I am a sometimes student of history and archeology, but an ardent seeker of the odd, the unusual, and the quirky.

I have read quite a bit about the holocaust, although I would not claim to be an authority on it. Still, I wonder if that assault on humanity could be presented in a different light.

I had this thought today. I wondered, would it be possible to write a satire on the holocaust, only making some of the symbolism more extreme to tweak our thinking a little bit? Swift did it. Mel Brooks did it, but could I do it? This is not about "Birds do it. Bees do it."

What if, when the "Gestapo" pounded unexpectedly on the door, the household ran around hiding their Christmas ornaments and cans of Spam, and when everything in the house was turned over by invaders, they found Christmas decorations, gift wrapping, and honey cured hams hidden in the attic rafters, all contraband?

What if the "Resistance" were involved in clandestine Christmas Toys and Gift Basket distribution, scurrying around in the shadows so as not to be apprehended by the Nazis? What if the refugees poured into the train stations and were clutching disheveled suitcases full of tinsel and mistletoe and other seasonal symbols? Hast du gelt? Would become Hast du Christmas?

I would have to answer, "All the money I brought with me is these leaves falling upward from the water."

In Springtime, Hitler would be hit by a putsch of reformists who felt he had been taking the wrong direction in not confiscating all the Danish canned hams in Poland.

Would my satire be any crazier than war?