001-001-001_000-OCR-YVS-1957-v1-Dinur, Benzion, - Problems Confronting Yad Vashem in its Work of Research.pdf

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Article:

Dinur, Benzion, "Problems Confronting 'Yad Vashem' in its Work of Research"

Published in:

Yad Vashem Studies 1 (1957) 7-30

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Problems Confronting 'Yad Warhem'in its Work of Research

By BENZION DINUR

ITHE INITIAL PROBLEM confronting Yad Washem in itswork of research into the catastrophe which engulfed EuropeanJewry during the Second World War and into Jewish re-sistance in this period, is that of defining and delimiting itsobjectives. It is essential at the very outset to clarify the natureof these objectives in keeping with the general purpose andfunctions of the Memorial Authority-Yad Washem as de-fined in the relevant Act of Knesset.The "Memorial to the European Jewish Catastrophe and

Jewish Resistance-Yad Washem Act" was drafted after care-ful study in a number of bodies,-a special Committee of theMinistry of Education and Culture, a special Cabinet Com-mittee, the Cabinet Legislative Committee, a Joint Committeecomprising members of the Knesset Committees for Educationand Culture and for Law, Legislation and Justice, and finallyby the Israel Knesset. The minutes of these various committeesand the Knesset Record (Divrei Haknesset) provide adequatetestimony that the most meticulous care was invested in thedrafting and terminology of the Act, not only in respect oftheir immediate meaning but also taking into account theirwider implications. I f we wish to understand the function thatdevolves on Yad Washem under this Act and the means bywhich the Memorial Authority must carry out its responsibili-ties, we must first carefully study the Act itself. We must elu-cidate the functions which have been entrusted under the Act

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BENZION DINURto Yad Washem and which the Memorial Authority has beeninstructed to implement. We must also determine the functionswhich come within the competence of Yad Washem, becauseof their nature and importance, but which it is not legallyobliged to carry out.

I believe that it is necessary before proceeding to discussthe functions and aims of Yad Washem in conducting researchinto the European catastrophe and Jewish resistance, to clarifythe explicit responsibilities devolving upon it.

I IThe objectives of Yad Washem have been set forth in Para-graph 2 of the Act, dealing with "The functions and com-petence of Yad Washem." It reads as follows: "The functionof Yad Washem is to gather into the homeland all comme-moratory material regarding members of the Jewish people whofell, fought and rebelled against the Nazi enemy and Germansatellites, to establish a memorial for them and for the commu-nities, organizations and institutions, which were destroyed be-cauSe they belonged to the Jewish people."The Hebrew term med in this Act is zekher deriving from

the root meaning "to record something known, that it shouldbe remembered for a long time", "what is preserved in thehuman mind of something seen or heard in the past". Forthis reason, indeed, the word zekher is often used in theBible as a synonym for shem i.e. name. The use of thephrase "to gather into the homeland all commemoratory mate-rial" implies primarily the collection and preservation of thenames of all those "members of the Jewish people who fell,fought and rebelled against the Nazi enemy". The initialduty of Yad Washem accordingly is to inscribe the names of allthose who lost their lives in the course of the European cata-strophe, and of all those who fell in the struggle against theNazis.In addition it is the duty of Yad Washem to inscribe the

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PROBLEMS OF RESEARCHnames of all the communities, organizations and institutionsthat were destroyed.

The Act does not specify the manner in which the namesof the victims of the catastrophe and the resistance must beinscribed. The method to be adopted is left to the discretionof the Directorate of Yad Washem. However the Act is un-ambiguous about the first duty of Yad Washem as set forthabove.

IIIYad Washem is the Memorial Authority for the Europeancatastrophe and for Jewish resistance. It is by no means for-tuitous that the terms zekher and zikkaron are repeated inthe various articles of the Act. Yad Washem was entrustedwith the task of implementing the function of commemorationin its diverse implications. These terms have at least three otherconnotations, besides that already referred to. These are: 1."An act deliberately performed with the purpose of the pre-serving something in the heart, to call attention to it constantlyand to publicize it"; 2. "A record in which all details oftestimony collected are preserved, an exact written record";3. "Attention and study; thought and study of something witha view to learning a lesson therefrom for future generations."

The legislators kept all these connotations before them indrafting the Act and incorporated in Article 2 the initial termsof reference of Yad Washem; as follows: "For this purposeit shall be authorized:

1. To establish memorial projects upon its own initiativeand under its own direction;2. To collect, investigate and publish all testimony regard-ing the catastrophe and to pass on to the people thelessons to be learned therefrom;3. To establish the observance of the day set aside by theKnesset as a Day of Memorial for the European cata-strophe and for Jewish resistance, and to foster a unified

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BENZION DINURform of commemoration of the heroes and martyrs ofthe Jewish people.

