fish. A special-rounded challah bread (called "Khal") is eaten, symbolizing fullness and a complete year.

The Days Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

• The period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a time for introspection, reflecting on sins committed in the past year, and considering how one may have offended others. This includes sins against God and sins against other people.

Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement

• Prevalence: It is considered the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

• Timing: Occurs eight days after Rosh Hashanah, often commencing a week after Rosh Hashanah begins.

• Central Practice: Fasting: A rigorous fast from sundown one night to sundown the next, requiring abstinence from both food and water. Exceptions are made for those needing medication.

• Significance: Atonement and Forgiveness: The primary focus is seeking atonement for sins.

• The Complexities of Forgiveness (Discussion):

  • Christian vs. Jewish Perspectives: The speaker contrasts a perceived Christian approach (forgiving immediately, as seen in a funeral) with a generally more complex Jewish approach.

  • Jewish Teaching on Forgiveness: In Judaism, if you have offended another person, you are first expected to approach that individual and seek their forgiveness directly, possibly multiple times. Only after seeking forgiveness from the person you hurt can you fully reconcile with God.

  • Case Studies:

    • Charlie Kirk Funeral: The wife of a victim forgave the perpetrator immediately, citing her Christian faith ($Luke ext{ } 23:34$). The speaker questioned the ease of this, highlighting that one person cannot unilaterally forgive on behalf of another (e.g., the victim cannot forgive for the deceased).

    • Charleston Church Shooting (2015): Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, murdered African American congregants during a prayer session. Some relatives of the victims publicly offered forgiveness. This act is often cited as a way for the forgiver to liberate themselves from hatred.

  • Personal Liberation vs. Accountability: While forgiveness can be seen as self-liberating, the speaker emphasizes that for many, it's a far more complex process, often requiring accountability and significant work within relationships.

• Breaking the Fast: After Yom Kippur concludes at sundown, observers break the fast with a celebratory meal. The speaker notes a personal challenge with coffee after fasting all day, often leading to sleeplessness.

Hitler's Foreign Policy and the Path to World War II

Context of Hitler's Rise

• Economic Improvement: Hitler gained popularity by improving the German economy through initiatives like creating Volkswagen and remilitarization, which spurred economic growth.

• Anti-Semitism: While anti-Semitism had always existed in Austria and Germany, its intensity varied. Pre-World War I, many Jewish and non-Jewish neighbors coexisted relatively well, with assimilation occurring. Hitler capitalized on existing, though often dormant, anti-Jewish sentiments.

Undermining the Treaty of Versailles

• The Treaty of Versailles, imposed after World War I, severely restricted Germany's military capabilities and forced it to cede significant territory.

• Hitler's foreign policy aimed to reverse these terms, regain lost territory, and restore German pride and power.

1. Re-militarization of the Rhineland ($1936$)

• Versailles Stipulation: The Treaty of Versailles ($1921$) established a demilitarized zone, known as the Rhineland, a highly industrial area around the Rhine River. This zone, extending between $30$ and $50$ miles on Germany's western border, was meant as a buffer to prevent a German threat to France and Belgium.

• Hitler's Action: Against the advice of his generals, Hitler sent several battalions (around $750$ men) into the Rhineland ($1936$) to test the Allied response.

• Allied Inaction: Despite the French military being significantly stronger and capable of easily expelling the German troops, neither France nor Britain (who guaranteed the territory) took military action.

• Consequences:

  • Hitler's Victory: This was a major political victory for Hitler, boosting his popularity in Germany. He claimed to know more than his generals, a sentiment echoed by some leaders in other countries.

  • Weakened Alliances: Allied inaction destabilized existing alliances, particularly with Eastern European powers (Russia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland), who questioned if France and Britain would defend them against future German aggression.

  • Erosion of Versailles: This marked a significant weakening of the Treaty of Versailles and emboldened Hitler.

2. The Anschluss (Annexation of Austria) ($1938$)

• Versailles Prohibition: The Treaty of Versailles explicitly forbade the unification (Anschluss) of Austria and Germany, fearing a dangerous concentration of power among German-speaking peoples.

• Hitler's Motivations: Austria was Hitler's homeland, and strong cultural similarities existed between Bavaria (southern Germany) and Austria. Pro-Hitler groups existed in Austria, which, while a stable democracy, had some discontent.

• Hitler's Action: Hitler marched into Austria and was largely welcomed by the population, who saw it as a way to regain power after the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at Versailles (which created new, previously nonexistent states like Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia).

• Allied Inaction: Again, the Western Allies failed to intervene militarily.

• Consequences:

  • Increased Persecution: The Nuremberg Laws ($1935$), which stripped German Jews of their rights, were immediately imposed on Austrian Jews, leading many to flee, initially to Italy, which was perceived as a safer haven before it implemented its own racial laws.

  • Visual Evidence of Persecution: A photograph from Vienna showed Jewish citizens being forced to scrub streets, with ordinary locals (including police officials) watching and smiling—an obscene display of public humiliation.

  • Strengthening the Reich: Austria became part of the German "Reich" (empire), making it stronger and expanding Hitler's power.

3. The Czech Crisis and the Policy of Appeasement ($1938$-$1939$)

• Sudetenland: Czechoslovakia, a creation of Versailles, contained a significant German minority in a region called the Sudetenland. This minority, supported by pro-Nazi groups led by Conrad Henlein, desired to join Germany.

• Hitler's Demand: Hitler demanded the Sudetenland, claiming it rightfully belonged to Germany due to its ethnic German population.

• Munich Conference (September $1938$): Hitler met with the French President and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain, seeking to avoid war, conceded the Sudetenland to Hitler in exchange for Hitler's promise to leave the rest of Czechoslovakia alone. Chamberlain returned to Britain declaring "peace for our time."

• Appeasement Defined: The policy of appeasement involves giving into demands or concessions to an aggressive power to prevent further conflict or trouble (as discussed in the context of Ukraine and giving territory to Putin).

• Hitler's Betrayal (March $1939$): Disregarding his promise, Hitler invaded and annexed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, establishing a puppet Slovakian state in the southeast. This effectively destroyed Czechoslovakia.

• Consequences: This demonstrated the failure of appeasement, as Hitler's ambitions were not satisfied by concessions.

4. The Polish Corridor and Danzig ($1939$)

• Versailles' Division of Germany: The Treaty of Versailles created a "Polish Corridor" to the Baltic Sea, including the city of Danzig (under League of Nations control). This corridor effectively divided East Prussia from the rest of Germany, geographically separating the country.

• Hitler's Demand: Hitler demanded the return of this strip of land.

• Allied Response: By this point, the Allies were no longer willing to appease Hitler. Chamberlain had lost confidence and was eventually replaced by Winston Churchill. The British royal family, led by King George VI (as depicted in "The King's Speech"), played a crucial role in uniting the country for war.

• Lead-up to World War II: The refusal to concede the Polish Corridor, coupled with Hitler's relentless expansionism, directly led to the German invasion of Poland in September $1939$, initiating World War II.

• Post-War Territorial Changes: After the war, Germany lost extensive territory east of the Oder River. Hitler's early conquests, including Austria, Bohemia and Moravia, and later Alsace-Lorraine from France, initially brought him popularity but ultimately led to his downfall. In World War II, the U.S. did not enter until $1941$.