HMV describing Jewish refugee children as Central European Children

[Trulywonderful]

Would I be unreasonable to as any of you on twitter or willing to write an email complaint to HMV to do me a favour

HMV have described the Jewish refugee children in the new One Life film as Central European Children. This is erasing there Jewishness from the description. I know some may feel objection to this is petty but at the moment the Jewish community are seeing a far bit of this behaviour. Erasing us from things to make people feel more comfortable etc

Anyway if people want to help and tweet about this or email HMV I would be very grateful

Where did I say we shouldn’t mention them?

again, it would be inaccurate to use the word Jewish where you want it. If they were going to state it was only about Jewish children that that would be offensive to the other groups affected. I agree that ‘Central European’ children sounds clunky, but I genuinely don’t see how they could have written that one line any more sensitively.

It’s one sentence promoting a film that is about how hundreds of predominantly but not solely Jewish children were saved by one hero during the holocaust. No one is trying to erase Jewishness here.

It seems to me very wrong to call them Jewish when they weren't all Jewish

It seems to reduce the whole story to one of anti Jewism when it wasn't - Roma do feel put out when the holocaust is termed around Jewish people only , it's like only the Jews matter

I think in your last sentence you've sorted it. 'A film about one hero who saved hundreds of predominantly Jewish [insert other groups] children during the Holocaust'.

I don't see why this is hard for Warner Bros or whoever to do?

Not random European citizens, but the Nazis did consider Slavic people to be racially inferior. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_crimes_against_the_Polish_nation

Re your original point - I do ofc agree that we need to be careful to make sure that Jews are not erased when discussing the Holocaust. But I am not sure that is happening here.

We need to make sure that all persecuted groups are not erased from the history of the Holocaust. The holocaust killed millions of Jews but it was not just a crime against Jews. Roma, for example, are a persecuted group that are forgotten about far more than the Jews in the general consciousness of the Holocaust.

I'm not sure the copywriters could win in the case of HMV/BBC documentary as they need a short and snappy description of the documentary that was factually correct and inclusive of all groups targeted, however it seems that not mentioning Jews explicitly at this current time of tensions involving Israel was always going to be ceased upon as an attempt to demonstrate prejudice where none exists.

The reaction of members of the UK Jewish community to this has to be seen in the current geopolitical context and how that is leading to increased antisemitism in the UK - understandable, but still tilting at windmills.

Because that would be a very long sentence that would likely exclude an impacted group and/or be criticised for demonstrating preference in the ordering of the groups impact. The fact is that all the children were Central European (in a broad sense) regardless of whether they were Jews, Roma, children of dissidents, etc.

It is interesting to note that the Wikipedia articles about Winton and the wider kindertransport both only explicitly mention Jewish children being saved and do not explicitly mention children from any other groups that were persecuted by the Nazis being saved. This seems to be considered acceptable and perhaps helps cultivate the incorrect idea that these were all Jewish children that were saved.

I am sure Jews will be mentioned in the film, they just needed an all encompassing term for a brief description. If, in the film, they don’t mention the fact that many of the children are Jewish then there would be a problem.

Have to say when I was a child and I was told about the holocaust it was only in the terms of Jewish people, it was only when I was older that I learnt that the Nazis had a wider remit of who they wanted to eradicate.

Saw they’ve now deleted it, probablt because of the community note that got attached to it. Not surprised but always depressed with the rise in antisemitism and the attempted erasur3 of any mention of Jews.

The community note was not exactly correct though.

Alternatively, why not state a mensch behaved like a Christian should and save a shed load of kids?

Winton was also Jewish.

Were they all children?
Were they all from central Europe?
Would some if them not wish to be called Jewish for different reasons?

It's a press release about a film, not an academicor journalistic article, not a definitive or reliable source. And its accurate. You are asking them to add inaccuracy and ambiguity for the sake of highlighting just one characteristic.

They haven't erased the word Jewish because of anti-jewish feeling (although if they had it would be in the aim of protecting Jewish communities) but because its simply inaccurate and not necessary.

....be happy the film is made.

They haven't erased the word Jewish because of anti-jewish feeling (although if they had it would be in the aim of protecting Jewish communities)

This seems a bold assertion in the current climate.

It's actually quite interesting to look intothat.
Lik pp mentioned, Slavic people were also not particularly considered humans. There were final solution plans for all. Some were for complete annihilation (as was for Jews and Roma, both considered non European and not human enough), some would be partially Germanised.

About 90% of Romas in Czechoslovakia were murdered during ww2 alongside Jews (and others).

There were also issues with what law considered gypsy before war already. Some people were considered that due to lifestyle, rather than ethnicity.
When Hitler came to power many romas trying to escape from Germany to CS were being pushed front and back at border because neither would admit them.

I think they are often forgotten because the numbers were small compared to the millions of Jewish victims.

I have no issue with describing them as a group as it is, however mention needs to also be given to why these specific children needed to be rescued at all - the fact that they were of Jewish origin, or some other persecuted origin.

White people do feel put out when the slavery debates are termed around black people only, it's like only African slaves matter.

https://nyupress.org/9780814742969/white-cargo/#:~:text=In%20the%20seventeenth%20and%20eighteenth,provide%20%E2%80%9Cbreeders%E2%80%9D%20for%20Virginia.

When someone sets out to eradicate a race, as well as others that they deem to be unworthy, and when that particular race makes up the overwhelming majority of victims of genocide, that race deserves a mention and not a whitewash.
Yes, the Nazis targeted others, homosexuals, Roma, etc, but the Jews bore the brunt of it.
Removing any reference to them is abhorrent, and almost certainly rooted in the current political landscape.

"Jewishness" seems like a better term in this case. Not all Jews have Judaism as their faith. "Jew" refers to both the race of people and person of that faith. Hitler wanted to exterminate the race.

Implying that a Jew is both of the race and of the faith is like stating that anyone who is English is a Christian. One term is a nationality, one term a religion. In the case of the Jews, the term is the same but the difference still applies.

it's like only African slaves matter.

Someone will be on soon to claim that the white slaves had "white privilege".

@Dotjones no doubt!

They haven't erased the word Jewish because of anti-jewish feeling (although if they had it would be in the aim of protecting Jewish communities) but because its simply inaccurate and not necessary.

Specifically how would they be "protecting Jewish communities" by erasing Jews? This is such a weird contortion.

What seems more likely is that if Warner purposely erased it because of anti-Jewish feeling, it's more to do with pulling the big bucks in because they think a film principally about Jews won't be a big selling point, sadly.

Media person here. For accuracy and brevity I would have written: “The wartime story of British humanitarian Nicholas Winton who helped save hundreds of Central European children, most of them Jewish, from the Nazis.”

You're absolutely right OP, thank you for highlighting this.

And there we have it

”STFU about your erasure and he happy about the Holocaust”

Funny how MN is all about “Nevet ever erase the word woman” which I agree with but erasing other groups is fine.

Also can we stop using the word ‘Jewishness’. This is often used to discriminate against Jewish people and perpetuate stereotypes about hooked noses and theft.

Bit unfair to change "be happy the film is made" into "be happy about holocaust" 😶

I didn't use the word jewishness?
Nor did I say be happy about the holocaust

If you were describing a group that was 80% women I wouldn't expect the word women to dominate. That's not erasure.

Yes, what a strange way to write it and should be changed. I would have written "children" then followed by listing all the groups (largest to smallest). People shouldn't be assumed to be too stupid to read a full sentance, especially when it's an historical film.