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Golanski's Treasures

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Golanski's Treasures

Tag Archives: holocaust

Humanity’s Moral Imperative

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by Golanskis Treasures in anti-Semitism, Genocide, History, Holocaust

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Aremenian Genocide, current-events, Genocide, holocaust, Human Rights, Keene State College, Nazism, Nuremberg Trials, Rwanda, Rwandan Genocide, Sonoma State University, World War II, YOM HASHOAH

Yom HaShoah has passed, yet discussions continue as to the importance of keeping the Holocaust “present” in memory and psyche.  Having immersed myself in studying the events leading up to and through one of the acknowledged crimes of any century, I have come to learn several things that bear repeating.

One piece of information came from Dr. James Miller from Keene State College, an extraordinary presenter in the Holocaust and Genocide Lecture Series at Sonoma State University.  Dr. Miller actually conducts week-long training sessions with diplomats and military leaders at Auschwitz to empower their greater understanding of the nature of genocide.  It is hoped that as “boots on the ground” they can identify early warnings of hostilities toward groups of people before they erupt into full-fledged genocide.

Dr. Miller shared studies as to how it was possible for such evil to exist and be visited upon innocents both during the Holocaust and other 20th century genocides (Armenia, Cambodia, and Rwanda, to name a few.)  It was chilling to learn that the Nazis were not unusual in their makeup and are not believed to have been born inherently evil (a nation of “bad seeds” so to speak).  While The Third Reich’s leadership set into motion the unfathomable murder of millions, the lower-level functionaries who carried out their heinous crimes were average individuals . . . the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker . . . the doctor the lawyer, the housewife . . . the teacher, the merchant, the laborer.  Individuals like any other.  Individuals.  No different than you or me.

Nuremberg Trials

For me, that information makes Yom HaShoah even more compelling.  Once a year we not only commemorate the systematic destruction of human life, and set in our hearts the memories of those who perished — but engage in self-examination.  If “regular people” perpetuated such horrors upon others, what might WE have done had we been given such orders?  Would we have followed along without question?  If so, how might we have justified our actions against the moral compass that steers our lives?  What would have made it feel “right” to murder innocents?

Yom HaShoah also invites our putting ourselves in the position of those targeted for destruction.  What would we have done to save ourselves and our loved ones?  Would we have questioned?  Would we have hidden behind a wall of denial to maintain our sanity?  Would we have resisted?  Would we have tried to hide or flee?  Would we have denounced our heritage?  Would we have sacrificed others to save ourselves?

Moral dilemmas on both sides of the equation.  And now, as the numbers of Holocaust Survivors dwindle due to the passing years, efforts to record their memories and keep alive their stories has escalated.  Escalated, for as memories of the Holocaust fade, the potential for it being repeated grows stronger.  Many years ago, when I visited Jerusalem’s Yad v’Shem Museum, the words, “LEST WE FORGET” were emblazoned upon a large sign at the entry.  Those words stood as a reminder to all human beings that lessons not learned, or forgotten are doomed to be repeated.

There is a distinct challenge in writing a fictionalized version about real events that happened to real people in real places so many years after the fact.  Those who experienced WWII directly, or the generation that followed is not the experience of young people now in school, let alone future generations.  It is disturbing to realize that a growing number of people are unaware of the Holocaust.  Taking it a step further, many have also never heard of Rwanda’s genocide, notwithstanding the news coverage that marked the gruesome events of 1994 — just 18 years ago.

Remembering Rwanda Genocide

As a society, we are exposed to images of violence and brutality daily – in the news, online, in video games, television and film.  Such distancing from the Holocaust and equally disconcerting, the desensitization of our young people, is a breeding ground for future genocides.

Genocide is dependent upon various things falling handily into place:

  • Victims must be either demonized and/or dehumanized so the distance between “us and them” widens.  The more people are identified as “others,” or “outsiders,” the less empathy one builds towards them and the more likely actions against them are not perceived with the same level of intensity than had they been close to us.
  • Those who take comfort from a pack mentality consider whomever holds a leadership position above question.  They prefer being told what to do rather than think independently, tending to forgive themselves from even the most unimaginable crimes as being appropriate and condoned by the larger group.
  • And most importantly, genocide would be less likely to succeed if others spoke out against the oppression of others.  Bullies – whether national leaders, religious zealots, political power-mongerers or the big guy throwing around his weight on the school playground – could be rendered less powerful if people stood up and said, “NO!  THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!”  The silence of witnesses, whether complacent in the crime or not, allows the criminal free reign.

