Remembering again the Holocaust

Faith in the Public Square
Lompoc Record
April 23, 2006

The Holocaust stands out among the most horrific atrocities of human history. The very word conjures images of death in our minds, but six decades after the liberation of the Nazi death camps, those images and stories have begun to fade from our memories. We know that the Holocaust (Shoah in Hebrew) was a Nazi effort to extinguish the lives of those they deemed undesirable, but we give this little thought as we live our daily lives.

Although there were many others, including Gypsies and the mentally disabled that faced the Nazi's genocidal mania, it was the Jews who bore the brunt of this horror. By most counts, 6 million Jews died between 1938 and 1945, with more than a million dying in the Nazi gas chambers.
There are those who continue to deny the Holocaust, including the current president of Iran, but in spite of their efforts the evidence speaks for itself. Auschwitz, Dachau, Birkenau, Buchenwald, Mathausen, Neuengamme, Ravensbrueck, Sachsenhausen, Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka are names and places that are seared or should be seared into the minds of us all.
Just as important for our remembrances are the voices of the survivors. Their stories are powerful reminders of what happened in Europe during the early 1940s. These aren't stories easily heard, because they witness to the fact that humans are capable of abominable acts.
Jewish history is replete with stories of pogroms, ghettoes, discrimination, vandalism and death. In this case, what came to be known as the Final Solution was instigated in the name of nationalism and racial purity. It was given further support, unfortunately, by Christians whose theology encouraged them to seek revenge for Jesus' death. They were, in their own minds, exacting blood guilt. But no matter who was involved in his death, Jesus from the cross offered forgiveness and amnesty. No blood guilt need be exacted. Ironically, if Jesus had lived in 1940s Germany he would have been its victim, for there is no denying that he was and is and always will be Jewish.
The 27th of Nissan in the Jewish calendar is known as Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is a national holiday in Israel, but it is also day for Jews around the world to remember the ones who gave their lives and to honor those who survived. This year Yom HaShoah falls on Tuesday, April 25 (2006).
Yom HaShoah is a day of mourning and remembrance for the Jewish community, but I'm not Jewish. In many ways, it's not my place to speak of such things, and by speaking of it, I speak as much out of ignorance as knowledge. Still, as Martin Niemoller, a German theologian and opponent of the Nazi program, stated so eloquently, if I don't stand up for others, who will stand for me when my enemies come. So, today I choose to speak in honor and in remembrance of those who died and those who survived. I also speak in honor of the many who risked their lives to rescue Jews, for their example spurs me on to action.

I've had the privilege of participating in several services of remembrance. I've watched as survivors and the children and grandchildren of victims and survivors lit candles in memory of those who died. I've also heard stories from the lips of survivors. These are stories we must hear. Some are inspiring while others bring tears to our eyes. Unfortunately, the ranks of the survivors and the rescuers are being depleted by time and death. But their stories need to be heard, remembered and treasured so that such a thing might not happen again.
We know, of course, that genocide did not die with the liberation of Auschwitz or the death of Hitler. It continues to live on in other parts of the world. Even prior to the Holocaust there was the Armenian Genocide and more recently we heard the stories of Rwanda, and now we hear of Darfur. On Tuesday, the 27th of Nissan, may we stand together, whether Jew or Gentile, in solidarity with our human brothers and sisters who face death daily simply for who they are. May our voices be heard, so that the march of death might be stopped.
Dr. Bob Cornwall is pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (www.lompocdisciples.org).
April 23, 2006

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