# Josef (Poems)  [Content Advisory]



## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

*Note*: I decided I wanted to write some cute poetry. Stuff for kids, you know? 
*

---


My Friend, Josef *

Josef gives me candy
and makes me smile at my saddest.
My world's been feeling shattered
with all that crematory smoke.
But that's okay and that's alright,
when Josef is around.

Because he's never mean to me,
but the adults still think the worst.
They think that he's a monster,
but they don't know him like I do.
They tell me he's the devil,
but I don't think that is true.
Arms out-stretched
and white-coat on,
I see an angel in his eyes.
Plus he got us all a playground, 
with swings and slides to boot!

I confide my problems to him
and he knows exactly what to say.
The kids, 
we all adore him,
and know that he's our friend.

Uncle's words are filled with love
and his smile's full and true.
He said he'd bring me somewhere
and said my twin brother's going too.


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## Anari (May 18, 2015)

I fail to see anything cute about Josef Mengale.


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## Firemajic (May 18, 2015)

Nich.... I will admit.. I was very disappointed when I read that you were going to write some "Cute stuff for kids".. My heart sank... but I thought .. what the hell, I will read it anyway. lol... Fabulous! You rocked this out...I loved the innocent language and personality of this poem... very nice! Thank you! Peace always... jul


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## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

Anari said:


> I fail to see anything cute about Josef Mengale.



Sarcasm. Meant to strengthen the impact of the dark and brooding subject-matter. The idea was not to offend, but meant to disguise the contents. Believe me, I know that there's absolutely nothing cute about what I am writing about.

At a community college I visited for a short-time, I was one fortunate enough to attend a seminar held by a Holocaust survivor. The man spoke about how he and nine other people hid in a hole beneath a farm's wooden shack for more than fifteen months. The whole thing devastated me. The idea that something this outrageous and devastating could happen. He told about terrible things that he witnessed in the concentration camps, including having to crawl over body upon body. I didn't sleep that night. In-fact, I had nightmares for a while after that. So much so that I became transfixed with heavy-research over the many aspects about Concentration Camps. I read about a man named Dr. Mengele. The Angel of Death. (Described as such because the way his arms were out-stretched and his white coat.)

I read about how he would offer the children candy and treats, and introduce himself as "Uncle" Mengele to the children. He also loved twins.


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## Sonata (May 18, 2015)

*ERROR* - I clicked LIKE and THANKS to the wrong post.  They were intended for Anari, NOT for the poet.

I do NOT like this poem and I do NOT thank the poet.

Firemajic, if you think that a poem about Josef Mengale is "fabulous" with "innocent language", may I suggest that you look up Josef Mengale and what he did to twins?

I am a twin and a second-generation Holocaust survivor and I found this poem sick.


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## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

Sonata said:


> *ERROR* - I clicked LIKE and THANKS to the wrong post.  They were intended for Anari, NOT for the poet.
> 
> I do NOT like this poem and I do NOT thank the poet.
> 
> ...



Like I said, the subject-matter was not meant as offensive. I knew when I wrote it that it could easily be misconstrued and I was ready to stand by it. This was meant to accomplish something and was meant to make individuals feel the amount terror that I felt at the concept. Josef Mengele introduced himself as 'Uncle Mengele' to the children and offered them 'treats,' and other individuals described him as showing compassion and understanding. Conversely, that's only one side of the coin, and the fact is, the man was a monster. That's what this poem is about. This poem is about children that were manipulated by this deplorable man.


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## Sonata (May 18, 2015)

Nicholas McConnaughay said:


> He also loved twins.



Mengale "loved" twins so he could perform his disgusting "experiments" on them.  It is a pity that you did not read more about him and what he did to twins.  He was a diabolical monster.


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## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

Sonata said:


> Mengale "loved" twins so he could perform his disgusting "experiments" on them.  It is a pity that you did not read more about him and what he did to twins.  He was a diabolical monster.


I apologize if I offended you, ...but I am an artist and I've already explained what I set out to do. 

If you'll notice, I wrote this as "Josef (Poems)" for the thread title....

This is the companion piece, written from the perspective of an adult...

*The Monster, Josef
*
We call him the angel of death.

The children gather for him,
as he always gives them sweets.
They call him "Uncle Mengele,"
he injects chloroform in their hearts.
But he especially loves his twins,
several can attest to that.
He slices off one's finger
to see if the other will react.
He cuts and scrapes,
and pokes and prods.
Loves to make them suffer.

