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Tomasz Gzell / EPA
The statue of Hitler as a schoolboy kneeling in prayer is visible through this viewing hole as part of an exhibit in Warsaw, Poland.
A statue of Adolph Hitler kneeling in prayer in a courtyard in the former Warsaw Ghetto – where hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced by Nazis to live in inhumane conditions during World War II – has upset those who say the statue's placement is offensive.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish Advocacy group, described the decision to place the statue in the former ghetto as “a senseless provocation which insults the memory of the Nazi’s Jewish victims,” according to the Guardian of London.
Before World War II, Warsaw had the largest Jewish community in Poland and Europe; worldwide it was second only to New York City, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia. During World War II, about 300,000 Jews in the ghetto died – most of hunger and disease and after being sent to concentration camps where they were killed.
Tomasz Gzell / EPA
Through the hole in a wooden gate, viewers can see a kneeling figure with his back turned. Viewed from the front, that figure is Adolph Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party who sought to exterminate Jews.
Organizers argue that the statue is intended to be thought-provoking, according to The Associated Press. The exhibition’s catalogue says art “can force us to face the evil of the world.”
The statue, made by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2001, is titled, “HIM” and has drawn thousands of viewers since it was installed in Warsaw last month.
The body of the statue is of a schoolboy kneeling in prayer, and the head is made to resemble Hitler’s. Before being installed in Poland, the statue was shown in galleries, usually at the end of a long hallway with its back to viewers. Only when viewers approached could they see Hitler’s face. Reviewing an exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in 2011, The New York Times described the statue as “Hitler as a kneeling schoolboy possibly asking forgiveness.”
Cattelan created a similar effect in the former ghetto, where the statue is visible only through a hole in a wooden gate. Cattelan, who is based in New York, has been described as a satirical artist who produced another piece that generated controversy in Warsaw -- an effigy of Pope John Paul II being crushed by a meteorite. Titled “La Nona Ora,” or “Ninth Hour,” the work was also displayed in Poland, a deeply Catholic country.
Zofia Jablonska, 30, told The Associated Press that she thought the best spot for the statue was in “the place where he would kill people.”
Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, was consulted about the installation, according to the Guardian, and said he believes it has educational value. Rather than support Hitler, Schudrich told the Guardian it shows that even evil lurks in the shape of a “sweet praying child.”
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In the shape of a child. I don't @!$%#ing understand.
Offensive is a gross understatement.
and may I add insulting to anyone with an ounce of humanity.
Who the hell comes up with this stuff???
This ridiculous "exhibit" isn't even worthy for pigeons to use as "target practice". I've always said if you take a pile of @!$%# and put a price tag on it, someone will buy it. This is further proof.
Please remove this anathema and replace it with something worthy for the people to enjoy.
Some twisted artist mind who wants to make a name for himself by pissing off people, mostly Jews whose ancestors got cremated. This is BS. I'm against it. "Hitler as a school boy asking for forgiveness", my arse. Hitler never cared nor would he ever have asked for forgiveness, say if he had been caught alive in 45.
That idiot hitler is not worth an ounce of material to depict him in any way. Pictures are plenty enough. They are just keeping his ideology alive by representing him. Let mistakes of the past stay in the past. stop bringing them to the present. We "buried"( ah ah) Bin Ladin at sea so the terrorists wouldn't start pilgrimages to his grave, we don't need statues of him either.
So kawaii though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV193tcXlfc&list
crazy video but can't find anything cute in there.
I thought it was pretty funny
As an artist, I will defend art to the death and I live for the idea of provoking thought...yet I have zero compunction about censoring this work displayed in that context. It is beyond offensive in its complete disregard of the sentiments of those who are still directly haunted by the horror Hitler visited upon the world.
1) It has a right to exist
But
2) It should not be displayed in public
and
3) Viewers should be forewarned about the nature of the piece if they become aware of it as an offered work of art.
I am appalled at the lack of discretion by the works supporters.
I get the point, sort of like putting a statue of a praying Benjamine Netanyahu in the Palestinian lands.
Ship it Germany, they are the one's who glorified him..
It has been said art imitates life but I find it ludicrous Hitler knelt in prayer to any higher being...unless of course, it was the devil himself. Poor little Hitler...he has found his place in Dante's ninth circle of hell and a perfect example of life imitating art and not art imitating life.
The point is that there is no God. Hitler prayed to God, God ignored Hitler, or gave him to the devil.
In the end, there was no God, only men and their deeds.
Well, young Hitler was raised as a Christian....guess his prayers went unanswered and he gave up on Christianity. Hitler attended a Catholic Seminary School in Austria, as a teenager, though he was not studying to be a priest. There was a stone arch over the gate at the entrance of the school and the keystone had a stone relief of a Swastika., Swastikas can be found on the prow of all ships from India, used as a good-luck symbol, certain American Indian tribes used the swastika in their decorations, and swastikas were used regularly by the ancient Romans in design patterns, and can be found on 2100 year old mosaic floors in the city of Pompeii.
Hitler had a dark side and a secretive family history, and there is some belief that he was part Jewish, as his grandmother was a servant in the mansion of a wealthy Austrian-Jewish family, when she "found herself" to be pregnant,though she was unmarried. The wealthy Jewish businessman who owned the mansion, supported Hitlers grandmother and paid most of her bills, which some say is proof that Hitler had Jewish blood. Others debunk this belief,but rumors spread around Hitlers town, to that effect, before Hitler was born.
Unacceptable.
Musician by Night your words spoke for me too! THank you.
Who would even consider putting such in a former Holocast ghetto really needs to have a brain transplant.
