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International Holocaust Remembrance Day

January 27 was recognized in 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The U.N. resolution rejects Holocaust denials while pledging to fight discrimination. Today in history marks the liberation by allied forces of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Berkenau. It is estimated that the Nazis murdered 6 million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witness, and other innocent civilians from all over Europe.

Image Courtsey of http://www.annefrankguide.com/ Through the works of courageous survivors and victims of the Nazi death camps the world knows the ugly face of such atrocities. It is hard to forget the force of the Diary of Anne Frank when I read it in high school or the impact of Primo Levi's book Survival At Auschwitz when I read it in college. From the movies, poems, and art that highlight the triumph of the human spirit in the face of such inhumanity we as people are able to grow through empathy our compassion and steadfast resolve to say never again.

And then there is Somalia...the Sudan...Kenya...Bosnia...East Timor...sadly the list of genocides could go on...

There are two quotes that I would like to leave you with here from the great American philosopher Jorge Augustin Nicolas Ruiz de Santayana:

All living souls welcome whatever they are ready to cope with;

all else they ignore, or pronounce to be monstrous and wrong, or deny to be possible.

and

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Posted by Rich Dansereau on 01/27/2009 03:25 PM

Comments (14)

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14 Comments on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

JAN

Dear Rich,

Thanks for another great post. The second quote is one of my all time favorites. I did not really "get it" until I was about 25-30. Thanks for the history reminder and the HOPE!

Betina

I agree completely. Fred Smilek Email- Fred_Smilek@yahoo.com Fred Smilek is the acting president of the Society to Save Endangered Species. It was founded two years ago by Fred Smilek along with his two best friends Charles and Jonathan.

Hi Rich...Thank you so much for posting this. It is important that we always remember what happened during the Holocaust and that we remain aware of what it happening in the world today.

Having lived in Somalia it is especially painful for me to see what has happened to the people there. There lives have been hell for many, many years now.

There are some organizations that I support that try to care for people in some of these countries. One is Doctors Without Borders and the other is The Women's Commission (originally Women and Children's Refugee Commission).

Kate

P.S. I will repost.

Betina - The quote sounds so simple but in its simple truth is a profound reality.

Fred - Thanks for stopping in and good luck with your efforts.

Kate - Thanks for reposting this article. It has gone on in Somalia and other areas of the world for too long, anytime is too long really. I don't know if maybe most people believe that when the US ended its humanitarian efforts in Somalia that the conflict and atrocities were over. I am sorry that a place you knew and probably cared for has had such extreme suffering for so long now. Doctor's Without Borders does some great work in the face of terrible danger. Some cultures believe that the way people and the lessons of their lives live on is through the telling of their stories...

Rich - the Holocaust was the most atrocious event to take place since the Crusades. The targeted races, the horrible fates ...

The ideal world would be one where these things don't happen. Where there is no such thing as a "third world country" and crossing from one country to another would be accomplished without nailbiting scrutiny. Where we could trust one another, respect one another and learn to live in harmony.

I'm an idealist. And I won't forfeit those thoughts and ideals to promote the hatred in the world.

Carol - Cling tight to those ideals because ideals and personal liberty are often the sacrificial lambs when pressed with an untenable choice between these and security.

Our constitutional liberties shall not be sacrificed in our search for greater security, for that is what our enemies and all enemies of freedom and democracy hope to achieve.

-Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Congresswoman

JAN

Nice post Rich...thanks

Bo - Thanks!

Rich, thank you for posting this. It's so sad when you think that genocide continues to this day and there are still people who deny the holocaust happened.

JAN

Debbie - My sad duty to post such a thing. For anyone to deny the holocaust is simply ignorance at its most basic.

FEB

Rich D - from a jewish person, on behalf of all jewish people and persecuted minorities , I want to sincerly Thank You, for this post

James - Posts like this are difficult to write but that means it is more important to remember. I am happy to do a very small part to help people remember.

FEB

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