Holocaust Memorial Day

Denials of the Holocaust has risen by 104% , we must not remain silent

I can never get my head around Holocaust deniers, wilful and blatant disregard forcl the truth imo, all the evidence is catalogued and there are umpteen films of so many corpses and the evidence of allied forces who went in to liberate those camps. Even if the numbers are disputed, the intent to wipe out a race of people was there, don't try and dispute that at least! The Jews that survived it will have been meticulous in their forensic investigations. It's recent history for heaven's sake, we're not talking 1066 here

Years ago, when my children were young, we visited the house which hid Anne Frank. Whilst queuing we commented on the church bells which she mentions in her diary.
What seemed so poignant was that some passers by were older ladies- shopping, chatting to grandchildren etc and it was suddenly so clear to me that Anne and her sister should have been amongst them.

www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/

I visited Auschwitz last year and the thing that I wrestled with then and remains with me now is that the atrocities were carried out by ordinary people, primarily men, who had their own children or families and friends, people who, pre-war, had normal occupations. The prevailing groupthink allowed them to ‘other’ and therefore dehumanise the people in the camps.

When avoidable tragedies/atrocities occur the phrase, “lessons have been learnt”, is often trotted out, but have we really learned lessons from the holocaust? The recent examples of ‘genocide’ are proving contentious even on this thread. On the Holocaust Memorial page linked above the writers themselves make reference to more recent genocides that:

….represent a failure of humanity to learn from the holocaust and are a reminder for all of us that we must be prepared to guard against genocide happening again in the future.

The holocaust demonstrates that we, ordinary people, can, under some circumstances, be persuaded to ‘other’ people who are ‘not like us’ with disastrous consequences. I shall light my candle this evening and pray that I never succumb to such thinking.

Chocolatelovinggran

Years ago, when my children were young, we visited the house which hid Anne Frank. Whilst queuing we commented on the church bells which she mentions in her diary.
What seemed so poignant was that some passers by were older ladies- shopping, chatting to grandchildren etc and it was suddenly so clear to me that Anne and her sister should have been amongst them.

That made me gulp Chocolatelovinggran. So poignant.
I was only at the Anne Frank House a few weeks ago, and was asked to come in and do two lessons with 10/11 year olds at school this last week.
The Holocaust is such a sensitive subject, but we can't ignore it. Treading so very carefully, I asked the children to work on the following quote from the diary.
I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.

I am watching Survivors Portraits of The Holocaust on BBC2 at the moment. Unbelievably harrowing stories of survivors chosen to have their portraits done. I've seen it before but it's worth watching again.

Sarnia

The Zone of Interest is on at cinemas at the moment. A very disturbing film which shows Rudolph Hoss, his wife, 5 children and assorted servants who lead a very comfortable life in a lovely house and beautiful garden. On the other side of the garden wall is Auschwitz and Hoss is Commandant, overseeing the slaughter of Jews. The cold detachment Hoss and his wife display to the horrors going on next door is chilling. Worth a watch if you can stomach it and no surprise it features on the Oscars nominations lists.

This sounds very similar to the book and film of ‘the boy in the striped pyjamas’ where the commandants house and garden were next to the camp and his son makes friends with a young boy in the camp .
Thank you for mentioning the new film .

I have lit a candle for all who perished especially members of my mothers family. She was lucky and got out just in time with her mother and always remembered those who didn't.

My late friend and colleague Liesl was on the last Kindertransport to the UK. As an adult she made an important contribution to health and care in the UK and I remember her with fondness and gratitude. The rest of her immediate family perished.