I can only hope and pray that if this disgusting statue is removed effective immeidately or that Yes it is used as a urinal as Hitler deserves nothing less!
Liam who cares about his background the guy killed millions through torture and should rest in the @!$%# he wanted to throw at many many others! Curious are you defending him and his actions with an excuse?
It is an insult to all the people, be they Jews, Gypsies, Christians, or any others, murdered by this monster. There is no excuse for what he did and what was done in his name. It doesn't matter what religion he was brought up in or even practiced nothing will change the fact that he was no more than a monster. To place this statue in the spot chosen for it is an affront to all the people he murdered and a slap in the face for all the ones who managed to live. For the city to approve the placement of the statue is even a bigger insult and a display of callousness.
I understand this art piece entirely. I have often wondered what the demonic adults of the world were like as children. I am sure the majority of them were just another kid, playing ball, laughing and innocent as can be. They were not born as monsters, that had to be (as Rogers and Hammerstein wrote in South Pacific) "Carefully taught" Sure there may have been underlying mental issues as well, but what happened to them, who influenced them, how were they failed that turned them into what they became. That is the point of this statue...the seeds of evil are around us.
THe next time you yourself engage in racism or bigotry...think about the seeds of hate you are planting.
This is not a installation glorifying Hitler in any way, even the fact that he has his back to the world is a part of that statement. It is a statement against evil. It is a warning.
"Be careful what you say, children will listen"--Sondheim
It accomplished its intent - causing a stir of emotion and reaction. I personally think it looks like Pee Wee Herman.
This is a psychological assault on all that died, all that survived, all the families that lost loved ones, the liberators, and all the offspring of the survivors. It could have been put in museum as offensive as it is. To put it in the Warsaw Ghetto of all places is unconscionable, offensive, and proves that the evil and hatred perpetrated by the nazi's is still alive, well, and thriving in some circles. This also speaks to the mindset of the "artist". I can't find the words to express how vile and offensive this is.
Personally I would like to use it for target practice.
Hitler praying; a impossibility.
Hitler burning, a probability of 1!
No, Dick, it is not the same as putting a statue of Netanyahu in the Palestinian territories. Hitler engaged in genocide against Jews and Gypsies, killed all, who opposed him, all gay and lesbians, as well as inflicted war against Europe, North Africa, etc. in which over 30,000,000 people died, countless more were injured, and lost homes, etc. The Warsaw ghetto was a place of rounding up for Polish Jews, many of whom died there, while others were sent to death camps from Warsaw.
The Israelis and Palestinians have a conflict over a small area, which both have legitimate claims to historically, and have not been able to settle so far.
A lot is said about Hitler and rightly so. But what about the thousands that bought into his way of thinking and followed his sick commands? He could not have been successful on his own. His actions are deplorable to say the least, but there were far too many that accepted and acted on his commands. And many Jews turned on their own to save their own skins. The mentality of the world was put on notice and as individuals, we need to ask ourselves where we would have stood on the issues at hand, and what steps would we have taken to save our own necks? Would we be afraid to stand out as different and risk the wrath of the man and his cohorts? While that statue brings up all the pain he inflicted and is a solitary item, he did not accomplish what he did, alone! That statue should be seen as a composite relic of what can happen when we are afraid to stand out as different and for right principles.
its art..not all art is made to give people that warm fuzzy feeling..some is made for other emotions..if you dont like it dont go see it..for those talking censorship perhaps you have more in common with the person represented by the statue then you would like to face up to..In that since, whether by design or not, this work of art has done its job.
for those that are pro-2nd amendment..think of this as a 1st amendment version of a "black rifle"(ar/ak,etc.) with a 30 round magazine...weaken one, and its easier to weaken the others..
Amen !
While I, in no way, support Hitler's actions I can not understand how a simple visual artwork can stir such anger and emotions- particularly by people who had no personal experience with the particular conflict. Seriously, what Jewish man, woman or child is alive who was there when everything took place? Should European's and Egyptians feel the same way about images of Napoleon? Why take an image so seriously?
And this IS a thought provoking image, though I wonder why people reach for the easiest thoughts. Have we all been bitten by knee-jerkinsons disease? Why not consider deeper things like the fact that Hitler WAS a Christian and had a multitude of followers and others who were 'meh' about everything but just went along anyway? What about all the people here that were 'meh' about Bush's Iraq invasion? How many innocent Iraqi's died in that because of one man's insane proposal that Iraq had nuclear weapons tucked in every closet? Should we be angry at a statue of Bush praying? Is it the prayer that gets the reaction? Evil people have prayed, but aren't we all capable of evil, even just in allowing evil around us without doing anything about it? Is it the systematic way Nazi's killed that bother us? Would it have been less offensive if the Nazi's were more random? Is it the Jewish thing? what if the Nazi's killed Muslims in the same manner? And the fact is, Hitler didn't personally kill anyone. He asked people to carry out his ideas and they said, 'sure. Why not?'
I'm not saying the statue gives me a feeling of peace or adds beauty to the area, but it does make me think and that has some value. Perhaps we all need that because it seems most people just leave their brains on the hat rack when they walk into the room.
@ Zack L.- Stalin did much worse. Is it just that he targeted Jews that bothers you so much? What about Idi Amin who would eat the heart of some of his victims? What about Kim Jong Il, who (like Stalin) sentenced people to places they'd never be seen again? Or the FARC in S. America? What about Pol-Pot? Why the focus on Hitler? What about Ivan the Terrible or Napoleon? Is it cool to hate Hitler? Are we marching in goose-step with our hate? Why does the US have this tunnel vision regarding evil?
There is no tunnel vision going on. The subject of the article is
The subject is not evil dictators over the course of history. That's for another article.
