Letter: Unreasoned hatred of people on grounds of creed, skin colour or ethnicity still thrives, 80 years on

I listened recently to an old interview with an Irishman who was among the first Allied soldiers to enter the Nazi death camp of Bergen-Belsen. Nothing he had experienced in the war up to that point had prepared him for what he saw and felt when he passed through the gates of a man-made hell.

He’d lost friends on the battlefield, had numerous brushes with death, and seen the ugliness of war up close. But this left him stunned and disbelieving. It was evidence of human cruelty brought to new levels.

We should never forget that the horrific scenes of mass murder, torture, and the classification of entire ethnic groups as sub-human; only became possible because people had allowed themselves to fall under the spell of racism.

It started with name-calling, the casting of racial slurs, and the dehumanising of people who didn’t seem to “fit in”, or were of different ethnic origin.

In Britain, the VE (Victory in Europe) celebrations are lavish and colourful and the relatives of who served in the war or gave their lives are rightly proud of their sacrifice.

How sad, though, to see people across Europe promoting hatred of “others” such as refugees and asylum seekers, with cries of “Our nation first” or “Get them out!” echoing on the streets and amplified via social media.

Eighty years have passed since the Nazis ran up the White Flag. Unfortunately, unreasoning hatred of people on grounds of creed, skin colour, or ethnicity still thrives.

Will any of us live to celebrate VR Day – Victory over Racism?

John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny