Say no to
antisemitism
Anti-semitism at Chelsea has been a big problem due to one of our biggest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, coming from a largely Jewish area of north London. Because of this, Tottenham supporters were called ‘yids’ and more recently their fans have tried to take ownership of the word, calling themselves the ‘yid army’ There has also been more sinister chanting heard at Stamford Bridge, including songs about Auschwitz and hissing noises aimed at Tottenham supporters.
However, since the more recent campaign by the club, these have thankfully disappeared from the terraces. But like in all of society, a few ‘individuals’ who still chant or hiss are still present. The more supporters who are educated, the better chance we have to stamp this disease out of our football club.
Auschwitz-Birkenau has always been somewhere I had wanted to visit. Since studying Nazi Germany at A-level, I understood how they could have come to power and created a dictatorship from a democracy. But I never understood how they was able to murder 6 million people. How people could sit quietly and say nothing as their neighbours and friends were taken away from their homes. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, people tell you of a very harrowing and somber experience, but that feeling, of utter contempt for those responsible for this massacre is what’s needed to remind you that this was possible, and still is.
As we entered the gates of Auschwitz I, the sign above your head reads ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (work brings freedom). For those trapped in the concentration camps this was the message they saw, day after day, week after week. The myth around this, is what helped the guards of Auschwitz keep control of the prisoners. They thought there would be a way that. The harsh reality was only death would release them.
As a parent to a young boy, the exhibits of children’s clothing and shoes struck me the hardest. These children were totally innocent, had done nothing except be born into the Jewish faith. I think of my own son Charlie. They could be his shoes, it could be his photograph. This thought is what occupies me from the short drive between Auschwitz I and Birkenau.
It’s here, in the watch tower, when I was taken aback by the scale of this operation. This site, this huge site, designed to make killing more effective. Jews from as far as Norway and the occupied Greek Islands were being transported here. Some of them would be sent to the gas chambers direct from the train. All that’s going through my mind is the thought that it could’ve so easily been me.
Our educators from the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Auschwitz Memorial guide share stories that are difficult to comprehend.
How can we be this evil to our fellow humans?
For the guards of this camp, it seems they took pleasure in doing so?
On Tuesday 5th June, I was part of a group of 150+ visitors who visited Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of Chelsea Football Club’s ‘say no to anti-semitism’ campaign. Since the club has been owned by the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who is also Jewish, the club have really stepped up its efforts to remove any form of anti-semitism from the club.
All pictures in this article: Dean Mears
Dean Mears, Chelsea Supporters Trust