--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Auschwitz praxis was based on a new…" description: "\"The Auschwitz praxis was based on a new principle: for one portion of mankind, existence itself is a crime, punishable by humiliation, torture, and dea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/emil-fackenheim-65930_auschwitz_the-auschwitz-praxis-was-based-on-a-new_803976.png" --- # The Auschwitz praxis was based on a new principle: for one… ![“The Auschwitz praxis was based on a new principle: for one portion of mankind, existence itself is a crime, punishable by humiliation, torture, and death. And the new world produced by this praxis included two kinds of inhabitants, those who were given the "punishment" and those who administered it.” quote by Emil Fackenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/emil-fackenheim-65930_auschwitz_the-auschwitz-praxis-was-based-on-a-new_803976.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/emil-fackenheim-65930_auschwitz_the-auschwitz-praxis-was-based-on-a-new_803976.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/emil-fackenheim-65930_auschwitz_the-auschwitz-praxis-was-based-on-a-new_803976.png) > “The Auschwitz praxis was based on a new principle: for one portion of mankind, existence itself is a crime, punishable by humiliation, torture, and death. And the new world produced by this praxis included two kinds of inhabitants, those who were given the "punishment" and those who administered it.” Emil Fackenheim ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes the Holocaust as a moral system that criminalized an entire people, creating perpetrators and victims. **In simple terms:** Holocaust created a system of criminalizing humanity. Key Takeaway Recognize the moral perversion of dehumanizing ideologies. Themes genocide dehumanization morality history theology Mood somber reflective critical Type analysis theory When to use this quote - education curricula - human rights advocacy - memorial design - policy making Key Concepts ethical philosophy human rights law memory studies Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling an entire group as criminal affect moral responsibility? - Can we prevent similar ideologies today? A Different Perspective The quote may generalize complex historical causes into a single principle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Humiliation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humiliation/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [New world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-world/) [Praxis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praxis/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The enslavement, humiliation, torture, and ultimate destruction of thousands upon thousands of human beings for a project for which there was ultimately no purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/the-enslavement-humiliation-torture-and-ultimate-destruction-of/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I would suffer all the humiliation, all the torture, the absolute ostracism and even death, to prevent violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-would-suffer-all-the-humiliation-all-the-torture-the-absolute/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“We see a major trade in women, we see the torture of women as a form of entertainment, and we see women also suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/we-see-a-major-trade-in-women-we-see-the-torture-of-women-as-a-form/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [For Christians, the first priority may be theological self-understanding. For Jews it is, and after Auschwitz must be, simple safety for their children. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-fackenheim/for-christians-the-first-priority-may-be-theological-self/) Emil Fackenheim > ["Filipino" is the Spanish side of our history. The islands were named after King Felipe, so we became known as Filipinos. It's a brand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lav-diaz/filipino-is-the-spanish-side-of-our-history-the-islands-were-named/) [Lav Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lav-diaz/) > [“Act! act!—it is to that end we are here. Should we fret ourselves that others are not so perfect as we are, when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-gottlieb-fichte/act-act-it-is-to-that-end-we-are-here-should-we-fret-ourselves-that/) [Johann Gottlieb Fichte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-gottlieb-fichte/) > [The error in positivism is that it takes as its standard of truth the contingently given division of labor, that between the science and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-error-in-positivism-is-that-it-takes-as-its-standard-of-truth-the/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [To mystify, in the active sense, is to befuddle, cloud, obscure, mask whatever is going on, whether this be experience, action, or process, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/to-mystify-in-the-active-sense-is-to-befuddle-cloud-obscure-mask/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [“as social conditions change, so must the knowledge and practices designed to resist them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hill-collins/as-social-conditions-change-so-must-the-knowledge-and-practices/) [Patricia Hill Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hill-collins/) > [When Marx, in the Theses on Feuerbach, says that only idealism up to now has understood the active side of material Praxis, what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/when-marx-in-the-theses-on-feuerbach-says-that-only-idealism-up-to/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [The body is an object in which we are all privileged, or doomed, to dwell, the source of feelings of well-being and pleasure, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-body-is-an-object-in-which-we-are-all-privileged-or-doomed-to/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [People make their own reality. That was what Praxis had taught him years ago. A hundred people can witness the exact same event, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/people-make-their-own-reality-that-was-what-praxis-had-taught-him/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [How do we define, how do we describe, how do we explain and/or understand ourselves? What sort of creatures do we take ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/how-do-we-define-how-do-we-describe-how-do-we-explain-and-or/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [“Often emphasis on identity and lifestyle is appealing because it creates a false sense that one is engaged in praxis. However, praxis within any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/often-emphasis-on-identity-and-lifestyle-is-appealing-because-it/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [In modern praxis lost positions are salvaged most often when the play is highly complicated with many sharp dynamic variations to be calculated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-shamkovich/in-modern-praxis-lost-positions-are-salvaged-most-often-when-the-play/) [Leonid Shamkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-shamkovich/) ## More by Emil Fackenheim > [For Christians, the first priority may be theological self-understanding. For Jews it is, and after Auschwitz must be, simple safety for their children. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-fackenheim/for-christians-the-first-priority-may-be-theological-self/) Emil Fackenheim > [In the twentieth century, men -- all of us -- find themselves compelled to commit or condone evil for the sake of preventing an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-fackenheim/in-the-twentieth-century-men-all-of-us-find-themselves-compelled-to/) Emil Fackenheim > [ It may be the case that \[post-Holocaust\] the authentic Jewish agnostic and the authentic Jewish believer are closer than at any previous time. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-fackenheim/it-may-be-the-case-that-post-holocaust-the-authentic-jewish-agnostic/) Emil Fackenheim Explore all 4 Emil Fackenheim quotes ## More Auschwitz quotes > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' 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If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. 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Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/there-is-no-question-in-my-mind-that-we-live-in-one-of-the-truly/) [Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/) > [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [“It was, unbelievably, not the most depressing thing we had ever seen: a bride, ripped from her own wedding, separated from her groom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-unbelievably-not-the-most-depressing-thing-we-had-ever-seen-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“He sounded chilly. “I’m sure she is.” Allegra was trying to back off, but she was annoyed that he had taken her father’s part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/he-sounded-chilly-i-m-sure-she-is-allegra-was-trying-to-back-off-but/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Auschwitz was one of the wealthiest places in the world. Everyone who was deported there had been in such a hurry that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/auschwitz-was-one-of-the-wealthiest-places-in-the-world-everyone-who/) [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/) [Browse all 168 Auschwitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Auschwitz praxis was based on a new principle: for one portion of mankind, existence itself is a crime, punishable by humiliation, torture, and death. 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