ASHLAND — Members of Europe’s Zionist movement made declarations often that Jewish people were targets for murder, even before World War II and the Holocaust, according to Yossi Kugler.
But, Kugler continued, their warnings were more akin to prophecies.
Really, their belief was that Jewish people were hated, and immigration to a Jewish state was the answer.
Even they didn’t truly predict the Germans’ goal during the Holocaust: complete annihilation of Europe’s Jewish people.
“It is crucial to note that the level of awareness among Jews during the war about their impending fate does not imply an absence of information,” Kugler said in a speech at Ashland University Thursday night.
“News constantly circulated throughout Europe during the war.”
Still, he said those reports were based on the region and time period, and certainly weren’t as comprehensive as the knowledge we have 80 years after the fact.
Kugler is a scholar with Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. He received his Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University, and his dissertation focused on Israelis’ attitudes toward antisemitism.
Kugler visited Ashland University as part of the school’s partnership with Yad Vashem. He’s teaching a two-week, one credit Holocaust course at the university. His speech was offered by the Ashland Center for Non-Violence.
Knowledge versus understanding
In his speech Thursday, Kugler argued the Holocaust was so incomprehensible that Jewish people didn’t understand the full scope of the Germans’ intentions, even as they gained knowledge about it.
“We have seen that while many Jews were exposed to information, most were unable to transform this information into knowledge, understanding or internalization,” Kugler said.
On the German side, Kugler said, they knew they weren’t supposed to know — and it created an attitude of indifference.
Over the course of his hour-long speech, Kugler drew from first hand accounts of survivors. He analyzed how they’d realized parts of the threat without fully connecting the pieces.
His speech offered a slew of reasons why that may have been the case: personal history, a desire to protect their families, a belief that there would be a need for them in wartime and, simply, optimism.
He also wove in stories about Jewish resistance during the Holocaust, highlighting that this resistance took place on both a physical and spiritual level.
Still, it was only those who did internalize the knowledge they gained about the Holocaust who participated in resistance, Kugler said. They felt they had nothing to lose.
His speech concluded with a question and answer period with the audience.
Audience reactions
Paul Robinson, a retired psychologist who worked at Ashland University and North Central State College, said he thought Kugler’s speech was “enlightening, excellent (and) comprehensive.”
What struck Robinson most about Kugler’s speech was how people didn’t believe the warning signs. As a psychologist, Robinson said it didn’t surprise him, but it was jarring nonetheless.
Robinson said he doesn’t think it appropriate to equate the Holocaust with American politics, but did say his main takeaway is a parallel between how people can refute evidence and fail to grasp the gravity of an impending disaster.
He said one that’s top-of-mind for him is the outcome of the 2024 election in America. Robinson thinks democracy may be at risk following that election. He’s also concerned about climate change.
“From elections to global warming — if you believe it, you have to live that belief,” Robinson said.
Dana Krukovska, another speech attendee, is a sophomore at AU. She studies journalism and communications and is minoring in political science, and Krukovska is taking Kugler’s Holocaust course.
Krukovska, also one of AU’s Ukrainian Freedom Scholars, said she signed up for the class because the Holocaust is part of Ukrainian history and even touched her hometown.
Thursday’s speech covered some of the information from their first class meetings. But, Krukovska said, her biggest takeaway was German indifference. She said she’d never really thought about the German perspective before.
“It’s important to be curious and learn so that you can have the most non-biased perspective,” Krukovska said.
