The Neosonderkommandos
By Seth H. Bramson
Before we begin this offering to our Ringside Report readers, I think it important to explain who the sonderkommados were during World War II, and what those poor, wretched fellows had to do in order to stay alive, and we will get to that below.
During that hideous and horrific war (yes, I know, what war wasn’t and isn’t, but due to Herr Hitler and the rest of the nazi scum–the one and only courteous and positive piece of verbiage that can or should be used to identify them, similar to a guy in a major political party who just connived his way into the highest office in the land—that war, due to the absolute and total inhumanity of one of the most vile human beings of all history as well as his equally degenerate followers, bears a special place in the writings, broadcasts and memories of those who have been able to factually present their recollections of that hideous and horrific event, for its utter atrocities, most particularly against innocent civilians) the nazi beasts (I will NEVER, EVER, EVER capitalize that particular “n” word as it must be reduced to the lowest possible level of writing and speaking due to the sheer evil and total lack of decency, that it did and does represent), the S S guards at the death camps (among the most horrific and utterly and totally inhumane were Dachau, Treblinka and Bergen-Belsen, just to name three), upon arrival of the trains, would pull aside any big, husky, strong-looking Jewish boy and ask him if he wanted to live.
If the answer was affirmative, the young man would be told what he would have to do if he wished to continue breathing, and what he had to do was, after he was put in the nazi uniform, complete with the S S lightning bolts on the sleeves, along with a Star of David, accept as his job and duty the orderal of separating the incoming prisoners (as many of our readers know, “prisoners” only because they were Jewish, or gay, or too liberal, as in opposed to the nazi-scum regime), shave their heads, remove any jewelry or valuables and send them to “the showers,” which, of course, were anything but “showers,” as the only thing that came out of the “shower” heads was poison gas.
Truth be told, some of those young fellows said (in German, of course), “no, I won’t do that,” and they joined the lines of death, heading for “the showers.” However, some of the boys (and I would have been one of them) who, thankfully for history wanted to live, said, in kraut-talk, “Ja,” for “yes,” and it is fortunate that some of them did, as because of the fact that some of them did agree to participate, a number of them were fortunate enough to not only live, but to live long enough to tell the story, the true, horrifying, horrific story of what those nazi sons of unwed mothers did to other human beings.
Now, we know who the sonderkommandos were, but, sadly, disgustingly, shamefully and revoltingly, we are, today (I know about Greater Miami—I can’t speak or write on this topic about the rest of the country but I am pretty certain that each major metropolis has its share of NEOsonderkommandos) burdened with a new group of vile and disgusting people who have no qualms about shamefully, maliciously and with malice aforethought seemingly take pleasure in stabbing other Jews in the back, that referring to the literary euphemism, of course, not doing so physically, but doing that to other Jews, even though not with an actual dagger or knife, and that kind and type of action still puts those individuals at a level of treacherous, vile, undeserving of the title “human being” individuals.
Now, to begin, I do ask you to note that I will not be using any individual’s names, but will refer to his or her action or actions and note his or her position of power or influence at the time of the vile transgression(s) that he or she engaged in and to provide some breadth and depth of understanding it is necessary to first share a story with you about a person in a position of power at a well known Greater Miami institution of higher learning.
When our college president left the trustees brought in a former Army colonel. Sadly and unhappily, and according to him, he knew more than anybody about everything, he thought, felt and believed, when, in truth and fact, he knew less than nothing and proceeded to show it. In short order not only did the school lose the Dolphins and the Orioles training camps, and not only did he upset most of the faculty, but, and on top of that, his lack of knowledge regarding certain programs at the school brought about total disaster, as the major in tourism and hospitality management, when I started teaching there, had 156 students; when I—along with about 30 other faculty in various disciplines—left, that major was down to 22 students.
About a year and a half later, the Journal of Higher Education, the accredited newspaper for that field, ran a story on him in which I was quoted as follows: “what he did there was ethically criminal.”