If people, young or old, are unfamiliar with what happened both during the Holocaust, and other instances of genocide around the world — it is the responsibility of a sane, compassionate and humane society to inform them.  If such examples seem too distant, ask if they’ve ever experienced, or witnessed bullying, bigotry, or racism.  EMPATHY is key.  If the human race is to retain its humanity, we must see ourselves as part of a larger family of mankind – OUR family – which must be protected and respected by everyone if we are to survive as a species.

NEVER AGAIN!

Yad V’Shem, the Memorial Museum in Jerusalem

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NEVER AGAIN!

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by Golanskis Treasures in anti-Semitism, Genocide, History, Holocaust

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

6 Million, Auschwitz, books, Day of Remembrance, Elie Wiesel, Final Solution, Genocide, Hitler, holocaust, Jews, John Donne, Martyr, Nazi, Poland, World War II, YOM HASHOAH

YOM HASHOAH – REMEMBERING THE MARTYRS

Yom HaShoah Memorial Candle

No man is an island, entire onto itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

I have long felt John Donne’s eloquent statement to be a somber reminder of what should be a basic tenet of human existence. How different might our world have been had such ideals dominated Europe from 1939 – 1945. Instead, our human family was indeed diminished.

Six million Jews and millions of others were systematically annihilated in the penultimate pogrom we have come to know as THE HOLOCAUST: Communists, Czechs, Greeks, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, mentally and physically handicapped, Poles, Resistance fighters, Russians, Serbs, Socialists, Spanish Republicans, trade unionists, Ukrainians, Yugoslavians, prisoners of war of many nations, and countless others.

Those  who perished were lost to the world in body, but not spirit, for as long as we remember them, they live on.  And so we remember. And in remembering we honor the innocent, and reaffirm our condemnation of the guilty. We remember in the hope that in so doing such crimes will not be repeated.

We will remember them in services around the world today during YOM HASHOAH, “The Day of Remembrance.”  We will be moved by speakers, some who survived the conflagration. We will voice heartfelt prayers and light memorial candles. We will reflect upon man’s inhumanity to man as perpetuated by the Nazi killing machine in Europe. We will realize the immensity of the crime — six million Jews. Two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish pre-WWII population, and half the world’s pre WWII Jewish population.

In 1989 the Holocaust became irrevocably real to me as I explored the killing grounds of Auschwitz while traveling on behalf of Spertus Museum of Judaica.  I was not obligated to visit, but felt a that bearing witness to the Holocaust was a responsibility – a moral imperative. Walking past displays of “physical evidence” I kept reminding myself that “but for the Grace of God….” It was a sobering and life-changing experience.

Years later, immersed in writing, my fingers froze as they were poised above my computer’s keyboard. I was uncertain as to how to tackle the chapter where my fictionalized character (Holocaust Survivor Max Golanski) visited the death camp where he had been imprisoned.  I simply couldn’t wrap my brain around it. Knowing the impact visiting Auschwitz had upon ME, I was stymied as to how to enter the skin of one who had actually lived that horrific truth, then returned to renew his tie to the time, place and events as a living witness.

As happens sometimes among those of us who are either blessed (or condemned) to write, I finally removed myself from the process and let Max tell his story. I typed at a rapid clip, through closed eyes as my heart drummed madly against the walls of my chest.  The chapter quickly evolved into a surreal ballet. I was there only to serve as scribe.

To honor the memories of the innocents murdered in the Holocaust, I offer the following selection from that chapter of  GOLANSKI’S TREASURES.  May the memories of the Martyrs be a blessing, and may we live to see a day where “Never Again” is no longer a prayer, but a reality.

(NOTE:  Quoted text is copyright protected by Sue Ross, 2012 and remains the exclusive property of the author.  Use of this material without permission is prohibited.)

Max entered a darkened room made smaller by the omnipresence of a large urn.  Its circumference was the size of a mature tree’s trunk, yet stood only a few feet tall.  The focal point of the room, the simple and unadorned urn beckoned Max to approach.

