Monday, October 16, 2006

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

I met Helen Katz at the Holocaust Museum last week. She was the youngest of eight children, Hungarian, 13 years old, and known to friends and family as Potyo, “the dear little one”.

Helen was killed upon her arrival at Auschwitz on May 31, 1944.

Perhaps this seems like a macabre way to start a museum tour – handed a stranger’s ID card with a short life story, and finding out if your kindred spirit lived or died.

My mother’s ID card was for a survivor. All around us I saw people skipping to the end of their ID booklets, “did my person live or die?” So many died.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum is one of the finest museums I have ever visited – it is amazing how well done such a horrible era in history can be captured and presented to people. In most areas facts are presented and you are allowed to draw your own conclusions. In some places, there are really no alternative conclusions.

As a Jew, the Holocaust has always been a nightmare I cannot ignore or escape. My grandmother was at Auschwitz. It is something that I cannot culturally ignore, I cannot personally ignore it, I have seen more documentaries than I care to, and yet there is always more. Always some untold story. Always some new fact you wish was more nightmare than truth. There is little about the Holocaust that you can look upon without feeling disgust, nausea, anger, pain, panic, misery.

And even with all I thought I knew, I still learned more.

I learned that this chosen enemy of the Nazis was less than 1% of the population when Hitler rose to power. The pain of a nation, the economic woes, and all the things that were wrong with society were placed upon less than 1% of the population.

I learned that while most of the world’s governments did little or nothing to help their own Jews (Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and anyone supporting free speech), Denmark did everything it could to save its Jews. It even chartered boats to Switzerland to try to get her Jews to safety.

I learned about dozens of people who risked everything to help. Among those was an Anti-Semite who hid Jews because she believed that the Holocaust was wrong. Some of these amazing people lost everything. Those that survived all said the same thing, “It was the right thing to do.”

After all the horrors I saw that day, it was the tales of Denmark and the ones who risked everything that made me cry – because they were the ones that chipped away at my cynicism about humanity. These people showed me the goodness and the kindness people are capable of.

We spent over five hours there that day. We left exhausted, emotionally and physically, but it was one of the most important experiences in my life, and I have nothing but admiration for the people who put this incredible museum together.

When you have the chance, please visit. Bring lots of Kleenex, and be prepared for a hard day. Go with someone you love, and then go somewhere and talk about everything you saw.

And then, do Helen Katz, my grandmother, and all Holocaust victims a service, and look to fight injustice in your lifetime, because you know that someone has to stand up and fight back.

Related Stuff:
Cookie's essay on the museum experience: Artistic Veritas: There but for the Grace of God go I

SaveDarfur.org has a post called "Lobby Congress" that's worth checking out...

You can help pressure Congress to do more to help the people of Darfur by meeting with your congressional representative or members of his or her staff. We are asking our activists to meet with their Representative and Senators before the upcoming November elections.

2 Comments:

At 4:35 PM, Blogger James McGinley said...

God bless you your compassion for our family Darfur.

Your mentioning Darfur in your blogging is imperative. And as doubtless you have noticed, blogging volume regarding Darfur has plummeted. Thank you for your efforts.

We are hopelessly stalled in Saving Darfur. But it is only hopeless if we-the-citizens continue to be bystanders risking little or no cost to ourselves.

Please help promote what must fast become our role models:
DARFUR HEROES: Santa Clara Univ Vigil & Fast
http://darfurdyingforheroes.blogspot.com/2006/10/darfur-heroes-santa-clara-univ-vigil.html

More Darfur Heroes at DARFUR Dying for Heroes
http://darfurdyingforheroes.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Rosemary, Dave, Mary Rachel, Jay coming up on week three of
Rescue Darfur Fast-Till-Genocide-Stops
http://darfurdyingforheroes.blogspot.com/2007/09/join-rescue-darfur-fast-till-it-stops.html

 
At 4:24 PM, Blogger Bonnie said...

Dear Sara,

I just came across your blog again after all this time. I was having a good time enjoying your sarcastic wit again when I came across this entry.

In the winter of 2006 I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum" with Celia, my Mom and brother. It is easily the most memorable part of our visit to Washington D.C.

I believe everyone should have to see this museum against once in their life. Like you said it is a long sad day and you will leave emotionally exhausted but it is important reminder of how cowardess can lead to tragedy.

It is easy in everyday life to leave the fighting of injustice to others. It is easy to turn away from the things that make us uncomfortable but death lies on that path. We are all human beings and have a responsiblity to exercise our humanity at all times.

One of things I remember most about this trip was we were close to the end, and Celia who was then 12 just wanted to go. She said it was sad and she was tired and can we just leave. My response was that she shouldn't grow up to be the kind of person that just wants to leave or ignore things because they are hard to see, or hear, or experience; that's exactly what the rest of world did during the holocaust. I hope that I have taught her not to be that kind of person, and that I would not be that kind of person myself.

 

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