Using the Holocaust to Smear Obama

I never thought I'd see the day when the Holocaust would be used as a tool for "gotcha" politics. But over the last two days, we have seen John McCain's supporters at the Republican National Committee and at Fox News launch tasteless attacks on Barack Obama. In their attempt to score a few political points, they have diminished the experience of those who suffered and died at Buchenwald, and disrespected the service of the heroic American troops who liberated them.

It started yesterday when the RNC put out a statement slamming Obama for referring to Auschwitz as he related a family story on Memorial Day. Instead of merely asking for clarification, the RNC smeared Obama's "dubious claim," and suggested -- tongue in cheek -- that perhaps Obama's uncle "was serving in the Red Army." They went on to say that the story raised questions "about his judgment and his readiness to lead as commander in chief."

It turns out that Obama's great uncle -- the brother of the grandmother who largely raised him -- served in the 89th Infantry Division of the United States Army, which liberated Ohrdruf, part of Buchenwald. But astonishingly, that only served to fan the flames for those on the right who saw an attempt to use the heroic service of Obama's uncle against him. In their breathless attempt to damage Obama, Fox News has stooped to a level that is truly depressing.

This morning on the program Fox and Friends, one of the hosts said: "It wasn't Auschwitz. It was a labor camp called Buchenwald." Just in case the point was missed, she repeated. "It wasn't Auschwitz, it was a labor camp. You would think you would want to be as specific as possible if you are telling one of these anecdotes." Meanwhile, a news "crawl" at the bottom of the screen reinforced, in bold letters, that this was "a work camp, rather than an extermination camp."

Here are some facts about Buchenwald, which is one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. At this "work camp," prisoners were often worked, starved, tortured, or beaten to death. Sometimes they were simply murdered. Roughly 250,000 people were imprisoned there between 1937 and 1945, many of them Jews. Over 50,000 people lost their lives.

At Nuremberg, the world was shocked to learn that some of Buchenwald's victims were skinned, and the human skin was then used to make lampshades, book covers, and other keepsakes. Buchenwald was also a site for the infamous Nazi "medical experiments" on prisoners, which were often nothing more than crude and horrific forms of torture.

To take just one anecdote about the "work" done at Buchenwald, prisoners had to build the camp road, and camp guards used to shoot those who were not carrying stones that were heavy enough. In the final days before liberation, some 10,000 prisoners from Auschwitz and Gross-Rossen were marched to Buchenwald, adding to the horrific scene that awaited American troops.

On April 4, 1945, Ohrdruf became the first Nazi concentration camp to be liberated by American forces. U.S. troops -- including the 89th Infantry Division -- found a scene that was vividly described by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission: "The scene was an indescribable horror even to the combat-hardened troops who captured the camp. Bodies were piled throughout the camp. There was evidence everywhere of systematic butchery. Many of the mounds of dead bodies were still smoldering from failed attempts by the departing SS guards to burn them."

Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley would tour the camp in the days ahead. Eisenhower was so moved by the atrocities at this "work camp," that he wrote to his wife Mamie that it was "beyond the American mind of comprehend." He made both his own men and all of the citizens of the German town of Gotha tour the camp. He wanted the Americans to know the evil that they were fighting. He wanted German citizens to see what had been done in their name. After this tour, the Mayor of Gotha and his wife hanged themselves.

Many of the terrible photographs and videos that we have seen of the Holocaust come from these days. Eisenhower said that he wanted, "to give first-hand evidence if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda.'" The carefully documents attrocities at Buchenwald are thus part of the record that we use to confront anyone who would deny the horror of the Holocaust.

The men who liberated Buchenwald were heroes, plain and simple. That includes Barack Obama's great uncle. In their march across Europe, the 89th Infantry Division suffered over 1,000 casualties, with over 300 men killed. In their liberation of Buchenwald, they put an end to one of the most horrible concentration camps of the 20th century. We must honor them, just as we must remember each and every victim of the criminal Nazi regime.

To those who continue to use this story to damage Barack Obama, I have a simple question: have you no shame? You attempts to diminish his uncle's service for your own political gain says a lot more about you than it does about Barack Obama.

Comments

[killlthekingg]

"So, I guess there`s now one more thing that Chairman Obama says we`re not allowed to do anymore. Apparently, you cannot mention his middle name; youcan`t talk about his political positions if you disagree; youcan`t talk aboutanyofhis past associations; and now,it seems,we can`t talk about our nation`s history. It`s off limits, as well.

Barack Obama is the most amazingpolitician I`ve ever seen. He lovesto talkabout a new kind of political discourse, about putting the politics of divisiveness behind us. Too bad it`s all just talk.

