“Let remembrance be followed by action”

“Remembering the countless victims of National Socialism is also a sign of human respect. Respect for those who were persecuted and destroyed by this inhumane ideology and who have suffered or are still suffering from its consequences. But also respect for all those who opposed the regime and ideology of National Socialism with all their might and still oppose its inhuman ideas in all their guises today.” With a view to the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism on Friday, Frieder Otto Wolf therefore pleaded with humanists to allow remembrance and the respect owed to become a reality and to actively create a space for corresponding attitudes in their own environment. “With just one sentence or a simple action, we can make it clear to the environment and our fellow human beings that remembering and reflecting on the causes and consequences of National Socialism must not be a matter of indifference. No person who is guided by reason and compassion should remain unaffected,” Wolf continued. And people should “turn remembrance into action.” Wolf recalled that members of every religious faith fell victim to National Socialism, as did people who did not share a religious faith. The seizure of power by people who believed in the ideologies of National Socialism, fascism and racism also meant bans and persecution of humanist and secular-minded people and associations in the history of the Humanist Association. “With a destructive success that has not yet been compensated for,” said Wolf. “The members of the Jewish cultural group and all other ethnic groups and cultures persecuted by the Nazi regime under racist auspices still deserve special respect and support today, so that their rights and interests are safeguarded against the supporters of Nazi ideologies who have remained to this day. For the power of such irrational doctrines of subjugation and domination remains dangerous.” Wolf emphasized that this commemoration must always remain critical, differentiated and reappraised, even within the secular lines of tradition. Wolf: “The forces that emerged in the large area of National Socialist ideologies, which described themselves as atheists, must never be confused with the enlightened secular forces.” There is still work to be done here. However, it also remains to be critically examined how social Darwinism led to racist attitudes in the Monist League, for example, or how the materialism of some physicians – and not only in Germany – made a violation of central human rights appear justified in the context of “eugenic” practices up until the 1970s. Finally, Frieder Otto Wolf expressed his regret that to this day there has been no official acknowledgement of the Catholic Church’s co-responsibility for the crimes of National Socialism, while the Protestant churches in Germany faced up to the historical scandal of the “German Christians” early on with the Stuttgart Confession of Guilt. “This acts as a perpetual sign that the Catholic Church is unable to face up to reality.” Wolf therefore called on non-denominational and denominationally bound people to continue to work towards change.