Come to This Court and Cry by Linda Kinstler review when Holocaust memories fade – The Guardian
Posted By admin on May 25, 2022
In March 1965, the festering corpse of 64-year-old Herberts Cukurs was discovered stuffed into a trunk in a seaside bungalow in Montevideo, Uruguay. During the 1930s, Cukurs exploits as a dashing aviator had made him one of the most celebrated men in Latvia. Under the Nazi occupation, he found a new calling as a prominent member of the Arajs Kommando, the SS-affiliated killing unit responsible for the burning of the Riga ghetto and the massacre of around 25,000 Jews in Rumbula forest, among other barbarities.
Cukurs was contentedly operating a pedal-boat business in Brazil when allegations of his crimes became public knowledge and the Latvian Lindbergh mutated into the Latvian Eichmann. In fact, Yaakov Meidad, one of the Mossad agents who had helped kidnap Eichmann in Argentina five years earlier, led the mission to kill Cukurs. He left on the body a folder containing a passage from Sir Hartley Shawcrosss closing prosecution statement at the Nuremberg trials, which imagines that humanity itself comes to this court and cries: These are our laws let them prevail!
The Cukurs case has a particular hold on Linda Kinstler, an American journalist and academic. While her mothers family was Jewish, her paternal grandfather, Boris Kinstler, served with Cukurs in the Arajs Kommando and reportedly worked for the NKVD, the Soviet secret police, after the war. Victims and perpetrators meet in Kinstlers bloodline, but family history is only one strand of a remarkable book that braids together her own rigorously reported investigations in 10 countries with the survivors eight-decade quest for justice (a giant cold-case investigation says one prosecutor) and poetic meditations on such subjects as history, law, Latvian identity, Franz Kafka and the politics of remembrance. This is a tremendous feat of storytelling, propelled by numerous twists and revelations, yet anchored by a deep moral seriousness.
In 1965, Cukurs assassins sent telegrams alerting the German press to their operation under the name Those Who Will Never Forget, which implies an understanding that forgetting was the norm. Outside Latvia, the Riga ghetto is not as well known as its Warsaw counterpart, and the name Rumbula means less than that of Babi Yar, not for want of horror but for the failure of legal processes under a second totalitarian regime. What does proof even mean, in a twice-occupied nation that has had its people and property killed, burned and stolen, displaced and discredited? Kinstler asks.
We know so much about Nuremberg and Eichmann because those trials were outliers: swift, definitive, undeniable. More often with war criminals, time favours the accused. Survivor testimony becomes rarer and less legally credible; fatigue sets in. As far back as the 1978 trial of the Kommando leader Viktors Arjs, Der Spiegel observed: The monotony of horror no longer makes headlines. When Herberts Cukurs became the only alleged Nazi war criminal ever to be executed by Israeli agents, the possibility of a legal verdict was erased and the door left open to conspiracy theories. In the past decade, Latvian nationalist efforts to rehabilitate the butcher of Riga have included an art exhibition, a spy novel that imagines Kinstlers grandfather was a Soviet agent who framed Cukurs, and a stage musical that one critic compared to Springtime for Hitler, from Mel Brookss black comedy The Producers. Revisionism is the stepchild of Holocaust denial: of course, atrocities were committed, but was a national hero really complicit? Who can say for sure? Who alive actually saw him pull the trigger? It was all such a very long time ago. This enterprise of obfuscation is what Kinstler means by the books subtitle, How the Holocaust Ends it ends when it passes out of living memory and into the foggy realm of claim and counterclaim, beyond the reach of legal proof.
One detail leaps off the page that would not have done six months ago: Kinstlers maternal grandparents came from Ukraine and might well have been massacred at Babi Yar if they had not emigrated to Latvia before the war. We have all seen evidence of Russian war crimes in Bucha and heard the standard ritual of denials on one side and promises of justice on the other. This enthralling, sobering story of justice deferred, delayed, circumvented, undone suggests that such promises are made much more easily than they are kept.
Come to This Court and Cry by Linda Kinstler is published by Bloomsbury (20). To buy a copy for 17.40 go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges apply.
