Ravnodušnost i akcija: Holokaust i granice emotivnog iskustva
Indifference and Action: The Holocaust and the Limits of Emotional Experience

Author(s): Igor Cvejić
Subject(s): History of the Holocaust, History of Antisemitism
Published by: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju
Keywords: Holocaust; Limits of Emotional Experience; Hannah Arendt
Summary/Abstract: When we talk about the Holocaust event, "indifference" appears as a theme in different narratives. Back in the twenties, Scheler talked about the political apathy of the German youth after the First World War. Political indifference is also mentioned when describing the situation in Germany before the Second World War, at the end of the 20s and the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century (primarily, about the indifference of those who were not members of the National Socialist movement). Hannah Arendt talks about political indifference, which is a (not sufficient) condition for the development of totalitarianism (Arendt 1979).1 Indifference then appears as an important moment in the education of the Totenkopf groups in the Dachau camp. Finally, there is a specific indifference in the narrative of high-ranking SS officers, which was most exposed during their defense at the trial, especially in the case of Adolf Eichmann, known to the public thanks again to Hannah Arendt.

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