Remembering my grandfather, Meir Halpern, may he rest in peace. He emigrated to the US in 1930 from Sambor, Poland. He left behind a huge family - 8 siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, all but one of whom died at the hands of the Nazis. May we never forget the goodness of those we lost and rededicate ourselves to ridding the world of the hatred, inhumanity and indifference.
TEACH OUR CHILDREN WELL! Knowledge is the power not to repeat mistakes but to learn from them. Ignorance perpetuates atrocities and wrong doings as if they never happened.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this deeply moving blog post Dan and Elliott. I cried listening to Itzhak Perlman’s music; the poignant dove tailing of cold and brutal cruelty juxtaposed with the mourning yet beautiful cry of the violin and accompanying orchestra was just too much. I was born in 1957. Our schools barely mentioned the Holocaust; neither my HS or university. When I became an English teacher in the 1980’s, I taught a several weeks long unit on Anne Frank, inviting WWII veterans and local Holocaust survivors into the classroom. They brought with them precious photos and stories. Those students are now adults who hopefully recall that English class. It was the least I could do for the memories of those whose lives were stolen by blind hatred.
The most influential book I read as a child, in the sixth grade, was the diary of Anne Frank. It took me several attempts to read it all the way to the end, as of course I already knew the ending, and it was horrible, and true. Her story, and the stories of all the victims and survivors of not just the Holocaust, but all genocides, and all examples of man’s inhumanity to man, hurt my heart and shakes my soul. I do not believe humans will ever rise above their worst demons.
I will never forget. I will continue to read books like Maus-- I love Number the Stars, one of my favorites is Stones from the River. My heart is heavy today because so many people seem to have forgotten. I awoke this morning with John 3:16 on my heart...whosoever believes on Him. How can we forget? He was all about remembering the lost and downtrodden. Jewish and Gentile. God help us remember.
Having been born during the time that this disgrace on people committed by people was happening I still cannot fathom all that we lost. (born 1943) All the talent, education, conversations that were snuffed out by hate. Does that sound familiar? I had a high school teacher who had taken a fair amount of pictures of one death camp and some of the inmates. Most too weak to stand. He said the ovens were still warm. The haunting stare of the inmates told the whole story. I only witnessed that stare one other time. That was when I was a member of the debrief team for the crew of the USS Pueblo in 1968. I volunteered for that duty and after I saw their eyes I wish I never had.
The events that made the Holocaust possible are worth repeating. It is incomprehensible that one sadistic psychopath could turn normal human beings into monsters.
In a world that seems to be tilting badly, I rely on your words in Steady to bring me gifts of the soul. My sister's now-deceased husband was from Pakistan and from what he said, children in Pakistan were taught that the Holocaust was simply fabricated. When children are taught that they tend to believe it all their lives. This cannot be allowed in the US.
I never was able to meet this woman who, on September 2, 1942, was murdered by her fellow townspeople on an order of German Nazi occupiers of her town, Kalvaria, Lithuania. She and other local Jews were forced to line up along a road in front of a ditch, shot at close range. Her son managed to escape, having been sent away to medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1941, her son emigrated to the United States, brought here by his family who had left Lithuania years earlier.
This woman was my grandmother. Her son learned his mother’s fate from a friend who lived in NYC. Her son was my father who never emotionally recovered from the trauma enacted upon his mother.
We must also not forget all the other genocides perpetrated in human history, as well as the one continuing in Palestine. We must learn what it is that allows human behavior to default to prejudice, violence, hatred and fear-fueled warfare and tyranny, terrorizing innocents generation after generation. Extraordinary leadership embodying inclusive wisdom and compassion must be this century's first priority.
Thank you !
Remembering my grandfather, Meir Halpern, may he rest in peace. He emigrated to the US in 1930 from Sambor, Poland. He left behind a huge family - 8 siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, all but one of whom died at the hands of the Nazis. May we never forget the goodness of those we lost and rededicate ourselves to ridding the world of the hatred, inhumanity and indifference.