I must agree with Zack L.- Dec.30--21:37 Hrs.- - -Stalin made Hitler look like an amature when it came to
I really must agree with Zack L, Dec 30-21:37 Hrs.- -Stalin really made Hitler look like an amature when he eliminated some 20,000 Jews from Russia along with another 10,000 Russians yet for some reason that doesn't seem to bother anybody. Eliminating Jews is the only thing that means anything ?????
If anyone tries to put a statue of Stalin at a graveyard in Kolyma, it will bother people just as much.
More than anything else, these types of works that Maurezio Cattelan is producing, represent the desperation that exists in the art world to eke out a famous (actually notorious) name.
First off, I would like to say that as a very sensitive person I cannot view any images of the holocaust without crying. It hurts me to my very core to the point I walked out of a social psychology class while they were viewing Mengele films. But I can see the reasoning...Rather than trying to erase him from history, he should be remembered so as not to repeat such atrocities. We should all be aware of the irony that something seemingly innocent can ultimately be so awful. But they might choose a different placement.
What would happen if everyone simply ignored it?
Actually we could use it as a urinal.
That's all well and good, but the problem is that the "civilized world" just about ignored what was going on in Nazi Germany starting in 1933 until they themselves came under threat or direct attack and, at that point, had no other choice but to get involved. Prior to that, just about everyone all but ignored Nazi Germany's policy affecting Gypsies, Ukraneans, Jews and certain others.
This statue sure provokes an outrage, and rightly so, however, it reminds us of the millions of victims of the Nazism.
However, where is the outcry about all the statues of Stalin, who is still celebrated in the former Soviet Union. During his dictatorship, more people were slaughtered in peace time, political dissidents and "enemies of the people", than all people killed during WWII...
offensive.
Mitko
You are right..By any definition of evil. Stalin was more then Evil then Hitler..
Bright Idea ! but the stupids can understand this...
Mitko: Find me a statue of Stalin in Russia. Stalin was repudiated completely under Khrushchev in the late 50's and early 60's. Anything named for him (and there was a LOT that was named after him) was renamed. Statues came down. His body was removed from Lenin's mausoleum, etc. etc.
Unless you were thinking about Lenin. But confusing Lenin and Stalin is like confusing Khrushchev and Gorbachev.
Its like putting a praying George W. Bush statue in Fallujah.
And not one of the American until we attacked him.
Probably because that is the only time when his life had anything to do with Christianity. He was raised Roman Catholic and he turned away from it when he grew older. His life as a child was quite traumatizing if you know about the deep stuff. He has nothing to do with Christianity when he was older , as in him worshiping God.
blowme asswipe. Take your freakin skinhead out of my country. YOU are a disgrace.
Bush's militaristic policies to make the rich even richer killed untold numbers of innocent people, just as Hitler did. Con-psychos are all a bunch of disease-ridden See-You-Next-Tuesdays.
You just had to bring politics into it didn't you
musician by night
Whatever makes you sleep better bud.
The bottom line is the Bush administration lied profusely to gain support for an invasion that killed 1 million+ people and racked up at least $1 trillion worth of debt.............and that place is still a mess.
Check it out.
http://costsofwar.org/ (Watson Institute of Int'l Studes - Brown University)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_You_Don't_See (British documentary virtually banned in US)
I am no fan of Bush, always voted against him, but I think comparing him to Hitler is like comparing a skin-rash to cancer.
I certainly don't appreciate using one political issue as a diversion form a completely different one, especially when it touches a very sensitive subject.
musician by night,
Most of those atrocities committed by Saddam took place when Saddam was America's ally. The United States didn't mind Saddam gassing Kurds, because he invaded the Evil Iranians...
Okay, to all you political posters, do you know what "playing both ends against the middle" means? That is exactly what is happening in our politcal environment with this "two party system." Bush did this, Obama did that. There is "SOMEBODY" laughing there a$$ off while we try to support something we think is right in an attempt to be in control. Just think about it.
This excursion into US politics was obviously a ploy to take attention away from the issue of the statue. No doubt some Pee Party contard is responsible. Nice move.
BlowM
You are just full of hate, that you use your screename to vent hate shows you are obsessed.
You ned to get the message of this art installation
Some contemporary artists just love pushing those buttons. This one may provoke conversation but in my opinion the artist was too hungry for attention. I get it when did this person called Hitler begin to become the monster?Was his faith the reason why he was hell bent on destroying the Jews? bla bla bla. The fact is that Hitler was an Occultist not a Christian even though he portrayed himself as one. His army was Christian but most of his controlling elite generals etc were also Occultists. Most people are unaware of how the Occult influenced these people. Do some research. I might also add that it was a predominately Christian army that defeated Hitlers Christian army.
Thank you for posting that. I recently read the book Bonhoeffer by Metaxes. I found it so intriguing how they (Hitler and his generals) were into the occult. To me it really showed the evil that can come from that!
Read "Mein Kampf" and see how Christian Hitler thought he was.
Hitler was not a Christian. He left Christianity years earlier.
Read 'My fathers dream', you will see Obama is a Anti-American Muslim..
Hitler was devoutly Christian. In nearly every speech he gave, he mentioned 'god'. He wanted 'god' in schools, in government. A lot of the Republican platform was probably derived from Hitler's speeches. He shouted against 'liberal excess'.
Seeing as how liberals routinely use the word "destroy" and such when talking about their political "enemies", I think you are off a bit.
Liberalism and it's desire to disarm while "spreading the wealth around" amongst the chosen ones is more akin to Hitlers rants.
maybe you idiots should use a reference other than Wikipedia. Hitler was DEFINITELY way into the occult and Norse ritual. AND he belived the Aryan race descended from the people of ATLANTIS...
