Wednesday, 8 February 2012

To stand up against the tyranny of the majority

This photo and the following translation are taken from this site. http://www.senrinomichi.com/

Go to the site for the fantastic photo.

This site started as an earthquake support site mostly. But, the photo and translation speak for themselves. I put these on as reminders that we all must face consequences for standing up to tyrannies.

The photo was taken in Hamburg in 1936, during the celebrations for the launch of a ship. In the crowed, one person refuses to raise his arm to give the Nazi salute. The man was August Landmesser. He had already been in trouble with the authorities, having been sentenced to two years hard labour for marrying a Jewish woman.
We know little else about August Landmesser, except that he had two children. By pure chance, one of his children recognized her father in this photo when it was published in a German newspaper in 1991. How proud she must have been in that moment.