When we talk about the Holocaust, when we discuss the various atrocities committed by the Nazi regime, we are talking about one of the darkest points in world history. We are talking about some of the grossest violations of human rights ever committed. We cannot sit idly by and allow this horrible time to become whitewashed. If we sit by and do nothing, then it will pave the way for the next generation to grow up with the belief there was no such thing as The Holocaust, that Auschwitz was a lie, and that Adolph Hitler was a good person. If that were to happen (and I’m not prophesying that it will) we would witness yet another horrific period. Who would be the next victims? Christians? Black people? Muslims? Asians? Think about that for a moment.
There is a particularly poignant moment when Hitler, out of sheer paranoia, executed one of the top lieutenants in The Third Reich. Found on the mans prison walls are these words;
“First, they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Tragic words aren’t they? I would hope that the time will never come when any of us have to write such things. It’s easy to sit back and think that the mistreatment of someone ‘other’ than us, whether they are Jews, Muslims or what have you, is somehow ‘not our problem’. But it is. When people are being mistreated, when there are those who insist of purveying gross lies, then it absolutely becomes our problem. I think that we forget that evil never kicks in the door, and announces itself as such. Tyranny hardly ever comes by force, it’ s usually subtle. Many today forget just how subtle Hitlers campaign really was. He didn’t come right out and gas people on the streets. He spent years indoctrinating the German people. Hitler and his Nazi cronies spent years portraying themselves as pious, German Christians. They spent years trying to seduce the people through media. They all appeared reasonable. At one point in America a group of Harvard students voted Adolph Hitler as the ‘greatest man alive’. At one point in America, Hitlers speeches would air on prime-time radio. After British forces subdued Germany, the German people ere convinced that the death camps were a lie. A hoax. Winston Churchill forced all German citizens to walk though the camps, to see the dead bodied and witness the horrors for themselves. The German people were shocked and horrified. They truly did not know. They couldn’t believe that their leader would do such a thing. We would do well to learn from history here.
I want to clarify something. Anti-semitism should have no place in any society today. No, that doesn’t mean you have to agree with all the tenets of Orthodox Judaism. To be perfectly frank, I find some of the tents of Orthodox Judaism to be distasteful. I don’t agree with Israeli politics, the politics of the Likud party or the majority of the decision made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite all that, I still believe that it is wrong to call for synagogues to be shut down and/or for Jews to be attacked, verbally or physically. Denying the Holocaust is just wrong. Saying that Hitler was right is absolutely despicable. This is not a political issue, it is a human rights issue. This isn’t about defending Jewish people, it’s bout whether you ill come to the defense of humanity itself. It’s that serious.
As a freedom-loving American, I believe this is an issue of paramount importance. I’m truly sorry to any Jewish family who had to sequester themselves during Hanukah. I’m sorry for the division taking place on college campuses. I’m sorry for our spineless leaders who refuse to breathe a word on the matter. Words are all I can offer, but as I said at the beginning of this short series of posts; words matter. They transcend the bounds of time. I ask whoever is reading to take a moment, and make a post on your social media profile. It can be anything. Short, long, written, video, it’s your choice. Just please let our Jewish-American brothers/sisters know they aren’t alone. Who knows? The day may come when we need to be defended, and they will remember that in their time of need, we arose.