While Obama hides on this higher ground, his campaign minions support and encourage the kind of innuendo and misinformation that comes at Hillary Clinton`s expense."

How many times has obama 'misspoke' about his family history? About as many times as McCain has misspoke. If it is not alright for McCain to make mistakes than neither can obama. Does obama&the rest of the democraticparty honestly believe becauseheleft the church than that clears him of any attacks?The very fact that it took him this long to leave is disturbing. Obama can keeptrying to use that "political distraction" defense but I think he may have overused that card. I do not understand how obama plans to win in Nov. considering there are no caucuses in the GE. It is disgusting to read such headlines as "this is obamas party now." Everything Bill Clinton did for this country is suddenly irrelevant? He was the only successful two term president in how long? My point exactly.

[DocWylie]

It's clear from reading your "interesting" comments that you truly don't have a clue in the difference between "mis-speaking" and "bald faced lying" .
How's it going trying to find somebody, ANYBODY to verify Hillary's Bosnia adventure?????

From shoe-in to shot down, 100 million in the black to 20 mill in the red.

I think that pretty well speaks for itself.

[DocWylie]

In 2000 when I watched my party steal a national election not only without remorse, but with downright glee, I ceased to register as a Republican and went independent.
It is also the same year I began to refer to those people as "Repugnicans" because they have become so damned repugnant.
I completely understand Scott McClellans delayed departure, understanding that it is a process of discovery, and introspection, and I believe his desire to "come clean" is both honest and honorable.
These tactics that cheapen what was an international tragedy into disposable election fodder are surely to turn even more critically thinking people against these miserable cretins that have infiltrated what was once a rightfully proud party.
If you believe that the ends do not necessarily justify the means, it's really time to take a long hard look in the mirror.

[JiminNC]

Fox still has a news division?

[RnR]

I truely hope that AIPAC and the ADL attack FOX news at exactly the same decible level and with the same "take no prisoners" attitude that is used by GIYUS users to attack anyone on the net who mentions Israel.

Think it'll happen?

[killlthekingg]

So I take it your against a news network favoring one candidate while constantly attacking another? Than you must be in favor of having MSNBC attacked right? Fair is fair. No double standards right?

[wmbear]

MCCAIN IS MAKING FAR WORSE GAFFS ABOUT IRAQ...

This is "gotcha politics" at its worst when it's clear that Obama merely misremebered (as happens to all of us) which Nazi concentration camp it was. Auschwitz and Buchenwald were to two most notorious ones, along with Belsen, so it's easy to understand how someone might get the two confused. It certainly is not an indication of anything worse than misremembering and to take Obama to task for something like this is just ridiculous. Of course, so were Swift Boat Verterans for Truth but that kind of consideration never stops Karl Rove and his ilk. Their strategy is,"whatever works and truth be damned."

[randyjet]

It says a lot about Obama that he did NOT know the name of the camp his uncle liberated. It sounds like it was OBAMA who had so little regards for the service of his relatives that he could not get the story straight! I had a friend who liberated Dachau and I sure as hell remember what he told me and what he saw and did. It is more than fair game that he thinks so little of heroism that he does not think it important to know the names and places of that sacrifice. THAT is the ultimate disrespect since it is through US that these heroes will live in OUR memories, and get that passed on down through generations.

[democritus]

so you're saying it was more disrespectful of obama to get the name wrong than it was for Fox news to try to minimize the uncle's actions by claiming Buchenwald was not a concentration camp--excuse me, not an extermination camp?

[SpaceCadet]

Buchenwald is as infamous as Auschwitz. Obama's mastery of the details of WW II history is of much less concern than the fact that John McCain doesn't know the difference between the Muslim sects he's so eager to war against, or how many American troops there are in Iraq to do his warring for him.

[mikie63]

It is unbelievable that so many neocons know nothing of hisory. The most powerful neocons are jewish. They must know about Buchenwald, but you won' t hear Peale or Wolfowitze or Kristol saying a word to contradict what the Fox News people say.

Oh Well. They're just republicans. What do we expect?

[wmbear]

NOT THE TRUTH...

That's for sure....

[farseer]

Unbelievable that the editors & supervisors responsible at Fox News could exhibit such ignorance. There were labor camps, and many people died in them. But Buchenwald is not classed as a labor camp, rather it was a concentration camp. It was there that the infamous "Bitch of Buchenwald" was active. Gee. I would not have thought that we could forget so soon.
--an Orthodox Christian

[MsLiz]

Great article, sir.