Paragraph 2 accordingly deals with the functions of Yad Washem in conducting research into the catastrophe which overwhelmed European Jewry, and enumerates four categories ofactivities:

1. collection; 2. research; 3. publication; 4. inculcation ofthe lesson to be learned from this testimony.

I shall endeavour to explain more fully each of these functions and its peculiar problems.IV

The first field of competence under the Act is the collectionof testimony dealing with the years of the catastrophe. Forthis reason the "Memorial Authority-Yad Washem" mustengage primarily in the task of collecting historical and othermaterial dealing with this period, regarding the destructionof the communities and the extermination of the Jews, theJewish resistance and the struggle against the Nazis in all itsforms. This function must, in the nature of things, be the firstto be performed for it provides the basis for other work ofresearch.

The collection of the material is no easy task and it involvesmany problems stemming from the nature, the volume, anddispersion of the material that must be collected.

This material can be classified into five categories:1. Documentary material, directly bearing upon the deve

lopments of the period.2. Testimony, comprising mainly evidence collected after

the catastrophe, some of its verbal taken during theexamination of witnesses, describing events and incidents,connected with a definite time and place.

3. Memoirs and reminiscences put down in writing by wit-10


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PROBLEMS OF RESEARCHnesses on the basis of their recollection and not as a resultof questions put to them.

4. Literary material. All the many and varied publicationsdealing with the years of the catastrophe, the causes andresults of the latter, appearing in all countries and languages and in all classes of literature.

5. Museum material, relics of the period of catastrophe, oflife in the Ghettoes, of the horrors and atrocities in theCamps and of all formere of resistance to the Nazis.

Obviously the work of collection of each category of materialhas to cope with specific problems. Each calls for special methods and the employment of diverse experts, e.g. contemporaryhistorians, bibliographers and archivists, sociologists and jurists.

The problems of the scope, the variety and the dispersionof the material required are common to all categories enumerated. We must bear in mind that in conducting research intothis period we cannot confine our collection of material onlyto the category relating to the Nazis and their satellites, theorganizers and perpetraters of the mass slaughter. We mustalso seek out material touching upon their victims, the Jewishpeople during the years of this national disaster, both in thosecountries where the Jewish communities were engulfed by theNazi cataclysm and beyond, and the reactions in the outsideworld which had a direct and powerful influence upon thecourse of events.

Thus documentary material can be classified according toits source and character into three sub-categories: a. materialrelating to the Nazis and their satellites; b. material dealingwith the Jews, their institutions and organizations; c. generalmaterial dealing with the Jews and the persecution they suffered in other countries and among other peoples (both belligerents who fought against Hitler and neutrals), their institutionsand organizations, insofar as they had any connection with theexistence and fate of the Jews.

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BENZION DINUR

Each of these sub-categories, again, presents special problemsin regard to the collection of the relevant material. The firstcategory includes mainly official documents. None of the "explanations" put forward -by the neo-Nazis, and by the largevariety of Nazi collaborateurs and apologists, can alter theindisputable fact that the extermination of the Jews was aplanned and deliberate attempt at genocide, organized by theNazi authorities, in which the entire administrative machineof the German Reich and the German Army participated, inone way or another. Despite the "double-talk" utilized andthe extensive destruction of relevant documents-and it mustbe admitted that the Germans have been successful in conceiling much of the material relating to this period-the vastdimensions of the work of extermination, the careful organization of such a protracted operation, and also the extent of theNazi defeat prevented the destruction of the bulk of the documentary material. I believe that I shall not be guilty of anyexaggeration in saying that there have been few crimes inhistory, of which the guilty men left behind so much documentary evidence. The Nazi authorities insisted upon detailedreports from those responsible for the work of extermination,regarding the "progress" made in the performance of their"duties". Millions of documents recording the course of thework of destruction have been salvaged, bearing mute testimonyto the vast extent of the mass murder organized and carriedout by the Nazis. The importance of this material lies in theassistance it gives in establishing the facts, but because of itsofficial character it sometimes also provides details regardingthe identity of the victims and the manner in which they mettheir death.

The second category of documentary material-the Jewishmaterial-is important not only because of its content butbecause of its quantity. The desire of the Jews to provide testimony for future generations regarding the horrors of this period was a characteristic manifestation. It seems that this urge

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PROBLEMS O F RESEARCHto record their testimony was inspired by their wish to placetheir case before some Divine Tribunal. Both of these phenomena call for much further research, as a reaction of a "peopleconscious of being condemned to death"-a state of mindinto which we have not yet succeeded in penetrating, let aloneunderstanding.