And HookerRose, thanks for showing everyone what an ignorant government teat sucker you are. Syncophants like you deserve little better than being burned alive.
Lee, you forgot radical christian, muslim, socialist communist Kenyan, bent on the destruction of the United States!
UNC IV LIFE,
None of that from Wiki. Happy now? Hitler's own words as dictated by himself. From His book, "Mein Kampf" Or " My Struggle" in English.
Hitler was baptised and confirmed in a Roman Catholic Church. He was educated in a Roman Catholic school. He considered himself and his movement christian. Most of his most ardent followers were Roman Catholics. They considered themselves christians.
Hitler talked a good game as do most leaders. He used Christianity as his vehicle but he was not a Christian. Christians do not follow the Occult or seek its dark knowledge. Hitlers army was Christian with the exception of many of his generals etc who also aligned themselves with Occultist rituals and philosophy.
Throughout history religion and various governing structures have been the vehicle for evil intent. Under Communism millions suffered and died yet even today its supporters revere Stalin who was a butcher. Christs death on the cross has been turned into a death worshipping ritual and martyrdom is considered saintly. Under Islam killing innocent children and committing suicide in the process is another form of death worship.
It really is easy to manipulate the masses into doing the most ridiculous and even vicious crimes in the name of a religion a government or a person.
Here's a link you judge for yourself.
www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005206
Yup, some contemporary artists sure do love pushing buttons. As long as the NEA or some organization is paying for it.
Like most politicians, Hitler said what he needed to in order to get support. He did NOT follow Christ, evidenced in large part by the many Christians he also executed during his time of power, such as Corrie ten Boom. The testimony of eyewitnesses in Austria confirms that "religion in schools" was gone as soon as he came to power there, crosses replaced with his picture and a Nazi flag and prayer eradicated. As the age-old adage goes, "actions speak louder than words", and even his words did not display him as a Christian during his reign.
Incidentally, the "Christian" post from Mein Kampf is certainly not aligned with the Bible. Someone saying they are acting in the name of someone/something doesn't make it true. You investigate the source to see if their actions are aligned with the WHOLE of the message they claim to represent. The many Christians who risked their lives to help their Jewish friends and neighbors, such as the ten Booms and Bonhoeffer, are excellent examples.
One must remember that in his youth Hitler was babtized as a catholic, and the Swastika (round and encircled) was in that church, later modified such that it looks like the one from Tibet, still on their national flag and on on the tummy of most Budah statues throughout the world. Also his henchmen sought out all of the iconic symbols of previous religions which included expeditions to Tibet, and their form of prayer closely resembled and were an offshoot of the Holy Roman Empire including the Eagle, which is also an icon of the United States. In conjunction with that it is also most interesting that after World War I, it took a whellbarrow full of Marks to buy a loaf of bread, so where did the huge funding come from in support of the Third Reich? Answer: International bankers, some of which were Jewish owned and/or controlled, try Bank of Rothschild, Citi Bank, JP Morgan and the Bank of England, Standard Oil, Ford Motor Company, etc. etc. So it would not be out of place for Hitler et. al. to seek out God's guidance and empowerment via prayer to reinstate the status of a previous empire which they sought to reinstate---by whatever means available to them. And given the horendous poverty that the Germans had suffered post WW I, they went along with and voted in favor of the program.
Hence the name Poles since the have a stick up their butt.
Let the German people go from the bonds of their fathers.
What an ignorant comment, Warren. If Polish people find this offensive or people from Polish ancestry, it matters. Try using the internet for a form of educating instead of getting your "rocks off" with the childish commentary.
I thought an Italian artist created this? You would have to think the guineas would like this because they were part of the axis of evil. They fought with the Germans.
Tracey et al.
Meant no disrespect only showcasing the hate of the German people.
Tracy, if you could have waited only five more minutes, you could have included xsvenom in your comment,
No, I don't think the "guineas" would like this AT ALL!!!
Would you two lovers of humanity care to reveal your own ancestries so that we can all join in the fun???
Chavez, thank you. Guineas are African fowl that are noisy escape artists. As an American Italian, I resent the bigoted use of that word.
Hi Stitch. My pleasure. Surprising that more viners hadn't come along to respond to these two terrible posts. warrren and xsvenom didn't bother to respond to my request, either. Oh, well. Keyboard warriors they ain't. :) Just childish bullies.
This is f@&ked up!
What gang of idiots thought that anything to do with Hitler could be "thought provoking.,..?? Destroy it...
Well the vine is full of comments and thoughts provoked by a article about the statue so obviously not that big of idiots..
Sorry to use your post (and I do agree with your comment by the way) I think it has no place anywhere and what get to me almost more is this article states there where only 300,000 jewish people murdered in WW2 try 6 million and 50 million of all people in general world wide and whats with the jews word???
During World War II, about 300,000 Jews in the ghetto died – most of hunger and disease and after being sent to concentration camps where they were killed.
In the ghetto - not collectively.
This is a artist who just wants attention. Hey everyone look at what I made. Just a no name idiot who wants to become an attention whore. It's supposed to be shocking, that is what he wants. But really now in today's society is it really that shocking? I don't find much of anything shocking anymore. I just think a statue of him in that area is not nice.
Hmmm ... artist. I'm going to guess that he is a card carrying liberal and not some mean old conservative. Lighten up ... he's a liberal. He no doubt voted for Obama. Give him a pass.
Hitler, and his henchmen were an abomination upon mankind. To erect a statue of him anywhere should be against the law. Naziism is outlawed in Germany. Why not the rest of the world?
