The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz
March 18, 2005 9:37 AM Subscribe
The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz were subjected to experiments by famed Nazi Dr. Mengele. 81-year old Perla is the subject of a 1999
film .
A note at the bottom of the page linked reads as follows:
Note added: A small number of enquiries have been received from people seeking to locate this book [about the Seven Dwarfs]. The enquirers have apparently not realized that while the newspaper article is quoted verbatim, it is presented here ironically, to illustrate typically absurd claims of the hoax. One does not smell poison gas, let alone pass through clouds of it, and live to recount the experience. This implausible yarn is fantasy, yet presented as fact in a national British newspaper, using the publication of a book in Germany as a pretext for additionally furthering the "Holocaust" myth.
:-(
posted by tranquileye at 9:54 AM on March 18, 2005
Note added: A small number of enquiries have been received from people seeking to locate this book [about the Seven Dwarfs]. The enquirers have apparently not realized that while the newspaper article is quoted verbatim, it is presented here ironically, to illustrate typically absurd claims of the hoax. One does not smell poison gas, let alone pass through clouds of it, and live to recount the experience. This implausible yarn is fantasy, yet presented as fact in a national British newspaper, using the publication of a book in Germany as a pretext for additionally furthering the "Holocaust" myth.
:-(
posted by tranquileye at 9:54 AM on March 18, 2005
From the bottom of that page:
"Note added: A small number of enquiries have been received from people seeking to locate this book. The enquirers have apparently not realized that while the newspaper article is quoted verbatim, it is presented here ironically, to illustrate typically absurd claims of the hoax. One does not smell poison gas, let alone pass through clouds of it, and live to recount the experience. This implausible yarn is fantasy, yet presented as fact in a national British newspaper, using the publication of a book in Germany as a pretext for additionally furthering the "Holocaust" myth."
But Zyklon-B was basically cyanide gas, right? I've read you can smell the cyanide gas they use in gas chambers here, that it smells something like almonds.
posted by davy at 9:55 AM on March 18, 2005
"Note added: A small number of enquiries have been received from people seeking to locate this book. The enquirers have apparently not realized that while the newspaper article is quoted verbatim, it is presented here ironically, to illustrate typically absurd claims of the hoax. One does not smell poison gas, let alone pass through clouds of it, and live to recount the experience. This implausible yarn is fantasy, yet presented as fact in a national British newspaper, using the publication of a book in Germany as a pretext for additionally furthering the "Holocaust" myth."
But Zyklon-B was basically cyanide gas, right? I've read you can smell the cyanide gas they use in gas chambers here, that it smells something like almonds.
posted by davy at 9:55 AM on March 18, 2005
From the bottom of the linked page:
"Note added: A small number of enquiries have been received from people seeking to locate this book. The enquirers have apparently not realized that while the newspaper article is quoted verbatim, it is presented here ironically, to illustrate typically absurd claims of the hoax. One does not smell poison gas, let alone pass through clouds of it, and live to recount the experience. This implausible yarn is fantasy, yet presented as fact in a national British newspaper, using the publication of a book in Germany as a pretext for additionally furthering the "Holocaust" myth."
I hate to think of the hits this Holocaust-denying bastard is getting from this link. Its an interesting story, though.
More and better links:
They Might Be Giants - Reading the Remarkable Story of a Family of Jewish Dwarfs
Liebe Perla: a complex friendship and lost disability history captured on film
posted by anastasiav at 9:55 AM on March 18, 2005
"Note added: A small number of enquiries have been received from people seeking to locate this book. The enquirers have apparently not realized that while the newspaper article is quoted verbatim, it is presented here ironically, to illustrate typically absurd claims of the hoax. One does not smell poison gas, let alone pass through clouds of it, and live to recount the experience. This implausible yarn is fantasy, yet presented as fact in a national British newspaper, using the publication of a book in Germany as a pretext for additionally furthering the "Holocaust" myth."
I hate to think of the hits this Holocaust-denying bastard is getting from this link. Its an interesting story, though.
More and better links:
They Might Be Giants - Reading the Remarkable Story of a Family of Jewish Dwarfs
Liebe Perla: a complex friendship and lost disability history captured on film
posted by anastasiav at 9:55 AM on March 18, 2005
I chose that particular site not for its affiliations but for the fact that it was the only that had a picture of all the "dwarfs" mentioned. Here's another non-ideologically suspect source for those who prefer to avoid the previous one. And just one more for the sake of thoroughness.
posted by gregb1007 at 10:00 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by gregb1007 at 10:00 AM on March 18, 2005
Interesting post - thanks gregb. However, some context, and far more links, would have been nice, to flesh this out into a full post.
