We can ‘never forget’ human tragedy of the Holocaust (Viewpoint)

Views expressed here represent those of the author and not necessarily of MassLive or The Republican. Readers are invited to share their opinions by emailing to letters@repub.com.

Today, Jewish communities around the world observe Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day – Yom HaShoah to honor the lives of the six million European Jews (including 1,500,000 children) who were systematically murdered by Nazi Germany, aided by local collaborators, during the Holocaust.

The extermination of the Jews of Europe (approximately two-thirds of the entire Jewish population) was part of the Nazis’ calculated elimination of ethnic Poles, Russian prisoners of war, Ukrainians, Yugoslavians, the Roma, Jehovah’s Witnesses, mentally and physically disabled, Spanish Republicans, homosexuals, and political and religious dissenters.

All told, the death toll is estimated at over 17 million.

Yom HaShoah (Shoah is the Hebrew word for “destruction”) reminds us of our responsibility to remember those that we lost, to share the stories of the survivors and to keep the lessons of the Holocaust top of mind. One cannot think about Yom HaShoah and not reflect on George Santayana’s caution, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

On Yom HaShoah, we are reminded that we have a responsibility to learn from our past, to remember what brought the world to such horrors and to redouble our obligation to “accepting the other,” to compassion for those in need and to speak out on behalf of those who have no voice.

These are foundational concepts of our democracy and a just society.

One of the messages of Yom HaShoah is that we must resist tyranny and those who seek to enslave us. In many cases it is faith and a relationship to God that helps us overcome the forces of darkness in our world. Faith tied with action is what changes the tide of history.

The Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts has a long commitment to action in helping educate the community on the history of the Holocaust and working with area educators to share the lessons learned. Area survivors have spoken before hundreds of school groups over the past decades.

Yom HaShoah provides a unique opportunity for remembrance, for as those who lived through the horrors of the Holocaust leave this earth, there will be no direct testimony. Every generation must know what happened, and stand firm against antisemitism, prejudice and xenophobia.

While the Holocaust was a Jewish tragedy, it is more than that, it was a human tragedy, one that we can “Never Forget.”

Adam M. Solender is chief philanthropy officer and director of the Jewish Endowment Foundation in Springfield.

This post was originally published on this site