So you think that speech, art and expression should by censored? Basically you believe that if something offends someone it shouldn't be allowed, right? or just if it offends you?
American courts have never declared unlimited free speech. It is illegal to shout fire in a crowded theater.
Get over it. Your people have committed more than enough atrocities against other people, including documented genocide to be unable to claim any more moral highground than anyone else on the planet. Your hostory is as violent as any, your morals and ethics are just as corrupt as anyone elses, you aren't favored by God above any one else. Your just a bunch of selfish sinners like every one else on the planet.
This shows blatant ignorance of history. Jews, unlike Christians and Muslims, have never gone around the world murdering, imprisoning, and forcing people to convert. Chistianity and Islam have been the two most violent religions in history. Their adherents built up vast empires, and destroyed entire civilizations in the Americas, and elsewhere. They wiped out large percentages of the populations, and made conversion and domination of others, their creed. Jews have been a small population, with little power, and subject to the whims, and the intolerance, violence, and exclusion from many societies.
Bjort,
What?
Zack
Try saying that to the Amorites, Canaanites and the Hittites, the Perizzite*, Hivite* and
the Jebusites*. All destroyed by the Jews(and the will of God) so they could take Judea, and Israel for themselves...dont get me wrong I dont have a problem with it, but they did, and do their share of atrocities.
not sure I spelled their names right..
Actually, none of those tribes were really wiped out.
Many of them were slaughtered, yes, but the rest got assimilated into Jewish population.
Hebrews were conquering land for themselves, just like all nations back then, but they never forced anyone to convert, certainly never used convert-or-die approach. Lost of different tribes were living in the Hebrew Kingdom, and worshiping the gods of their choice.
Just as now Israel includes not only Jewish, but also Christian, Muslim and atheist citizens who all have equal rights.
I think it's a good idea to remind people everyday that Hitler was a Christian. Maybe then we will stop listening to those that insist the USA is a Christian nation. God help us all if we ever become a Christian nation. We will see the resumption of burning at the stake for heresy. We will see people jailed for not attending church. We will see segregation on a scale that has never been seen in this country.
Dear Jonathan Reid. I think Gandhi had it right. He said: "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
He was into the occult and used the word "Christian" for himself to appeal to the masses. Read and research and you'll find out the truth. Stop believing the lies of liberals!!!!
The major precept of any religion or political doctrine is
predominance and control. Christmas celebrates birth of “king of kings”, Islam
claims to replace other religions and so forth, and Jewish clergy are fairly
intolerant as well. Of course, a conquest is usually associated with the
destruction of the religion of the defeated nation and imposition of ones own.
Here is a link featuring what Hitler thought about Christianity.
http://constitutionalistnc.tripod.com/hitler-leftist/id2.html
It's been thought that once the "Jewish problem" was solved, the Christian Churches were next on the "to do" list.
The U.S. is a Christian nation. The majority is Christian and as we are becoming less religous our moral values are diminishing and violence, drugs, etc. is doing the opposite.
Jonathan,
Hitler was not a Christian. He left Christianity years earlier.
Calm your hysteria.
@johnrww
*sigh*
The USA is NOT a Christian nation. It has NEVER been a Christian nation. It is NOT a theocracy.
@ johnrww
Crime rates are going down, not up. If what you say is true there should be more crime, not less. But that doesn't fill pews so you won't hear it from preachers. "Moral decay", yeah! You'll hear that. Everyone could be in church and you'd still hear that.
Adolph Hitler rejected Christ as an offspring of an unwed Jewish mother. Not every person who attends a religious school accepts that religion. It is amusing that John Colorado does not know the basics. He normally resorts to name calling and abusing anyone more intelligent than him.
I realize that but it technically is Christian considering the fact it was founded by Christian people who mad the U.S. "one nation under God". Locutus- I've looked at your other comments and your just some anti religous atheist that feels the need to mock everyone else's beliefs.
Hitler doesn't deserve a statue. But at least the pigeons have a bathroom.
In Madrid, Spain there is a statue of Satan, not in honor of him, but it presents him as a tragic, rather than an evil figure. It makes you think and that is the point.
Willow Sunstar (#12):
I love your comment, but I think even the pigeons are above (intellectually, that is!) using that bathroom!!!!
DarnthatDream is Satan responsible for a Spanish 'holocaust'?
Wasn't Germany considered a Christian Nation during the rise of Hitler? He may have prayed as a child. I seriously doubt that he was a Christian because of his actions. I've seen worse, like Christ portrayed as a transvestite.
He was born a jew folks.................
Ronald, no, actually Hitler was not born a Jew, nor was he much of a Christian. But he was a charismatic, egocentric, bigoted, deranged moron. He deserves a statue only if it is molded from a pile of that which emanates from the south end of a north-facing dog.
Ronald,
Nope, he was raised as a Catholic but left Christianity long before he became the Chancellor of Germany
I guess Bin Laden wasn't a Muslim either.
Really? And just when did he renounce Christianity or magically stop becoming a christian by other means?
Hitler and his circle worshiped Norse gods & Vedic religion and had temples constructed to them--also instituted nature worship festivals with "religious" ceremonies. He used the word "Christian" to con his fellow Germans who were too dense to notice he was a monster who followed none of it. Originally he preached a militarized version of his own called "positive Christianity" that attacked Jews. When the Church wouldn't all go along he started attacking & imprisoning non-conformists including nuns, priest and pastors. By 1940 he mentioned Mohammed, Buddha and Confucius but NOT Christ as good spiritual leaders. You can even find this in Wikipedia but more in national British archives and history books. Don't be ignorant.
