Seven years ago, I stood on Auschwitz Birkenau’s railroad, where more than 1 million Jews were led to their death only 65 years beforehand. It was part of a special 8-day journey offered to 11th graders in Israel, to travel to Poland and learn more, and from up-close, about the horrors of the Holocaust.
It took me a while to decide on whether I want to join this trip or stay home. Up until then, I had tried to avoid seeing and hearing too much about the Holocaust, fearing it would be too much for me to handle. But eventually I decided to join my classmates on what became the most meaningful experience of my life.
It took us a while to soak everything it, and realize what we’re seeing, hearing and touching. It was there, on Auschwitz Birkenau’s railroad, when the haze finally cleared. I remember standing there, waving the Israeli flag, and vowing to always remember and never forget.
On that day, I wrote in my journal:
“This feeling cannot be described on paper. You have to be there to feel this intense, powerful, complicated feeling. We marched, hugged together, in a concentration and death camp that looks as if 60 years never passed by. The only difference is that instead of the smell of scorched bodies, there's the salty smell of tears. There is blue sky instead of no sky. Other than us, there was a church group, led by a priest, who also came to witness the unbelievable. I can't describe the joy I felt knowing we are not the only ones who care. One by one, we begin to appreciate what we have. I am very lucky to be here today with my friends.”
Today, we mention the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today, more than ever, it has become clear that it is not merely Israelis’ obligation to remember that dark time in history. Anti- Semitism is still alive and well, more bluntly than ever before. What was considered a taboo for decades, is now practically mainstream, and haters feel comfortable to step out of the shadows.
About 80 years ago, people in Germany were frustrated. The loss of WWI came with a high cost, and many were stripped of their assets and their pride. People were looking for someone to blame, and a small political party came up with an answer. Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers Party blamed all of Germany’s problems on the Jews and the people followed. Some were just happy to hear that their problems are not their fault, others took action and joined the Nazi party’s efforts in “migrating the problem.” The seeds of hatred sawed by Hitler grew to become the Holocaust, which we later swore to “never let happen again.”
Now, decades later, the path to destruction is being built again. The number of anti-Semitic attacks is skyrocketing, Facebook and Twitter are being filled with hateful pages and groups calling for the annihilation of Israel and the Jews, the Holocaust is being mocked at as Israel is being compared to Nazi Germany, the
(Auschwitz. August, 2007)
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