[Axolotl]

I hope we never expected the on-air heads, or those behind the scenes, to be well educated, or check facts, or be sensitive, or have any shame. It is Fox, the network of choice for all who believe in John McCain.

McCain may huff and puff, but I think he will lose the bubble on the Jewish vote. He ressembles a leading German National Socialist leader who was losing his edge and his mind and his memory as the war turned against him.

No pass for McCain. Ask about the Forestal. Ask about the Keating 5. Ask about his lobbyists, his flipflops, and his confusion and lies about what he guessed were "facts." He is a very shaky platform, and it has nothing to do with age. It has to do with his basic mind and values. No free pass for McCain.

[GuyRC]

Unfortunately, the people that watch FOX news won't be tuning into reality anytime soon.

[UncensoredReports]

Unfortunately, the people that watch FOX news won't be tuning into reality anytime soon.

Unfortunately, neither will the BO supporters.

[MsLiz]

Bill O'Reilly?

[schmuckwithearlaps]

It is very very painful for those of us of a certain age to hear that the Fox news barbie dolls do not know what Buchenwald is. I guess that bothers me more than anything else in this story. It is 2008 and Buchenwald was just a summer camp, a fat farm where people lost too much weight, and the Republicans and their brothers and sisters in the media lack any pain in their minds or hearts when the name Buchenwald is mentioned. In the choice between laughing and crying, crying wins by a mile.
Of course, if one could put emotion aside, which I can't, one could remember when Mitt Romney talked about his pop marching in a civil rights march at a time when few Republicans did so, and we were all over him because he mentioned the wrong march, as if it mattered.
If world war two is more than a topic in your high school history book, liberating Buchenwald is something a great nephew can be proud of today. Of course, to the conservatives civil rights and the Holocaust are just hollow words that mean nothing to a heart that worships greed, privilege and exclusion.

[siellis]

Well said. Fox and the McCain camp should apologize for their mischaractization of the horrors at this camp.

[Decipherer]

It was not "Fixed News" that challenged Romney on the claim that his father was a civil rights marcher. The problem is ALL the MSM, which parse, trivialize, and sensationalize just about anything that they believe will titillate their veiewers, improve their ratings, and garner advertising dollars.

Beyond that, then you've got your celebrity news and all the other disgusting garbage they throw at us, with very, very few exceptions.

Thank goodness for the exceptions -- PBS, NPR, the BBC, Air America, etc.

Gov. George Romney was a courageous and honorable man who did not participate in the civil rights march his son claimed he did. Sadly, his son lacks the guts and the courage of his convictions not to pander, flip-flop like there is no tomorrow, and sick-up to the idiots leading the Republican party today.

[ClydeSloppers]

All this goes to prove is that most Americans don't like alot of Americans. Obama supporters don't like Hillary and McCain supporters and visa versa. We are a divided country and not one of these three has a solution because the solution is within us and we don't want unity, we want to be on the side of the winner. There will be no bipartisan President. All we will get is rhetoric while most Americans relish in their dislike of 'those' that did not vote for their candidate.

[nypoet22]

Fox denies holocaust! news at 11

[blublu]

well what can u expect from modern day "Julius Strichers" and televised versions of "Der Sturmer".

[gun]

It's a bed of snakes, but his is nothing new,

The r's and the neo-cons have been doing it for nine months to Obama,

and before that they did it to anyone else who questioned our foreign policy in the Middle East

-- made in Israel

This week, for example, the public editor of the New York Times slammed their Obama slam on the op ed page by Edward Luttwak, a hack historian--Neo Con from John Hopkins (which seems to manufacture them).

There is nothing as disreputable as these Neo Con Academics. They haven't experienced much, read much, or proven much; in fact, to hear them is to believe that as the general said about Douglas Feith, he "must be the dumbest son-of-a-bitch in America" -- but they are lethally overconfident -- like their discredited pathfinders, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz.

Oh, and who greenlighted this Luttwak's piece?

The Op Editor, a Shipley, just so happens to be a former personal assistant and speechwriter to the Clintons!

Anyone who was paying attention didn't need Scott McClellan to know the press enabled the Iraq War.

And now they are ennabling all the disinformation on Obama.

Bull Connor's attack dogs have moved into salaried positions with the right wing only to be promoted and perpetuated by the established press.

As a reader, I run into intelligent Americans with expertise and integrity every day. Why can the New York Times and Washington Post find them?

--

[MsLiz]

A bit of trivia: Bull Connor was a lame duck when he ordered fire hoses turned on and dogs used on children in Birmingham. The form of city government was changing and his position had been eliminated.

[McSameisthegame]

Oh--so what he did was OK??? what's your point-this ought to be a beauty!!!