Oh, please. Hitler was born a Catholic, never renounced Christianity and made numerous public and private statements attesting to his belief in Christianity. I'm sure the man (like everyone else) has complexities. By some accounts he believed that true Christianity had been corrupted. However that doesn't change the fact he was a Christian.
There are plenty of people that want to push him out of the Christian camp for obvious reasons. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just deny the religion of person X when it's inconvenient? I mean can Muslims say the 9/11 terrorists weren't true Muslims. I've actually heard quite a bit from Muslims I know. Can atheists deny Stalin was an atheist based on the fact that he relaxed controls over the Orthodox church during WII? Believe it or not I’ve even herd this argument.
Let’s get real. There are good people and bad people of all ilks. That goes for Christians too. I wish people would stop trying to whitewash their belief system, but I’m not holding my breath.
Swan, by what concept do you say "that doesn't change the fact that he was a Christian"? The concept that words are automatically true? That the school you attend or the family to which you are born determines your beliefs (automatically, at least)? Mighty "Christian" of Hitler to murder many Christians during his reign in addition to the Jews, wasn't it? The ten Boom and Bonhoeffer families, among many others, would have something to say about such a ludicrous claim. Is it really so far-fetched for you to believe that Hitler, like many other politicians, simply said what he needed to say to get a following?
It's really quite simple, at least in the basic sense. If someone claims to be a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, etc., you look at the teachings of Christ, Buddha, etc. to see if that person seems to follow them.
Look at the teachings when someone says another person is or isn't a "true _____". A Christian killing someone who isn't a Christian and/or refuses to convert would be FLOUTING the teachings of Christ. We are told in 1 Peter 3:15 to be able to explain the hope that we have but do it with gentleness and respect, therefore, someone killing non-Christians for failing to convert is NOT a Christian.
A Muslim killing someone who refuses to convert actually IS a true Muslim because he is FULFILLING the teachings of the Koran (to kill infidels), and would consider those who do not do so to be "watered down" Muslims (this Muslim part isn't especially relevant to the article, just giving an opposite example to further demonstrate the simple concept of comparing one's overall, long-term actions to the teachings of the person they claim to follow).
They are true by his own admission and also by the fact he wasn't ex-communicated. You seem to claim the right to decide someones religion for them.
First off if I go by parts of the bible, Hitler fits reasonably well. Second this is just an excuse. You claim any really bad people aren't true followers of your faith so you can have a warm fuzzy about it.
It's flouting the teachings of Mohamed too. Who cares. The Spanish Inquisition did it all the time. So have many others. Again you don't get to decide someones religion for them. The Bible is so ambiguous you can justify all sorts of crap if you try.
More BS. I've read the whole Quran just to see what was in it. It doesn't say anything like that. if you read sentences around the parts where all the christian neanderthals get their quotes from it's pretty clear. However it's true it doesn't stop some Muslims from doing just that. Also even if the Quran did say such things, do you really think there's no such ghastly @!$%# in the Bible? Think again.
To put a statue of Hitler praying is an insult to the memory ot those Jewish people, who were treated inhumanly, and most of whom were murdered by the Nazis, is an insult to the memory of those people, and is a further crime against humanity. Those, who put the exhibit there should be arrested and imprisoned.
Agreed, zack.
You make it sound like the Jews were the only ones in concentration camps Zack. The Jews were not the only ones in concentration camps there were many other races in there too.
as were the mentally ill and those w/ low iq's!!!!! i would have been exterminated as i am bi-polar. i find this to be appualing and disgusting.
That is true, StevePhoenix, but Jews and Gypsies were specifically chosen for genocide, and Warsaw was the ghetto, where Jews were sent to be rounded up, and many thousands died there from horrible conditions, starvation, disease, etc. The others were sent to death camps (ie. concentration camps), most of whom died in those. There were over 3 million Polish Jews before WWII, and only a few thousand survived Hitler's "Final Solution." To put a statue of Hitler praying in the Warsaw Ghetto is an insult against those Jews, who died in the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people.
Elsewhere, I posted other comments about the crimes against humanity, in general, made by Hitler and the Nazis, but this is specific to the Jews who died in the Warsaw Ghetto, or were sent from there to death.
I am not Jewish, but If anyone like me that lost many of his
school mates to the gas chambers is still alive today they would be disgusted
with a statue like this, even in today’s Germany I would hope will object to
something like this. The artist must have been desperate for money to come up
with disgusting clay modelling.
Our founding fathers here in the USA were Christians. America WAS a Christian nation at one time but I don't consider US a Christian Nation now.
"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession, I could never assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." by Abraham Lincoln, American President (1809-1865).
"I have found Christian dogma unintelligible early in life, I absenteed myself from Christian assemblies." quote by Benjamin Franklin; from the book TOWARD THE MYSTERY by Rev. William Edelen.
"The Christian god can easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient gods of past civilizations. The Christian god is a 3 headed monster; cruel, vengeful & capricious. If wishes to know more of this raging, 3 headed beast-like god, 1 only needs to look at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of 2 classes: fool & hiprocrites." by Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President...
"Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man." by Thomas Jefferson...
So Willis, they were not Christians at all...Without exception, the faith of our Founding Fathers was deist, not theist...
dgal,
They were definitely Christians. The majority of Founding Fathers were Episcopalians but here were other Christians as well. Lincoln was not a Founding Father.
Yes indeed, many did have some harsh words for Christianity just as many of us Americans have some harsh words for our country. We are still Americans, however, and the Founding Fathers were still Christians.
Here are a few other quotes from some of the Founding Fathers regarding Christianity. You will note some are from the same people you "quoted":
George Washington
1st U.S. President
"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian."
