Four Things to Remember on Yom HaShoah
Article by Ellanora Lerner
[Image Description: A photo taken in the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. of a copy of the arch
over the entrance to Auschwitz which says Arbeit Macht Frei (work sets you free
in German)]
Yesterday
was Yom HaShoah, the day on which many in the Jewish community remember the
Holocaust. The Holocaust was the systematic mass murder committed by Nazi
Germany in World War II of around 6 million Jewish people and countless others,
including Romani people, people with disabilities, gay men, and political
opponents. To Jewish and Romani people: remembering the Holocaust and
reflecting on what it means in your life is hard, come to it however you need
to. To everyone: here are four things to remember this Holocaust Remembrance
Day.
I.
The
Holocaust was not the beginning or end of antisemitism. Jewish people have been
blamed, ostracized, exiled, and killed throughout the world for thousands of
years and antisemitism still exists on many levels today. And antisemitism in
general is not the total of the Jewish experience. As with the stories of other
oppressed groups, we all have the responsibility to acknowledge that we are not
taught everything and to do the work to dive deeper into history.
II.
Genocide
does not come out of nowhere. It is preceded by discrimination and hatred, and
emerges in societies where indifference to prejudice is allowed to fester. This
relationship must be understood in order to prevent genocide and everyone must
check themselves and the people around them for the actions which build the
foundations for violence.
[Image Description: A
triangle shaped graphic to show the many levels of white supremacy from normalization
to genocide]
III.
It
is not just that the Holocaust must be remembered that makes this day
important; it is that it is often not remembered. Numerous studies have
demonstrated significant gaps in the public knowledge of the Holocaust. It is
the responsibility of everyone to not only educate ourselves but to push for
more awareness in our communities, through social media, and in the public
education. And this applies not only to the Holocaust but to the countless
atrocities that have been perpetrated throughout history.
IV.
The
Holocaust did not only take the lives of the millions that were killed: it left
survivors and their children with lasting trauma and it virtually destroyed the
Jewish populations of Eastern Europe. To truly mourn the damage done by the
Holocaust we must remember not only those who died but the broader culture
destruction. My ancestors were from Eastern Europe; Yiddish, the language and
culture, is my birthright and it was decimated by the Holocaust. The lives and
lands of my ancestors have been burned to the ground and I can’t go back. And
that is a trauma that will continue affecting the Jewish people.