This urge to give testimony has supplied us with many documents regarding the Jewish communities, the ghettoes and thecamps, and also of organizations, institutions, of families andindividuals. All this material is of immense importance, bothfrom the point of view of the historian and as a vital nationalrelic of the calamity, the lessons of which must be preserved forfuture generations.

We must bear in mind, however, that there were importantaspects of Jewish life in this period, regarding which, in thenature of things, no documents could remain. We refer s p e c i f i ~cally to the Jewish Resistance, to the underground and variousother forms of active opposition to the Nazis. The only documents are the testimony and reminiscences inscribed after theevent. It must be assumed also that there will be little documentary evidence regarding the participation of the Jews inthe war against Hitler, in the various underground movementswhich operated in the countries of Europe and in the nationalliberation forces, which were established both in Eastern andin Western Europe. The Nazis sought to denigrate the forcesfighting against them by charging them with conducting "Jew-ish" warfare. This charge indeed underlay their propaganda bothbefore and during the war. The attitude of the belligerent powerswas similar, though in the reverse direction, for they sought tominimize the participation of the Jews in their ranks. In the earlyperiod of the Jewish emancipation, it may be recalled, Jewsserving in the diverse armit's often adopted Christian noms-deguerre so as to avoid molestation at the hands of their Christianfellow-soldiers. One hundred and fifty years later a numberof nations were very circumspect about publicizing the parti-

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BENZION DINUR

cipation of the Jews in the national liberation forces oftenusing non-Jewish noms-de-guerre for Jewish organizations. Thecollection of whatever documentary material dealing with thisaspect that has remained must be among the most importantfunctions of Yad Washem. The major task of the latter, however, must be the recording of testimony and the ingathering ofthe indirect evidence available in the press and in literature, inofficial regulations, in the grant of medals, in casualty lists andthe like.

The third category of documentary material dealing withthis period is that preserved in archives in foreign countries,and particularly in countries engaged in the struggle againstHitler and the satellites of the Nazis. To the best of our knowledge the Netherlands is the only country which has established an official scientific institution to conduct research into thisperiod and to preserve the relevant documents. The high scientific standards this institution-the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation-has succeeded in maintainingand the efficiency with which it carries out its duties can, indeed, serve a an example for other nations. However, the documentary material preserved in other countries is of major historic importance for research into the European catastrophe andthe tragic fate of the Jews everywhere. There are also important international institutions (such as the International Committee of the Red Cross) which have important documentarymaterial of this character in their possession. These institutionsmaintained certain contacts with Germany during the waryears and insofar as this material has survived-according toone report, for example, the hundreds of thousands of requestssent by Jews of the Ghettoes to the Red Cross have beendestroyed-it can serve as an important source of informationfor our purpose. The immediate problem regarding this material is to obtain precise information about its nature and whereabouts.

Records and documents of the various war criminals' trials14


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P R. O BL E M S O F RESEARCHconstitute material of a more general nature. Not only has anentire literature based upon these trials emerged but they havebeen instrumental in laying bear a rich lode of new material.Some of this material is of a unique character and includesthe writings and testimony, notes, memoirs and even diaries"of the criminals themselves. Regarding certain phases of the-.European catastrophe there are three classes of material: Reports of those responsible for the actual acts of exterminationat the time; the testimony of the victims; and reports of thecriminals after the act.

But despite the wealth of the material available for researchinto this period it is very widely dispersed. These documents,are to be found not only in archives of many countries of theworld, but in the collections of diverse political and social or-ganizations and scientific institutions-publicly and privatelyendowed-for research into this period. Often material on asingle aspect is dispersed over many countries, while thousandsof documents are in the hands of private persons, who survivedthe death camps, fought in the underground resistance movements or in the ranks of the diverse armies. Much material isalso retained by societies of people coming from the same town,by ex-servicemen's organizations, institutions for invalids andthe like. vTaking into account the state of affairs outlined in the foregoing,it seems to me that the general function of Yad Washem incollecting the testimony relating to the European catastropheand the Jewish resistance comprises five basic branches of activity, as follows: collection (in archives and museums); preparation of photographs; preparation of catalogues; the takingof testimony and compilation of bibliographies.