--The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343.
Thomas Jefferson
3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event."
--Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.
"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.
John Hancock
1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. ... Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us."
--History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.
Benjamin Franklin
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Unites States Constitution
"Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped.
"That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them.
"As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see; --Benjamin Franklin wrote this in a letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University on March 9, 1790.
Samuel Adams
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Father of the American Revolution
"And as it is our duty to extend our wishes to the happiness of the great family of man, I conceive that we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world that the rod of tyrants may be broken to pieces, and the oppressed made free again; that wars may cease in all the earth, and that the confusions that are and have been among nations may be overruled by promoting and speedily bringing on that holy and happy period when the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and all people everywhere willingly bow to the sceptre of Him who is Prince of Peace."
--As Governor of Massachusetts, Proclamation of a Day of Fast, March 20, 1797.
Benjamin Rush
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
"The gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!"
--The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, pp. 165-166.
"Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and that in proportion as mankind adopts its principles and obeys its precepts, they will be wise and happy."
--Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical, published in 1798.
Alexander Hamilton
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man."
--Famous American Statesmen, p. 126.
Patrick Henry
Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."
--The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.
"The Bible ... is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed."
--Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, p. 402.
John Jay
1st Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and President of the American Bible Society
"By conveying the Bible to people thus circumstanced, we certainly do them a most interesting kindness. We thereby enable them to learn that man was originally created and placed in a state of happiness, but, becoming disobedient, was subjected to the degradation and evils which he and his posterity have since experienced.
"The Bible will also inform them that our gracious Creator has provided for us a Redeemer, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; that this Redeemer has made atonement "for the sins of the whole world," and thereby reconciling the Divine justice with the Divine mercy has opened a way for our redemption and salvation; and that these inestimable benefits are of the free gift and grace of God, not of our deserving, nor in our power to deserve."
--In God We Trust—The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers, p. 379.
"In forming and settling my belief relative to the doctrines of Christianity, I adopted no articles from creeds but such only as, on careful examination, I found to be confirmed by the Bible."
--American Statesman Series, p. 360.
What about the Treaty of Tripoli?
NC, dgal is right and you just proved it. Deists believe in God; our founding fathers were, for the most part, deists. They were not theists, however, and did not believe in organized dogmatic structures. There are many kinds of deists; you could call them christian deists as they were raised christian and based many of their beliefs on what they read in the bible.
Regardless, that does not mean the US has a state-sanctioned religion. We are NOT a theocracy.
Goodforgoodnesssake- That's not what they are trying to say.
I don't think Hitler was evil as a child. He became corrupt over time.
hunter, respectfully, u couldn't b more wrong. many people r born evil. they r known as sociopaths and have no compassion and cannot feel the pain of others. ask any psychiatrist, or google it. rm; bsba, mba.
But the issue is not about that, it is about the disrespect toward, those Jewish people, who were rounded up for the "final solution," in Warsaw, and thousands, who died there, or after there, when they were sent to the German death, (ie., concentration), camps, where most of the rest died later. This is an insult to their memory, and to the actions of Hitler and his Nazis. Whether he was evil in his youth, or not, is immaterial to this issue.
Thats right ! he learn to hate jews because he saw something bad in them like many millions in the world today
I believe the proper term for someone who sees something bad in a nation as a whole instead of just specific people is "bigot", yes there is still plenty of those around today.
What about all the children we've killed in the womb here in the good ol' USA. I do beleive we've killed more than Hitler ever did. Murder is murder no matter how you try to rationalize it.
Dear Willis, that has nothing to do with it. If you're trying to make a religious statement, then spell it out.
Abortion is not murder. If killing an enemy soldier is not murder, killing a fully-formed human with thoughts and feelings, then killing a collection of insensate, unintelligent cells is not murder either. Make war a crime for all soldiers and then we can talk about making killing fetuses a crime. Until then, your hypocrisy is showing.
The issue of abortion is worthy of discussion, but this is really not the place for it. It is a separate issue.
It is a statue. It isn't alive. It cannot harm you.
I disagree with most of you here. I don't think this statue 'glorifies Hitler'. I don't think it supports fascism.
We tend to look at Good and Evil in a very juvenile, almost cartoonish way. All Black and White. The people who are good are not all good. The people who are bad are not all bad. Even Hitler loved his dog. He was a complete mess of a human, but at least he loved his dog.
This statue simply reminds us that Good and Evil and not instantly recognizable and even a child can harbor monstrous ideas and intentions. This is why the German people fell for him. He didn't look evil to most of them in 1933.
I suspect the statue is also meant to show how religion can lead people to tremendous violence, and how they can feel completely justified in that violence if they feel they are fulfilling some divine purpose. To me, this is not a pro-nazi or pro-Hitler display. It is a criticism of religion.
As for the artist 'trying to get attention', well that is exactly what artists and art are supposed to do. They are supposed to make you think. Art is not supposed to be entertainment. It can be, but it doesn't have to be because that is not its purpose. It doesn't exist so you can 'like it'. It exists to make you think about things in a new way. That is the purpose of art in civilization, and we cannot do without it without losing civilization.
"That is the purpose of art in civilization" - this applies only to modern art, since by most part art was meant to glorify the patrons and their ideology - starting from the bird-caveman, pyramids, Greek and Roman gods, emperors, Jesus and Madonna, Mao, Hitler, Marx, Engesl and Lenin trio, etc., etc.
It is good Hitler loved his doggie. My opinion of him has changed dramatically.
That statue cannot hurt you. Your reaction to it can. For whatever reason, people believe a response to everything in the world is what we are supposed to do. The best defense of hate and fear is to ignore it.
