Никогда больше || Nie Wieder || Nigdy
Więcej || לעולם לא עוד || קיינמאָל מער
|| Mai Più || Never Again
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In honor of יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day,
commonly “Yom HaShoah” or “Holocaust Remembrance Day”). Written in the
languages of my extended family and ancestors and in loving memory of the millions
of victims of the Holocaust.
---
Just this afternoon before
the start of Yom HaShoah, I read an article which reported violent
attacks against Jews worldwide were up forty percent in 2014. Forty percent…and
that’s just the violent ones, for how can one begin to tabulate the nonviolent
attacks? I was the intended target of nonviolent anti-Jewish attacks multiple
times last year; one particular event made me genuinely fear expressing
publically a HUGE part of myself - my Jewishness. I felt coerced to hide my identity
because of someone else’s deep-rooted hatred. And I certainly cannot imagine I
am the lone Jew in America who was a ‘nonviolent target’ of direct discrimination
on the basis of his faith. The worldwide anti-Jewish sentiment is alive and
well.
I can speak only for myself,
an American Jew several generations removed from the horrific events that took
place during the Second World War. However, I find it quite disturbing that I
do not have a memory of a single Yom HaShoah without someone mentioning
any of the following to me:
1) “Y’know, it wasn’t ONLY Jews that died in the Holocaust. Why are
the non-Jews forgotten?”
2) “When you look historically, the Jews did kinda set themselves
up for it. They could have just left, y’know…”
3) “Why do you capitalize the H in ‘Holocaust’? There were other
holocausts, y’know? The word existed before 1945…why do the Jews try to own the
word ‘Holocaust’?
4) “The Jews need to get
over the Holocaust already! The Holocaust happened, and Germany’s been paying
it off for decades. It’s been ___ years.”
5) “Well, what about the killing of people perpetrated by Jews
today, huh?”
6) “The Holocaust is a lie.” (Yes, I have been told this many times
directly to my face in earnest, even by “educated” people holding PhDs from regarded
universities).
Now, I do believe that
people say some of these things to me without the intent of coming across as
discriminatory, but it hurts just the same.
The Holocaust has been an
inseparable element of the modern Jewish soul, ‘modern’ of course being a
relative term here, as Jews have been around for quite some time. Admittedly, the
subject is rather consuming even to generations removed between its effects on the
prayers we recite in synagogue, Jewish education classes, our spirituality and
connection with G-D (if one at all exists…many survivors and Jews today have lost
their religious faith in light of Holocaust), our political mindset, the
stories we hear from our grandparents…the list goes on.
To address the statements
lobbied my way during Yom HaShoah, I say:
1) Yes, I am indeed aware that is was not only Jews that died in
the Holocaust…millions of other innocent people of countless “undesired” demographics
per Hitler’s criteria were systemically targeted and slaughtered alongside
Jews, may the millions’ collective memory be a blessing unto the world. The
non-Jewish victims are certainly not lost in my memory among me and Jews
worldwide. However, we do also remember our own who perished, and its impact on
our faith, culture, and religion.
2) Historically, the Jews were kicked from one country to the next
and were allowed limited power and resources to leave. Plus, their entire
livelihood was invested in this area. Starting over in a new country is not so
simple when your history is dotted with country after country killing you or forcing
your people out for whatever the reason du jour by a given political
ruler. Asking a group with little power to simply vacate is highly unreasonable
and passively attempts to legitimize the murder of so many Jews…which is highly
troublesome.
3) This Holocaust is the Holocaust of the Jewish people. It’s not
about ownership (please, I think I can speak freely when I say the Jews do not
and would not want to “own” this event in history…we’d would be quite happy to
revive our millions killed if it meant not supposedly “owning” a historical
event). But, a very significant percentage of Jews were systemically killed in
the Second World War, and for Jews, that is a grave loss. We view this event as
a solemn tragedy in our Jewish history. For us in OUR history, it is not simply
a holocaust, but the Holocaust. And Jews will continue to capitalize the H in
Holocaust in recognition of this event in our history.
4) An event in which so many people were systemically slaughtered
for their identity is not simply forgotten. The mass discrimination and annihilation
of a people becomes an integral element of their collective history, Jewish or
otherwise. It debases their existence, shapes their interactions with others…not
to mention the internal cultural, economic, social, and political disruption it
causes. Specifically, with regard to Germany and the Holocaust, Germany has
taken many praiseworthy strides towards righting Her historical wrong in ways
other countries who have killed Jews have not (despite the most recent reports
of a sharp rise in violent attacks on Jews in Germany last year). Our (Jewish) memory
of the Holocaust is not, and has never really been, to debase Germany, but to
remember our lost loved ones.
5) This is a particularly pervasive and difficult statement to
hear, as it attempts to delegitimize what is perceived as a significant event
in collective Jewish history by means of faulting the victims, usually with
ties to current events happening in the Middle East (my comments on which I
withhold purposefully as they are not important to this conversation). Such an
utterance tries to erase history by casting the victims as the perpetrators. In
any other setting in which the victim is made to feel guilty, this sentiment
would absolutely not be tolerated. However, it is particularly omnipresent in
discussions of the Holocaust in the targeted redirection of our grief,
devaluing of our suffering, and blaming of (one of many groups of) victims of
such a heinous event.
6) It is amazing what circulates the Internet these days. Holocaust
deniers are blossoming in numbers claiming the Jews all fabricated their
tattoos (which are strictly forbidden by Jewish custom and were instituted partially
FOR such devaluing of our traditions), the numbers “claimed to have died” aren’t
real, the camps didn’t exist, etc…For these deniers, some of the leaders of
whom are well-educated and highly regarding in their communities, I have no
words.
For me, Yom HaShoah is a
time to remember the millions of Jews killed by Hitler’s regime; to say
otherwise is a lie. But, to stop there is to lose so much of what the Holocaust
has meant to me and to many Jews with whom I am quite close. Since the
Holocaust has affected my identity in that a palpable loss was felt to my
people (and by connection, my identity), I have used it as a means to shape my
views on humanity and social justice. The Holocaust is one of countless
attempted eliminations of groups of “othered,” “lesser” people. Genocide
persists to this day, and, as a Jew who feels the history of the Holocaust as a
burden on his shoulders, I refuse to stand by as Jews, or ANY OTHER
DEMOGRAPHIC, is targeted and murdered for their identity. The Holocaust, in its
personal effect on my being, is my best understanding of the worst of humanity,
the darkest of the dark that we can become, and I carry a pledge to fight
against genocide. But, I recognize that genocide stems from hatred and discrimination,
and thus, I also must be vigilant in removing hate and discrimination from the
world, for these are the roots of evil.
This is why I remember the
Holocaust, year after year, and will continue to for the rest of my life. May
the world never know another Holocaust. And so I say, in whatever language one
may think, feel, act, or pray, may we find the true meaning of these words to
fight against genocide, discrimination, and hatred worldwide in the present
day...because the world has still not internalized
them as yet another Holocaust Remembrance Day comes and will inevitably set
with the sun.
"Never again" is never again.
For all people.