A few weeks after publication I got either a call or an email from his supposed attorney who laced into me and then told me that if he had any negative consequences from, due to or because of my comment, they were going to sue me. I immediately called my daughter, the attorney, and she put me (and my mind) completely at ease: “First,” she said, there is no such legal term as “ethically criminal;” and it has no meaning in the judicial system; second, you have not falsely accused him of an actual crime—you voiced an opinion, which, whether he and they liked it or not, you are not only totally entitled to do, but you have no worry or concern about expressing yourself in the same vein as referring to somebody and including a curse word in said discussion. End of story.” And, of course, she was completely correct, and in what follows nobody is being accused of a physical crime, but, and however, there is unquestionably an expression of my belief in terms of the wrongness and vileness of that person’s actions.
We begin, then, with my learning that a major health care institution in Greater Miami, same founded by Jewish people and known as being a “Jewish hospital” had a Jewish director and he hired a non-Jewish person to write the history of that care facility. Shameful as that was, it was not a problem for me; I wasn’t writing books yet. The problem came when I heard, some years later, that he was going to have an updated edition written, so I immediately called him and expressed interest in doing so. Instead of inviting me to come in and discuss it, he immediately “blew me off” and made it clear that he was going to have “the other guy” do it. That was the first knife in my back, so we move on from there.
Eventually, my late wife and I became active in another health care facility on the Miami side and I became vice president of the Men’s Club while she became president of the Woman’s Club. I then was asked by the Director there if I would be interested in writing a history of that organization, and my immediate reply was “absolutely.” The problem arose when the Director of Development threw every roadblock she could in my way and when I aske her why she was doing that, she told me that another person, who, yes, wrote the history of the other place, was “a friend of mine,” and that really burned me as I turned to her and asked, “what do you mean, ‘he’s a friend of yours?’ do you socialize with him, do you go out to dinner with him? and the answer was “no,” and I was beginning to smell something that stank, and it wasn’t rotting fish.
Myrna and I saw her some years later going into the Dunkin’ Donuts on Biscayne Blvd and 125th Street and with a big smile she looked at us and said “Hi, Myrna! Hi, Seth!” And in turn I gave the nazi salute and stridently stated “neosonderkommando so-and-so, heil!” and that was the last time I ever saw or spoke to her.
“Moving right along,” the next instance was not only a perfect example of a horrible example but it has caused me to conclude that something other than writing talent is going on with the individual noted in the first instance, he having been for some years, a “muck-a-muck” at a well-known historically-based organization hereabouts, and it has come back to me on too many occasions that he was doing all and everything he could to poison people against me. (I am NOT making this up: a number of people have expressed the same thought to me)
At any rate, the director of that organization (yes, Jewish) was the son of a man I was quite cordial with during my many years in the club and restaurant business as he and his partner operated hotels.
Several years ago (maybe four) I was invited to an event in downtown Miami, some very nice social afternoon get-together and he—the director—was there. I knew that the other guy had done nothing but poison people against me but I felt that perhaps I could reach out to the director, and I said to him, “My Hutzyklutz,” I would like to invite you to come and see The Bramson Archive and I would like to take you for lunch as my guest at Bagel Bar East” (that on NE 123rd Street, east of Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami) and you know how that obnoxious putzenyonkle responded? Instead of a cordial and courteous response, he looked at me with a dead stare, totally expressionless, and said, and I quote, “you want to see me? You come to my office.” That was it. I didn’t respond, I simply turned away and said nothing. Today, neither he nor “the other guy” are at that place, and I don’t know—nor do I care—if the others are extant, but the point is and remains, that a Jewish person who acts in the manner(s) that those thoughtless somethings-or-others acted in toward another Jewish person is not just shameful, but, yes, ethically criminal.
“And in closing?” I proffer one of my favorite quotes, this by the late, great Oscar Wilde, may he rest in peace, for it was he who said, “the single greatest insult there is….is silence.”
There are, besides the backstabbers noted above, a number of others who have done the same type of thing to me, and it seems to upset, annoy and aggravate them that I will not so much as return the greetings which I receive from them when we see each other because, dear readers, and simply put, those louts and lice will never, ever, after having done to me what they did, have the pleasure of hearing my voice again.
Be well, all, and stay safe, and to quote another great and beloved individual, “live long and prosper.”
Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By “Bad” Brad Berkwitt