Amputates our limbs
and rips out our healthy teeth.
No change beneath our pillow,
and no pillow beneath our heads.
Just the coldness of the air,
many friends of mine are dead.

But the sun welcomes the morning
and brings the smell of burning flesh.
The crematory smoke fills our lungs,
second-hand scent offers hint to our demise.
And soon, it dissipates,
but there remains scabs and broken people,
bodies line the grounds like cobblestone.

A heinous, devilish creature,
but remember he's a man.
Saying 'monster' dehumanizes,
to take away and make forget,
but Dr. Mengele was a man,
and he can come back again.


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## Anari (May 18, 2015)

Nicholas McConnaughay said:


> Sarcasm. Meant to strengthen the impact of the dark and brooding subject-matter. The idea was not to offend, but meant to disguise the contents. Believe me, I know that there's absolutely nothing cute about what I am writing about.
> 
> At a community college I visited for a short-time, I was one fortunate enough to attend a seminar held by a Holocaust survivor. The man spoke about how he and nine other people hid in a hole beneath a farm's wooden shack for more than fifteen months. The whole thing devastated me. The idea that something this outrageous and devastating could happen. He told about terrible things that he witnessed in the concentration camps, including having to crawl over body upon body. I didn't sleep that night. In-fact, I had nightmares for a while after that. So much so that I became transfixed with heavy-research over the many aspects about Concentration Camps. I read about a man named Dr. Mengele. The Angel of Death. (Described as such because the way his arms were out-stretched and his white coat.)
> 
> ...


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## Sonata (May 18, 2015)

"Artists" do not laud the Holocaust, nor do they laud Mengale.  The so-called "poems" are nothing but Holocaust denial and I object to them.

You did not offend me - you disgusted me.

Mengale was nothing but a monster.  There was no humanity in him whatsoever.


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## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

Sonata said:


> "Artists" do not laud the Holocaust, nor do they laud Mengale.  The so-called "poems" are nothing but Holocaust denial and I object to them.
> 
> You did not offend me - you disgusted me.


And how is this a Holocaust denial exactly? Did you actually read my poem at all? 

I understand that you've seemingly misunderstood what I was meaning to accomplish, and so, I'll state it again, and perhaps, I'll recommend you read my poem. My poem is meant to be eye-opening about Josef's manipulation of children in the Holocaust. As stated, he introduced himself as "Uncle Mengele" and acted as if he were their friend. 

This poem is from their perspective.

A small child that doesn't understand what is happening around them. This poem is supposed to depict his manipulation and depict how a small child might see him. We KNOW he's a terrible human-being, but THEY didn't.


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## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

Anari said:


> I know way more about the holocaust and Mengale than I want to know. I learned it on my Grandmother's knee. Sarcasm is one thing, son, but there are some things that are too horrible to be sarcastic about. How much satirical poetry have you seen about Jesus dying on the cross? Or child abuse? Or animal abuse? You seem to be talented. I'm not trying to censor you.......you have the right to think and write however you please.......but, I'd rather see your name attached to a better subject matter.


I've already been clear on my depictions. I knew what I was welcoming myself to by writing this, and I stand by it. It was not meant to glamorize and romanticize, but to capture the mentality of a small child being manipulated by this man. Everything was done to be eye-opening. The thread's vague title was meant to make it ambiguous, and the *Note* was meant to throw individuals off in thinking that it was about somebody other than Josef *Mengele*. The poem itself was written with a child-like innocence. Someone that's oblivious. And it's the hindsight of the reader that makes it haunting.


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## Sonata (May 18, 2015)

Have you ever met a surviving twin from one of Mengale's experiments?  I have.  She was three years-old at the time and she remembered every second of what happened to her and her twin.  They fully understood what was happening, make no mistake about that.

I did read your "poem" but no way is it "cute poetry"  for kids.

It is an insult to all those innocent people who were slaughtered in the Holocaust, whatever their religion or beliefs.


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## Firemajic (May 18, 2015)

Sonata said:


> *ERROR* - I clicked LIKE and THANKS to the wrong post.  They were intended for Anari, NOT for the poet.
> 
> I do NOT like this poem and I do NOT thank the poet.
> 
> ...




