Went to see *Sophie Scholl* today. IMDB:0426578. See The White Rose for some background and reading material.
As you probably know, I’m often strongly affected by material from the Nazi regime.
Somewhere in the middle of the movie Claudia says: “To think that this happened in the country right next to us.” – And I thought, “Yes, and my ancestors lived there.” Nazi Germany and the Austrian Anschluss are part of my family history, and I somehow feel a very personal responsability to keep history alive, lest we repeat it. *Der Untergang* and *Im Toten Winkel* (IMDB:0363163, IMDB:0311320) have affected me in similar ways, eg. 2004-10-01 Movies.
On our way home I had the talk with Claudia I was expecting all this time: Should we speak up for freedom, or live to fight another day? A false dichotomy, perhaps. Claudia argued that wasting your life like Sophie Scholl did was the pride and folly of youth. It would have been better to swallow your pride and live to fight another day. But then again, Probst did try to repent and confess, and he was murdered as well.
My main argument was this: How would you know that your regime was starting to repress criticism and jail you for it? There is a long and winding road from democracy and Rechtsstaat to tyranny and Willkürherrschaft. When do you know when to stop speaking up? When do you know that intolerance and paranoia has grown so strong that your particular race, religion, or moral values (homosexuality, abortion, stem cell research, genetically modified organisms) will get you into trouble?
For ranting about the human right situation in countries like Tunesia or Iran – will I get into trouble if I go there? How about ranting about the situation in Iraq? I don’t think I will get into trouble in the US – yet. But I might, one day. I don’t look Arab. I am not muslim. But I do support the Palestinian cause. I do criticise the US for their behaviour in Iraq and elsewhere. I’ve heard stories about people facing hours of questions as they enter the US. Small trouble, but trouble none the less. And what if I have a bad day and insult one of the officers. Will I spend the rest of the day in the airport prison? The rest of the week? I’ve heard that airports are extraterritorial areas. So are embassies. The lack of trust makes decisions harder already. I try to avoid projects at work that might get me assigned to US travels. Paranoid? How will I know when the time has come to shut up?
I wondered, as I talked with Claudia.
#Movies #Untergang
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Eh,... Just visit Canada. It’s a cool place.
– LionKimbro 2005-04-03 06:11 UTC
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I’ve been to Toronto ages ago; I liked it back then. I explored the area between Queens Street and Kings Street on foot, and I went to a big museum whose name I have forgotten. I was very surprised to get decent breakfast, too. 😄
– Alex Schroeder 2005-04-03 12:04 UTC