Slowly walking forward he stopped abruptly, as if confronted by a hidden barrier.  Noticing a sign in Polish, he drew closer to read the faded words, then pulled back abruptly, his breath wrenched from his chest.  Suspended in time, Max felt the presence of invisible sentries hovering nearby.  Stepping back a few paces his heart slowly absorbed the simple words inscribed.  The simple clay urn cradled precious ashes collected from the ovens.  Ashes taken from the nameless, faceless, countless, unknown souls who had perished in the crematoria.

Reaching a trembling hand towards the vessel, Max felt a bolt of electricity course through his body as his hand made contact.  Was he touching the cheek of his beloved wife?  The shoulder of his childhood friend?  Had the ashes of a young Russian soldier co-mingled with an old Gypsy woman with flashing gold-earrings, or a sympathetic Catholic priest who dared to object?  Was that the laughter of a small girl?  The sobbing of an old woman?  Were those the persistent and distinctly melodious strains of a violin crying with her?

As he withdrew his hand, Max’s breath swooped back into his lungs leaving him gasping and light-headed.  Closing his eyes he sighed deeply.  A long, thin puff of air escaped his lips.  Max was reminded that the Third Reich’s perverted quest for world domination was built upon subjugating and exterminating all non-Aryans.  Its malignant vision left no one people holding a monopoly on suffering.  Death had become the great equalizer.

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“Family is Everything!”

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by Golanskis Treasures in Holocaust, Jewish Culture & Traditions

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

blog, books, Eastern Europe, family, Final Solution, holocaust, Jewish, jewish genealogy, Poland, Shoah, shtetl, the Chosen People

“Family is everything!” Mama used to say.  Yet, I never realized just how important everything was until I had nothing.  Until my family was consumed by the hatred and misguided megalomania of a single lunatic, who crafted “The Final Solution” as the way to rid the world of all that was precious to me.

People generally understand the Holocaust as one of history’s darkest periods.  Yet, that understanding is framed by viewing footage from newsreels where the Jews of Eastern Europe become familiar as victims — black and white images of naked skeletal remains stacked up like kindling, or victims-in-waiting kneeling before open pits, Nazi soldiers standing behind them with rifles poised.  Or iconic images of a young boy with his hands raised above his head.

Then, of course, are the numbers.  The sheer volume of those destroyed in the first genocide where science was employed to systematically destroy those selected by a virtual killing machine.  6 million souls.  Two-thirds of Eastern Europe’s Jewish population.  Gone.  Murdered.

Yet, each of those 6 million were members of families like mine in a culture that lived and breathed family from every pore.  My family was much like yours, the only difference perhaps that we lived in shtels (Jewish villages) and cities in Poland.  We were born, lived, loved and laughed — just like your families.  We made our livings in a variety of ways, from working in farming communities to city butcher shops.  We sought our degrees in institutions of higher learning, studied art, became professionals, fell in love and married.  We debated the finer philosophical points raised by history’s great minds, and immersed ourselves in worship to the God who was the center of our existence.  We harbored the same hopes and dreams as every living soul.

Yet, as Jews, we stood in the same shadows of fear occupied by our ancestors from the moment we chose God, and he in turn chose us for our love of Him and dedication to his ways.  Being “The Chosen People,” was never easy, and when I was young I wished that God would choose somebody else for a change.  But me and my family — Mama and Popa, brother Izzy, sister Miri, wife Sarah, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins – were born into times and circumstances where choosing and being chosen framed our existence.  Our choices defined our humanity, informed our destinies and shaped our relationships with God.

Like you, we were born into a world where God gave us the freedom to choose how to act, or react to the world around us.  Yes, “Family is everything,” but we are all extended family, aren’t we?  So, as family, I invite you to get to know more about my world, for within that world you may discover some pieces of your own.

A blog is a personal connection in today’s impersonal universe.  I will attempt to keep my scribe busy as she relates some of the stories of my life, but most can be found in the book she has been working on for the past 12 years.  Her book – MY book – is called “Golanski’s Treasures.”  Until it is ready to be brought forth into the world, perhaps we can become acquainted through this blog.  Feel free to ask questions, or join conversations.  No need to stand on formalities – speak right up!  This is a dialogue.  Speak your mind, but please be considerate of one another, me and my family, and your writer Sue Ross along the way.  It’s easy to stay in touch.  Just click on the “follow” button at the left and you’ll be notified of new posts.

Thank you,

Max Golanski

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