Fahri D., Why is it that you object to excavating in Auschwitz? Is it
that you do NOT wish information published about the supposed "gas
chambers"? Is it perhaps too painful a memory?
Gerry
Fahri D. wrote:
>
> Dear .....,
> When I read the sentence about Excavating the Holocost, I ask myself why did
> they want to excavate in Auschwitz? What did they have got a archaeological
> problem in Auschwitz? I think we know why the germans want to kill my past,
> my jewish brothers and sisters, in Auschwitz.We know the bitter material
> culture in Auschwitz. you should not inconvenience them. I dont understand
> your archaeological ethics.
> Fahri DIKKAYA
> :-]
>
> >From: "Paul Barford" <[log in to unmask]>
> >Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Excavating the Holocaust
> >Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 12:46:57 +0100
> >
> >A belated, but I hope not untopical, reply to Geoff Carver's contribution
> >of 11 Jan 2000 - 19:17 GMT concerning the Irving libel trial and the
> >interpretation of the evidence for the Holocaust:
> > >> not quite archaeology, but: if they can't decide what happened 50-60
> >years ago, with living witnesses and all, what chance do we have with
> >archaeology? <<
> >While not wanting in this forum to get involved in any way in the
> >discussion with the Holocaust Deniers, it is not quite true that there is
> >no archaeological aspect to this extremely emotive and controversial
> >problem.
> >
> >Before they retreated at the end of the War, the Germans destroyed the four
> >crematoria at Brzezinka (Birkenau = Auschwitz II), leaving them as
> >collapsed ruins. In 1967 the Institute of the History of Material Culture
> >of the Polish Academy of Sciences excavated the remains of Crematorium III.
> >The full results of these excavations were never formally published but the
> >material ("a rich assemblage of objects belonging to the murdered persons")
> >and documentation still lingers in the basement of the Institute of
> >Archaeology and Ethnology in Warsaw (information from the excavator). A
> >film was made which is still from time to time shown on Polish television.
> >The results of the work "recovered additional evidence for the crimes
> >committed" at Auschwitz. The timing of the excavations was a bit
> >unfortunate, just preceding a wave of antisemitism engendered by the
> >political events of 1968.
> >
> >The site is presented briefly by Witold Hensel (1973) *Archaeologia Zywa*
> >page 172 fig. 86 (Wheeler-type box system), while Jacek Lech in his
> >extensive survey in English of Polish archaeology (*Between captivity and
> >freedom: Polish archaeology in the twentieth century* 1997-8; Archaeologia
> >Polona 35-6, pp25-222) has one sentence on these excavations and a better
> >copy of the site photo (p. 131, fig. 66). He says "excavations were also
> >necessary during investigation of the Nazi crimes at Auschwitz-Birkenau",
> >while not explaining precisely to which investigations he refers, nor what
> >the contribution of archaeology was. Was archaeology used as a means of
> >producing material evidence - in the form of finds - as an illustration to
> >a picture created from documentary and oral evidence, or could the
> >archaeological evidence stand on its own right?
> >
> >The apparently somewhat cavalier treatment of this material raises a number
> >of ethical questions. Perhaps it is time to return to the documentation of
> >this unpublished site, and find a more suitable resting place for the
> >discovered relics (such as the museum at Auschwitz).
> >
> >Similar excavations took place a few years ago at Chełmno near Koło in
> >Poland. Again, a full report has not yet appeared. One wonders whether
> >digging these sites serves a purpose which could not be achieved by other
> >means, such as geophysical survey and aerial photographic study.
> >
> >Paul Barford
> >(Warsaw, Poland)
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
--
Gerald Reinhart
Independent Scholar
(650) 321-7378
[log in to unmask]
http://www.alekseevmanuscript.com
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|