1. Collection: It is the immediate duty of Yad Washemto acquire for its archives as much of the widely disperseddocumentary material as it is able to secure. Its aim must beto convert its archives into a central institution of its kind for

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BENZION D I N U Rresearch into the European catastrophe. I t must also collect allmuseum material, the relics bearing testimony to the events ofthe past and capable of conveying something of the terrorsand suffering of the period. This category of material includesrecordings of songs of the Ghetto and the camps, anddocumentary films (some of these produced by the Nazisthemselves, others relating to the period of the German defeatand the liberation of the inmates of concentration camps).It is difficult to exaggerate the historical significance of material of this kind. The vast extent of the extermination operations, the participation not only of Germans but of membersof other nations, too, the fact that the Ghettoes and the campswere widely dispersed over many countries, has resulted infar more relics of this period being preserved than was previously conceived. These relics include: the special badgesJews were required to wear in various districts and states (theyellow patch", the "Magen David" and the like) ; coins andpostage stamps from the Ghettoes and camps; labour cardsand prisoners-books; religious requisites (Torah scrolls, prayerbooks, shofarot, mezuzot, and the like); children's text-andcopy-books; photographs of street scenes (of camps and Ghettoes), of partisan bands and Ghetto resistance fighters; drawings and other pictorial material-including caricaturesdrawn by artists resident in the Ghettoes and camps, or byothers; exhibits reflecting private and public life, includingclothing worn by the victims of the Nazi terror; embroidery;uniforms of the prisoners of the camps; children's dolls; musical instruments; pocket-knives; the weapons and equipment ofthe underground and Ghetto fighters; and medals given forservice in the fight against the Nazis. In this category we must,of course, also include the remains of the victims of the catastrophe, and the instruments used to torture them. A considerable amount of material emanating from Nazi sources can alsobe collected. This class includes sign- and notice-boards from thecamps, albums of photographs depicting scenes in the Ghettoes

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P R. O BL E M S O F RESEARCHand the camps; articles prepared from jewish religious requisities such as purses, hand-bags and even jackboots made fromthe parchment of Torah scrolls. The museum containing theseobjects, which must be established by Yad Washem should serveas the central institution of its kind for this purpose.2. Photographs: In keeping with this purpose Yad Washemmust embark upon the planned and systematic photographingof all documents dealing with the European catastrophe preserved in archives and institutes to which we have accessthroughout the world. The principle of reciprocality must inspire this field of Yad Washem's work, not only because it willfacilitate it, but because we are interested-as indeed we mustbe-to multiply documentary material in all archives andscientific institutions established to investigate the period of theEuropean catastrophe, and thereby, simultaneously, to contribute towards raising such research to a higher plane ofscholarship.

3. Preparation of catalogues: I t is essential that we have fullinformation about the documentary material stored in the YadWashem archives and museum and that scholars have easyaccess to this material. For this reason we must collect all information possible about the material preserved and availablein the various archives. A detailed and descriptive catalogue ofsuch material must be compiled.

4. Collection of testimony: Obviously even the most complete collection of all documentary material relating to the yearsof the European catastrophe does not cover all the testimonyavailable.

To a far greater extent than for any other period in Jewishhistory personal evidence regarding the European catastropheis of vital importance. We must bear in mind that though alarge amount of material relating to the catastrophe has beensalvaged, it is not sufficient when compared with the magnitudeof the catastrophe. From the German official documentswhich have escaped deliberate destruction we can only obtain

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BENZION DINUR

information on matters in which the Germans themselves wereinterested, namely, in the implementation of the expulsion andtransportation of the Jews, the figures for those so expelled,and similar data for what were regarded as "achievements"on the road towards "the final solution" of the Jewishquestion. The Germans at this time were committed to the totaldestruction of the Jewish people, the extermination of communities and of synagogues, of Yeshivot and schools, of booksand writings. And despite the desire of Jews to leave a recordfor future generations of the horrors they had experienced, oftheir struggle to preserve the image of God even while in theEuropean purgatory, of their active and passive resistance toGerman persecution, their faith and their despair, their operations together with the fighters in the forests and the partisanbands, the organization of the underground, the few acts ofcharity on the part of Gentiles in their terrible distress--of allthis we have virtually no documentary material at all. Indeedoften one is left with the impression that one must rely entirelyon the evidence of the criminals themselves. This suffices tounderline the significance of the personal evidence of survivorsof the European holocaust. Furthermore this evidence assists usto see the European catastrophe in its entirety in its proper perspective. German plans to "solve" once and for all the "Jewishquestion" and the work of destroying, in successive stages, millions of Jews, plumbed new depths of human depravity, reminiscent in its cruelty and brutishness of primitive tribes. Therecords left behind by such human beasts cannot constituteproper evidence of the daily processes of mass murder.

