WI: No Nazi 'Arbeit Macht Frei'

No, that would be exactly the point of the motto.

Actually it wasn't. To the Nazi's it was just a lie to not have huge panic when people would enter the concentration and death camps. The victims would all think its a labor camp, not that half of them will be murdered and the other half enslaved and starved.

The original meaning of the words was to set people's minds free by doing labour. I'm sure there is a nice english word for it but i can't come up with one right now.


Another question: Did the Japanese have signs in their camps?
 

Soundgarden

Banned
Actually it wasn't. To the Nazi's it was just a lie to not have huge panic when people would enter the concentration and death camps. The victims would all think its a labor camp, not that half of them will be murdered and the other half enslaved and starved.

The original meaning of the words was to set people's minds free by doing labour. I'm sure there is a nice english word for it but i can't come up with one right now.


Another question: Did the Japanese have signs in their camps?

What I meant was, it would live up to its meaning if they set them free for "redeeming" themselves. I'm aware it was a lie to trick them into thinking they wouldn't be killed.
 
The original meaning of the words was to set people's minds free by doing labour. I'm sure there is a nice english word for it but i can't come up with one right now.
Well, there's the Benedictine slogan "Laborare est orare", but that's neither English, nor quite the same thing.
 
Freedom from the misery that is life, is death. Slogans often don't really mean anything, but I'll still DO IT for the Gipper.
 

ingemann

Banned
Enlightenment?

No the idea behind the slogan, was that work was gave human life meaning on a individual plan. A person who don't work, whether because he have the money to not do so or because other gave him the money, was a person without meaning in life. Of course work in this context would include studying to improve one self. Ideological it both build on the so called Protestant work ethics and on Marxism theory.
As such its a rather weird slogan for the Nazi to use for extermination camps, and show the weirdness and schizophrenic nature of the Nazi ideology. Of course it should be remembered that not all German KZ camps was extermination camps, some was just Nazi Gulags for socialists, Jehovas Vitnesses and other people of "Aryan" stock, from whom there existed a wish and a opportunity to "reeducate" them by the regime. Which explained why the term gained some popularity.
 
Enlightenment?

Nah, thats taking it a step too far. Its meant for people who go an 'evil' path and need help to take these thoughts out.

I can remember something in the bible(of all books) about monks and nuns and such doing labour when they got sinful thoughts...

Maybe its something like diligence or zeal. Maybe penance?

ingemann said:
Ideological it both build on the so called Protestant work ethics and on Marxism theory.

Oh, the irony. the Nazi's stole half their ideology from Marxism.
 

Nietzsche

Banned
Oh, the irony. the Nazi's stole half their ideology from Marxism.
Not irony in the slightest. While I am vehemently opposed to the concept of Nazisms = Communism, there is no denying that Fascism had its roots in socialism, what they deemed "True Socialism", and NS molded it to be more compatible with German culture, along with some personal tweaks by the Inner Circle.

Socialism is sort of like an apple tree. Every so often you get one or two apples rotten to the core. But you don't cut down the tree, you just dispose of the bad ones.
 
I call it irony because both Nazis and Stalinists stole half their ideology from Marxism and are archenemies. So different yet so very much the same.

Both Stalin and Hitler had no idea what true socialism was like Marx intended it.
 
Top