Go here to see the original:
Come to This Court and Cry by Linda Kinstler review when Holocaust memories fade - The Guardian
- Harrowing de massacre photos help reframe Holocaust in German-occupied Latvia - The Times of Israel - September 22nd, 2023
- Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of outspoken cabaret performer killed in the Holocaust - The Associated Press - September 22nd, 2023
- Diamonds and the Holocaust - History Today - September 22nd, 2023
- Lithuania president honors those who saved Jewish artifacts during and post-Holocaust - The Times of Israel - September 22nd, 2023
- Poland looks to its heroes as it grapples with its history during the Holocaust - National Post - September 22nd, 2023
- 'It's my obligation to tell my story': Amplifying memories of Holocaust ... - UNESCO - September 22nd, 2023
- War, the Holocaust, and Human Rights Conference United States ... - Air Force Academy - September 22nd, 2023
- D.A. Bragg: Seven Pieces of Nazi Looted Art Returned to Relatives ... - Manhattan District Attorney's Office - September 22nd, 2023
- Students use butterfly art to remember the millions of children who ... - KPBS - September 22nd, 2023
- In 'Jews in the Garden,' a Holocaust survivor tries to uncover ... - NPR - September 22nd, 2023
- 'Everybody Had a Name': Holocaust Museum to reopen - ArtsHub - September 22nd, 2023
- Austrian group asks to place Holocaust exhibit at Hitler birth site - The Times of Israel - September 14th, 2023
- One Life Review: James Hawes Holocaust Savior Story is Heroism Simply Told and Thats the Point | Toronto - AwardsWatch - September 14th, 2023
- Could the Holocaust have been prevented, along with WWII? - The Jewish Chronicle - September 14th, 2023
- America and the Holocaust exhibit comes to Colorado Springs - KOAA News 5 - September 14th, 2023
- Tell Me, Inge Embassy partners with Meta on Holocaust ... - US Embassy & Consulates in Germany - September 14th, 2023
- Former NY professor, survivor honored for efforts to educate on Holocaust - WCAX - September 14th, 2023
- Palestinian leader's comments on Holocaust draw accusations of antisemitism from US and Europe - The Associated Press - September 10th, 2023
- The Holocaust and the Politics of Memory - Al Jazeera English - September 10th, 2023
- Nabokov, Religion, and the Holocaust - Tablet Magazine - September 10th, 2023
- Last living Bielski brother shares Holocaust survival story to combat antisemitism through education - WPEC - September 10th, 2023
- Raymond J. de Souza: Bright embers from the ashes of the Holocaust - National Post - September 10th, 2023
- Time's Echo music as witness to the Holocaust and history - Financial Times - September 10th, 2023
- After minister joked about Nazis, Finland moves to criminalize Holocaust denial - The Times of Israel - September 1st, 2023
- An Effort to Focus on Long Overlooked Roma Suffering in the Holocaust - The New York Times - September 1st, 2023
- Trump says he prevented a nuclear holocaust as president - The Times of Israel - September 1st, 2023
- Trump Says He Was Too Busy Averting 'Nuclear Holocaust' to Commit Fraud - The Daily Beast - September 1st, 2023
- Frank Bright, one of the last Jewish Holocaust survivors remaining in Britain, dies aged 94 - The Jewish Chronicle - September 1st, 2023
- Imagining what could have been | BrandeisNOW - Brandeis University - September 1st, 2023
- Ken Burns and colleagues turn their lens on the Holocaust - Los Angeles Times - August 19th, 2023
- Nechama Tec, scholar and survivor of the Holocaust, dies at 92 - The Washington Post - August 19th, 2023
- Office that manages Holocaust memorial sites in Germany has windows shattered - The Times of Israel - August 19th, 2023
- Wisconsin's progress on Holocaust education comes with chilling fear - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - August 19th, 2023
- Holocaust survivor spreads message of peace, happiness, and forgiveness to thousands of Alaskans - Alaska's News Source - August 19th, 2023
- Extremist fight club; hate in the algorithm; Fortnite Holocaust museum - USA TODAY - August 19th, 2023
- Teaching about Nazis and the Holocaust in German schools - DW (English) - August 19th, 2023
- A freak pickleball accident left him paralyzed. He found meaning thanks to parents who survived the Holocaust. - UCHealth Today - August 19th, 2023
- Governor Abbott Appoints Zeidman To Holocaust, Genocide, And ... - Office of the Texas Governor - August 19th, 2023
