RRD:In the aftermath of 9/11 historian Robert Satloff sought to understand,and combat Muslim Holocaust denial.He thought he found a answer.By pointing out the role Arab Muslims played in sheltering Jews during World War 2 from the Nazis he would form a bond with Muslims & show them a better way.When I heard Satloff's premise at the opening of the broadcast about 4yrs ago,I remember thinking,in my naivete,"while this will not solve the problem of Muslim Anti-semitism and Holocaust denial,maybe it will show us the existence of some Moderate Muslims who we can work with to forge a better future".
(Yes,I have my Lisa Simpsonesque moments)
However the result of Satloff's efforts were unpromising.
..."As you were researching the book, did you encounter that equation being made between Israel and the stories of the 1940s ? Mr. SATLOFF: Yes I did, and sometimes in very odd and awkward ways. Sometimes I would knock on the door of the family of this or that Arab, who I believed was a rescuer, and I wanted to celebrate this great humanitarian act with the children or the grandchildren of that Arab who did this during the war, and the last thing that they wanted was for their father or grandfather to be recognized as a great humanitarian for saving Jews, which I originally was naïve enough to think that they would want to know, but as I learned throughout my story, many people didn't want this to be known. There was even one fantastic story where there's sort of irrefutable proof that an Arab opened his doors to Jews fleeing from a labor camp, but in family lore, this Arab opened his door to Germans who were avoiding being captured as prisoners of war from the Allies. There's no evidence really that that happened, but there's quite a lot of evidence that he opened his door to Jews. But over genera
tions,
the story has changed. "
Book Tracks Holocaust's 'Lost Stories' : NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=6599958
(Yes,I have my Lisa Simpsonesque moments)
However the result of Satloff's efforts were unpromising.
..."As you were researching the book, did you encounter that equation being made between Israel and the stories of the 1940s ? Mr. SATLOFF: Yes I did, and sometimes in very odd and awkward ways. Sometimes I would knock on the door of the family of this or that Arab, who I believed was a rescuer, and I wanted to celebrate this great humanitarian act with the children or the grandchildren of that Arab who did this during the war, and the last thing that they wanted was for their father or grandfather to be recognized as a great humanitarian for saving Jews, which I originally was naïve enough to think that they would want to know, but as I learned throughout my story, many people didn't want this to be known. There was even one fantastic story where there's sort of irrefutable proof that an Arab opened his doors to Jews fleeing from a labor camp, but in family lore, this Arab opened his door to Germans who were avoiding being captured as prisoners of war from the Allies. There's no evidence really that that happened, but there's quite a lot of evidence that he opened his door to Jews. But over genera
tions,
the story has changed. "
Book Tracks Holocaust's 'Lost Stories' : NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=6599958
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