Silke Jasso
Arnold Schwarzenegger reflected on his visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp a few months ago, describing it as one of the darkest moments of his life.
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In a 12-minute video posted on his YouTube page, he urged people not to fall into the same path as those who perpetrated the atrocities of the Holocaust and other crimes. He specifically addresses those who hold onto discriminatory beliefs, warning them that such a path won’t lead to success.
Schwarzenegger acknowledges the recent surge in global hate and antisemitism and is now seeking those who may have “stumbled” onto the wrong path, rather than preaching to those who are already actively against discrimination.
“I don’t know the road that has brought you here, but I’ve seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs,” the actor said in the video. “So I want to speak with you before you find your regrets at the end of that path.”
“A Path of Hate”
Schwarzenegger went on to point out his father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, who he revealed was a Nazi soldier and was part of Leningrad in WWII which lasted nearly 900 days. According to the actor, his father was one of the “broken men” after the war who were “riddled with guilt.”
“They felt like losers, not only because they lost the war, but also because they fell for horrible, loser ideology. They were lied to and misled into a path that ended in misery,” Schwarzenegger stated. “In the end, it didn’t really matter why they joined [the Nazis]. They were all broken in the same way. That’s the bottom line here.”
Schwarzenegger emphasized that the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland is a terrible reminder of where hate can lead. As the largest concentration camp during the Holocaust, it claimed the lives of over 1.1 million people. The actor described the powerful impact of visiting the site firsthand, saying that from the moment he set foot there, “you feel a tremendous weight” due to the physical remnants of those who were killed.
“The suitcases never claimed by the prisoners who were told to remember exactly where they’d left their belongings so they could retrieve them after they were finished with their showers… the gas chambers with scratches in the walls from the fingernails of people who tried to hold onto life… the crematorium, where the Nazis tried to erase all of their atrocities,” he recalled.
“Let me tell you something, the weight on your back hits you at the very beginning, heavier than any squat I’ve ever done. And it never goes away,” Schwarzenegger said. “It’s the feeling of history, of millions of voices that were silenced decades ago, begging you, begging you, not just to look at their shoes, but to spend a few hours in them.”
“It Never Goes Away”
Schwarzenegger addressed those who are currently at a “crossroads,” contemplating whether to follow a path driven by hate. He warned that although this path may seem easy, those following it “will not find success at the end of that road.”. Schwarzenegger emphasized that choosing to focus on hate means creating a scapegoat instead of taking any responsibility.
In recent years there has been a rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States. According to the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, the number of incidents increased by more than 34% in 2021, which is the highest number recorded. In January, the organization stated that at least 85% of Americans “believe at least one anti-Jewish trope” which was up from 61% in 2019.
“Hate burns fast and bright. It might make you feel empowered for a while, but it eventually consumes whatever vessel it fuels. It breaks you,” Schwarzenegger said. “…There has never been a successful movement based on hate. … I don’t want you to be a loser.”
“When you spend your life looking for scapegoats, you take away your own responsibility. You remove your own power. You steal your own strength,” he noted. “You have to give up your war against everyone you hate. The war you really have to fight is the war against yourself.”
In the end, the actor stated that there was “still hope” for those who have lived their own life field by hate so far. “There’s still time for you,” the actor stated. “Choose strength. Choose life. Conquer your mind.”
AWESOME – in every sense of the word. I’ll never forget it, ever.