By Eli Bass – Director of Jewish Life
On April 23, the Jewish community remembers the Holocaust. Yom Hashoah is a day of Jewish memorial for those who perished and those who resisted the Shoah, or Nazi Holocaust. The Jewish community has used the Hebrew word “Shoah” or “catastrophe” to remember the effects of the genocide.
Remembering the systematic murder of Europe’s Jewish population makes this a day of challenge and difficulty. This Yom Hashoah, we come closer to remembering the Holocaust without living survivors. Growing up, I learned about the Holocaust from survivors. The lack of survivors challenges us to try to make sense of the Nazi government’s systematic murder through history instead of through personal accounts.
On Yom Hashoah, we say, “never again” but what does this mean? For me it’s personal. While some of my family immigrated to the United States, others remained in Europe and were killed in the Shoah. It is a painful time in our family history, and for my family, can only be recalled by a single survivor. For me, it is a time period I struggle to comprehend.
We must remember the vicious propaganda, which allowed for the systematic annihilation of European Jewry and others. That propaganda allowed a regime to murder people because of their identity, disability and beliefs. Our ability to recognize all forms of hate speech is critical. We all need to speak out to create a community that we can be proud of.
The University trustees developed our Statement of Ethical Living as a model of how our university should act. This code recognizes our commitment to be a community, which “Tolerates neither acts of bigotry nor silence in the face of such acts.” This sentence requires each of us to speak up when either an individual or our university fails to live up to this standard. We all have a duty to con- front bigotry in all of its forms.
Learning history is critical. We have a variety of different courses that help students to learn about the history of this challenging period. There are many museums, books, and movies accessible for students who would like to explore and understand this time period. In depth learning helps us to understand and be better equipped to act.
The Shoah murdered individuals; of the 9.5 million Jews living in Europe, approximately 6 million were killed. It also destroyed the deeply vibrant Jewish culture and community in most of Europe. After the Shoah, the main Jewish language of European Jews, Yiddish, became an endangered language. For many, developing and deepening a relationship to Jewish learning, as well as learning Yiddish, have been ways to combat the terror of the Shoah. The Shoah has pushed me to explore the culture and lives of those who were murdered. Learning and understanding Jewish culture before and during the holocaust is one way of honoring those who lost their lives.
When I think about the Shoah I also think about advocacy. We have a duty to make sure that “never again” means that we will not stand quietly as human rights atrocities take place. Tragic campaigns in Syria, Bosnia, Darfur, Cambodia, Rwanda, and others show us that genocide continues to occur. If this is the case, what does “never again” truly mean?
This week, I ask you to take a moment to remember. That moment can be a moment of remembering history, learning about culture, or advocating for those suffering. This day is a reminder of the brokenness in humanity. Taking a moment to focus on the Shoah helps us to work to avoid repeating history.