Pope pontificates about God and the Holocaust

[Imp]

Oooo, this makes me hot!

Pope Benedict, in Germany, on the site of a Nazi concentration camp, said the following (AP):

"To speak in this place of horror, in this place where unprecedented mass crimes were committed against God and man, is almost impossible - and it is particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a pope from Germany," he said later.

"In a place like this, words fail; in the end, there can be only a dread silence, a silence which itself is a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?"

The answer, Pope Benedict, is that he didn't tolerate it. Your people--the churches, the universities, the intellectuals--were too afraid to stand against Hitler and his party. Only the Army held out for long, and they were taken out by coup, not concesssion. I love Germany, and I love his people, but a spiritually and intellectually bankrupt culture at the time failed to fight evil on its watch. Did God stand idly by? No. He sent in Britain, the United States, even the USSR, and 12 of their allies to put a stop to it--with millions of their citizens dying as a result.

It's a lesson for every generation, including our own, and one the pontiff should be pontificating about--not placing at the feet of God.

Oo, I'm hot.

[missaf]

The Catholic church's role in WWII is ambiguous at best. There are reports of agreements made between a Pope and Hitler, but later that Pope renigged on his contract with the Vatican and ended up dead. The church is also rumored to have provided from its stores on the blackmarket to acquire more money. Keep in mind not all Catholics were a part of this, though. Look at John Paul II, and what he did in Poland for Jews and Catholics alike. Catholics also ended up in the labor and concentration camps too, just as Christians did to defy the odds and defy the organized plots to protect those in power.

It's all a game, even in organized religions. Religions will fail you, but your own faith in God won't. Don't rely on people, they're going to fail you every time.

[CurvaceousBBWLover]

There is no need to be irate with the pope. His words were more than appropriate. How could God have let such a horrible thing happen? Even the most faithful of Christians would have difficulty comprehending this tragedy. After all, Jews supposedly were God's chosen people. Why did God not do more to protect his people? They suffered more at the hands of the Germans than the ancient Isrealites did at the hands of the Egyptians! At least the Egyptians only sought to enslave the Isrealites, not to systematically exterminate them.

Don't be hot. Be awed. And thank God that the world has changed within the last 60 years. Exterminating Jews used to be considered perfectly acceptable in mainstream culture, you know?

Originally Posted by Imp

Oooo, this makes me hot!

Pope Benedict, in Germany, on the site of a Nazi concentration camp, said the following (AP):

"To speak in this place of horror, in this place where unprecedented mass crimes were committed against God and man, is almost impossible - and it is particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a pope from Germany," he said later.

"In a place like this, words fail; in the end, there can be only a dread silence, a silence which itself is a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?"

The answer, Pope Benedict, is that he didn't tolerate it. Your people--the churches, the universities, the intellectuals--were too afraid to stand against Hitler and his party. Only the Army held out for long, and they were taken out by coup, not concesssion. I love Germany, and I love his people, but a spiritually and intellectually bankrupt culture at the time failed to fight evil on its watch. Did God stand idly by? No. He sent in Britain, the United States, even the USSR, and 12 of their allies to put a stop to it--with millions of their citizens dying as a result.

It's a lesson for every generation, including our own, and one the pontiff should be pontificating about--not placing at the feet of God.

Oo, I'm hot.

[CurvaceousBBWLover]

That's right!

Originally Posted by missaf

The Catholic church's role in WWII is ambiguous at best. There are reports of agreements made between a Pope and Hitler, but later that Pope renigged on his contract with the Vatican and ended up dead. The church is also rumored to have provided from its stores on the blackmarket to acquire more money. Keep in mind not all Catholics were a part of this, though. Look at John Paul II, and what he did in Poland for Jews and Catholics alike. Catholics also ended up in the labor and concentration camps too, just as Christians did to defy the odds and defy the organized plots to protect those in power.

It's all a game, even in organized religions. Religions will fail you, but your own faith in God won't. Don't rely on people, they're going to fail you every time.

[Miss Vickie]

Originally Posted by missaf

Religions will fail you, but your own faith in God won't. Don't rely on people, they're going to fail you every time.

Oh my gosh, this is the smartest thing I've heard in... oh... forever. You're so right. It's all about your faith, your relationship, with God. Nobody (but you!) can take that away from you.

