By In a place as beautiful and and scenic as Austria, it is difficult for me to image it during the years of 1933-1945, when Hitler used the mountainous regions as a place to conspire against the opposition. The museum located in the former documentation center was very interesting, but of all the information I received I was particularly struck by a children’s book that promoted the purification of the German people and warned against the nature of the Jewish people. Even the depiction of German and Jewish children was disturbing: German children were depicted bright and blonde, and made great playmates because they shared everything, while, the Jewish children were portrayed with mean eyes, frowns, and made horrible playmates as they pushed and shoved and kept all the toys to themselves. I image this book being read to innocent German children as they get ready to close their eyes and sleep. So sad. This sort of indoctrination seems to me to be the worst, as children are the most innocent of all.
While I am in no place to fully understand how easy it was for so many to believe that one race should take over all others, I am grateful for those who, after realizing the injustice and wrong, turned to fight against it and did not stay silent. In this way, I am motivated to fight on the behalf of the marginalized and the oppressed. It sounds ideal, I know, but it’s not impossible. As artists we can fight with paint, with colours. As songwriters and musicians we can fight with the songs we compose, hopefully motivating people to think critically about the decisions the government is making; to ask the question: Is this the best we can do for our society? What can we do to change things?
I don’t want to be a martyr of anything (at least, not at this point) and I’m not asking for trouble, but I don’t want to be blinded by comfort, or by the problems that exist around me. I want to make the World-Playground a place where everyone can play, building sandcastles and climbing trees.