this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
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HistoryPorn

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Relive the Past in Jaw-Dropping Detail!

HistoryPorn is for photographs (or, if it can be found, film) of the past, recent or distant! Give us a little snapshot of history!

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[–] FringeTheory999 -1 points 11 months ago (4 children)

they don’t care. they’re just trying to hide their faces from the photographer. people always take this photo as an indication of shock or remorse, but in reality, they don’t want their pictures taken. That’s it., i’m sure.

[–] PugJesus 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don't think their concern was their faces being seen. Cancel culture wasn't exactly a thing at the time. It was widely known in the German population that the Jewish population was being deported to prison camps, but the details of extermination were not necessarily well-known, or believed. These men are being confronted with the reality of what they fought for.

[–] 13esq 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] kromem 10 points 11 months ago

The mayor of one of the neighboring towns to a camp hung himself after the forced tour of it post-liberation.

It's one thing to ignore authoritarians going after a minority group and turn a blind eye, especially when speaking up or opposing those authoritarians can get you killed.

But it's entirely a different thing to be directly confronted with the suffering you'd turned a blind eye to.

Just as we saw with the Milgram experiment that obedience to authority was not a 'German' thing but a 'human' thing, I wouldn't be so quick to 'other-ize' the flip side of the empathy of the POWs pictured here.

[–] gmtom 0 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yeah there's even a guy flipping the V to the camera

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Looks like he's resting his head on two spread fingers. You can see the dimple where it's pressing into his cheek.

I mean, maybe it's a V sign, but I rest my head on two fingers like that when watching a presentation, so I'm inclined to interpret it as such.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago

Oh my goodness, some of you guys hang on to any straw they can find. Amazing to see.