Laura: Seeing parallels in history
Said one person in Laura’s group as Arnon Degani led a tour, “But you were just following orders.”
Naturally, this made Laura feel very uncomfortable. Every Jewish person familiar with World War II has heard the rationale for soldiers in the German military in more extreme cases — cases much worse than occupation. And so while her better inclinations told her such parallels are inappropriate in scale, there is still an important element of personal responsibility which she felt cannot be avoided in even the most stringent military situations.
Yehuda, Arnon, Oded and Dotan each acknowledge their own culpability in what they did, and yet try to explain how bright, nice young men become susceptible to the “numbing” power of boredom, fear and excitement as soldiers. It is not a black and white case of individual vs. group thinking, but the two play an important role in how Israel proceeds into the future.
Disclaimer: The opinions shown here do not represent the views of Shovrim Shtika/Breaking the Silence or that of its speakers. The opinions here belong to the individuals who voluntarily contributed these video clips.