The details of the attitude of the Germans towards the Jews,of the relations of the local populations-the Poles, the Ukrainians, the Lithuanians, the Letts, the Czechs, the Hungarians, the Serbs, the Roumanians, the Danes, the Swedes, theDutch and the French-reflect the preparation of public opinion in entire states and nations for the fate held in store forthe Jews. From the historical aspect the value of such evidence

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PROBLEMS O F RESEARCHis of paramount importance regarding internal processes inJewish life. There can be no doubt that the Jewish capacityfor resistance and the internal strength of Jewish biologicosociological cells-families, settlements, communities, politicalparties, unions and organizations-played a vital role in thefate which overtook the Jews of Europe. These manifestationscan only be properly assessed after close examination of dailylife in the Ghetto and the conduct of its residents. Evidencesubmitted by persons who survived all these horrors can provideus with invaluable material regarding Jewish resistance, theunderground organizations and the revolt, the methods adoptedby the Resistance Movement, its success and its failures. I t issuperfluous to stress that in regard to many communities theverbal testimony that is given by survivors constitutes virtuallythe only material we have regarding their fate. Our aim toobtain all the material possible relating to our subject makesit incumbent upon us to gather systematically all evidencedealing with the actual destruction and the Jewish resistance.The material that has accumulated in the Dapei 'Ed belongsto this category. Hundreds of thousands of such Dapei 'Edcontaining the names of victims of the European catastropheand details of the fate which overtook entire communities constitute source material regarding the destruction of the basiccells of Jewish society-the family and the community.

From every point of view memoirs and reminiscences of persons who witnessed and experienced the horrors of the European catastrophe, watched it develop, or took part actively inthe fight against their Nazi oppressors, either in regular militaryformations or in the partisan bands, as underground resistancefighters or in the Ghetto revolts, or in any other form, are ofmajor importance. These memoirs must be treated in the sameway as any other testimony and must, of course, be properlyexamined. The plain and unvarnished character of the narration and the presence of the narrator on the spot at the timeconstitute in themselves no guarantee of the authenticity of

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BENZION D I N U Rsuch memoirs. The reason need not be any desire to "amend"or to "improve" upon actual events for any ulterior purpose.I t is difficult for the individual to liberate himself from hisown personality. He has a propensity to see the past and hisown past experiences, from the vantage point of the present.In such evidence every effort must be made to establish all thefacts relating to the narrator, his location and status during theperiod of the catastrophe, and his subsequent career. We mustkeep in mind that one of the requisite qualities for writingreminiscences is that of recreating the "climate" existing atthe time and thereby to reconstruct the past. This quality indeed has determined the importance of reminiscences for historical research.

One of the difficulties with which we have to contend inconducting research into the European catastrophe relates toour capacity to enter into that special "climate." This indeedis an essential precondition for such research. For this reasonYad Washem must do everything in its power to foster andstimulate the writing of such reminiscences by people who livedthrough the European catastrophe, and to preserve these memoirs in its archives after close examination to establish theirauthenticity.

5. Bibliography: The testimony relating to the Europeancatastrophe will naturally include much printed material. Thismaterial, issued in many countries and in some thirty languagesconstitutes a veritable literature, counting thousands of booksand pamphlets and a far greater number of articles and thelike. It covers all classes of literature: from memoirs, articlesand diaries kept by the victims of the Nazis, to inflammatoryand propaganda material issued by the Nazis in connectionwith the campaign of extermination they launched against theJews; from the memorial books published by diverse Jewishcommunities to reports on the Nazi crimes and the records ofthe courts in which they were tried; from poetry and studiesof the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis to the neo-Nazi litera-

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PROBLEMS OF RESEARCHture, which overtly or covertly was issued to extenuate theatrocities perpetrated and to defend those responsible; fromhistorical works of a general nature seeking to establish thebackground that permitted the rise of the Nazis to power andgranted them the opportunity and the means to carry out theirsatanic plans of wholesale slaughter to studies of the methodsevolved for their nefarious purposes. The duty of Yad Washemin respect of this literature is twofold. It must collect all pos-sible information about it by the preparation of bibliographicallists that will be as comprehensive as possible. It must alsoseek to collect all the relevant books, pamphlets, articles etc., itcan lay hands on. The basic condition of any such work is thecompilation of a full card index, with a card for every workcatalogued, complete with full information about each workand the category in which it is registered (in keeping with thesystem of classification decided upon by Yad Washem). Thecollection of this literary material is essential for any seriousattempt at research into the European catastrophe and Jewishresistance.

VIThe second function to which reference is made in Paragraph2 of the Act is to conduct research into all testimony concerningthe European catastrophe and the Jewish resistance. I believethat it is advisable primarily, to clarify the significance of thisparagraph and only thereafter to draw our conclusions regard-ing the specific tasks which devolve upon Yad Wash em in thisfield.

The immediate and primary meaning of research is to delvedeeply, with a view to finding what is hidden or covered.Research also means to follow something up to its source,

to observe every detail very closely. From these two followsa third meaning, namely to study something closely and therebyto acquire a more precise knowledge of the subject of study.