For holocaust denial from the horse's mouth, see the website of the erstwhile (and pretty repugnant) David Irving, whose libel case against Penguin Books and Lipstadt spectacularly failed a few years ago. Irving, in common with other revisionists, maintains that Auschwitz (link to a recent, aponymous BBC documentary series) was not in fact a site of mass gassing. More on Mengele here - as good as site as any for a quick rundown of what the bastard did.
On preview: davy, I've read that Zyklon-B had a 'warning agent' added to it at manufacture stage so that it smelled bad at even low concentrations.
posted by paperpete at 10:09 AM on March 18, 2005
For holocaust denial from the horse's mouth, see the website of the erstwhile (and pretty repugnant) David Irving, whose libel case against Penguin Books and Lipstadt spectacularly failed a few years ago. Irving, in common with other revisionists, maintains that Auschwitz (link to a recent, aponymous BBC documentary series) was not in fact a site of mass gassing. More on Mengele here - as good as site as any for a quick rundown of what the bastard did.
On preview: davy, I've read that Zyklon-B had a 'warning agent' added to it at manufacture stage so that it smelled bad at even low concentrations.
posted by paperpete at 10:09 AM on March 18, 2005
This book is the subject of a fascinating review in the March 10, 2005 New York Review of Books (along with a great piece on the Buddha by Pico Iyer). Unfortunately, the full text isn't available online.
posted by breezeway at 10:11 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by breezeway at 10:11 AM on March 18, 2005
The book Forgotten Crimes discusses the larger picture of the Holocaust and people with disabilities.
posted by twsf at 10:13 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by twsf at 10:13 AM on March 18, 2005
Um... in the future can you perhaps put up a warning that the link is to some neo-nazi insanity for those of us who read the links before the thread. I would have preferred not to go to some holocaust revisionist bullshit if given the option.
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:13 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:13 AM on March 18, 2005
kelly, the article itself about the life of the Ovitz family sticks to the facts and is no neo-nazi revisionist bullshit. The revisionist element only comes into play at the bottom of the page with a postscript (see anastasiav's 9:55 am post) that denies the credibility of the story.
posted by gregb1007 at 10:20 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by gregb1007 at 10:20 AM on March 18, 2005
I think she means she prefers not to give the site any traffic.
posted by xammerboy at 10:40 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by xammerboy at 10:40 AM on March 18, 2005
greg, I realize that. However, I would have preferred a warning ahead of time or even a mirrored self link to giving even a single hit to someone who, in all likelihood, would be pleased to see a good number of my friends and loved ones dead.
God only knows how many hits a single post on metafilter will give them, and I would hate to think of some holocaust denier using that as evidence of people agreeing with them or to justify their twisted beliefs.
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:42 AM on March 18, 2005
God only knows how many hits a single post on metafilter will give them, and I would hate to think of some holocaust denier using that as evidence of people agreeing with them or to justify their twisted beliefs.
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:42 AM on March 18, 2005
I agree with Kellydamnit, a warning would have been nice. The story may be true but the denier aspect of the Holocaust is beyond rude, its sickening.
But it was an interesting, if sad, story. The atrocities committed upon people by the Nazis is truly horrifying not only for the brutality but the arrogance by which they operated.
posted by fenriq at 10:52 AM on March 18, 2005
But it was an interesting, if sad, story. The atrocities committed upon people by the Nazis is truly horrifying not only for the brutality but the arrogance by which they operated.
posted by fenriq at 10:52 AM on March 18, 2005
I also have to agree with kellydamnit. A warning about the true nature of the site would have been prudent for someone surfing at work.
posted by cows of industry at 11:30 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by cows of industry at 11:30 AM on March 18, 2005
Thirded. (On preview, fourthed?) I'd rather not give some nutjob Holocaust denier the enjoyment of a few extra hits.
posted by cmyk at 11:47 AM on March 18, 2005
posted by cmyk at 11:47 AM on March 18, 2005
davy, I've read that Zyklon-B had a 'warning agent' added to it at manufacture stage so that it smelled bad at even low concentrations.
If so I'd bet that was just in case a German SS guy took too long packing the people in, or something.
***
And hey fenriq, about your "[t]he atrocities committed upon people by the Nazis is truly horrifying not only for the brutality but the arrogance by which they operated", don't follow me -- I've admitted I can't write for toffee.
And oh, you people who work for places that keep tabs on the non-work-related web sites you visit during work hours, maybe you should not play on the web at work. Either that or get the higher-ups to "liberalize" their policy, in which case you'd be tacitly admitting that you're overpaid and that they could clearly do without you -- because you're spending so much of your work-day not working. "NSFW", what a laugh.
posted by davy at 11:53 AM on March 18, 2005
If so I'd bet that was just in case a German SS guy took too long packing the people in, or something.