[Imp]

Really, attacking the Catholic Church is not the point, although as a Protestant I'll be happy to do so on substantial issues. Nor am I attacking organized religion. To think that some individual path to whatever God you choose happens to exist is spiritual enlightenment, and to think that the collective wisdom of others, of tradition and of collectively verified experiences and facts is not of value is silly. No one thinks the same of science, or news, or even art--why categorically reject the contributions of community for spiritual matters? To do so jettisons very important aspects about being human (rationality and communal experience are two) that are necessary (not an impediment) to a full human spiritual experience. This type of belief is akin to the mysticism and existentialism that mixed with nationalism and fueled the rise of the Nazi party that I was referring to when I spoke of the bankrupt culture of the Weimar Republic. These are the kinds of philosophies the intellectuals and the churches were talking about when they rolled over to Hitler's dictatorship. Yes, people will surely always let you down: that's why we need God, and that's why we need societies that restrain the worst in us and strive to bring out our best.

Nor are we in a world where it's safe to be Jewish. Are you watching what's happening in Palestine, across the Middle East, Europe and really around the world?

But whatever. That's not my point. My point is that God *did* step in, and his intervention occurred due to the sacrifice of other nations. A descendant of those who at best did nothing and at worse committed the vilest of tragedies then fails to acknowledge that? A spokesman for God who speaks regularly on the political duties of nations to be agents of God's will fails to make the connection that these same nations defeated those who committed the evil?

Benedict isn't on my team, but I still hope that he did say these other things and that my ire should really be directed at a journalist or his/her editor trying to publish inflammatory statements to attract readers. That, of course, never happens.

Imp

[GenericGeek]

Originally Posted by Imp

?"
I love Germany, and I love his people, but a spiritually and intellectually bankrupt culture at the time failed to fight evil on its watch...

"Spiritually and intellectually bankrupt?" Hardly! ECONOMICALLY bankrupt and utterly desparate -- hell, yes! The causes of the Nazi Party's rise to power were many, but it's safe to say that a whole lot of why WWII came to pass is wrapped up in the victors' demands on Germany at the end of WWI.

Resentment, anger, and years of misery gave Germans cause to delight in a charismatic leader, who at first seemed to them "a god", as my 87-year old father-in-law put it. Only MUCH later did the magnitude of their mistake become clear to them...

I, for one, do not think that God sent "us good guys" to defeat "those bad guys", at all. I think the same puppetmaster is at work *whenever* mankind's negative emotions are harnessed in order to bring about War -- Mass Murder as a Team Sport.

"Jesus don't like killin', no matter what the reason's for, and yer flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore." -- John Prine

[crazygrad]

As someone who teaches the Holocaust, I'm with Yehuda Bauer on this one- If we want to understand why the Holocaust happened, we have to think about the people. The Holocaust was perpetrated by people against other people. While asking religious questions can help us to gain insight, we must start and end with humans and their motivations.

[FitChick]

While it is true that many in the church were silent, and some even sided with the Nazis, there were also many good Catholic people who risked their lives and their families lives to save and hide Jews. One that stands out in my mind especially is the story I read of the Italian man who saved Jews and in revenge, the Nazis sent his wife and 7 children to Dachau where they all died.

One reason why the church was often formally silent was because the Nazis had threatened to round up Catholics of Jewish origin and annihilate them, and possibly even Catholics not of Jewish ancestry. I honestly do not believe, as a Jew, that the Catholic church did it because they hated Jews (even with their history along those lines.)

[FitChick]

Originally Posted by CurvaceousBBWLover

There is no need to be irate with the pope. His words were more than appropriate. How could God have let such a horrible thing happen? Even the most faithful of Christians would have difficulty comprehending this tragedy. After all, Jews supposedly were God's chosen people. Why did God not do more to protect his people? They suffered more at the hands of the Germans than the ancient Isrealites did at the hands of the Egyptians! At least the Egyptians only sought to enslave the Isrealites, not to systematically exterminate them.

Don't be hot. Be awed. And thank God that the world has changed within the last 60 years. Exterminating Jews used to be considered perfectly acceptable in mainstream culture, you know?