Scientific research, of course, involves all three of these21


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BENZION D I N U Raspects and accordingly Yad Washem must proceed in threedirections as follows:

1. to uncover, by seeking out primary sources, all the detailsof the European catastrophe;2. to conduct close inquiry into the European catastrophe

and Jewish resistance, with special regard to detail;3. close study with a view to securing authentic information

regarding the catastrophe and the various acts performedduring these years.The implication is not that Yad Washem itself must engagein all this work of research and study. Its duty is to create

a suitable permanent organizational framework for the conductof such research aud study, in the various fields demarcated.Within the general framework Yad Washem must grant thenecessary facilities to scientists for research and study. It mustof course take whatever steps it deems necessary to ensure thehighest scientific standards of this research.

In carrying out this function, accordingly, Yad Washem isconfronted by two main problems:1. The creation of the organizational framework within

which the guidance necessary to ensure proper scientificstandards will be provided;

2. A clear definition of the various fields of research mustbe established.

1. There is little doubt that the most suitable organizationalframework which can be established for this purpose, perhapsthe only one which can implement the functions devolvingupon Yad Washem-is a special scientific institute, attachedto the Hebrew University and working in collaboration with it,dedicated to a study of "all the testimony regarding the European catastrophe and Jewish resistance." This research must

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PROBLEMS O F RESEARCHbe undertaken within the bounds of the history of the period,in all its manifold ramifications.

This institute must be headed by a Professor of ModernJewish History who must be connected in some way with thegeneral purposes of Yad Washem (in the field of collectionand research) and with the Hebrew University (facilities forinstruction in historical research). Only such an institute, pos-sessing close ties with academic teaching and scientific guidance,can hope to foster and encourage research and ensure the re-quisite scientific standards.

On the other hand it is also very important that the ResearchDepartment of Yad Washem, comprising such institutions asthe library, archives, and the museum, and bibliographicalscientific projects, the collection of personal testimony, theeditorial board and the like, should also stand in some sortof relation to the scientific institute referred to above. It isto be hoped that the negotiations at present under way betweenthe Hebrew University and Yad Washem regarding the crea-tion of such an institute will soon be concluded and that as aresult the instrument so necessary for the purposes of YadWashem will be forged.

2. On the face of it the clear definition of the various fieldsof research presents no difficulties. The terms of research areclear: the destruction of the Jews of Europe by Germany andher satellites during the Second World War. Closer examina-tion, however, reveals that we have here three clearly demar-cated spheres of research, namely: Germany and her satellitecountries; the Jewish population in Europe and the othercountries of the Diaspora; the nations which waged war onGermany, witnessed the atrocities, the reactions of these nations,the degree of aid they extended, their indifference to these hor-rors and the like. Each of these fields present special problems,but they share two in common-demarcation of the limits ofeach field, and definition of the subjects which enter each ofthem. Each of these is of very extensive proportions, for in the

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B E N Z I O N D I N U R

nature of things they tend to expand both in breadth and indepth. This "depth" entails research into other historical periodsand circumstances, preceding the European catastrophe, butwhich nevertheless possess an organic connection with it."Breadth" implies extension of the field of research to includenot only all aspects of the destruction of Jewry and life in thecamps and the Ghettoes, but also manifestations which at firstsight appear not to be involved in the catastrophe. This extensionof the field of research in both directions brings in its trainthe danger of deviation from the main purpose of Yad Washern. The best method of ensuring the basic character of theresearch while at the same time preserving the proper termsof reference the Authority seems to the present writer tobe as already stated, a clear delimination of each of the fieldsof research and definition of the subjects that come within it.Such delimitation is of course necessary for the proper implementation of the diverse functions that devolve upon YadWashem. It is not our intention here to outline such a plan,but we shall endeavour to clarify with the aid of a numberof examples basic principles in the light of which we believethe limits of each field of research, should be demarcated. Oneexample from the first field-the German-Nazi. One of theproblems encountered in this field centres around the "plan" forthe "final solution" of the Jewish problem. We must determinewhen this plan was conceived and launched, when the "idea"of mass destruction was first brought up, and trace the discussions held in the Nazi Party with regard to implementation,the preparation of world public opinion and finally the settingof a date for the actual work of extermination. A close studyof even part of the official sources of Nazi literature-fromHitler's "Mein Kampf" and the speeches of Goebbels, Goeringand Streicher, from the plans of the Nazi Party in regard to theJews, down to the diaries of Frank and others, all prove beyondany shadow of doubt that this plan was not conceived duringthe war, nor even as far back as the riots of November 1938.

