Holocaust Education Has Failed
Read the statements of men like President Eisenhower like the one below:
“I visited every nook and cranny of the camp because I felt it my duty to be in a position from then on to testify at first hand about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief or the assumption that ‘the stories of Nazi brutality were just propaganda.’ . . . I not only did so but as soon as I returned to . . . headquarters that evening, I sent communications to both Washington and London, urging the two governments to send instantly to Germany a random group of newspaper editors and representative groups from the national legislatures. I felt that the evidence should be immediately placed before the American and British publics in a fashion to leave no room for cynical doubt.”
It’s hard not to be saddened by his naivety.
In his defense, he did live way before the internet, and the thought that masses of people would willfully disregard clear, irrefutable evidence would probably have seemed unbelievable to him.
I thought of him when I was reading the responses to Colleyville – specifically, the call for more antisemitism education. (See “Ground-Breaking Exhibit Launches in US,” Jan. 28.) Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine what is left to be said. There are Holocaust museums and memorials in so many places; there are universities offering degrees in Holocaust studies. Auschwitz has been turned into a theme park where visitors take selfies with Arbeit Macht Frei in the background.
Let’s be brutally honest here: all this effort and time and money has returned meager results. Hatred of Jews is as strong as ever, unfortunately. I can’t see any reason to believe that even more effort and time and money would make a difference, because, as we have seen in the recent past, people will believe what they want to believe and no amount of evidence will sway their beliefs.
It’s time to move on.
Which leads to the question, how do we move on?
First, accept that Jew-hatred is now endemic, like Covid. Something we just have to live with and manage.
Second, let’s learn from the Palestinians. Specifically, learn what not to do. The Palestinians are living proof of the futility of obsessing about the past. Almost everyone that I’ve contacted over the years still holds on to the delusion that one day they are going to “return” to the home they have never seen and most likely doesn’t exist anymore, that the key they pass on from generation to generation will open the door of this house, that the deed they hold onto will be honored.
Meanwhile, life is passing them by.
Now, as far as we go, it’s time to accept that the Shoah is about to leave living history and move on. Enough with the Holocaust property claims; after 75 years, however unfair it might be, it’s time to forgo the stolen property.
Look forward, not backwards.
Next is to stop freaking out whenever someone denies that the Shoah happened. Why do we care? We know all too well that it happened. People believe all sorts of nonsense today, like that President Kennedy will rise from the dead, as well as his dead son, and somehow make Trump president again. Let them believe whatever they want to believe, they are not worth the energy to engage with.
Finally though, there is something positive we can do. We can make the memory of the martyrs holy, as exemplified by the Hebrew word kadosh. The root of the word means to make separate. We need to separate the memory of the martyrs from the Holocaust industry (yes, unfortunately, it’s big business) by moving it to where it should have been from the beginning: Tisha B’Av. “Chorban Europa” needs to take its place among all the other tragedies of our people; it would be the beginning of our moving on from the past.
Stephen Hirsch
Teaneck, NJ
All Jews Are Targets
While observant Jews may make easier targets for antisemites, it is misguided to believe that Jews can evade anti-Jewish bias by concealing their Jewish identity. This is the wishful thinking of assimilationists who find little of value in their Judaism. They have been unpleasantly surprised throughout history to be made aware of their Jewishness by antisemites who view them differently than they view themselves.
It behooves assimilationists to take a deeper look to understand why competing ideologies and cultures striving for dominance have come and gone throughout history, while Torah Judaism hasn’t merely survived for thousands of years, but, without seeking to impose its beliefs on others, has profoundly influenced other cultures and is thriving today.
Not all Jews live in blue states that have limited Second Amendment rights. Nor do we all frequent non-Orthodox synagogues that are by and large liberal and opposed to the carrying of firearms. My Orthodox synagogue has a security team manned by shul members who have been trained.
That Jews have achieved largely unfettered access to nearly every opportunity ignores the rising levels of division and strife. One in four U.S. Jews report experiencing antisemitism in the past year, often beyond the walls of Jewish communal settings. Far from avoiding such places, Jews seek them out in growing numbers, confident they will be safe, owing to a considered commitment to security. Instances of antisemitism are on the rise, but to suggest such acts befall only, or even disproportionately, on the Jewishly observant is wrong.
I don’t recall a time when I sensed as much antisemitism in the U.S. as now. The Charlottesville thugs chanting “Jews shall not replace us” and the fact that any expression of support for Israel on many college campuses will lead to ostracism, “cancellation” or worse are only two examples of a scourge that affects us all, and me personally.
It is appalling that going to synagogue services now requires security precautions. That sounds too much like surrender. They should expect to be protected, not consigned to martyrdom.
Brian Goldenfeld
Oak Park, California
Those Who Bless And Those Who Curse . . .
The Bible notes those who bless the Jews will be blessed and those who curse the Jews will be cursed. Two examples can now be found in Europe: Ukraine and France.
Ukraine, the site of the Babi Yar massacre in World War II, as well as the collaboration of many with the Nazis, is now facing the serious possibility of a Russian invasion and the losses of war and the loss of their independence and freedom.
A recent survey of antisemitism in Europe found that France is the worst nation in Europe. At the same time, the enormous immigration of Muslims from North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere as well as their very high birth rate will soon make Christianity a minority religion in France. The problem is exacerbated by the low birth rate of French Christians. The exodus of Jews from France shows the problems they face in France and what may very well happen to the remaining Christians.
Charles Winfield
Princeton, NJ