***
And hey fenriq, about your "[t]he atrocities committed upon people by the Nazis is truly horrifying not only for the brutality but the arrogance by which they operated", don't follow me -- I've admitted I can't write for toffee.
And oh, you people who work for places that keep tabs on the non-work-related web sites you visit during work hours, maybe you should not play on the web at work. Either that or get the higher-ups to "liberalize" their policy, in which case you'd be tacitly admitting that you're overpaid and that they could clearly do without you -- because you're spending so much of your work-day not working. "NSFW", what a laugh.
posted by davy at 11:53 AM on March 18, 2005
davy: I couldn't give a shit less about the NSFW aspect. In fact, of those who have objected, only one has even mentioned work.
I'm disgusted for one reason: It's a nazi's page. The page of someone who would like to see my HUSBAND dead.
Does that spell it out for you? My reaction is not about my boss. It's not because of my job. It's because the page is run by a FUCKING NAZI and I would rather not give hits to them or do a thing that might make them feel, even for a split second, that others share their beliefs.
Get it?
posted by Kellydamnit at 12:07 PM on March 18, 2005
I'm disgusted for one reason: It's a nazi's page. The page of someone who would like to see my HUSBAND dead.
Does that spell it out for you? My reaction is not about my boss. It's not because of my job. It's because the page is run by a FUCKING NAZI and I would rather not give hits to them or do a thing that might make them feel, even for a split second, that others share their beliefs.
Get it?
posted by Kellydamnit at 12:07 PM on March 18, 2005
gregb1007 has been around a while and should have known better. The primary reason for not linking to a holocaust denier's website as a source should be obvious, by now -- it completely derailed the possibility of a cogent thread. Plus, you know, it gives them google-cred, which is a Bad Thing.
Zyklon-B, a pesticide, was normally manufactured with a warning agent; the Zyklon-B provided to the SS for the death camps was manufactured without the warning agent.
posted by dhartung at 12:19 PM on March 18, 2005
Zyklon-B, a pesticide, was normally manufactured with a warning agent; the Zyklon-B provided to the SS for the death camps was manufactured without the warning agent.
posted by dhartung at 12:19 PM on March 18, 2005
From the "They might be giants" link:
"(Among the incredible little tidbits that will have readers shaking their heads at this story is the fact that Auschwitz inmate/artist Dina Gottlieb, who drew documentary pictures of the seven Ovitz dwarfs and other subjects of Mengele's cruel research, ended up marrying an American named Arthur Babbitt after liberation. Babbitt, it turns out, was a senior animator for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.")"
*jaw drops
posted by schyler523 at 12:45 PM on March 18, 2005
"(Among the incredible little tidbits that will have readers shaking their heads at this story is the fact that Auschwitz inmate/artist Dina Gottlieb, who drew documentary pictures of the seven Ovitz dwarfs and other subjects of Mengele's cruel research, ended up marrying an American named Arthur Babbitt after liberation. Babbitt, it turns out, was a senior animator for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.")"
*jaw drops
posted by schyler523 at 12:45 PM on March 18, 2005
Alright kellydammit, I see your point and I agree in loathing them. So then maybe it does not apply to you, so feel free to disregard it.
I realize telling you you're being oversensitive in this instance would get me nothing but crap so I won't.
Should I congratulate you for having an easygoing employer who even lets employees "surf" neo-Nazi sites during work hours? (Note that I'm not saying visiting those sites is a good idea at any time on any computer.) See, the CONTENT of any particular site is NOT my point, but then the neo-Nazism of that site was NOT the point of that link (I don't think), any more than Nizkor was the point of my example of the "ad hominem" fallacy. (I'm not 100% sure what the point of gregb1007's original link originally was, but I doubt he meant "Hey everybody, let's kill the short Jews too!") In my case, Nizkor's page was first up in the Google results and that page had a good explication with a good example of what I was getting at then; I happen to strongly disapprove (to put it mildly) of Nazis and the Shoah myself, but the fact that I derived my data on the "ad hominem" fallacy from Nizkor should not be taken to mean that I approve of Nizkor and want others to approve of them too -- though I do in fact approve of Nizkor that's not the point of MY link to an article on their site. (Get it?)
To get back to what I was on about, some employers' browser setups filter out even the BBC News web site unless it's directly related to work, and the "NSFW warning" was around before you became upset, so most of this thread -- and hell, most of MetaFilter -- would be impossible if more employers were pickier about what their employees did with Internet-connected computers/workstations during working hours. (See?)