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PROBLEMS O F RESEARCHThe Nuernberg Laws and all the other acts of repression andpersecution to which the Jews were subjected under the Naziregime in Germany were often described by the rulers of thatcountry as an attempt to deal more liberally with the Jews.In other words this was not the real policy that was contemplated. The Nazis reiterated that while "every Nazi is an antiSemite, not every anti-Semite is a Nazi" and that thereforethe Nazis would not rest content with "the expulsion of theJews from the German people." They openly avowed their intention of adopting other "measures". Regarding the latter wehave adequate evidence relating to the period predating Hitler'saccession to power, despite the fact that in that period theNazis did not always practice candour in regard to their futureaims. This dissimulation, of course, was deliberate. Nazi literature provides an abundance of testimony that many yearsbefore Hitler's rise to power, "the physical extermination ofthis foreign people" was seriously discussed and whatever hesitations were entertained centred mainly about technical difficulties impeding implementation of the scheme. The Nazileaders, such as Goebbels, Streicher and others, declared quiteopenly that "it is a mistake to believe that the final solutionof the Jewish problem will be achieved without bloodshed", andthat "if we wish to live the Jews must die!" The style of propaganda they adopted and their campaign of incitement provesbeyond the slightest shadow of doubt that they envisaged the"extermination of creatures" upon whom mercy would bewasted and who indeed did not belong to the human race atall. Hitler's declaration in the Reichstag on the 30th January,1939, that if a world war broke out one certain result wouldbe "the extermination of the Jewish people in Europe" cannotbe regarded as mere rhetoric; it was rather the calculatedpolicy-declaration of the leader of a political party, of its innercircle, that under conditions of international conflict it wouldprove possible to effect a "final solution" along the lines regarded as desirable, and that to facilitate the execution of that

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policy it must be explained both within the country and abroad.Indeed the destruction of the Jews was one of Hitler's paramount war aims, to be accomplished without any connectionwith the other objectives he had set himself.

The work of destruction and all the incredible atrocities itinvolved could not be carried out without the active participation of tens of thousands and the support of hundreds ofthousands of persons. Millions bore witness to its executionwhile the whole world knew of it. I t is equally obvious thatthe decision taken to put this policy into effect was the outcome of a systematic preparation of public opinion throughoutthe world by the Nazis, and also by anti-Semitic propagandacarried on over a period of seventy years.

In our efforts to lay bare the very roots we must delvedeeply. Concurrent with our research into all the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis and their satellites, we must investigatethe plans drafted, the dissemination of these plans by theGerman anti-Semites and the various organizations they controlled in the diverse countries, and the connections maintainedbetween these organizations. For this reason we cannot restrictourselves to the Nazi era. The preparation of public opinionfor the catastrophe ultimately to engulf European Jewry leadsback directly to the early phases of racial anti-Semitism, andthe first organizations set up to disseminate it in the seventiesof the preceding century. The framework of our research isfixed accordingly, by these limits; any attempt to ignore this.direct and unbroken development must inevitably strike atthe very basis of our research and disable us from laying barescientific truth. On the basis of what I have stated above itseems to me that any attempt to stretch the terms of ourresearch, in point of time, is justified if it is connected directlyand organically with the European catastrophe and the problems relating to it.

Another example, from the second field-the conditions underwhich Jews existed during the Nazi occupation. One of the

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PROBLEMS OF RESEARCHcentral problems with which we have to deal in our workof historical research is that of the appointment of the Councils of Jews (the "Judenrat") in all countries dominated bythe Nazis. These councils constituted ostensibly organs of Jewish self-government. In practice, however, in one form oranother, they were the Jewish arm of German administration,reaching down within the condemned people. There can belittle doubt that many of the members of these Councils accepted the appointment in the hope that they could be ofsome help. The Councils cannot be considered in isolation.They constitute an expression basically of what remained ofthe confidence the Jews had in Germany even under its Naziregime. The Jews obediently carried out the various regulations enacted even when at a certain risk they could evadethem; they registered when they were required to do so. TheJews of the Netherlands hurried with their luggage to embarkupon the trains carrying them to the East, disbelieving thetales they had been told of death journeys. Even in Warsawand Vilna, in Bialystok and in Lwow for a long time suchreports were discredited. Facing a great world power organized on the lines of a military camp, which over a period ofyears had evolved a carefully elaborated plan for mass extermination, stood the victims, divided, powerless, bewildered,without a leadership, without any plan of action adequate tothe dimensions of the impending calamity. All sections ofthe Jewish people were as if stupified by despair. This aspectcalls for close research into all manifestations of Jewish lifeand the will to live in this period. An enquiry into the JewishCouncils belongs to this framework. Here too it will at timesprove necessary to go beyond the years of the European catastrophe. Our guiding principle must be, of course, that ofpreserving direct continuity. I believe that the period intervening between the two world wars indicates the limits towhich this aspect of our research can be extended.A third example from another field: The non-Nazi world

