Ian Buruma in NYRB in 1998: ‘Anne [Frank] is a ready-made icon for those who have turned the Holocaust into a kind of secular religion.’

And: ‘Otto, however, chose to read his daughter’s words in a different, more universal light. If the world and all peoples are to learn good, he thought, then all forms of discrimination must be tackled at once. When an Israeli journalist asked him whether he intended to continue his struggle against anti-Semitism, Otto answered: “No, not against anti-Semitism, but against discrimination, against lack of human understanding, and prejudice. Antisemitism is the primary example of these three. (…)” The reasoning is impeccable. But the problem with using a historical example for such a universal aim is that the specific is too easily overlooked.’

The problem of universalism: the specific must be overlooked.

The problem of identity politics: the specific becomes essentialized and fetishized.

(a sf 2214)