By the way, both your point and mine are (most likely) tangential and orthogonal to the link itself; to quote dhartung, "The primary reason for not linking to a holocaust denier's website as a source should be obvious, by now -- it completely derailed the possibility of a cogent thread." (Which in this case I might now seem to be participating in myself, on first glance.) While what schyler523 just posted does seem to be on topic in this thread. So, Kellydammit, welcome to the Tangential Hissy-Fit Club.
(The first rule of the Tangential Hissy-Fit Club is to throw a tangential hissy-fit every tme somebody touches on a "sore spot", however unintentionally they do so.)
posted by davy at 1:20 PM on March 18, 2005
I realize telling you you're being oversensitive in this instance would get me nothing but crap so I won't.
Should I congratulate you for having an easygoing employer who even lets employees "surf" neo-Nazi sites during work hours? (Note that I'm not saying visiting those sites is a good idea at any time on any computer.) See, the CONTENT of any particular site is NOT my point, but then the neo-Nazism of that site was NOT the point of that link (I don't think), any more than Nizkor was the point of my example of the "ad hominem" fallacy. (I'm not 100% sure what the point of gregb1007's original link originally was, but I doubt he meant "Hey everybody, let's kill the short Jews too!") In my case, Nizkor's page was first up in the Google results and that page had a good explication with a good example of what I was getting at then; I happen to strongly disapprove (to put it mildly) of Nazis and the Shoah myself, but the fact that I derived my data on the "ad hominem" fallacy from Nizkor should not be taken to mean that I approve of Nizkor and want others to approve of them too -- though I do in fact approve of Nizkor that's not the point of MY link to an article on their site. (Get it?)
To get back to what I was on about, some employers' browser setups filter out even the BBC News web site unless it's directly related to work, and the "NSFW warning" was around before you became upset, so most of this thread -- and hell, most of MetaFilter -- would be impossible if more employers were pickier about what their employees did with Internet-connected computers/workstations during working hours. (See?)
By the way, both your point and mine are (most likely) tangential and orthogonal to the link itself; to quote dhartung, "The primary reason for not linking to a holocaust denier's website as a source should be obvious, by now -- it completely derailed the possibility of a cogent thread." (Which in this case I might now seem to be participating in myself, on first glance.) While what schyler523 just posted does seem to be on topic in this thread. So, Kellydammit, welcome to the Tangential Hissy-Fit Club.
(The first rule of the Tangential Hissy-Fit Club is to throw a tangential hissy-fit every tme somebody touches on a "sore spot", however unintentionally they do so.)
posted by davy at 1:20 PM on March 18, 2005
MeFi: Tangential Hissy-Fit Club
The lesser known second rule of the THFC is to never stop beating dead horse once having started to beat said dead horse.
posted by schyler523 at 1:46 PM on March 18, 2005
The lesser known second rule of the THFC is to never stop beating dead horse once having started to beat said dead horse.
posted by schyler523 at 1:46 PM on March 18, 2005
First link: But their lives were saved by Dr Josef Mengele, the Polish death camp's evil doctor.
Yikes. Do people call Auschwitz a Polish death camp? Because it was in occupied Poland? You might as well call it a Jewish death camp because it was brimming with Jews. And X-Ray is a Cuban prison camp.
posted by pracowity at 2:23 PM on March 18, 2005
Yikes. Do people call Auschwitz a Polish death camp? Because it was in occupied Poland? You might as well call it a Jewish death camp because it was brimming with Jews. And X-Ray is a Cuban prison camp.
posted by pracowity at 2:23 PM on March 18, 2005
never stop beating dead horse once having started to beat said dead horse.
This is because if you did, you would be accused of flip-flopping, reversing your position, or otherwise ballstrung by the guy beating on the other side of said dead horse.
posted by Balisong at 2:56 PM on March 18, 2005
This is because if you did, you would be accused of flip-flopping, reversing your position, or otherwise ballstrung by the guy beating on the other side of said dead horse.
posted by Balisong at 2:56 PM on March 18, 2005
Well after Kelly's post, I certainly wanted to go back, edit my post, and put in a little disclaimer. Unfortunately, I couldn't.
posted by gregb1007 at 7:08 PM on March 18, 2005
posted by gregb1007 at 7:08 PM on March 18, 2005
MeFi: Tangential Hissy-Fit Club
I'd call you a sadistic, hippophilic necrophile, but that would be beating a dead horse.
posted by Enron Hubbard at 5:38 AM on March 19, 2005
I'd call you a sadistic, hippophilic necrophile, but that would be beating a dead horse.
posted by Enron Hubbard at 5:38 AM on March 19, 2005
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I'd like to point out, though, that the first link is a nutty Holocaust denier's site, and he is using this article as an example of a "Holocaust myth," even though the story is true.
posted by jeffmshaw at 9:44 AM on March 18, 2005