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and the extermination of the Jews. Here, too, we stand in needof painstaking research that must be conducted resolutely, withthe determination to see developments a ~ they actually occured,to lay bare the truth, however bitter that truth may prove tobe. Research here centres about two main problems: Howmuch did the Powers and the neutral countries know aboutthe extermination of the Jews and how must the absence ofany adequate reaction on their part be explained? What wasthe extent of the "help" they were willing to offer? Manycountries were apprehensive of appearing as "saviours of theJews" because of devious political calculations. There can beno doubt whatever that this attitude encouraged the Nazis topersist in their plan of mass murder. Of course, we cannotignore the special exigencies of war, the position on the variousfronts and the like. We must also take into account the negotiations which were being conducted-or which were projected--on this matter. Research in this field has to contend withmany difficulties. The sources of material are still kept secretand are not available for the public. There is also groundfor apprehension that much of this material-such as appealsfor help made by Jews in the occupied territories to variousinternational institutions-has already been destroyed as "redundant." However the material that has been salvaged andis still available provides a solid basis for work of research.Here we have another field in which the boundaries and definitions of the subjects of research must be determined in keeping with the principle of "direct continuity" already referredto. This field includes the various principles established regarding the protection of minorities, actual procedure adoptedto give practical effect to such protection, as well as theattempt made by Jews in their efforts to invoke these principles. The anti-Semitic fifth column operating in every oneof the countries at war with Hitler, the influence of Britishpolicy in Palestine upon the fate of the Jews in the Nazi{;ountries must also be closely investigated. (e.g. I believe that

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PROBLEMS OF RESEARCHwe have not yet properly evaluated the impact of the "Struma"disaster upon the European catastrophe).

Organized research in this field comes within the compe-tence of the "Institute for Research into the European Jew-ish Catastrophe." It will, however, be the task of "Yad Wa-shem" to submit to the Institute a list of the problems in whichit is interested, to suggest various aspects as worthy of specialresearch, as well as proposals how to conduct this research andto publish its results.

Determination of the various aspects and problems that mustbe investigated in detail can constitute an effective contributionto the research being conducted into the European catastrophe.Yad Washem intends to open the matter for discussion amonga number of scientists and research workers, once the negotia-tions regarding the establishment of the Institute for Researchinto the European Jewish Catastrophe are finally completed.

VIITwo other tasks which devolve upon Yad Washem in keepingwith Paragraph 2, already referred to, relate to "publicationof testimony regarding the catastrophe" and "to pass on to thepeople the lessons to be learned therefrom". These two tasksare interconnected. Primarily the Act instructs Yad Washemto ensure that its work in collecting the testimony shall bebrought to the knowledge of the public. Secondly the Actmakes it obligatory to explain the European catastrophe andJewish resistance in such a way as to bring its lesson to theknowledge of all the people.Yad Washem must accordingly devote itself specifically tothe issue of four categories of publications:

1. Publication of the results of work conducted in the col-lection of testimony relating to the European catastrophe;t:atalogues of various types of documents; bibliographi-cal lists and the like.

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2. Publication of collections of documents, testimony andmemoirs, from the archives of Yad Washem.

3. Publication of works of research into the European catastrophe and Jewish resistance. This category includesmonograph dealing with specific problems, as well asmore comprehensive works such as the "Mavo le-PinkasHakehillot", which will comprise the annals of the Jewish communities in all the countries that came underNazi dOInination.

4. Publication of historical works for the Hebrew readergiving a basic and comprehensive description of the yearsof the European catastrophe and the fate of our peoplein this tragic period.

We fully appreciate that research into the European catastrophe cannot be conducted properly i f it is not accompaniedby the planned and systematic publication of collections ofdocuments, bibliographies and other basic works. I t is equallyclear that it is impossible to disseminate a full and documentedknowledge of this period without publication of the necessarysource works, scientifically edited. Obviously the necessary conditions must be created to enable Yad Washem to conduct itswork. Yad Washem, for its part, must not deviate from thetasks with which it has been entrusted. I t must ensure thehighest possible scientific standards in all branches of its work.Hence the work of preparation is vast. We must keep the o b ~jects of Yad Washem constantly before us, both in the sphereof research into the European catastrophe and Jewish r e s i s t ~ance, and in the commemoration projects, with which I shalldeal in my next article. I am of the opinion that only on thebasis of a proper appraisal of the responsibilities of Yad Wa-shern can we see the work done by the various branches ofits Research Department (reports of which are published inthis publication) in their true light.

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Documents

001-001-001_000-OCR-YVS-1957-v1-Dinur, Benzion, - Problems Confronting Yad Vashem in its Work of Research.pdf