It has been about 66 years since the end of the Shoah, or the Holocaust, yet it lives on – in the memories of survivors, in the photographs left behind, and in our public consciousness.
Yet the vivid horror of the Holocaust is fading. It seems that many have not learned from the past, and prejudice is a continuing issue. Just recently, as my family was leaving a craft store, I saw a roughly drawn swastika amid the signatures, doodles, and random phrases drawn on a Sharpie box.
Maybe it was done by an ignorant, prejudiced person, or meant to be a joke, but whatever the reason, it wasn't funny. I felt my stomach tighten as I saw it, and I took a black marker and obliterated the drawing that symbolized so much hatred.
There was nothing more I could have done, but the fact that someone who had shopped in that craft store could have drawn such a despicable sign was disturbing to me. It means that even in this quiet corner of Connecticut there are people who don't take the Holocaust seriously, or who may even support Nazi ideals. On some level I must have already known this, but that swastika was like a wake-up call. If northeast Connecticut is home to such people, how many of them live around the world?
That's why it is so important for us – especially those of us who are young – to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. The survivors are getting older, and we are the last generation who will be able to hear about it firsthand. We must learn their stories before it is too late and pass them along to the next generation, and the next.
On January 27, the world will observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Set on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1945, it is an important day when we honor those who died, those who survived, and those who helped others during the Holocaust.
Yet if we want to truly remember the Holocaust, one day is not enough. It's a beginning, but if we only remember on that one day, how will we pass on the message of compassion, tolerance, and acceptance that is the lesson of the Shoah? This can only be done by telling the stories of survival and heartache, evil and tragedy, again and again. These make up the story of the Holocaust and must not be forgotten.
Read books, visit websites, write essays, do research, speak to a Holocaust survivor, go to a museum. But above all, you must simply remember. Because if we don't, next time, the Jews might not be the ones persecuted. Next time, maybe the attack will be directed at homosexuals, or citizens of a certain country, or members of another religion. But no matter what, in the end it all comes down to the same thing – people hating other people.
“We are all human beings.” That is the message we are passing on by remembering the Holocaust. If we remember just those five words, future genocides can be prevented. Maybe with those five words, we can banish hate. Or perhaps we can change the world.
Yet the vivid horror of the Holocaust is fading. It seems that many have not learned from the past, and prejudice is a continuing issue. Just recently, as my family was leaving a craft store, I saw a roughly drawn swastika amid the signatures, doodles, and random phrases drawn on a Sharpie box.
Maybe it was done by an ignorant, prejudiced person, or meant to be a joke, but whatever the reason, it wasn't funny. I felt my stomach tighten as I saw it, and I took a black marker and obliterated the drawing that symbolized so much hatred.
There was nothing more I could have done, but the fact that someone who had shopped in that craft store could have drawn such a despicable sign was disturbing to me. It means that even in this quiet corner of Connecticut there are people who don't take the Holocaust seriously, or who may even support Nazi ideals. On some level I must have already known this, but that swastika was like a wake-up call. If northeast Connecticut is home to such people, how many of them live around the world?
That's why it is so important for us – especially those of us who are young – to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. The survivors are getting older, and we are the last generation who will be able to hear about it firsthand. We must learn their stories before it is too late and pass them along to the next generation, and the next.
On January 27, the world will observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Set on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1945, it is an important day when we honor those who died, those who survived, and those who helped others during the Holocaust.
Yet if we want to truly remember the Holocaust, one day is not enough. It's a beginning, but if we only remember on that one day, how will we pass on the message of compassion, tolerance, and acceptance that is the lesson of the Shoah? This can only be done by telling the stories of survival and heartache, evil and tragedy, again and again. These make up the story of the Holocaust and must not be forgotten.
Read books, visit websites, write essays, do research, speak to a Holocaust survivor, go to a museum. But above all, you must simply remember. Because if we don't, next time, the Jews might not be the ones persecuted. Next time, maybe the attack will be directed at homosexuals, or citizens of a certain country, or members of another religion. But no matter what, in the end it all comes down to the same thing – people hating other people.
“We are all human beings.” That is the message we are passing on by remembering the Holocaust. If we remember just those five words, future genocides can be prevented. Maybe with those five words, we can banish hate. Or perhaps we can change the world.
This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.
Nick5
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