Dear editor:
No decent person needs to be reminded that the ideology of Adolf Hitler represents one of the darkest chapters in human history. The hatred and destruction unleashed by Nazism deserve complete and unequivocal condemnation.
That is precisely why the controversy surrounding a Niagara political figure and the purchase of a signed copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” as recently discussed in The Lake Report, deserves a calmer and more thoughtful response than the rush to demand a resignation that we witnessed and ultimately received.
Studying history — even its darkest chapters — is not the same as endorsing it. Reports indicated that the book in question may have been a rare edition acquired years ago as part of a collection of historical artifacts.
Whether one finds such collecting appropriate or not, historians, libraries and museums preserve similar material so future generations can more easily understand how destructive ideas take root.
Here in Niagara-on-the-Lake, we live among constant reminders of the sacrifices made to defend free societies.
Just down the road stands Fort George, where soldiers fought during the War of 1812 to preserve the young institutions that would eventually shape modern Canada. Their sacrifice helped secure a country confident enough to examine its own history honestly.
Additionally, many of the historic homes that give Niagara-on-the-Lake its charm were built in eras whose values we now see very differently.
We preserve those buildings not because we approve of everything about the past but because understanding history honestly helps us build a better future.
History also serves to remind us that democratic societies sometimes must confront uncomfortable realities in order to defeat greater threats.
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill reluctantly joined with Joseph Stalin to defeat Hitler-not because he admired Stalin’s regime, but because confronting Hitler’s tyranny required understanding and dealing with the world the way it was.
As Churchill himself observed, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
If we begin demanding that individuals resign from public life based solely on the title of books they have read or purchased, we are venturing down a very slippery slope.
Democracies judge citizens by their actions and character, not by speculation about the content of their personal libraries.
A confident democracy should not fear difficult books. Rather, it should fear the moment when citizens are punished simply for reading them.
Ron Bremner
NOTL