TEACH OUR CHILDREN WELL! Knowledge is the power not to repeat mistakes but to learn from them. Ignorance perpetuates atrocities and wrong doings as if they never happened.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this deeply moving blog post Dan and Elliott. I cried listening to Itzhak Perlman’s music; the poignant dove tailing of cold and brutal cruelty juxtaposed with the mourning yet beautiful cry of the violin and accompanying orchestra was just too much. I was born in 1957. Our schools barely mentioned the Holocaust; neither my HS or university. When I became an English teacher in the 1980’s, I taught a several weeks long unit on Anne Frank, inviting WWII veterans and local Holocaust survivors into the classroom. They brought with them precious photos and stories. Those students are now adults who hopefully recall that English class. It was the least I could do for the memories of those whose lives were stolen by blind hatred.
Never forget
The most influential book I read as a child, in the sixth grade, was the diary of Anne Frank. It took me several attempts to read it all the way to the end, as of course I already knew the ending, and it was horrible, and true. Her story, and the stories of all the victims and survivors of not just the Holocaust, but all genocides, and all examples of man’s inhumanity to man, hurt my heart and shakes my soul. I do not believe humans will ever rise above their worst demons.
Thank you for this!
Gotta love the deniers: "It never happened - let's do it again as fast as we can."
The logical brutality of the domestic abuser, the gaslighter, lately the coup plotter, and forever the genocidier.
I will never forget. I will continue to read books like Maus-- I love Number the Stars, one of my favorites is Stones from the River. My heart is heavy today because so many people seem to have forgotten. I awoke this morning with John 3:16 on my heart...whosoever believes on Him. How can we forget? He was all about remembering the lost and downtrodden. Jewish and Gentile. God help us remember.
Having been born during the time that this disgrace on people committed by people was happening I still cannot fathom all that we lost. (born 1943) All the talent, education, conversations that were snuffed out by hate. Does that sound familiar? I had a high school teacher who had taken a fair amount of pictures of one death camp and some of the inmates. Most too weak to stand. He said the ovens were still warm. The haunting stare of the inmates told the whole story. I only witnessed that stare one other time. That was when I was a member of the debrief team for the crew of the USS Pueblo in 1968. I volunteered for that duty and after I saw their eyes I wish I never had.
thank you Dan ... YES it is REAL
The events that made the Holocaust possible are worth repeating. It is incomprehensible that one sadistic psychopath could turn normal human beings into monsters.
It wasn't one person. It was a confluence of events and attitudes. Check out Alexander Plekhanov's The Role of the Individual in History.
Thank you for the reference.
In a world that seems to be tilting badly, I rely on your words in Steady to bring me gifts of the soul. My sister's now-deceased husband was from Pakistan and from what he said, children in Pakistan were taught that the Holocaust was simply fabricated. When children are taught that they tend to believe it all their lives. This cannot be allowed in the US.
I never was able to meet this woman who, on September 2, 1942, was murdered by her fellow townspeople on an order of German Nazi occupiers of her town, Kalvaria, Lithuania. She and other local Jews were forced to line up along a road in front of a ditch, shot at close range. Her son managed to escape, having been sent away to medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1941, her son emigrated to the United States, brought here by his family who had left Lithuania years earlier.
This woman was my grandmother. Her son learned his mother’s fate from a friend who lived in NYC. Her son was my father who never emotionally recovered from the trauma enacted upon his mother.
Yesterday, a school board banned “Maus.”
Today is National Holocaust Remembrance Day.
NEVER FORGET.
We must also not forget all the other genocides perpetrated in human history, as well as the one continuing in Palestine. We must learn what it is that allows human behavior to default to prejudice, violence, hatred and fear-fueled warfare and tyranny, terrorizing innocents generation after generation. Extraordinary leadership embodying inclusive wisdom and compassion must be this century's first priority.
Why not start questioning why Jewish billionaires continue to fund the Republican Party and Donald Trump? Let’s stop playing nice!!!!!