Then, depending on my financial situation, time, etc., I would do one of the following:
- Keep it and make a point of arranging to visit schools to display it. Sixty-two years after the end of that war, there are fewer and fewer people left to relate what happened. There is blood on the hands of all sides, yes, but that is the nature of war. *This* document, however, is a tangible instance of the sheer evil that existed and held sway at the time. Take, for example, the personal weapon of a soldier who fought on the line, or the scientific papers that detailed the development of the atomic bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first was likely the immediate cause of death of some people, but that is the nature of war. The second was part of the process that led to the horrific deaths of the civilians in Japan, but it would be just one step in a process of discovery. *This* document is tangible proof of the deaths of 1400 prisoners. This document was drafted, then reviewed and signed by Hitler in the full knowledge that 1400 specific people would be murdered on recept at the camp. *That's* immediacy.
- If I could not afford the cost or time, I would donate the document (and ask, but not require, reimbursement) to an appropriate museum with the proviso that the document not be allowed to be resold - at worst, it could go to another museum, but never into private hands. It *needs* to be available for viewing.
If I were not to buy the document, somebody else would. And likely bury it, as Illiad (I think) said, in their collection, not to see the light of day.
That's my take on it, at least. Lessons from history must be *remembered* so as not to be repeated. 'Lest we forget', indeed. |