I know who Josef is. I think everyone does . I am a twin. I know about the Holocaust... I was so devastated when I learned of the atrocities.. that I was excused from the class. Sonata.. I understand your comments to me.. BUT... I loved the poem and the way Nich approached the subject...  I thought he showed the horror very poetically.. using the innocent language made this a powerful read. Nich also... by writing this... reminded us that this MUST NEVER be allowed to happen again. SO... YEAH.. I enjoyed his poem for his amazing skill- -- and for reminding me that evil wears an innocent mask.


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## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

Sonata said:


> Have you ever met a surviving twin from one of Mengale's experiments?  I have.  She was three years-old at the time and she remembered every second of what happened to her and her twin.  They fully understood what was happening, make no mistake about that.
> 
> I did read your "poem" but no way is it "cute poetry"  for kids.
> 
> It is an insult to all those innocent people who were slaughtered in the Holocaust, whatever their religion or beliefs.


I don't think it was an insult to anybody. I knew what I wanted to accomplish. I said what I wanted to accomplish. And I believe I accomplished it. Your inability to understand that, or accept that, perhaps driven by your deep-piercing experiences with the subject-matter, I believe you have misconstrued something that had the best intentions. The intentions of showing a harrowing and manipulative side of a very terrifying and tragic happening in our world's history. Like I said, I'll apologize if I offended you, and I'll even apologize if I disgusted you, but I wasn't insulting any of the survivors of the Holocaust, I was shining a light on something that I believed in my heart to be important.


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## Kevin (May 18, 2015)

> Mengale "loved" twins so he could perform his disgusting "experiments" on them.  It is a pity that you did not read more about him and what he did to twins.  He was a diabolical monster.


 --- This IS precisely what the poem IS about. It is no accident that the poet wrote them (twins) in. There is no denial here by the writer. Mengele himself was in denial, sugar-coating his work as scientific endeavor. It is diabolical that HE had the children refer to him as 'Uncle'. If you think the poet intended this for children then it would be as a horror/warning piece about monsters, along the lines of Grimm's originals or the tales of the Bogey-men based on real Indonesian pirates brought home by English sailors in the 16 thru 18th centuries and used to terrify their children. This is not a tale for children but a tale OF children caught in an utterly macabre  situation, more macabre because it is/was real.


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## aj47 (May 18, 2015)

This is not the venue for discussion of the Holocaust.  Please keep replies focused on the poem.


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## rcallaci (May 18, 2015)

Powerful pieces- The child's and adult pieces both exploded off the page. You did the craft proud as well as giving a Hideous and Monstrous event  a human face.  

Your piece packs one hell of an emotional wallop as the replies to your poem indicate. With respect to those that thought this was an act of disrespect, for those that suffered the twisted and monstrous acts,  that devil piece of crap inflicted on those innocents , I must disagree-in fact the poem shined a light on the pure evil that was Dr Mengele. The companion piece  (an adults view) gave voice to the atrocity's  while the child's voice showed that the innocent mind was easily fooled and beguiled by the uncle who offered them candy- 

brilliant work...

my warmest
bbo


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## aj47 (May 18, 2015)

Nicholas McConnaughay said:


> *
> My Friend, Josef *
> 
> Josef gives me candy
> ...



Some thoughts. Ignore the ones you don't like.


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## Carousel (May 18, 2015)

Maybe it would have been better to include a last stanza on what happened to the children when uncle had finished playing with them.
I also think that ‘love’ was an unfortunate word to use. Mengele never loved twins; he had a fascination for them. But overall treating horrific subjects with a sardonic slant is a powerful way of highlighting the macabre.

Another way is to get into the mind of those who were responsible for these horrific crimes, to see the world through their eyes.


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## Phil Istine (May 18, 2015)

Nicholas.  I have a perception of what you were trying to do with that poem and I think you did it well.  To me, it brought home the horror of the events far more effectively than a more direct poem would have achieved.


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## Whiskeyjack (May 18, 2015)

I liked the approach that you chose. Using the voice of the child to tell the story was a good move as it really amplified the dark and sinister tone. While I do agree the subject is sensitive, I think you tread carefully and handled it with a degree class. Overall, I rather enjoyed it. It was informative to me, too, as I went on to read some stuff about the monster.


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## Nicholas McConnaughay (May 18, 2015)

A stanza explaining what happened to them would have completely rendered the work as useless in my opinion. I have faith in my readers to figure that out, and it would've made it unnecessarily grotesque when it was meant to be haunting in its simplicity and restraint. The poem from the adult's perspective does not have that restraint or simplicity.


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