The ancient Egyptians did not seek to systematically kill Jews? What was that thing about then, when Pharoah told the Hebrew midwives to kill the firstborn males as they were being born? The Torah even states that the reason Pharoah ordered that was "because the Hebrews grew too numerous".

TImes have changed in the last 60 years? Jewish history for the last 3500 years is replete with MANY systematic plans to wipe out the Jewish people...and not only did every one of them fail to wipe us out, but those who tried to destroy us were themselves destroyed...as G-d foretold in the Torah.

I could tell you what the traditional Jewish religious view is on ALL Jewish suffering (of which the Nazi destruction was only the most recent), but you wouldn't like it. Suffice it to say that religious Jews know why it happened and they come to terms with it. We know it was foretold thousands of years ago, just as every other tragedy in Jewish history was. The Passover Haggadah tells us that "in EVERY generation they rise up to destroy us, but the Holy One, Blessed Be He, delivers us out of their hand" (that is, the Jewish people is never totally wiped out, a remnant always survives.)

[Rosie]

Wasn't Benedict himself a nazi in his younger days? The hypocrisy is enough to make one barf.

[CurvaceousBBWLover]

Pharaoh sought to kill firstborn Isrealite males. Hitler tried to kill all of the Jews in the world.

Jewish history contains many tragedies, beginning with ancient times and continuing through modern times. I've never understood anti-semitism. But I am proud to note that Jewish history is replete with triumphs.

As long as people continue to remain aware of the Holocaust, I don't expect one anytime soon. To ensure that no Holocaust ever happens to ANY group of people, the world's citizsens must be eternally vigilant. If the Holocaust can happen to Jews, the handicapped, homosexuals, communists,and the mentally ill, the Holocaust can happen to anybody.

Originally Posted by FitChick

The ancient Egyptians did not seek to systematically kill Jews? What was that thing about then, when Pharoah told the Hebrew midwives to kill the firstborn males as they were being born? The Torah even states that the reason Pharoah ordered that was "because the Hebrews grew too numerous".

TImes have changed in the last 60 years? Jewish history for the last 3500 years is replete with MANY systematic plans to wipe out the Jewish people...and not only did every one of them fail to wipe us out, but those who tried to destroy us were themselves destroyed...as G-d foretold in the Torah.

I could tell you what the traditional Jewish religious view is on ALL Jewish suffering (of which the Nazi destruction was only the most recent), but you wouldn't like it. Suffice it to say that religious Jews know why it happened and they come to terms with it. We know it was foretold thousands of years ago, just as every other tragedy in Jewish history was. The Passover Haggadah tells us that "in EVERY generation they rise up to destroy us, but the Holy One, Blessed Be He, delivers us out of their hand" (that is, the Jewish people is never totally wiped out, a remnant always survives.)

[LarryTheShiveringChipmunk]

Originally Posted by CurvaceousBBWLover

Don't be hot. Be awed. And thank God that the world has changed within the last 60 years. Exterminating Jews used to be considered perfectly acceptable in mainstream culture, you know?

Unfortunately it is still perfectly acceptable in some cultures today (Iran for one, and certain parts of Europe still have skinheads and the like)

To answer Rosie's statement of whether Benedict was a Nazi. He was a member of the Hitler Youth, which, at the time, was basically a brainwashed version of the Boy Scouts here. Imagine if today's Boy Scouts were being fed Bush propoganda while young and susceptinble and groomed to one day become part of the Armed forces. The Hitler Youth were mandatory for all young Germans.

Per wikipedia:

Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth as membership was legally required after December 1936.[3] According to one of Ratzinger's biographers, the National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen, he was an unenthusiastic member who refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, because he believed it was in conflict with their faith. In 1941 one of Ratzinger's cousins with Down's Syndrome was murdered by the Nazi regime. In 1943, when he was 16, Ratzinger was drafted with many of his classmates into the Luftwaffenhelfer programme. After his class was released from the Corps in September 1944, Ratzinger was put to work setting up anti-tank defences in the Hungarian border area of Austria in preparation for the expected Red Army offensive. He was eventually drafted into the German army at Munich to receive basic infantry training in the nearby town of Traunstein. His unit served at various posts around the city and was never sent to the front. Ratzinger was briefly interned in an Allied prisoner-of-war camp near Ulm and was repatriated on June 19, 1945. The family was reunited when his brother, Georg, returned after being repatriated from a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy.

