By Julie Nathan
May 23, 2016
There have been numerous examples of discourse over the last few years which make analogies between the policies and practices of Nazi Germany and of con­tem­por­ary Aus­trali­an gov­ern­ments.
Most notably, there are attempts to make an analogy between Nazi con­cen­tra­tion camps and Australia’s current policy of incar­cer­at­ing asylum seekers in offshore detention centres.
The effect of using such analogies is that it minimises the Holocaust and cleans up the Nazis. As well, it does abso­lutely nothing to help asylum seekers in detention. It is a cheap but dangerous analogy.
The analogy is disin­genu­ous and inac­cur­ate as there is no com­par­is­on between the suffering and situation of those in Nazi con­cen­tra­tion camps and death camps, and the situation of those in Australia’s detention centres.
Regard­less of whether one supports or opposes this par­tic­u­lar Aus­trali­an gov­ern­ment policy or the situation of incar­cer­ated asylum seekers, the analogy with Nazism only ends up being overkill. The analogy either elicits the emotional and literal response that Australia is creating the con­di­tions to kill or murder all the detained asylum seekers, or the response that Nazi Germany ran con­cen­tra­tion camps and death camps where the inmates were treated in ways to prolong and protect their lives until they were released. In both scenarios, nothing could be further from the truth. False analogies create false impres­sions.
The contrast between Nazi policy and Aus­trali­an policy could not be more stark: the reasons for incar­cer­a­tion – being of a targeted racial group vs being caught attempt­ing to enter Australia without author­isa­tion; the food – star­va­tion diet vs adequate amount and type; living con­di­tions – designed to hasten death vs meeting basic needs; medical services – lack of vs adequate including being trans­ferred to Aus­trali­an hospitals; work – enforced vs voluntary; redress – none vs appeals to a court to be released from detention.
In a liberal demo­crat­ic country, such as Australia, the most effective way of sup­port­ing or opposing a par­tic­u­lar gov­ern­ment policy is simply to use the truth and engage in honest discourse. Using highly inac­cur­ate and sen­sa­tion­al­ist ter­min­o­logy, such as a Nazi analogy, is not only det­ri­ment­al, but counter-pro­duct­ive, to the cause.
Making com­par­is­ons of laws, policies and con­di­tions in demo­crat­ic countries, like Australia, with the sys­tem­at­ic and planned murder of six million Jewish men, women and children is morally repugnant, trivi­al­ises the Holocaust, minimises the crime that was the Holocaust, and is offensive to all the millions of Europeans who lived and suffered under the Nazis.
Julie Nathan is the Research Officer for the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry
This article first appeared in J‑Wire