I did, however, learn from contemporaneous news reports about the Holocaust as the war came to an end and the Allied forces came upon those horrifying camps and liberated them; and that knowledge has remained as an essential part of my social and humanitarian conscience ever since. The memory is a vivid and important marker, a true measure of the depravity of which our species is capable. It is always there to remind me of an unfathomable darkness in the human psyche, and of the depths to which we can sink when we surrender our conscience to that darkness.
So I was shocked to read this morning from a reliable source that about 63% of our young people, millennials and Generation Z, are not aware that the Nazis killed six million Jews during the Holocaust. I was shocked, mostly, because that not-knowing is what could all too easily open the door to similar atrocities in the future. A person needs that knowledge not merely for the sake of history, but to fully understand his or her nature as a human being. We need to know who we are and what we are capable of, particularly at a moment in history when so many of us are choosing to close our eyes and ears to the ill-will, prejudice and hatred validated by the voices and actions of our leaders.
It is only small, unconscious steps, tragically, that lead us from toleration to acceptance, and from acceptance to the unthinking practice of actions that embody the worst of our humanity. We need knowledge, understanding, consciousness to save us from ourselves.
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Early last November, my two granddaughters, ages 8 and 6, were with me shopping. On the way out of the mall, the eldest asked, “ Nanny, if we should always be kind, why is there war?” They each were studying the significance of Remembrance Day which was the next week.
I took a deep breath and began to explain about why wars start and used the example of WW2, where their British great great grandfather was killed while fighting in Europe. Both girls were fortunate enough to have know their great great grandmother who had worked in a munitions factory during that time. Knowing her made the war real for them.
I spoke in terms both girls could understand and answered their questions. I didn’t scare them and left room for their understanding to grow. I let their parents know what we had discussed and the girls brought up the topic during dinner that evening where it was discussed again.
We must begin early to educate children about the ways of humankind, its potential for good and bad. It is incredible to hear how the reality of the Holocaust is lost on so many youth today. I imagine it is the same in Canada..families must do their part to teach the children.
It is hard for me to imagine the Holocaust being forgotten, and yet here we are only 80 years later and it is slipping from the cultural reality. My grandmother left Germany in 1921 while her mother and brothers stayed. For years they wrote each other until one day the letters stopped coming. My great-grandmother and great-uncles (and great aunts) all died in Auschwitz. Their names are listed in Yad Vashem. That is why we say NEVER FORGET. It is a horror to see people wearing swastikas and spouting anti-semetic crap. We must NEVER FORGET.
Thank you, Marie, for knowing how to speak to children without engendering fear but with simple realism. So important. I have yet to hear that question from my 8-year old grandson, and your example is a good one, for when that time comes. And Robin, what a family history! So much to carry with you, in your heart. I wish our so-called leader had learned empathy in this way--or indeed in any way. Thanks to both for reading and responding!
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