[CurvaceousBBWLover]

Larry, thank you for your point. To clarify, I was referring to American culture, not the world. I dont think we will ever be rid of the evils of anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, or any other kind of "-ism."

Originally Posted by LarryTheShiveringChipmunk

Unfortunately it is still perfectly acceptable in some cultures today (Iran for one, and certain parts of Europe still have skinheads and the like)

To answer Rosie's statement of whether Benedict was a Nazi. He was a member of the Hitler Youth, which, at the time, was basically a brainwashed version of the Boy Scouts here. Imagine if today's Boy Scouts were being fed Bush propoganda while young and susceptinble and groomed to one day become part of the Armed forces. The Hitler Youth were mandatory for all young Germans.

Per wikipedia:

Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth as membership was legally required after December 1936.[3] According to one of Ratzinger's biographers, the National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen, he was an unenthusiastic member who refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, because he believed it was in conflict with their faith. In 1941 one of Ratzinger's cousins with Down's Syndrome was murdered by the Nazi regime. In 1943, when he was 16, Ratzinger was drafted with many of his classmates into the Luftwaffenhelfer programme. After his class was released from the Corps in September 1944, Ratzinger was put to work setting up anti-tank defences in the Hungarian border area of Austria in preparation for the expected Red Army offensive. He was eventually drafted into the German army at Munich to receive basic infantry training in the nearby town of Traunstein. His unit served at various posts around the city and was never sent to the front. Ratzinger was briefly interned in an Allied prisoner-of-war camp near Ulm and was repatriated on June 19, 1945. The family was reunited when his brother, Georg, returned after being repatriated from a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy.

[missaf]

Originally Posted by Rosie

Wasn't Benedict himself a nazi in his younger days? The hypocrisy is enough to make one barf.

Ugh, please don't judge someone based on rumors. Have you researched his past at all?

The Pope was indicted into Hitler's Youth, but so where countless thousands of young people, done so by gunpoint and extortion. If you were between the ages of 13 and 18, you were pulled from your family and indicted into a culture of hate, with promises of rations and well being for your family. If you didn't want to go, you were pulled from your house, your mother or sisters beaten, and a gun put to your head.

Hitler's Youth was a brain washing organization. Instead of killing off all the males like some cultures would do in order to raise another generation under their control, it was decided that the youth of the nations would be indoctorinated into the culture of Hitler. What they didn't count on was the mass exodus of these teens when they saw what was happening and refused to participate. My high school history teacher was forced into the program, and he and 34 others escaped, after careful planning that took almost a year after they left their "school." They left with their map cases, food, no weapons, and tried to escape into France. Out of 35 young men, only three made it to freedom.

The first hand reports from my teacher were mind blowing. On one occasion, he took several of us to his home and showed us the remnants of his uniform, his hat, his map case, and the maps the Nazi war maps they used to escape. He looked at us through tears and said his one regret was that they could not have taken more of their friends with them, because so many wanted to leave, too.

[FitChick]

Nazism (like Communism) was very anti-Christian. Hitler viewed Christianity as a Jewish "plot" to "spiritually weaken" "Aryans."

One of his goals was to paganize the German people. Himmler developed pagan pre-Christian Nordic rituals that were meant to eventually wean the German ppl away from Christianity.

[Elfcat]

There are a lot of stories about just who was silent.

Certainly there were many Christians of various flavors in Germany and her wartime colonies who protested about government policy and payed dearly for it.

And a certain very controversial fellow named Norm Finkelstein has claimed that the Holocaust ended up worse than it could have because the leadership of the most influential Jewish American groups did not want to divert the focus of U.S. politicians away from the goal of ensuring the creation of a Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine. And if one film on the subject I saw is to be believed, these American Jewish groups didn't seem all that exercised to try to find a place for a boatload of escapees who had first attempted to land at Havana. If only certain things had happened there a couple decades earlier, I have a feeling that wouldn't have been such a problem, but that's part of a different story.

The countries who eventually allied against Germany were warned by people such as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who bought their own guns and boat passage to Spain and faced the growing power of the Axis firsthand. "Premature anti-fascists" I believe was the official term for them back home. Think about that when you're tempted to call someone this.

