A village in western Germany just showed why we shouldn’t remove Confederate statues from public places.
The people of Herxheim did so with a 10-3 Parish council vote to retain a Nazi-inscribed bell in a village church. The Agence France-Presse notes that the decision followed a historian’s testimony that withdrawing the bell would represent “an evasion of a reasonable and enlightened culture of remembrance.”
Indeed.
As we debate the presence of Confederate statues across the southern states, we could learn much from Herxheim’s citizenry. First off, we can share the German villagers’ recognition that history is set in stone. While we might not know the exact circumstances of an event, by embracing the constant pursuit of new information and perspectives, historians are constantly scouring archives and battlefields for hidden evidence that might shed new light on past events. This pursuit is hurt, not helped, by the reflex to remove historical representations from common view.
Although many Americans justifiably believe that Confederate symbols are a celebration of slavery and injustice, removing those symbols from the public eye does not change history. What’s done is done, and it is what we do next that matters most.
And considering what comes next, if we withdraw statues, we don’t simply close down debate, we reduce contemplation. After all, what the eye cannot see, the mind cannot contemplate.
Herxheim recognizes that the surest way to prevent another holocaust and totalitarian empire is to educate citizens about what came before. Gathering together in moral communion in a church, Herxheim congregants can see the bell and remember how insidious and deeply rooted Nazism once was in their home village. They are thus always reminded to stay vigilant to the cause of history and the moral necessity of human freedom.
Surely the same approach should apply to Confederate statues. While some in the South will always look with reverence at statues of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, others will always see traitors and slavers. Yet that’s not the key here. What’s most important is that all see statues and know that something important happened to provoke their construction. With good teachers, emboldened historians and a vigorous public debate, these statues will not be measured by that which their builders intended, but rather by their invitation to constantly reconsider important events.
If we believe that intellectual curiosity is the surest means of pursuing a better, more just society, then we should welcome the provocation to think.
As I say, we could learn much from the people of Herxheim.