Or kick it's ass and exterminate it, which is what we did to Hitler because we had to.
No, that is not the best way to react to hate and fear. If Hitler's hate had been resisted, instead of ignored, it would not have resulted in the deaths of so many millions of Jews, Gypsies, Russians, and others, when it was no longer possible to ignore it.
Does this statue help while eastern Europe conveniently ignores the largest rise of neo-nazism since Hitler's downfall?
In essence, love pope and pizza and hate'em Jews! I bet this fellow is on the Vatican stipend. What a great way of promoting Catholicism! Occultism was also a part of the Jewish Kabbalah - it did not help Jews. In my opinion, the extermination of Jews was a clerical scheme to get rid of "infidel" network and the "free-thinkers" as well. On the other hand, artists do tend to push the buttons - it is one of the most tasteless examples.
Your hate for Catholics is palpable and not related to this story.
You are a sad person. Talk with me and I can help you.
In life Hitler never repented.
It is doubtful that he did it in death.
Hitler deserves no consideration among the living, and he will probably not receive it among the dead.
Forgiveness may be extended to the memory of Adolph Hitler's atrocities in the realm of the hereafter if the lesson learned is so valued - but I think it likely that some part of him spends eternity in a quantum gristmill of Time. (Maybe I've been watching too many Twilight Zone episodes, ah-hah)
I understand your feelings, but we really do not know if he repented or not. There is no such thing as an unforgivable sin; even "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" can be forgiven by God if forgiveness is requested.
philly, why do you think that suicide is an unforgiveable sin ... Jesus said "ALL sins shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men" so the sin of rejecting the Holy Spirit is the unpardonalbe sin ... because you are rejecting Jesus the Christ
For some unknown reason we don't seem to be able to consign this human excrement to the cesspool of time where he belongs.
Hey blowhard would you STFU and go to a politacal based articale to post on. I am not exactly a big fan myself but he has nothing and I repeat nothing to do with this article.
Bill--
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.
Ohhh, thats bring to may memory george Bush, Dick Chaney and Rumsfeld...
Only to those who remember a broken glass when they hear of a car-crash.
Where he is now, it's too late to pray.
(swastica prophecy)
Zach Jacoby
i was taken to the house of a symbol
the symbol was engraved in the century by a crippled dragon
the author of the sign was a follower of idols formed into impossible beasts and superstition
the delivery of the emblem was a foreign passage that gathered many praises in it's day and days that followed it's direction
the spirit of the house was a demonic apprentice of a fallen angel who whispered his graces with the promise of destruction with haste
the lamb of the house and the emblem unfolded the theater of doom before the audience of our fathers fathers and their fathers
from up on high the lamb of the symbol of conjured spirits has swung his people down on the noose of his final act
an adulteress of winter who was once an eagle at the end of fall has deliever one half of all the remnants of stars in the evening to the shelter within the dragons den
the beast has been detained by the authority and the dragon has been filled with the false hope of the adulterous and the burning flame of lawless delusion
the adulteress empowered the authority of her rival with the work of her slaves and the scales of her slaves slaves and all the ships of all the ports left to open trade in the sea
10 hours ago
And what would you know about Santa Claus?
The major precept of any religion or political doctrine is
predominance and control. Christmas celebrates birth of “king of kings”, Islam
claims to replace other religions and so forth, and Jewish clergy are fairly
intolerant as well. Of course, a conquest is usually associated with the
destruction of the religion of the defeated nation and imposition of ones own.
Actually, Christmas is not a Christian holiday. It's roots are pagan. There is no place in the scripture that tells us to celebrate birthdays nor does it say the date that Jesus was born.
Francle,
Nonsense.
Christmas is indeed a Christian holiday. Its roots are not pagan. It was purposely set by a pope as December 25 since that is near when winter starts and the days begin to grow longer. Light/hope returns to the world.
The Bible does not prohibit celebrating birthdays, either. Although we are not sure of His birth date (or even the exact year) we can still celebrate His birth. December 25th was chosen as the day to do this.
Good PR on the part of the Church: replace the pagan winter solstice party with the celebration of the birth of Christ.
What was the point of your post, anyway?
Xmas IS NOT Christian or Biblical at all. All the traditions of xmas are pagan and the Bible tells us that we are not to honor the Lord with the same practices that the heathens use to honor their false gods as it provokes him to anger. It is one more way that satan has deceived the world.
How Did Christmas Come to Be Celebrated on December 25?
A. Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the weeklong celebration. The festival began when Roman authorities chose “an enemy of the Roman people” to represent the “Lord of Misrule.” Each Roman community selected a victim whom they forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week. At the festival’s conclusion, December 25th, Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this innocent man or woman.
Next time NC try researching..took me about 45 seconds to find that info
oh and theres more
D. The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, these Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday.
E. Christians had little success, however, refining the practices of Saturnalia. As Stephen Nissenbaum, professor history at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, writes, “In return for ensuring massive observance of the anniversary of the Savior’s birth by assigning it to this resonant date, the Church for its part tacitly agreed to allow the holiday to be celebrated more or less the way it had always been.” The earliest Christmas holidays were celebrated by drinking, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets (a precursor of modern caroling), etc.
F. The Reverend Increase Mather of Boston observed in 1687 that “the early Christians who first observed the Nativity on December 25 did not do so thinking that Christ was born in that Month, but because the Heathens’ Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those Pagan Holidays metamorphosed into Christian ones.”[3] Because of its known pagan origin, Christmas was banned by the Puritans and its observance was illegal in Massachusetts between 1659 and 1681.[4] However, Christmas was and still is celebrated by most Christians.