Of course, the only wrong choice, perhaps, is not making one. Anyway, who cares whether or not I go to Nuremberg, visit Zeppelin Field and stand on the podium on which Hitler and other high-ranking Nazis stood while presiding over the rallies held there between 1923 and 1938? Actually, I don’t have doubts about doing this but it is worth reflecting on why it is that some visitors are shy of standing on the Hitler podium. Such reflections can find their way into novels. Should we whitewash history and recall only the good bits? This, it seems to me, is the crux of the matter and a rich source of inspiration for writers.
For example, should we judge past events and historical figures by our current liberal standards or should we try and judge them in the context of their times? Why is it that we want our historical and heroic figures to be, somehow, perfect, anyway? Most people I have met or read about have flaws. Nobody is perfect. Lincoln was a racist. Churchill was a complex and flawed character as were Drake, Raleigh, Nelson, Mandela and Mother Teresa. But why do we need these heroes in the first place?
Perhaps the answer is because they help us define our own ideals and, in turn, these ideals (courage and honour, for example) define us. The hero comes to symbolize the qualities we would like to have. For instance, a person who chooses Robert E Lee as a hero might have a very different sense of what human excellence is than someone who chooses, say, Napoleon or JFK. But there is no doubt that these people – like all of us – were flawed.
It seems to me – but I am not unsympathetic to some arguments to the contrary – that taking down statues or destroying sites, like the Nazi rally sites, for example, does little more than bury history. After all, history is of full of moments in which humanity was lost and we should not forget these moments. In fact, they can be used as part of a conversation about the human condition and form the backbone of novels and films. Good versus evil, prejudice, love and hate, right and wrong, kindness and cruelty are all major themes of artistic work and should and will remain so. One of my favourite themes for novels is history. Can it repeat itself? What can we learn from it? Do we ever escape from it?
Actually, I am off to Nuremberg tomorrow and will reflect in greater depth while standing on the Hitler podium. I am not worried about being tempted in some way to worship the Fuehrer! But it may be worth a few moments reflection on the need to remember what we humans can be capable of if we are not careful.
Thoughts and Words 