Auschwitz: The Death of Modernism

Just last week I returned from a short journey to Poland, complete with a grey winter sky and a sheet of snow across the landscape. Giving up the joys of Polish dumplings and beautiful Hapsburgian streets for a day, I made a pilgrimage to that place that conjures unfathomable horror and destruction: Auschwitz. It is a place that eludes words - they simply fail to ever describe or express what occurred there from 1940 to 1945. During the tour the immense void between the raw humanity that suffered and the precision of efficiency used to carry out such suffering simply grew with each passing moment. Incapable of ignoring this contrast, it occurred to me that any such delusions of the infinite march of progress and Modernist ideals were quickly killed at Auschwitz.

The machine of death at Auschwitz employed a synthesis of technology and ‘scientific’ research to achieve its goal – the annihilation of Jews and other ‘undesirables’ from Hitler’s regime. In an era where science is often deified, it is prudent to remember that science and technology are always shaped by a politics informed by history. Rationality becomes fluid and the scientific method becomes subservient to ideology – the ends dictate the means. Much ‘rational’ scientific work done today would debunk Nazi racial and genetic ideology, however in the presence of frighteningly powerful political discourse, techniques were altered to validate ‘truth’.

In the aftermath of such unprecedented crimes against humanity, a chorus of ‘never again’ was uttered, the essence of which can be seen at the Auschwitz memorial today. The suspicion of Modernism that began in the nihilistic trenches of World War I culminated at Auschwitz. ‘Never again’ is the phrase that put a firm nail in the coffin of Modernism – it was the beginning of the end for our faith in reason and progress, the end of the Enlightenment project that gave fruition to complexity rather than certainty. Science and technology were reduced to tools rather than saviours. Since Auschwitz, this has been confirmed time and time again – the Khmer Rouge, North Korea, and September 11th come to mind. In an age of postmodern complexity that demands keeping a volatile network of societies, economies, cultures, environments, and technologies afloat, where does this lead the rational approach to science and technology?

Given the achievements and discoveries of science in the past 200 years, one cannot dismiss these findings as utterly false. Having managed to create vaccines, atomic energy, and airplanes, it is more than safe to assume that we haven’t totally missed the mark when it comes to the scientific method. Theories, however, do come and go, and it is possible to get the gist right without having certainty or ‘absolute truth’ – Newtonian Mechanics come to mind. Science and technology are best viewed as tools. Tools are not an end in themselves - they are shaped by an intent. Similarly, science is always shaped by a discourse, a politics. This is not to dismiss the utility and importance of science and technology, but to recognise blind faith in these disciplines and epistemes is not a march to progress but a delusion that will lead to continual disappointment. Auschwitz is a reminder of Modernism’s failure – to respect the tragedy is to acknowledge the past without looking to repeat its discourse.