- U.S. And the Holocaust: Insight and Understanding - AZPM - AZPM - August 19th, 2023
- How Roma and Jews went from familiar strangers to partners in Holocaust memory - The Times of Israel - August 14th, 2023
- Bollywood film "Bawaal" accused of trivialising the Holocaust - FRANCE 24 English - August 14th, 2023
- Funded by the Polish Government, This Film Downplays Poland's Role in the Holocaust - Jewish World - Haaretz - August 14th, 2023
- Ken Burns At 70 Turns His Spotlight On The U.S. And The Holocaust, Says I Wont Work On A More Important Film - Deadline - August 14th, 2023
- He was killed in the Holocaust. His family just got back his book of ... - The Washington Post - August 14th, 2023
- Holocaust Center Sponsors Teachers Trip to Jewish Heritage Museum - Stockton University - August 14th, 2023
- Fortnite Has A Museum Dedicated To Teaching About The Holocaust - Yahoo Finance - August 4th, 2023
- Virtual Holocaust museum to be launched in Fortnite - The Jewish Chronicle - August 4th, 2023
- Seeking the Truth About Bosnian Roma Suffering in the Holocaust - Balkan Insight - August 4th, 2023
- Local high school teacher spent the summer touring the sites of the ... - WUWF - August 4th, 2023
- 'Eva's Promise' tells the story of a young girl who survived the ... - Spectrum News 1 - August 4th, 2023
- Inside the Holocaust Museum coming to the video game Fortnite - Euronews - August 3rd, 2023
- Why Is Gutfeld Silent About His Holocaust Comments On-Air? - The Daily Beast - August 3rd, 2023
- Final synagogue shooting witness says shooter's grandfather served Holocaust survivors - 90.5 WESA - August 3rd, 2023
- Bawaal movie on Amazon Prime: Holocaust memorials and Auschwitz aren't the way to fix your marriage. - Slate - August 3rd, 2023
- Why doesn't Austria, birthplace of Hitler, have a Holocaust Museum? | Opinion - Haaretz - August 3rd, 2023
- Governor Abbott Appoints Nober To Holocaust, Genocide, And ... - Office of the Texas Governor - August 3rd, 2023
- USI Rechnic Holocaust Series to feature award-winning author ... - University of Southern Indiana - August 3rd, 2023
- UConn to Award 2023 Dodd Prize to Ukraine's Babyn Yar Holocaust ... - University of Connecticut - August 3rd, 2023
- The Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center - A source of ... - AZPM - August 3rd, 2023
- Florida woman sentenced to 4 years in romance scam that stole Holocaust survivors savings - NBC News - August 3rd, 2023
- Holocaust (miniseries) - Wikipedia - July 28th, 2023
- Florida woman who stole nearly $3 million from Holocaust survivor gets ... - July 28th, 2023
- The Holocaust: Fox News Greg Gutfeld receives backlash for Holocaust ... - July 28th, 2023
- Bollywood film accused of trivialising Holocaust with Auschwitz scenes ... - July 28th, 2023
- Bollywood film accused of trivialising Holocaust with Auschwitz scenes - The Guardian - July 28th, 2023
- 6 Holocaust survivors living in Broward continue telling their stories in Davie - WPLG Local 10 - July 28th, 2023
- Bollywood film Bawaal accused of trivializing Holocaust and demeaning victims - CNN - July 28th, 2023
- Landmark exhibits shed light on post-Holocaust life in German displaced person camps - The Times of Israel - July 22nd, 2023
- How Caves That Have Sheltered People for 6,000 Years Saved Jews From the Holocaust - Archaeology - Haaretz - July 22nd, 2023
- Churchill: Yes, we really do need the Holocaust memorial - Times Union - July 22nd, 2023
- Bawaal review: Hitler and the Holocaust save a marriage - Mint Lounge - July 22nd, 2023
- We Survived the Holocaust presented at Richland Library on Thursday - WIS News 10 - July 22nd, 2023
- No more cover-up: Nazi concentration camps on UK soil finally to be officially investigated - The Guardian - July 22nd, 2023
- Medical students from OUWB head to Poland for Study Trip to ... - News at OU - July 22nd, 2023
- Special Exhibition on Black Citizenship in the Jim Crow Era ... - PR Newswire - July 22nd, 2023
- Timeline of the Holocaust - Wikipedia - July 5th, 2023
- Mystery of Holocaust escape girls solved after 84 years - BBC - July 5th, 2023
- Ed Asner plays a Holocaust survivor in film being released 2 years after his death - The Times of Israel - July 5th, 2023
- The Kissing Booth Producer Andrew Cole-Bulgin Boards Holocaust Feature Land Mine (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety - July 5th, 2023
- Opinion: Canada urgently needs to release its Holocaust-related records - The Globe and Mail - July 5th, 2023
Comments