[OriginalCyn]

I have to tell you that a lot of Jews at that time also questioned how God could let that happen, and the upshot of it all was that they questioned their previously-unexamined relationship with their God.

A lot of atheists came out of that tragedy. (Not me...I'm secular because it's my nature to not accept the notion of a "Personal God", not because I'm pissed-off at God.)

I have also run into the occasional Jew who blames the Jews themselves for the Nazis. Fortunately, such people seem to be rare. But then, I don't live in (for example) NYC or LA, so I could be wrong about their relative rarity. I hope I'm not!

One theory that I heard was that God decided to punish all of the Jewish people when some of the Jews in Germany "reformed"/liberalized their religion. I inferred that the person who told me this was angry with me for being non-religious, and that he'd hold me (and others like me) personally responsible for any future deaths of Jews that could be traced back to God's anger.

Another theory that someone told me goes back to the O.T.: The Hebrews were utterly slaughtering certain peoples, at God's direction, including all of the opponent tribes' women, children, and even their livestock. A decision was made to allow a few of the targeted tribespeople to live, and supposedly they went on to become the ancestors of the Nazis.

What it all boils down to is a notion that we defy God's word not only at our own peril but at the peril of our fellow Jews. This is a responsibility that I'm unwilling to acknowledge...and you can probably imagine why I'm none-too-fond of some very devoutly religious people, namely the ones who feel that it's their duty to not only watch out for their own spiritual lives but to also enforce spiritual conformity in others.

[FitChick]

Original Cyn said:

One theory that I heard was that God decided to punish all of the Jewish people when some of the Jews in Germany "reformed"/liberalized their religion. I inferred that the person who told me this was angry with me for being non-religious, and that he'd hold me (and others like me) personally responsible for any future deaths of Jews that could be traced back to God's anger.
>>

This is part of the traditional view amongst most Orthodox Jews. It has been noted that Nazism arose from the same country as reform did.

[Wayne_Zitkus]

Originally Posted by FitChick

Nazism (like Communism) was very anti-Christian. Hitler viewed Christianity as a Jewish "plot" to "spiritually weaken" "Aryans."

One of his goals was to paganize the German people. Himmler developed pagan pre-Christian Nordic rituals that were meant to eventually wean the German ppl away from Christianity.

As usual, Anita - you're wrong. Hitler was very much a Christian, and the Nazi movement was very steeped in Christianity.

Hitler's Christianity

To deny the influence of Christianity on Hitler and its role in World War II, means that you must ignore history and forever bar yourself from understanding the source of German anti-Semitism and how the WWII atrocities occurred.

By using historical evidence of Hitler's and his henchmen's own words, this section aims to show how mixing religion with politics can cause conflicts, not only against religion but against government and its people. This site, in no way, condones Nazism, Neo-Nazism, fascist governments, or anti-Semitism, but instead, warns against them.

by Jim Walker


[The German words, "Gott Mit Uns" means God With Us and appeared on many Nazi soldiers belt buckles during WWII.]

<more>

http://www.nobeliefs.com/Hitler1.htm

[missaf]

Calling Hitler a Christian is like saying Ted Bundy was a sweetheart.

Just because he claims Christianity as his religion of choice doesn't mean that he didn't skew the text to fit his own agenda during his psychosis.

Hitler marching songs said things like:

We follow not Christ, but Horst Wessel,
Away with incense and Holy Water,
The Church can go hang for all we care,
The Swastika brings salvation on Earth.

The SS had their own rituals and pagan worship celebrations on solstices, all approved by Hitler and written and performed by Himmler, who used to be Catholic too -- does that make him a representative of Christianity?

I believe Hitler viewed faith as a weakness and supremacy only came by being stronger than the simple minded people who had faith, and sought to destroy the culture of belief in anything but himself. That's not Christianity, that's purely and simply sick.

[Sandie_Zitkus]

Actually Wayne and I have very different opinions on this subject of Hitler and Christianity.

From everything I've read and seen about it Hitler was not Christian by any means. He was steeped in Paganism and the occult because he thought it could bring him more power to win the war and rule the world.

