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

[Tinuviel]

I am a Democrat and the daughter of two WWII veterans (both of my parents volunteered). And I am appalled that these charges are being made. To the RNC and the Republicans "have you no shame"?

[gumbykevbo]

This is WW2 stuff...60 years ago. 20 years before Obama was born. You want all the details to be exctly right? Dream on.

My dad's war consisted of repairing infrastructure (drinking water supplies, mostly) that the Nazi's damaged and destroyed before retreating. He was sent home with a non-combat back injury. To be honest, I have no idea if that happend in Italy, or North Africa...h­e was both places. And the official records would show that he was a motor-pool mechanic.

His brother (my uncle) was went back after being shot up in the Pacific theater. I'm pretty sure it was at Guadelcanal, but I wouldn't argue if someone presented evidence that it was actually Iwo Jima, and shrapnel wounds rather than bullets.

Getting a detail wrong about something that happened 60 years ago to a tight-lipped vet (I have never met a vet who talked much about the ugly side of war) is a far cry from claiming you personally were subject to sniper fire when nothing close to that ever happened.

[BubbaC33]

This is a detail he should have gotten staright. The fact is he did not get the names and events correct, a terrible mistake that does not require interpretation.

[loria]

At least he didn't make the mistake of going to the wrong country to wage war. That honor belongs to Bush who thought it would better to fight Al Queda in Iraq instead of Afghanistan. Which is the bigger mistake?

[loria]

And at least he didn't tell everyone that he landed in Bosnia under sniper fire when it's obvious that didn't happen. It seems to me that you have some larger instances of misspeaking to explain.

[hatethehype]

BubbaC33
You and the GOP are grasping at straws.
Your arguments become louder, more comical and sadly desperate with each passing day.
How do you feel this issue will hold up in the General Election?
Simply put, it won't.
Not like there was any shortage of ammunition against the Repugs before, but little Scotty McClleland did the Dems a HUGE favor in handing them the tools to obliterate the McBush machine.

[Bobzmcishl]

Another smoke bomb thrown up by the Republican's to mask their inability to talk about the issues that mattter to American's. The media needs to start forcing the candidates and their spokersperson's to talk about substantive issues, not Karl Rove "gotcha" politics. We are rapidly approaching the silly stage where we questions the scarves worn in commercials, and Buchenwald versus Auschwitz. Why does the media let the Republicans' continually throw up this crap? They need to start calling these idiots out for the junk issues they are perpetrating.

[publicinsanity]

Excellent story. As bad as things are right now with Bush's fiasco in Iraq this is minute to the atrocities done by Hitler and the Nazi regime. Despite Fox news trying to misinform the public about Barrack Obama's innocent mistake of saying the name of the wrong camp, lets get back to the issue.

The issue is that Barrack Obama was speaking on Memorial Day about the service his Uncle paid to this country. The issue is that after his Uncle came back from Europe he was so distraught by what he saw that he locked himself away from everyone for six months. The issue is that Barrack Obama was trying to honor his Uncle (or great uncle, if being technical) and his service and the right wing fanatics used this Memorial Day salutation for their own perverse political benifits.

And McCain said he wanted to run a respectful campain? And than allowed his campaign to run this pathetic smear campaign? Memorial Day is one of our most sacred holidays. To remember those who have been injured and who have fallen to uphold freedom for us and for others around the world. At one point in time John McCain was a war hero. Now he's just another worthless carreer politician.

[Locksley]

It is not at all wrong to hit the Obamarama on his latest gaffe. He claims it is a "family story" about hos his "uncle" liberated Ausshwitz. It is well known that the Russian army did this. Now, is it wrong to play gotcha about this? Nope. If this is a well known family story, it is impossible that the Omabarama could get so many details wrong. It was not his non-existent uncle, it was his great uncle. It was not Auschwitz, but Buchenwald. No, no. This is the Obamarama searching his brain for some half-remembered incident that he paid little attention to previously. the Obamarama is once again caught playing politics, this time with the Holocaust. For this idiot, Menachem Rosensaft, to accuse the Republicans of "using" the Holocaust to smear the Obamarama is a cheap trick attempting to turn the facts topsy-turvy. I recall how VP Dan Quayle mistakenly insisted that potato is spelled with a final "e" and railed against "Murphy Brown", a television character at the time, should be condemned for being an unwed professional woman. those two instances were shoved into print any time Quayle's name was mentioned. But the Obamarama makes one mistaken after another and the media remains silent. Another sign of the left-wing media bias.

