My name is Jack Stanley, I have studied history for many years. This blog is about history in a more raw view, not over done. I often use original materials to bring a historic event or story to life or an interview I may have done with the person mentioned. If you cook a vegetable too long it loses much. The same can be said of many histories. They are the history of the history written before it. Over done history. THIS IS HISTORY IN THE RAW. Comments send to phonograph78@hotmail.com
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Holocausts in China, America, and many other places never get talked about except one.
There have been many Holocausts in the world. There have been many peoples who very existence was challenged by another. We often hear the term ethnic cleansing which is just another word for it.
The worst Holocaust in the last 200 years was in the United States. You cannot match it. The American Indian was treated with the utmost disregard. In fact from the 17th century to the early 20th century the American Indian was hurt, killed, put in camps, treated to germ warfare, experimented on, and treated as less than human.
The death count of this 300 plus years attack on a people just because of their race is as uncountable as the plight of the Jews in the late 30's and 1940's. One can only guess that the American Indian suffered more than any other in their 300 year struggle. Men, women, and children were killed in large numbers when ever deemed necessary .
The Americans/Europeans considered the American Indian a savage and not an equal to the white man. Images were made to show them looking grotesque and stories were written about them to make them look like vermin. The terrible plight of slavery was also a Halocaust in which peoples were forced into camps or plantations and forced to work till they died. That was another massive Holocaust that went on till just150 years ago. So many Africans died in this horrid plight.
The sad part is today they are still not represented and we hardly hear a peep about this Holocaust or the American Indian. Which was the worst in modern history. It was also the least mentioned one. All we hear about is the one in Germany. Why? I can guess it is because it is one of the most recent, but certainly not the most horrid as you will see with the plight of the poor Chinese.
The most horrible was with the Japanese
The work of the Japanese in China in the 1930's through the 1940's in which they killed massive amounts of Chinese for almost any excuse. We rarely talk about 731 labs and camps in China where they would test sometimes 100's of Chinese a week in which they would be killed. This is just one avenue. there would be massive tests using germ weapons and mass killings. There would be massive concentration camps, work camps, test labs, and what was so sad is there are no survivors from the 731 labs. The ones they did not torture or test were just shot and killed after. I am not saying what happened in Germany was not bad, It was horrid, but there was a chance of surviving. In these Japanese camps, there were but a few who did. It was the worst and the saddest of them all. But if we really look at, everyone was horrible be it where ever in Nazi Germany or Japanese occupied China.
The Japanese killed so many Chinese that no one knows the amounts. But over the years it would list in the millions as these poor people would be tested, tortured, killed, maimed, shot in masses, poisoned, and lastly experimented on in hideous ways. Where is their museums and honored halls to their Holocaust?
Shall we think of the plight of Comfort Women who would be abducted by the Japanese by the thousands and used as sex slaves for all the soldiers. Basically forced to have sex till it would sometimes kill them. Many times it did. What of their horror? Where is their museum?
The American's had concentration camps for Japanese Americans during WW2, although few were killed they were treated badly.
The United States has apologized for its actions on the Japanese in their interment camps. But Japan has never apologized or even admitted to its actions in China. In fact in Japan, their history books do not even cover this period nor do they talk about. It is sad that generations of Japanese are growing up not having an idea of these travesties.
Germany has apologized so many times and has tried to erase her history which is wrong and just like Japan has We should talk about it, share it, learn from it. Not hide it. There should be markers all and histories all over about the 3rd Reich. In this way people can learn. By sweeping it under the rug just allows it to perhaps happen again in another form.
Today when we hear the word Holocaust we think of only one thing. Germany and the Jews. Well even there it was a lot more than just that. Over 3 million Jews were killed in Germany. More were killed by Stalin. Nearly a million others were killed as well such as Gypsies, Homosexuals, intellectuals, and many other peoples of other religions which add to the number. However, they hardly get a mention. Why? Every Holocaust museum should be filled with info on all those killed by the Germans. Today most people think the only race persecuted were the Jews, this is of course not true and we need to open peoples minds more. to let them know that the holocausts are and have been going on for ages. What we need to do is talk about all of them and offer more information on all of them. I am of mind that every Holocaust museum should have a section dedicated to all the others who were part of the times of WW2. The Chinese, the comfort women, the gays, the members of other religions treated like the Jews in WW2. These should all be in Holocaust museums. I hope that they will do this soon. Cause although the horror of the story of Jews in Europe is dreadful, it is equally matched by the Chinese.That would make much more sense and be far more historically accurate.
History is for us to learn from, not to hide from. Let us remember all who suffered at the hands of oppressors.