Hitler wanted German's to return to their Pagan roots. He studied Paganism - Norse symbology - and Norse Gods in order to better under stand how to use the Symbols of said Gods - or Runes - to gain power.

If you know what Runes are you will know that Hitler lifted many of the symbols to be used on Flags and SS suits and actually all over the Nazi party. The most blantant symbol used and the one most people know is the SS symbol. It is not an SS at all. It is a Runic symbol called Soi or the SUN.



Hi used the double Soi as the SS symbol and since Soi is the representative of the Sun apparently Hitler believed the Sun shined on the SS and the Nazi party.

Hitlers use of the occult is fascinating stuff and there is tons of interesting things to read on the net about it.

Just my 2 cents.

[GenericGeek]

Originally Posted by Sandie_Zitkus

Actually Wayne and I have very different opinions on this subject of Hitler and Christianity.

From everything I've read and seen about it Hitler was not Christian by any means. He was steeped in Paganism and the occult because he thought it could bring him more power to win the war and rule the world.

Hitler wanted German's to return to their Pagan roots. He studied Paganism - Norse symbology - and Norse Gods in order to better under stand how to use the Symbols of said Gods - or Runes - to gain power.

If you know what Runes are you will know that Hitler lifted many of the symbols to be used on Flags and SS suits and actually all over the Nazi party. The most blantant symbol used and the one most people know is the SS symbol. It is not an SS at all. It is a Runic symbol called Soi or the SUN.



Hi used the double Soi as the SS symbol and since Soi is the representative of the Sun apparently Hitler believed the Sun shined on the SS and the Nazi party.

Hitlers use of the occult is fascinating stuff and there is tons of interesting things to read on the net about it.

Just my 2 cents.

The Nazis misappropriated anything and everything they could find that they thought would bring them what they really worshipped -- POWER!

The word, "Aryan", for instance. "Aryan" is Sanskrit for "noble" -- it has nothing at all to do with being Mr Death's blue-eyed boy (apologies to ee cummings).

The swastika is an ancient sacred symbol, found in both Native American and Asian cultures. To this day, Japanese maps denote the location of Buddhist temples with a swastika.

[FitChick]

As usual, Zitkus, you're wrong. I've only studied the Holocaust since age 12, and became a Holocaust archivist in my late teens for the Jewish Identity Center (formerly of Philly)....so what do I know, right?

Hitler USED Christiantiy to further his aims...I highly suggest you consult the book, "The Nazis and the Occult" by D Sklar. There was also a World War Two series done a number of years ago by Time, which contained a volume entitled "The SS", which fully documents with pictures and info, the activities of the Nazis (esp. the SS) to paganise the German people and wean them away from Christianity gradually. The Christian rites were gradually being supplanted with pagan ones...it would have fully succeeded if the Nazis had not lost the war.

The Nazis were heavily into pre-Christian pagan Germanic religion, which partly explains Hitler's obsession with the operas of Wagner. The modern neoNazis are also heavily into Odinism (as its called now), for the same reason.

Edited: I just saw Sandie Z's post....it seems we agree about something! It seems she is far more knowledgeable about this subject than her husband.

Incidentally Wayne, linking to a site entitled nobeliefs.com (atheists) is not a good way to "prove" Hitler was a sincere Christian....they'll do anything to make those in ANY traditional religion look bad. Just a thought.


Here are some quotes by leading Nazis that might interest you:

"The Führer is deeply religious, though completely anti-Christian; he views Christianity as a symptom of decay. Rightly so. It is a branch of the Jewish race."—Joseph Goebbels, in his diary, December 28, 1939.

"Christianity is the prototype of Bolshevism: the mobilisation by the Jew of the masses of slaves with the object of undermining society." —Hitler 1941

"The German people, especially the youth, have learned once again to value people racially-they have once again turned away from Christian theories, from Christian teaching which has ruled Germany for more than a thousand years and caused the racial decay of the German Volk, and almost its racial death." —Heinrich Himmler May 22, 1936 at a speech in Brocken, Germany.

[LeedsFeeder]

The simple answer is that the deeds were all down to the actions of humans - god didn''t do anything because he/she/it doesn't exist and as such isn't in a position to act - anyway, the god of the bible was hardly a stranger to genocide.