[nancyhopeful08]

You missed Obama's point completely. He was trying to honor his great uncle and all those who serve this country (including my two nephews currently serving in Iraq) and at the same time bring attention to all our soldiers who are coming home with PTSD which is a very real and very serious result of injuries sustained while serving this country and the fact they are not receiving needed care. You dishonor their service with this trivial interpretation of what Obama was trying to convey. I would repeat from the article: Have you no shame?

[CCW4ME2]

Barack Obama spoke about Auschwitz back in 2002 in his speech against the Iraq War:

" My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton’s army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain. I don’t oppose all wars."

Newsmax reported on this back in April:

All this would be great if it weren’t pure fiction. For starters, the Nazis destroyed the Treblinka death camp in 1943 after shooting the last prisoners, a group of Jewish girls.

Then there is the problem of the locations of Treblinka and Auschwitz. Both Nazi death camps were located inside Poland. Thus, no American troops ever entered the camps until years after the war was over.

Auschwitz was taken by the Soviet Union after the Nazis evacuated most of the prisoners. The retreating Nazis left those too weak or sick to walk behind. The 322nd Rifle Division of the Red Army liberated them on Jan. 27 1945.

So, it’s not the first time he talked about US soldiers at Auschwitz. It’s just the first time he mentioned that his crazy uncle was there.

[ajaye]

You are kidding right? You would go this low to defend Fox?
.
But just in case your mind can handle it, you should learn some basic logic. It will help you from being looking foolish in the future.

The mistakes that Obama made were not integral to the story. Perhaps if he had said, I have a relative who liberated a camp....wo­uld you have slimed that? That was the point of the story. The story maintains its integrity even with the minor errors in details that occurred. What the #@)@ difference does it make that it was his great uncle, not his uncle. I don't call my second cousins that, I call them my cousins, does that make me a liar?
So, what if it was Buchanwald, not Auschwitz. The atrocities at Buchanwald were beyond comprehension, as they were at all the work camps and concentration camps. That was the point of Barak's story. The point was that veterans, those who serve in the military often must endure terrible psychological as well as physical pain. The sight of seeing a pile of brutalized bodies is traumatizing no matter where it occurs. Would you be willing to agree on that point?

Quayles mistakes were not analagous in the slightest. Quayle mispelling a word in front of a classrooom shows he can't spell, and the remark about Murphy Brown was an insult to single mothers. See the difference?

[loria]

Okay, here is the bottom line. Did his great uncle serve in WW2? Did his uncle liberate Buchenwald and is it a concentration/labor camp? Is Ausshwitz a concentration camp? The answer to all of these is yes. It is not as if he is making up a story (say like landing under sniper fire in Bosnia when it is obvious there was no gunfire). Instead he made an error that doesn't change the truth about which he was speaking. His great uncle liberated the Jews of Bushenwald and what he saw so impacted him he basically shut himself away for six months. You people can be such hypocrites. This isn't a mistake that changes the truth of the story. There is an inaccuracy, but it's not as if it didn't happen. You know if this is what we do to our candidates we get what we deserve. If you have loved the eight years of Bush, just keep this bs up.

[Lurlie]

Since misspeaking is so important to you I wouldn't expect you to say something like, "I recall how VP Dan Quayle mistakenly insisted that potato is spelled with a final "e" and railed against "Murphy Brown", a television character at the time, should be condemned for being an unwed professional woman."

I would hope you are not so backwards as to insist that all women who work in public in some capacity be married (though with the Republican positions concerning women's rights I wouldn't put it past you!). The issue was that Murphey Brown was an unmarried mother. If you were running for public office and the pundits on Fox were beating your misspoken statement here into the ground that would be stupid, wouldn't it?

Look within, Dude.

[lisakaz2]

Well known, huh? When did you find out the Red Army liberated Auschwitz because as far as I'm concerned most students of history think the US defeated Hitler by itself. The Red Army is hardly ever mentioned, much less credited with turning the tide of the war against Hitler. I get students who've read "Survival in Auschwitz" doing a paper on t and they STILL misidentify who liberated Auschwitz. It's a very common thing to do. It's possible that the soldier did not remember the name of the camp and his relatives assumed it was Auschwitz given what they were told.

[americanworker]

If America is drawn into another 4 or 8 years of folly in the white house , then can we say 'Gotcha". Go back to voting for American Idol so people who are seriously watching how the world around us is evolving , Yes as in Evolution ", can help get America back on track.

[loria]

Great comment.

[americanworker]

maybe its because its only the places where he can look for money ( donations ) and followers ( the mentally blinded ) are worth remembering. He didn't care enough about the people of Florida OR Michigan to go speak to them about his 'Big Dream" because there wasn't any thing of value to bother wasting his time or money .

