Remembering the Holocaust
Remembering the Holocaust
For You Shall Know the truth, and the Truth Shall Set You FREE. - John 8:32
The subheading of this article references the Book of John, Chapter 8, verse 32.
For You Shall Know the truth, and the Truth Shall Set You FREE. - John 8:32
What is a Holocaust? The term according to Merriam Webster means “…a sacrifice (see SACRIFICE entry 1 sense 2) consumed by fire.” and dates from the 13th century. We, of course, in the modern West know it in the context of the attempted genocide of the Jewish population in Europe as perpetrated by the National Socialist Party (“Nazi” or “Nazis”) during World War II.
And sadly, we have forgotten so much of what that time period meant. I will start with a quote from Elie Wiesel from a speech he gave to the U.S. Congress titled “The Perils of Indifference”.
"Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative.”
And later in the same speech.
"Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten."
I suggest you read or watch it here.
A few quick facts about the Holocaust sourced from Thoughtco.com:
Of a total of 17 million killed during the Holocaust, six million were Jews. The others represent primarily other disfavored groups and “enemies” as perceived by the German Nazi Party.
While the wholesale slaughter of Jewish civilians was first articulated in Mein Kampf, the first direct actions against Jews took place within one year of Hitler obtaining power in Germany. And that year was 1933 and it began with a boycott.
In 1938, the Nazi’s initiated a pogrom within Germany and their recently conquered territories with Kristallnacht.
The Wannsee Conference occurred on January 20, 1942 and was attended by leading Nazi’s from across the 3rd Reich. Here they planned and agreed on the Final Solution, which was a specifically engineered genocide of European Jews.
From the US World War II museum in New Orleans, LA, a talk given a couple of years ago on this period and its impact on the war can be viewed here.
And ultimately, if you can stomach it, a documentary on Auschwitz that will turn your stomach. And perhaps on this topic our stomach deserves such a turn.
In addition to educating yourself with the above, I would recommend the following book by Eric Mataxas (“Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy”) and the story of Corrie Ten Boom, which should inspire us all in a time when our world appears so upside down. That book is “The Hiding Place”.
For as George Santayana so famously said, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
I began this article with that famous Bible verse from the Gospel of John, Chapter 8, verse 32.
For You Shall Know the truth, and the Truth Shall Set You FREE. - John 8:32
Why, you might have wondered? The answer is simple, because the truth, unadulterated, understood, and unimagined, but known can set us free to make our own choices in this strange world.
Let us Never Forget the Holocaust and instead remember what Jesus taught us. Let us ensure we do not show our fellow man indifference. Rather I pray we will engage with the truth, learn this history and ensure that this type of evil cannot occur in a world where we are still empowered to stop it.