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Sochi Olympics 2014
Feb. 8th, 2014 09:19 amIf you've been keeping up with the debates about the Sochi games, you might have heard the current Olympics being compared to the Olympics in Berlin, Germany, in 1936, when the Nazi party had already instituted laws hostile to a minority of people. At the time the Olympic Committee decided that they had too much money on the line to consider a minority of people a significant factor in moving or cancelling the games. If you've been reading the news, I'm sure you've seen people bring up the comparison now, and I'm sure you've seen people argue that it's a comparison that's inappropriate and over the top and Nazi analogies are never appropriate, etc.
I'm not Jewish, but I am German and I am queer, and from this perspective I can see both sides of the argument. I go back and forth on whether it's an appropriate analogy to make. The discussion in my head goes something like this:
- Yes, it's an appropriate analogy to make because the state has sanctioned the targeted imprisonment of minority populations in both cases.
- No, it's not an appropriate analogy to make because Russia doesn't have concentration camps that exterminate huge numbers of people (as far as we know).
- But in 1936 there were no exterminations yet either, those only started after Crystal Night in 1938, institutionalised when WWII began in 1939 and the camps got too crowded. And Russia does have hard labour prisons akin to the "work camps" of Nazi Germany before WWII. Just look at what the members of Pussy Riot endured. So the imprisonment aspect is still applicable.
- But you're not Jewish, so it's not your horror to claim.
- No, but gay people were killed by the Nazis too (among many other groups), and they are important too.
- But Nazi analogies just make you look hysterical.
- Is it hysterical if it's scarily similar? Isn't it better to remember where these mind sets can lead us?
So currently I'm leaning towards appropriate analogy.
On a related note: Meet the 7 openly LGBTI athletes going to Sochi.
I'm not Jewish, but I am German and I am queer, and from this perspective I can see both sides of the argument. I go back and forth on whether it's an appropriate analogy to make. The discussion in my head goes something like this:
- Yes, it's an appropriate analogy to make because the state has sanctioned the targeted imprisonment of minority populations in both cases.
- No, it's not an appropriate analogy to make because Russia doesn't have concentration camps that exterminate huge numbers of people (as far as we know).
- But in 1936 there were no exterminations yet either, those only started after Crystal Night in 1938, institutionalised when WWII began in 1939 and the camps got too crowded. And Russia does have hard labour prisons akin to the "work camps" of Nazi Germany before WWII. Just look at what the members of Pussy Riot endured. So the imprisonment aspect is still applicable.
- But you're not Jewish, so it's not your horror to claim.
- No, but gay people were killed by the Nazis too (among many other groups), and they are important too.
- But Nazi analogies just make you look hysterical.
- Is it hysterical if it's scarily similar? Isn't it better to remember where these mind sets can lead us?
So currently I'm leaning towards appropriate analogy.
On a related note: Meet the 7 openly LGBTI athletes going to Sochi.
