July 27: Fake image

According to the documentation of historians and survivors Jewish women were not used as prostitutes in the Nazi camps.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters good 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters good 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Fake image Sir, - In an otherwise very interesting article on the photographer Paul Goldman, you included a photo of a woman marked feld-hure, ostensibly of an Auschwitz survivor in Nahalal ("Resurrection," Sam Ser, UpFront, July 20). One can only speculate as to the origins and reasons behind the image, but according to the documentation of historians and survivors Jewish women were not used as prostitutes in the Nazi camps. It is high time this misconception was corrected once and for all. There were no Jewish prostitutes in block 24 of Auschwitz, ("the prostitutes' block"), just as there were no Jewish women in similar blocks in other camps, due to Nazi laws about racial purity. The numbers that appear on this woman's chest did not exist in Auschwitz, where only a small number of prisoners were tattooed on their chests, primarily Polish men and Soviet POWs. All historical information and research points to the fact that this image is a fake. ESTEE YAARI Foreign Media Liaison Yad Vashem Jerusalem End this barbarity Sir, - As an Irishman with no ties of any kind to Israel, may I appeal to the men who are holding Cpl. Gilad Schalit to please put an end to this torture and release him. I cannot believe that any God smiles on this barbarity. Neither can I believe He condones the continued holding of what has been admitted is a wounded soldier who, according to those who hold Cpl. Schalit, is in continuing need of hospital care. I hold no brief for the Israeli government or the IDF, but I have been appalled by such loathsome practices, and I appeal to those with influence in this matter to put an end to it now and release this young man back to his family. A senior Hamas official said about the Alan Johnston release: "We did this because of humanitarian concerns." If you did this for Alan Johnston, you can also do it for Gilad Schalit. Through my work with refugees and torture survivors in the '80s and '90s I know a little of man's inhumanity to man. And through my work with Irish Veterans now, I know something of military life and military people. I believe that a majority of Palestinians wish to live in peace with their neighbors, and that kidnapping journalists and wounded soldiers is not a part of their core values. I ask all those who are able, and in particular Ismail Haniyeh and his colleagues, to please put yourselves in a position to release Gilad Schalit at the earliest possible opportunity, and end this particular cycle of barbarity and inhumanity ("Visit to Norway by Beilin, Schalit may have prompted release of Gilad's tape," July 25). DECLAN HUGHES Dublin Love you, Barbara! Sir, - Barbara Sofer's columns are entertaining, ironic and, yes, sometimes sad. "Let them eat falafel" (UpFront, July 20) was most amusing and so to the point. To try and serve our foreign dignitaries with all sorts of treife-looking delicatessen is a waste of time and of taxpayers' good money. I hear so many visitors praising our Israeli food. Most of them are not aware if it's glatt, but it's kosher - and good. Keep it up Barbara! VERENA LEVY Katamon