[Law35]

You still don't get it do you? THEY all agreed not to campaign in Florida and Michigan since they saw fit to break the rules. How funny that the people "caring" about Florida and Michigan now, are the same people who didn't need them until they were losing. Anyway, this is a non-story but hey, they don't have anything else.

[loria]

The same people (Harold Ickes) who voted to strip FL and MI of their delegates. It will all be over soon. FL and MI will be resolved. Obama will enough delegates even with the resolution and Hillary will have no MSM to cover her no matter if she decides to continue to the convention.

[RENREVARD]

Thank-You for the great post!

[pfc1369]

McCain and his pack of feckless fools do not remotely have the power to diminish the memory of the victims of Buchenwald.

[rwe]

But Barack did,,,

[JustMyWords]

Oh, for heaven's sake. If you don't want to vote for Obama, so be it. But for heaven's sake, if you want to find something to hang your hat on, could we do it on something a little more important than the difference between Ohrdruf and Auschwitz?

Nothing in Obama's story diminishes the memory, or the atrocities, of the Nazi camps in the slightest. But playing "gotcha" on this sort of trivia turns the Holocaust into a political parlor game, and that is NOT appropriate.

[Angelus2007]

First off this shouldn't even be a story. People make mistakes, Obama had his facts wrong no big deal, just like when Romney said his father marched with MLK. They had their facts wrong, and made a mistake. It happens. And secondly, what a family memeber did has no impact on whether you would be a good president or not. My father served in Vietnam, he came home with 3 purple hearts, 2 bronze stars and a silver star. That doesn't mean I will be a good president. In fact it makes no difference one way or another.

Although a correction to the article...­Buchenwald and Ohrdruf are near each other (30 miles or so) but not the same camp. Ohrdruf was liberated on April 4th and Buchenwald on April 13th and the nazis left on the 8th. Ohrdruf was a death camp, while Buchenwald was a work camp. Not that it makes much of a difference, but work camps had about a 25% death rate while a death camp was supposed to have a death rate of 100%. Many inmates at Buchenwald were probably sent to Ohrdruf.

[lisakaz2]

More like fact -- name of camp -- not liberating it. Or so it sounds.

[realiybased2]

All of this comparing one explosive tragedy to another is ludicrious. There are more than enough of them to go around. Whether the place was mixed up or not, so what. As a black person, we could also include the slaves that were beaten beyond recognition and tortured daily and slowly and even into the 50's and 60's, blowing up black children in a church, lynching blacks and hanging from trees in public forum. So please, FOX trying to smear Obama over misinterpretation of PLACES where horrific acts took place is low but that's what FOX is and always has been. And it does boggle the mind when they continue to get away with the things they say. Yet, anytime a reporter said something negative about BUSH, they were fired or reassigned to a lower position. What is wrong with this PICTURE!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!

[usapatriot1973]

Yeah, because nobody got killed at those work camps. Right.

What Fox News does should be a crime, or at least enough to have their broadcast licenses revoked.

[Soundofthunder]

My grandfather was part of the Allied occupation force in Germany. What he saw was so horrible he remained reticent on the subject till his dying day. So for Fox to split hairs over which atrocities his uncle saw, Auschwitz or Buchenwald, is not only politically dubious but morally perverse. In Fox's opinion, how many people must be killed in a concentration "work" camp before it's officially a death camp? Fifty thousand and one would be my guess.

SOT

[rwe]

No matter ,Scott McClellan will have some one ghost write an essay to blame Pres Bush for the holocaust anyway

[CitizenE]

Well it would be good for the flag lapel crowd such as yourself--Bush apologizers--to recognize that Bush's grandfather was sympathetic to the Nazis before jumping on the Swift Boat express.

[donballz]

He was well beyond a sympathizer, he sat on the board of the company that funded the nazi rise to power. Prescott practically invented the nazis. While planning to overthrow FDR and take the white house by force.

[LaraineNewman]

Depressing is the word. Depressing that in our culture today, if you say it, and it gets billboarded for whatever reasons, whatever minions are at work, it can be effectively construed as the truth.

[Locksley]

What is depressing is that the airhead, Obamarama, is seriously being considered as president by easily-led liberal voters in a massive demonstration of liberal guilt. The Democratic party, the party of slavery loves the fact that the Obamarama can be used to mask its latest attempt to keep an entire class of people trying to escape tyranny in their own lands to the south, in peonage in the US. Democrats who turn their faces from this horror deserve to be respresented by the air-head Obamarama.

[loria]

Do you even try to hide your racist attitude? I am just wondering. Do you talk like this in to those who know you or is this something you reserve for blogging?