Auschwitz & Pohakuloa — Family Camps? May 27, 2022 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet
Don’t be Bamboozled!
Auschwitz & Pohakuloa —
Family Camps?
Let’s be clear. Auschwitz was NO Family Camp! Auschwitz was a WWII Nazi concentration and extermination camp located in southern Poland where more than 1 million people, mainly Jews — men, women, and children were killed in gas chambers. Yet in the German Nazi war crime trials in the early 1960s, one former SS guard assured the court there were no attempted escapes. Who would want to escape? Auschwitz, he said, was after all, “a family camp.” Another defendant said he could point on a map to where he had made “a children’s playground with sandboxes for the little ones.” Auschwitz was just one of several WWII German concentration camps where a total of 6 million people, mainly Jews, were exterminated. (See the book Thomas Merton on Peace for his essay Auschwitz: A Family Camp)
The Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) is No Family Camp either. Despite events like the recent “Experience Pohakuloa” Day which tried to portray a warm image with “educational displays highlighting our cultural and natural resources, plenty of keiki activities,” etc. The event was described on the PTA Facebook page as a “festive and enjoyable atmosphere for all those who attended.” Despite such images, the reality of Pohakuloa is that of a massive 133,000-acre US military toxic training ground for war, including nuclear war. A nuclear war would likely result in the extermination of human civilization on the planet.
Nuclear weapon spotting rounds containing Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation have been fired at PTA. There have also been reports of nuclear weapons actually exploding at PTA decades ago. Soil tests for Strontium 90 and Cesium 137 in the Impact area could confirm or deny such reports, but access to the impact area is restricted. What we do know is that millions of live rounds from a wide range of toxic weapon systems by all branches of the military are fired annually at PTA. B-52 and B-2 strategic nuclear bombers fly non-stop from Missouri, Louisiana, and Guam to practice bombing Pohakuloa and return to their bases without ever touching down. The US military is the largest institutional consumer of oil and the largest emitter of CO2 on the planet. Putting an end to war and ending the climate crisis go together. The deadline to comment on the extension of State lease lands at PTA is June 7, 2022. For ways to comment see https://malu-aina.org/?p=8003 Cancel PTA Lease Now!
Aloha ‘Aina – Stop Bombing Pohakuloa!
End the Illegal US Occupation of Hawai’i!
1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Russian, etc.
5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760
Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.
For more information http://www.malu-aina.org/
May 27, 2022, Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1078– Fridays 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
-- Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org
