Günter grass and the question of Jew-hatred

The German people have had a long history of dealing with their Nazi past.

On April 13, German novelist, poet, and playwright, recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature, Günter Wilhelm Grass, passed away. More than any other German, he epitomizes Germany’s ambivalent attitude toward its past. Grass pried open Germany’s past, but at the same time hid his own, as a member of the Waffen-SS. He was not the only German to hide his Nazi past, but his renown, and the fact that he boldly faced his country’s past, made the discovery of his own participation in it a moment of profound reflection on human nature not just in Germany, but throughout the world. In his latter years, he became an anti-Zionist, publishing a poem titled, “What Must Be Said.” Prof. D.G Myers said of Grass’ denunciation of Zionism that it gave expression to a “new European anti-Semitism that pretends it is merely anti-Zionism.”

This year, in the face of rising worldwide anti-Semitism, Germany is making a strong statement about its past. But as time passes, Jews and non-Jews alike seek to put the past behind and start a new page. The desire to “move on” as far as the Holocaust is concerned has become so palpable that on January 25, the International Holocaust Memorial Day, the BBC asked on its “The Big Questions” Twitter account: Is the time coming to lay the Holocaust to rest?

In my view, neither remorse nor denial or slighting of the Holocaust will prevent it from reoccurring. It seems to me that a more constructive manner of dealing with the Holocaust is to understand why it happened, and what we need to do to prevent it from happening again. Especially today, as the world is swamped by another wave of anti-Semitism, it is imperative that we learn the lessons and take practical steps to prevent another tragedy.

Germany did not invent anti-Semitism. Throughout history, Jews have been persecuted. And yet mere remembering the persecutions and executions does not prevent future atrocities from taking place. We should therefore ask, 1) Why has remembering the persecutions not helped prevent future ones? 2) What will prevent the next catastrophe? And most importantly, 3) If so many nations have tried to annihilate the Jews for so many centuries, why have they all failed?

For centuries, scholars, artists, clergymen, and politicians have pondered the question of the persistence of the Jews. Philosopher, Blaise Pascal, wrote that “In spite of the endeavors of many powerful kings who have a hundred times tried to destroy [the Jews] ... they have nevertheless been preserved.” Illustrious novelist, Leo Tolstoy contemplated the perseverance of the Jews: “What kind of unique creature is this whom all the rulers of all the nations of the world have disgraced and crushed and expelled and destroyed; persecuted, burned and drowned, and who, despite their anger and their fury, continues to live and to flourish?” Historian, Cecil Roth, wrote likewise, “Time after time in his history [the Jew] has been saved from disaster in a manner, which cannot be described excepting as ‘providential.’” Even Mark Twain expressed his awe at the Jews’ survival: “The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed ...and they are gone. ... The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was. ...All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”

And yet, what is the point of surviving if it is under relentless persecution and torment? The persecutions of the Jews are not coincidental. The Jews are not scapegoats, as some believe. They are targeted because those who hate Jews blame them for their plights. The Jews are held responsible for all the troubles in the world even in countries with virtually no Jewish population (e.g. South Korea). Although anti-Semites may befriend Jews on a personal level, when considering Jews as an ethnic or religious group, the majority of the world opposes them and blames them for just about everything that is wrong with the world.

To uproot, or at least mitigate anti-Semitism, another element is required—something that directly addresses the anti-Semites’ accusations against Jews. When we provide this element, I believe we will also know how to prevent the next catastrophe.

Whenever Jews are persecuted, it is always with a pretext. Usually it has to do with some inexcusable wrong that the Jews are ostensibly perpetrating against society. Accusations vary, but the blame and subsequent expulsion or destruction scenario remains unchanged.

The reason why anti-Semitism persists has to do not with transitory circumstances, but with the role of the Jewish people, the reason for its existence. Renowned German writer and politician, Johann Goethe, wrote that “Every Jew, no matter how insignificant, is engaged in some decisive and immediate pursuit of a goal.” Likewise, historian, T.R. Glover, wrote, “The history of no ancient people should be so valuable, if we could only recover it and understand it. ...The great matter is not ‘What happened?’ but ‘Why did it happen?’ ‘Why does Judaism live?’”

Indeed, there is a goal and a reason for the existence of Jews and Judaism. The Jewish people established themselves as a nation when they succeeded in overcoming a mountain of hatred, known as Mount Sinai (from the Hebrew word, Sinah [hatred]). They did so by uniting “as one man with one heart.”

Alongside that unity came a commitment to be “a light for the nations,” namely share their capability to unite with the rest of the world. Regrettably, the opposite unfolded—the Jews inadvertently declined into self-centeredness and egoism, known in Hebrew scriptures as “unfounded hatred” (hatred without cause), and so their “light of unity” has dimmed.

Although they have lost their ability to rein in their egos, their deeply rooted ability to connect has remained, and now serves them in mundane engagements. As a result, Jews often excel in commerce, politics, and anything that has to do with understanding systems and connections. But in the process, they arouse against them the animus of the nations, who feel they have a secret they are not sharing, thus gaining an unfair advantage. Anti-Semitism soon follows.

Former President of Brandeis University, Prof. Jehuda Reinharz, wrote in Living With Antisemitism: Modern Jewish Responses: “The most striking example of the failure of the Jewish political reaction to anti-Semitism involves the utter inability to overcome Jewish fragmentation. ...Even in the 1930s, when anti-Semitism grew apace [in Germany], Jewish unity remained a slogan on the lips of politicians rather than a fact of life.”

There is only one solution to this problem: The Jews must relearn how to employ their ability to unite not for worldly purposes, but for achieving that profound cohesion that had made them a nation at the foot of Mount Sinai. Thus, they will become an example of solidarity to the rest of the world.

The trait of unity already exists within every Jew, and since it is there, it can be reawakened. It depends only on the Jews’ desire to awaken it.

Once Jews unite, they will set an example to the world, showing how it is possible to invert the self-centered relations that prevail throughout humanity into mutual concern. This will finally answer the question regarding the persistence of the Jews through all the persecutions.

The atrocities of World War II bare scars not only on the Jews, but on the whole of humanity, especially on the Germans. Günter Grass’ apparent ambivalence toward Jews can be understood only when we understand their role. When the Jews begin to carry it out, and the nations encourage them to follow through with it, meaning unite in order to set an example, there will be no persecutions, no hatred, and Holocausts will be no more.