The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it. –Albert Einstein
Recently our family spent one month doing an intense study of the Holocaust leading up to Yom HaShoah-Holocaust Remembrance Day which was held this week. We have read piles of books, visited websites, listened to survivor testimonies, and watched both non-fiction and fiction Holocaust movies in order to gain a greater understanding and to prepare ourselves to commemorate the day in honor of those who perished.
The Holocaust is a grim subject of study indeed and it certainly overwhelmed our hearts. We read the accounts of babies being torn limb by limb as Nazi soldiers reveled in their grizzly crime. We could not fathom the near 34,000 dear Jewish men, women, and children that were stripped, shot, and buried in the mass graves over a period of two days at Babi Yar in the Ukraine. We explored in detail each European country that housed death camps, work camps, and ghettos and the death toll was far beyond our comprehension. It is not possible to put into words the insanity, horror, and carnage that resulted from the collective hatred of the Jewish people. Hitler is often held responsible for the massacre; however, it was the cooperative action of the people throughout the world which led to the wholesale butchering of the Jewish people. Some gleefully participated in the Final Solution and others turned aside apathetic to the suffering. It is unfathomable to comprehend.
Have the countries and leaders of the world learned a lesson from this dire period in history? A glance at this week’s headlines would indicate that they have not. On the eve of Yom HaShoah-Holocaust Remembrance Day, Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was given a world forum as a distinguished speaker at the U.N. Conference on Racism in Geneva. Ahmadinejad, a staunch Holocaust denier, spewed forth in his speech that Israel was a racist regime: “It is all the more regrettable that a number of Western governments and the United States have committed themselves to defend those racist perpetrators of genocide…” Ahmadinejad also spoke words eerily similar to Hitler’s own sentiments:
“Dear friends, today, the human community is facing a kind of racism that has tarnished the image of humanity. In the beginning of the third millennium, the world Zionism personifies racism that falsely resorts to religion, and abuses religious sentiment to hide their hatred and ugly faces. However, it is of great importance to bring into focus the political goals of some of the world’s powers and those who control huge economic resources and interests in the world, and mobilize all their resources, economic and political influence, and world media to render support in vain to the Zionist regime, and maliciously to diminish to indignity and disgrace this regime.”(1)
Laudably, some Western diplomats walked out of his Ahmadinejad’s speech in protest. But is this enough? Ahmadinejad will not be silenced especially when he is frequently given a world forum, welcomed into United States, and courted by our own President. Just decades ago, Western leaders turned aside as Hitler rose to power. Inaction and apathy on the part of world leaders during the WWII era led to great atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people. Will the hatred of Ahmadinejad and militant Islam towards the Jewish people be ignored by the Western world?
We must remember the tragedy of the Holocaust. This horrific period in history is something that must be permanently etched on our minds and our hearts. Despite secular humanistic thought, mankind has not socially evolved towards compassion, empathy, and decency in civilization. Without the in-dwelling of God’s Spirit, our fellow man in our post-modern age is just as capable of the inhumanity and atrocities which characterized Nazi Germany and the surrounding European countries during the WWII era. God forbid this would ever happen again!
We can honor the memory of those whose light of life was extinguished in cruelty through our unwavering commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. We can choose life over hatred and death and not remain silent when those who align themselves with darkness reign in this world.
Today...
Outside my window... it is a cloudy and rainy day today.
I am thinking... about the week ahead. I am thankful for... the many blessings in life. From the learning rooms... we are nearing completion of our studies for this semester. We are beginning to plan for our next school term. From the kitchen... baked potatoes, salad, and biscuits for our evening dinner. This is our typical Monday dinner plan because we attend a Bible study on Monday evenings.
I am wearing... my favorite hat.
I am creating... this blog entry.
I am going... to try and write letters to a few friends. I am reading... several Holocaust books. I am hoping... that we will have a good visit with my sister this weekend. I am hearing... the sounds of a noisy kitchen as my daughter prepares dinner tonight. Around the house... lots of activity as it is almost dinner time. One of my favorite things... ice tea with lemon.
A few plans for the rest of the week: our usual work and school tasks, preparing for my sister to visit this week, going to Baker Creek Heirloom Gardens, and shopping in Springfield.
Have a blessed week and happy homeschooling!
If you would like to join us in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please see the Hostess,Peggyfor details.
The greatest blessing a mother can give her children is a heritage of faith and trust in the Lord and His Word. This blog is dedicated to the memory of Dianna Patterson.
May her memory be for a blessing.
This week I have been reading the new third edition of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. It is an excellent resource.
