Remembering HaShoah

Today is a day (Yom haShoah) for remembrance of the Holocaust, or Shoah in Hebrew, Churben in Yiddish. It is a day to remember the six million or so Jews who died during the Nazis' 'Final Solution of the Jewish Question'. Although we normally think of the Jewish decimation during the Nazi regime, Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, political prisoners, people classified as mentally or physically defective, Freemasons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others were also killed. Depending on which groups you include, the Holocaust victims range from 6 to 21 million persons. 78% of European Jews were estimated to have been killed during this time. Although the gas chambers are the most infamous symbol of the Nazi death machine, many Jews and others were killed by mass shootings after digging their own graves. But haShoah is primarily a day to mark the mass killings of Jews due to Nazi anti-Semitism and brutality.

It was a horrific time, but one to remember, for if we do not, we may be doomed to repeat it. Preventing genocide, rooting it out, is the responsibility of all humans, and of all of our governments. Whether in Europe, Cambodia, Rwanda, or Darfur--to name a few--genocide grows from prejudice and a thirst for power. Teaching tolerance is one preventative; pressuring those in power is another; sometimes war (as in World War II [although World War II was not about liberating Jews, as anti-Semitism was quite entrenched in Allied areas as well]) is the only answer.

Genocide is an open wound (and eventually becomes a horrible scar) upon the human consciousness. Those that commit genocide do everything they can to degrade and dehumanise those whom they hate. But as proved in the Holocaust, bodies may die, but the human spirit survives. And with that, perpetrators of genocide ultimately lose.

Below are some stories/resources talking about marking Yom haShoah. I'm sure if you look, you can find all sorts of really good resources. You may want to watch Schindler's List, Shoah, or dozens of other wonderful films. There are hundreds of books on the Holocaust or diaries from that time--the most famous one being Anne Frank's [Martin Gilbert's books are good for history; Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi write compelling memoirs]. But remembrance may be as simple as lighting a candle and reflecting on how to make our world one in which such suffering in anathema. However one chooses to mark the day, it's important that we do remember those who died and the legacy they left. We must never let those who deny the Holocaust gain ascendancy or allow genocide to be perpetrated again.

Young Jews march in memory of Holocaust victims at Auschwitz

Yom Hashoah: Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust - Shoah

Holocaust