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| Picture from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |
Yesterday I watched BBC's 'Songs of Praise' and was intrigued by the story surrounding The National Holocaust Centre in Nottinghamshire. Established by the Smith brothers in 1995 in their family home after a visit to Israel, it is both a museum and educational centre for the upcoming generations who need to be taught about the atrocities of the Holocaust more than ever. I was shocked by the admission of Dr James Smith: "We couldn't understand how we'd gone through the British education system and not learned about this..."
As the world remembers the liberation of Auschwitz seventy-five years ago on this day in 1945, it is essential to continue to highlight the depravity of the Holocaust due to the alarming surge in anti-Semitic behaviour in the world today. France reported a 27% increase in anti-Semitic acts last year and we have witnessed vicious attacks against Jewish communities in America and EU countries over the past few months. Therefore it is of vital importance to remember the past and teach younger generations to stand against anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance. As Elie Wiesel, former Holocaust survivor stated: "Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil."
While the British education system seems to have compromised on teaching an extensive history of World War II in the case of the Smith brothers, I am ever grateful that the N. Irish school curriculum included "The Diary of Anne Frank" in our English literature syllabus. It was in the English classroom of Ballymena Academy that the fire of indignation and outrage was lit in my heart as I read of the fate of the Jews. That flame has burned steadily ever since and my love for the Jewish race has intensified over the years.
Perhaps the most profoundly emotional and disturbing experience of my life was to visit Auschwitz in 2017, which I've recorded in another blog:
https://olivewilson.blogspot.com/2017/06/visit-to-auschwitz-personal-account.html
I only visited this place of horror; what of those who were incarcerated and murdered there in the most diabolical, depraved manner imaginable!! And what of those who survived and have lived all their lives with scars indelibly ingrained in their hearts and minds? Thousands have lived with nightmares, traumatic stress and wounds too deep to heal for most of their years. Second-generation Holocaust survivors have also suffered emotionally due to the trauma experienced by their parents, who either chose to be silent about their experiences or told them too much. This chapter of history plummets depths of suffering and human debauchery too vast to fathom. But one thing is necessary, we must never forget!
Seventy-five years on since the liberation of Auschwitz and what have we learned?
Hatred for the Jews still exists and is growing.
By wanting to annihilate the State of Israel, some countries are intent on repeating the Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jews.
We must never be silent in the face of evil. "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We must never forget!
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