In this Nov. 11, 2012, still image from the film ‘Etched in Glass: The Legacy of Steve Ross,’ provided by Many Hats Productions, Holocaust survivor Steve Ross, from left, displays an American flag to Brenda Sattler and Gwen Sattler Allanson at a Veterans Day event at the Statehouse in Boston. Ross was given the flag by U.S. Army Lt. Steve Sattler during the April 1945 liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Dachau in Germany. Brenda Sattler is the granddaughter of Lt. Sattler, while Gwen Sattler Allanson is the daughter of Lt. Sattler.
Tony Bennis | Many Hats Productions via AP
Holocaust Remembrance Day even more poignant as incivility mounts
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It seems strange to point it out, and even a bit sad, but Thursday was Holocaust Remembrance Day — Yom HaShoah — yet we all seemed to forget it. The area appeared unusually light on commemorative ceremonies, at least outside of the Jewish faith itself (Israelis stopped traffic and stood in silence to remember the 6 million lost to the tragedy).
The Friedman Jewish Community Center in Kingston did host an evening Zoom presentation by Holocaust survivor Daniel Goldsmith, all of 8 years old when the Germans invaded Antwerp, Belgium, putting his father into a forced labor camp and prompting his mother to have him and a sister hidden in a Catholic Convent. That began years of false IDs while protected by living angels before liberation at the age of 12.
The virtual nature of the presentation may speak volumes as to why this year’s Remembrance Day seemed so muted. The COVID-19 pandemic has knocked everything off kilter, particularly annual public events of every size and type. Few people feel comfortable traveling any distance, and fewer organizations and agencies that usually would arrange commemorations are willing to host large in-person gatherings.
But of course, we cannot let the pandemic weaken our long-term resolve — our long-term need — to “never forget.”
In fact, the pandemic, coupled with the bitterly divisive politics of recent years that fed off race-bating and demonizing, increased the vital relevance of Holocaust remembrance, not just for a day but constantly. We’ve watched hate crimes soar. We’ve listened to the denigration of Asians with such corrosive terms as “China flu” and “Kung Flu,” used by pandering politicians. We’ve seen videos and read stories of minorities apparently victimized by law enforcement — one murder trial of a police officer is garnering national attention right now.
The fear-mongering at our southern border never seems to rest, as all refugees are lumped into a single category of criminals and miscreants to simplify the complex debate of immigration reform. Vilifying those who disagree has practically become the national norm in political discourse, as though civil people in a democracy can no longer have opposing views while still holding genuine commitment to and love of the same nation. Common ground and compromise, the essential meeting points for any democracy to work, have been falsely redefined as enemy territory.
No, we are not comparing anyone in America to “Nazis” or Hitler. They are both overworked and grossly misused terms, gross exaggerations that diminish the unforgivable horror of the Holocaust. But vigilance demands we recognize the symptoms that can lead down that road, even if only a short distance.
Talking about other human beings as somehow lesser than yourself is going down that road. Warning of apocalyptic outcomes if a certain racial, religious, political or ideological beliefs are not kept pure is going down that road. Accepting lies about voter fraud and “stolen elections” from those who lost the election is going down that road. Trolling social media to attack others who don’t agree with you is going down that road.
The pandemic may have made the marking of Holocaust Remembrance Day harder this year, but it’s more important than it has been in decades to remember just how inhuman we can become when we stop seeing each other as fellow humans.
— Times Leader