GRGR (15): Good & Evil (was Enzian...)

[rj]

Derek Maus:
>  you see the
> destruction that this kind of tactic can have on not only the psyche but
> the morals and ethics of those being forced to participate in their own
> (collective)  extermination.
and 
> The
> psychological aspect of the final solution points out that the Nazis were
> creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by "demonstrating" that the Jews were
> perfectly willing to participate in the abuses perpetrated upon them out
> of selfishness (since the Jews who were willing to perform duties like
> sorting the belongings of those getting off the trains at Auschwitz were
> often given relative perks).

Not really disputing anything in this very good post except to say that
it sounds very much like the sections in *GR* dealing with Enzian's
story, the campaign of genocide undertaken against the Herero in 1904
(moreso in V. I guess), and the prior (?) 'choice' of racial suicide
under the white colonial yoke. Enzian certainly got some perks from his
association with Weissmann. Survival, for one (although, in that
situation, how much of a "perk" is it really?) I'm not so sure that it
is profitable to single out differences when it comes to genocide, at
least, I think Pynchon draws our attention to the contiguities rather
than the things which apparently set them apart.

best